Round 2 is here for Formula 2, lets take a look at what went down in Free Practice and Qualifying!
Free Practice-
Oliver Bearman was quick out of the blocks in Jeddah, as he lead teammate Frederik Vesti in the opening session of the weekend. ART Grand Prix’s Victor Martins, was also proving that the rookies were having no problem getting acquainted with the ultra-high-speed circuit, finishing Free Practice in third.
All the drivers were out on track early, eager to get their eye in around a slightly tweaked Jeddah Corniche Circuit.
Martins claimed the top spot with 10 minutes gone, his 1:46.411 was 0.4s quicker than anyone else in the early phase of Practice.
There was red flag thrown in Free Practice, as Amaury Cordeel suffered a spin out of Turn 13, ending up sideways on the track. With his car in need of recovering, the session then wasn’t resumed with only four minutes remaining.
Martins set a 1:43.161, that would have put him on top but with the Red Flag cancelling his lap just before he could cross the line to finish it, Bearman topped practice instead.
Qualifying-
Victor Martins was a man on a mission as he claimed ART Grand Prix’s second consecutive pole position in a dominant fashion.
The Frenchman put down a 1:41.326 to go a whopping 0.744s clear in the nick of time, as a late Red Flag denied the field a chance to get close to his efforts.
Practice pace-setter, Oliver Bearman also proved that experience isn’t everything as the PREMA rookie secured second, Championship leader Theo Pourchaire made it two ARTs in the top three.
Experiencing his first qualifying session around the Saudi Arabian track, Roman Stanek was the first to get a representative lap time on the board.
However, the Trident driver’s time didn’t stay top for too long, being eclipsed immediately by Jack Doohan, Arthur Leclerc and Ayumu Iwasa.
With 18 minutes remaining, improvements were stopped after Van Amersfoort Racing’s Richard Verschoor spun at Turn 22, bringing out the Red Flag.
Frederik Vesti momentarily became the driver to beat when running resumed, before he was leapfrogged by his teammate, Bearman.
However, not all drivers were able to take advantage of their fresh supersoft rubber, as the Red Flag was thrown once again, it wiped away Dennis Hauger’s personal best sectors, after Leclerc stopped on the exit of Turn 22. The session was then not resumed, allowing Martins to hold onto his maiden pole position.
Bearman setttled for second, only 0.001s ahead of Pourchaire. Jack Doohan left it late to snatch fourth ahead of Daruvala. Hitech Pule-EIght, Jak Crawford rounded out the top 10 on his Jeddah debut, he will start on reverse grid pole for the Sprint Race today.
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