Photo: Red Bull Content Pool
DAMS’ Ayumu Iwasa was quickest in Formula 2 practice for the second round in a row at the Hungaroring on Friday.
The Red Bull junior was the only driver to lap sub-1m29s and ended the 45-minute session 0.149 seconds ahead of points leader Frederik Vesti in second place.
Prema’s Vesti briefly went fastest in the opening 10 minutes with a 1m30.600s, but his lap was removed for exceeding track limits.
Victor Martins’ 1m30.839s laptime became the new benchmark, with Iwasa soon beating it by setting a 1m30.141s.
Vesti significantly lowered the pace by posting a 1m29.360s, and he then improved further with a 1m29.031s.
Iwasa bettered his own time to move to within 0.126s of the Mercedes-AMG Formula 1 junior, with Martins and Kush Maini also within 0.2s of the pace at the halfway stage.
The order remained static at the top for the next 10 minutes, before Iwasa went quickest with a 1m28.882s. In the closing stages he record a personal best first sector, but did not set a new fastest lap.
Vesti, Martins and Maini returned to track for one final flying lap each, but the trio did not go quicker.
Theo Pourchaire improved at the chequered flag to snatch fifth from Roman Stanek by 0.010s, the pair half a second off Iwasa’s pace.
Jehan Daruvala and Enzo Fittipaldi were less than 0.1s further behind in seventh and eighth. Isack Hadjar was ninth, while Richard Verschoor relegated Dennis Hauger from 10th late on.
Free practice results
| Pos | Driver | Team | Time | Gaps | Laps |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ayumu Iwasa | DAMS | 1m28.882s | 21 | |
| 2 | Frederik Vesti | Prema | 1m29.031s | +0.149s | 18 |
| 3 | Victor Martins | ART Grand Prix | 1m29.206s | +0.324s | 19 |
| 4 | Kush Maini | Campos Racing | 1m29.221s | +0.339s | 17 |
| 5 | Theo Pourchaire | ART Grand Prix | 1m29.406s | +0.524s | 19 |
| 6 | Roman Stanek | Trident | 1m29.416s | +0.534s | 18 |
| 7 | Jehan Daruvala | MP Motorsport | 1m29.487s | +0.605s | 16 |
| 8 | Enzo Fittipaldi | Carlin | 1m29.493s | +0.611s | 19 |
| 9 | Isack Hadjar | Hitech GP | 1m29.511s | +0.629s | 18 |
| 10 | Richard Verschoor | Van Amersfoort Racing | 1m29.546s | +0.664s | 20 |
| 11 | Dennis Hauger | MP Motorport | 1m29.597s | +0.715s | 17 |
| 12 | Jak Crawford | Hitech GP | 1m29.602s | +0.720s | 20 |
| 13 | Jack Doohan | Virtuosi Racing | 1m29.627s | +0.745s | 19 |
| 14 | Ollie Bearman | Prema | 1m29.656s | +0.774s | 18 |
| 15 | Clement Novalak | Trident | 1m29.759s | +0.877s | 16 |
| 16 | Roy Nissany | PHM by Charouz | 1m29.889s | +1.007s | 21 |
| 17 | Juan Manuel Correa | Van Amersfoort Racing | 1m29.952s | +1.070s | 19 |
| 18 | Ralph Boschung | Campos Racing | 1m29.954s | +1.072s | 18 |
| 19 | Zane Maloney | Carlin | 1m30.039s | +1.157s | 21 |
| 20 | Arthur Leclerc | DAMS | 1m30.042s | +1.160s | 20 |
| 21 | Amaury Cordeel | Virtuosi Racing | 1m30.519s | +1.637s | 20 |
| 22 | Brad Benavides | PHM by Charouz | 1m30.737s | +1.855s | 19 |