Only three weeks remain before the start of the Formula 2 season. This was the time for some pre-season testing at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya.
Just like Formula 3 a few days ago, all of Formula 2 gathered for the pre-season test. Three days to iron out any issues ahead of the championship. Pirelli provided five sets of the white-walled hard compound tyres, along with three sets of softs and three sets of wets. The drivers were all set to test their new machinery.
Testing the limit
The first day was shorter than expected. A 45-minute delay in the morning occurred due to poor visibility caused by fog. During the installation laps, Alex Dunne came to a halt at Turn 10, resulting in a red flag. Baseline setup tests continued deep into the morning, with everyone completing short-run plans without setting lap times. Sami Meguetounif later confirmed that his morning was dedicated to testing the aerodynamics of his car. Max Esterson set a 1:29.252 lap time. From then on, the drivers were motivated to chase that fastest lap. In the end, it was Victor Martins, the only driver to break into the 1:25 range, who claimed first place.
In the afternoon, Richard Verschoor was the first to set a lap time. The first red flag was caused by Max Esterson, who found the gravel at Turn 5. Three more followed, with Dino Beganovic stopping in his Hitech TGR between Turns 6 and 7, and Sami Meguetounif coming to a halt first at Turn 2 and later at Turn 4, which led to the session ending two minutes early. At the end of the day, Arvid Lindblad, the new Campos rookie, was the fastest with a time of 1:24.415.
Time to make mistakes
A busy morning started with the fastest time changing hands several times early on. However with 25 minutes on the clock, the Trident driver Max Esterson stopped at Turn 2 causing the first red flag of the day. Once the action resumed, several teams fitted the soft tyres. The Italian driver Gabriele Minì set the pace with a 1:23.709 time. Shortly afterwards, Josep María Martí spun into the gravel at Turn 5. His teammate Arvid Lindblad stuck himself into the gravel at Turn 7. Gabriele Minì continued to show his quick form and lowered the benchmark time to a 1:23.660. Three red flags in close succession brought the drivers back into the pit lane and limited running in the closing stages. Leonardo Fornaroli, Jak Crawford and John Bennett were found in the gravel.
Some old and new faces in the Formula 2 paddock – © Formula 2, Instagram
Long runs were the focus for the majority of the afternoon, which meant there were not many changes at the top of the timesheets. However, the session was interrupted by a red flag, with the marshals needing to remove a piece of debris from the racing line at the final corner. With 20 minutes remaining, Sami Meguetounif stopped on the main straight so the seventh and last red flag of the day was waved. With 46 laps, Oliver Goethe finished the session in first place, with a 1:24.372 time.
French on top
The last day of testing began with wet tires, as the track was wet in places after overnight rain. However, an early red flag was caused by Alpine junior driver Kush Maini, who came to a halt at Turn 3. The session resumed, but it wasn’t long before a second stoppage occurred. This time, Sami Meguetounif, who had set the fastest time with a 1:36.479, pulled over to the side of the track at Turn 9. As track conditions continued to improve, numerous drivers set fast lap times. Approaching the final hour of the morning session, another red flag was thrown after Sebastián Montoya spun at Turn 1. With 20 minutes remaining, Victor Martins set a new fastest time for ART Grand Prix, a 1:24.673, almost a second faster than anyone else, marking the quickest time of the day up to that point. There was time for one final flying lap, but the French driver went off into the gravel at Turn 5, ending any chance of further improvements for the rest of the field.
Campos Racing, MP Motorsport, and Trident were all eager for more in the afternoon session. They immediately took to the track, with Arvid Lindblad leading the field. Sami Meguetounif then went to the top of the times with a 1:24.363, just before his teammate Esterson spun at Turn 9, bringing out the red flag. Many drivers focused on race runs, but another red flag was shown with under two hours to go. John Bennett spun and tagged the wall just ahead of the final corner. The session was red-flagged again after MP Motorsport’s Oliver Goethe went off into the gravel at Turn 5. Finally, rookie Sami Meguetounif caused the last red flag of the session when he slid into the gravel at Turn 5. With 45 laps completed in the session, he ended it in first position with his earlier lap.