Photo: FRECA
MP Motorsport’s Michael Belov set the pace in the second Formula Regional European Championship free practice session at Monza.
On a drier track than in the morning, drivers got ready for Saturday’s qualifying which will follow a new format.
Due to the grid expanding to 35 full-time entries, qualifying will now be split into two segments featuring half of the grid each. The group that runs first in Q1 will then run after the other group when it comes to Q2, which takes place on Sunday this weekend. It’s a format that was used by the Formula Renault Eurocup, which had a semi-merger with FREC last year.
There were 37 cars on track at Monza, as Prema’s fourth driver Hamda Al Qubaisi was present after missing FP1. She ended up going 19th fastest, 1.172 seconds off the pace, and the top 13 ahead of her were covered by a second on the timesheet.
Belov had a comfortable 0.265s margin at the top, but just 0.031s then spread Mari Boya, Paul Aron and Gabriele Mini in second, third and fourth.
Hadrien David showed improved form compared to testing by going fifth fastest for R-ace GP, the 2021 title runner-up 0.525s slower than Belov.
Free practice results
| Pos | Driver | Team | Time | Gap | Laps |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Michael Belov | MP Motorsport | 1m46.509s | 21 | |
| 2 | Mari Boya | ART Grand Prix | 1m46.774s | +0.265s | 18 |
| 3 | Paul Aron | Prema | 1m46.787s | +0.278s | 20 |
| 4 | Gabriele Mini | ART Grand Prix | 1m46.805s | +0.296s | 10 |
| 5 | Hadrien David | R-ace GP | 1m47.034s | +0.525s | 20 |
| 6 | Kas Haverkort | Van Amersfoort Racing | 1m47.092s | +0.583s | 21 |
| 7 | Joshua Duerksen | Arden | 1m47.124s | +0.615s | 19 |
| 8 | Sami Meguetounif | MP Motorsport | 1m47.167s | +0.658s | 21 |
| 9 | Dino Beganovic | Prema | 1m47.259s | +0.750s | 20 |
| 10 | Dilano van’t Hoff | MP Motorsport | 1m47.330s | +0.821s | 21 |
| 11 | Eduardo Barrichello | Arden | 1m47.415s | +0.906s | 17 |
| 12 | Joshua Dufek | Van Amersfoort Racing | 1m47.459s | +0.950s | 21 |
| 13 | Noel Leon | Arden | 1m47.496s | +0.987s | 19 |
| 14 | Laurens van Hoepen | ART Grand Prix | 1m47.539s | +1.030s | 19 |
| 15 | Gabriel Bortoleto | R-ace GP | 1m47.555s | +1.046s | 20 |
| 16 | Matias Zagazeta | G4 Racing | 1m47.584s | +1.075s | 21 |
| 17 | Leonardo Fornaroli | Trident | 1m47.649s | +1.140s | 18 |
| 18 | Tim Tramnitz | Trident | 1m47.660s | +1.151s | 19 |
| 19 | Hamda Al Qubaisi | Prema | 1m47.681s | +1.172s | 21 |
| 20 | Lorenzo Fluxa | R-ace GP | 1m47.682s | +1.173s | 20 |
| 21 | Esteban Masson | FA Racing by MP | 1m47.693s | +1.184s | 19 |
| 22 | Keith Donegan | R-P-M | 1m47.747s | +1.238s | 21 |
| 23 | Roman Bilinski | Trident | 1m47.780s | +1.271s | 18 |
| 24 | Maceo Capietto | Monolite Racing | 1m47.781s | +1.272s | 19 |
| 25 | Sebastian Montoya | Prema | 1m47.801s | +1.292s | 19 |
| 26 | Victor Bernier | FA Racing by MP | 1m47.832s | +1.323s | 21 |
| 27 | Pietro Delli Guanti | R-P-M | 1m47.901s | +1.392s | 16 |
| 28 | Pietro Armanni | Monolite Racing | 1m48.252s | +1.743s | 20 |
| 29 | Owen Tangavelou | G4 Racing | 1m48.265s | +1.756s | 18 |
| 30 | Cenyu Han | Monolite Racing | 1m48.284s | +1.775s | 20 |
| 31 | Piotr Wisnicki | KIC Motorsport | 1m48.338s | +1.829s | 20 |
| 32 | Nicolas Baptiste | FA Racing by MP | 1m48.537s | +2.028s | 19 |
| 33 | Lena Buhler | R-ace GP | 1m48.781s | +2.272s | 20 |
| 34 | Santiago Ramos | KIC Motorsport | 1m48.788s | +2.279s | 18 |
| 35 | Francesco Braschi | KIC Motorsport | 1m49.016s | +2.507s | 21 |
| 36 | Axel Gnos | G4 Racing | 1m49.125s | +2.616s | 20 |
| 37 | Levente Revesz | Van Amersfoort Racing | 1m49.370s | +2.861s | 15 |