Photo: Red Bull
Arvid Lindblad topped a Formula 2 practice session in Barcelona that featured another collision between Alex Dunne and Victor Martins, just days after their crash in Monaco.
The incident happened as Dunne was coming into the pits following his first set of fast laps with Martins in front. As Dunne approached the pit speed limit line, Martins appeared to dramatically slow, forcing Dunne to lock his front tyres. The Irishman was carrying too much speed though and hit the rear of the ART car, breaking his front wing and causing damage to the rear of Martins’ car.
Prior to the incident, Dunne had held top spot, his opening lap time of a 1m27.425s some four tenths quicker than second-placed Gabriele Mini.
Running was limited for the opening minutes with drivers opting to save tyres and not run the first 15 minutes of the session. With testing held at the circuit three months ago, drivers would be already accustomed to the track and the challenges it poses.
As the clock ticked down into the second half of the session, Lindblad took to the top of the timesheets, three tenths quicker than Dunne with a 1m21.147s, a lap that wouldn’t be beaten.
It was an eventful session for the other Rodin car of Amaury Cordeel, the Belgian driver running into the gravel trap at turn 9 as drivers struggled with track limits, and later stalling at the pit lane exit on his final practice start.
Championship leader Luke Browning also appeared to struggle in the opening session, finishing 19th, two seconds off leader Lindblad with a time of 1m29.182s.
As the chequered flag fell, very few drivers managed to improve on their lap times. Mini took up third while Richard Verschoor and Kush Maini rounded out the top five.
Behind the top five came the ART Grand Prix pairing of Ritomo Miyata and Martins followed by third-placed in the championship Leonardo Fornaroli.
Rounding out the top 10 was Hitech driver Dino Beganovic and the MP Motorsport car of Oliver Goethe, with nine different teams in the top 10.
Free practice results
| Pos | Driver | Team | Time | Gap | Laps |
| 1 | Arvid Lindblad | Campos Racing | 1m27.147s | 10 | |
| 2 | Alex Dunne | Rodin Motorsport | 1m27.425s | +0.278s | 13 |
| 3 | Gabriele Mini | Prema | 1m27.797s | +0.650s | 12 |
| 4 | Richard Verschoor | MP Motorsport | 1m28.044s | +0.897s | 14 |
| 5 | Kush Maini | DAMS | 1m28.080s | +0.933s | 12 |
| 6 | Ritomo Miyata | ART Grand Prix | 1m28.111s | +0.964s | 12 |
| 7 | Victor Martins | ART Grand Prix | 1m28.120s | +0.973s | 13 |
| 8 | Leonardo Fornaroli | Invicta Racing | 1m28.272s | +1.125s | 15 |
| 9 | Dino Beganovic | Hitech | 1m28.330s | +1.183s | 13 |
| 10 | Oliver Goethe | MP Motorsport | 1m28.344s | +1.197s | 15 |
| 11 | Sami Meguetounif | Trident | 1m28.353s | +1.206s | 10 |
| 12 | Jak Crawford | DAMS | 1m28.380s | +1.233s | 12 |
| 13 | Roman Stanek | Invicta Racing | 1m28.570s | +1.423s | 14 |
| 14 | Pepe Marti | Campos Racing | 1m28.594s | +1.447s | 11 |
| 15 | Sebastian Montoya | Prema | 1m28.758s | +1.611s | 13 |
| 16 | Max Esterson | Trident | 1m28.802s | +1.655s | 13 |
| 17 | Amaury Cordeel | Rodin Motorsport | 1m28.917s | +1.770s | 11 |
| 18 | Joshua Duerksen | AIX Racing | 1m29.125s | +1.978s | 15 |
| 19 | Luke Browning | Hitech | 1m29.182s | +2.035s | 12 |
| 20 | Rafael Villagomez | Van Amersfoort Racing | 1m29.484s | +2.337s | 14 |
| 21 | John Bennett | Van Amersfoort Racing | 1m29.571s | +2.424s | 13 |
| 22 | Cian Shields | AIX Racing | 1m29.866s | +2.719s | 15 |