Martins heads Formula 2 practice for series finale at Yas Marina

Photo: Formula Motorsport Limited

Alpine junior Victor Martins headed the final Formula 2 practice session of the season, topping the times by 0.2 seconds at Yas Marina.

Both ART Grand Prix cars ran at the front throughout the session with championship leader Theo Pourchaire finishing in third, behind Rodin Carlin’s Zane Maloney.

Pourchaire’s championship rivals DAMS’ Ayumu Iwasa and Prema’s Frederik Vesti finished in seventh and ninth positions respectively.

With track temperatures approaching 40°C in the midday sun, there was little activity in the opening 15 minutes of the session.

Williams Formula 1 junior Franco Colapinto was the first driver to post a timed lap on his F2 debut for MP Motorsport, before spinning at Turn 12 and rejoining.

PHM Racing’s Roy Nissany was the first driver to drop below 1m40s with 10 minutes on the clock as very few drivers ventured out in the opening third of the session.

Track action picked up with 30 minutes remaining with all 22 cars circulating, Pourchaire immediately jumping to the front with a time of 1m38.733s before seeing his time deleted for track limits, dropping him to the back of the order.

Further into his run programme, Nissany reclaimed the top spot with an improved lap of 1m38.492s before running was interrupted as DAMS’ Arthur Leclerc pulled off on the exit of the first corner with an apparent mechanical issue, bringing out the red flag.

The pit lane re-opened with 17 minutes of the session remaining and the times began to tumble straight away as the ART GP pairing of Martins and Pourchaire moved to the top of the times.

An overall fastest time in the first sector propelled Virtuosi Racing’s Jack Doohan to the front with a lap in 1m38.101s but was rapidly demoted to fourth as Iwasa, Van Amersfoort Racing’s Juan Manuel Correa and Maloney posted the first sub-1m38s laps.

With just over four minutes left, Pourchaire moved back to the front with a time of 1m37.734s, with a following Richard Verschoor slotting into second.

As the clock ticked down, Martins jumped back to the front, setting a time of 1m37.389s to beat his team-mate’s mark by 0.345s.

Despite late improvements from Maloney, Pourchaire and Doohan, nobody was able to improve on Martins’ time. Maloney finished the session in second, two-tenths down on Martins.

Doohan held on to fourth ahead of VAR’s Verschoor and another late improver, Campos Racing’s Ralph Boschung, although Vesti’s Prema team-mate Oliver Bearman languished in 17th despite improving on his final tour.

The two series debutants, Colapinto and Trident’s Paul Aron were 1.6s and 1.8s off Martins’ pace to end up in 19th and 20th positions.

Practice results