Maloney fastest again as F2 pre-season testing ends under floodlights

Photo: Formula Motorsport Ltd

Zane Maloney was fastest again in the final session of Formula 2 pre-season testing at Bahrain, although did not beat his benchmark laptime from the previous day.

Having lost running earlier in testing due to rain, teams focused on setting as many laps as possible on Tuesday afternoon.

Virtuosi Racing’s Gabriel Bortoleto was first to top the times, then Rodin Motorsport’s Ritomo Miyata set a 1m46.033s that went unbeaten until 14-and-a-half minutes into the session when team-mate Maloney set a 1m45.925s.

At that point the only other drivers to lap sub-1m47s were Rafael Villagomez (Van Amersfoort Racing), Isack Hadjar and Pepe Marti (both Campos Racing), and Roman Stanek (Trident).

There was change at the top 17 minutes in as Prema’s Andrea Kimi Antonelli and Ollie Bearman went one-two, with Antonelli breaking into the 1m43s.

Six minutes later Bortoleto returned to the top with a 1m43.435s lap, and after 30 minutes Trident’s Richard Verschoor set his first flying lap and went straight into fifth place.

Campos duo Hadjar and Marti moved into third and sixth place three minutes after that as both improved their pace, with Villagomez getting between them into fifth with a 1m44.534s.

The focus on long runs meant there were few changes on the timesheet thereon, although 48 minutes in the Prema drivers went on push laps once again and Bearman briefly knocked Antonelli back to third before his team-mate improved to 1m43.607s to reclaim second place.

Bearman was shuffled down to fourth at the start of the second hour of action as Villagomez set a 1m43.749s to get into third, then at the 80-minute mark of the two-and-a-half hour session Bortoleto’s benchmark laptime was beaten by both Campos drivers. Hadjar set a 1m42.712s, with Marti 0.175 seconds slower.

Stanek improved to sixth at the same time with a 1m43.775s, MP Motorsport’s Dennis Hauger went eighth fastest and DAMS’ Jak Crawford jumped up from 22nd to ninth as he finally lapped at a representative pace.

Eight minutes later Miyata improved to return to the top 10, with Maloney doing the same as the final hour of testing began. They sat eighth and ninth for eighth minutes, as with 50 minutes to go Verschoor went third fastest and PHM Racing’s Joshua Duerksen set a 1m43.636s to move into sixth place.

The next change in the top 10 came with 25 minutes left on the clock as Duerksen improved to fourth place with a 1m43.352s. Maloney and Miyata found more pace as well but remained in 10th and 12th, sandwiching Crawford.

VAR’s Enzo Fittipaldi rose from 15th to second place with 22 minutes to go by setting a 1m42.808s, and Crawford and Miyata then came to the fore with 19 minutes remaining as they set a 1m42.661s and a 1m42.684s respectively.

Maloney posted a 1m42.468s a minute later, which was enough to stay on top until the chequered flag. In the final five minutes MP’s Franco Colapinto and Hauger went eighth and ninth fastest, and DAMS’ Juan Manuel Correa went 0.918s slower than Maloney to end the day in 11th.

Afternoon session results