Home Formula 2 Sergey Sirotkin fastest on final afternoon of Abu Dhabi GP2 test

Sergey Sirotkin fastest on final afternoon of Abu Dhabi GP2 test

by Peter Allen
Sergey Sirotkin

Photo: Jed Leicester/GP2 Series Media Service

GP2 newcomer Sergey Sirotkin ended the first pre-season test in Abu Dhabi by topping the final session.

The Russian claimed the honours inside the last 30 minutes of the session, deposing GP3 Alex Lynn from top spot.

Arthur Pic took P2 before the end, just over a tenth slower than Sirotkin, to relegate Tuesday pace-setter Lynn to third.

Closely behind, Frenchmen Nathanael Berthon and Norman Nato completed the top five, ahead of Rio Haryanto.

Monday’s quickest man Pierre Gasly was seventh, followed by Daniel De Jong, Mitch Evans and Lazarus tester Zoel Amberg.

Amberg stopping on track with an hour to go was the cause of one of three stoppages during the afternoon session. Contact with the barriers for Alexander Rossi had earlier led to the first halt, while Artem Markelov triggered a red flag for the second time today when his car stopped, leaving just ten minutes on the clock at the restart.

Rookie Richie Stanaway – testing for Status but currently without a 2015 drive – was the slowest of the 25 runners in the final session, but his morning time ended up as the quickest of the three-day test.

The GP2 teams will reconvene in Bahrain for the second and final pre-season test on 1-3 April.

Afternoon session results
Pos Driver Team Time Gap Laps
1 Sergey Sirotkin Rapax 1:49.158 29
2 Arthur Pic Campos Racing 1:49.260 0.102 37
3 Alex Lynn DAMS 1:49.277 0.119 20
4 Nathanael Berthon Lazarus 1:49.379 0.221 18
5 Norman Nato Arden International 1:49.391 0.233 23
6 Rio Haryanto Campos Racing 1:49.431 0.273 35
7 Pierre Gasly DAMS 1:49.532 0.374 16
8 Daniel De Jong MP Motorsport 1:49.859 0.701 15
9 Mitch Evans Russian Time 1:50.097 0.939 9
10 Zoel Amberg Lazarus 1:50.197 1.039 21
11 Sergio Canamasas Hilmer Motorsport 1:50.227 1.069 34
12 Andre Negrao Arden International 1:50.741 1.583 26
13 Vittorio Ghirelli MP Motorsport 1:50.842 1.684 23
14 Robert Visoiu Rapax 1:51.024 1.866 20
15 Rene Binder Trident 1:51.084 1.926 34
16 Artem Markelov Russian Time 1:52.058 2.900 25
17 Stoffel Vandoorne ART Grand Prix 1:52.501 3.343 38
18 Marco Sorensen Carlin 1:52.709 3.551 37
19 Raffaele Marciello Trident 1:53.118 3.960 24
20 Jordan King Racing Engineering 1:53.290 4.132 40
21 Nobuharu Matsushita ART Grand Prix 1:53.296 4.138 38
22 Julian Leal Carlin 1:53.611 4.453 36
23 Marlon Stockinger Status Grand Prix 1:53.952 4.794 24
24 Alexander Rossi Racing Engineering 1:53.991 4.833 29
25 Richie Stanaway Status Grand Prix 1:54.005 4.847 24
26 Axcil Jefferies Hilmer Motorsport No time 0