Photo: Formula Motorsport Ltd
Formula 2 teams took part in a shakedown test of the new Dallara F2 2024 car at Barcelona on Wednesday.
The car replaces the Dallara F2 2018, which has been used for the last six seasons, and increases the on-track visual similarity between Formula 1 and its primary feeder series.
Although each of F2’s 11 teams were only allowed to test one of their chassis, most of them gave track time to both of the drivers they have signed for 2024, with 20 drivers in total setting laps. The six hours of track time were split into a morning and an afternoon session.
Van Amersfoort Racing’s Enzo Fittipaldi was first to leave the pits, although Virtuosi Racing’s Kush Maini was first to set a laptime. His team set 38 laps in total over the morning, a tally that was not bettered by rivals.
No driver was able to go on a long run lasting more than 13 laps, and in total there were 286 laps set by the 11 teams over the course of the session. They were more productive in the afternoon, with 363 laps set.
Prema’s Andrea Kimi Antonelli got the most running in, setting 53 laps in the second session, but again nobody could do a long run exceeding 13 laps.
ART Grand Prix’s Victor Martins said his team had a “clean session with no issues” in the afternoon.
“We had a good run plan to get a first feeling of how the car is handling in corners and how it behaves,” he explained. “The first feeling of the car is that it does not change a lot compared to last year’s, so I will be able to put my experience to good use for the new season. Everything went fine with no reliability issues. It’s a very positive start.
“Today was also about checking the aerodynamics because that’s the biggest change compared to the previous car, and to start working on set-up that will be relevant for when we go to Bahrain. We also checked that everything is working properly on the car.
“Of course, the goal is to go step-by-step, not damage the car and make the most out of the track time to develop and test different things, but I pushed also. I like it when straight away, you can push, you get the confidence.”
He added: “I brought the car to the limit at some point, and I could feel I have a good car under me.”
F2’s technical director Pierre-Alain Michot also made a rare public comment, saying: “We’re quite happy with the running achieved today. The teams have been able to complete a lot of mileage which is a good first step.”
He noted “there have been no red flags, which means that all cars have performed as expected while the teams are learning how to work with this new machine” and that “we could already correct a few things for the afternoon session, but there are still some adjustments to make before the first race of [2024], but we’re not far from what we need”.