Formula 2

Delétraz fastest on day 1 of Formula 2 testing with last-gasp lap

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Credit: FIA Formula 2

On the first day of the FIA Formula 2 Championship post-season test In Abu Dhabi, it was Charouz Racing’s Louis Delétraz who topped the timing sheets with a last-minute flyer, five seconds faster than any other time he had set in the afternoon session.

Delétraz not only topped the timesheets but also completed the most laps in the afternoon with 49 laps chalked up. He has taken Callum Ilott’s seat for this test as the Brit drives for UNI-Virtuosi. He was next on the lap count with 44.

The Swiss driver made the switch from 2019 team Carlin to Charouz with relative ease although his fastest time of a 1:50:543 was almost a second slower than the pole lap set by Sérgio Sette Câmara.

He headed ART Grand Prix duo Marcus Armstrong and Christian Lundgaard by 0.255s as they made the step up from FIA Formula 3 to F2.

New Zealand’s Marcus Armstrong was very impressive on his F2 début for ART. Credit: FIA Formula 2

Morning session pace-setter Mick Schumacher was fourth overall ahead of Artem Markelov who showed that he hadn’t lost that edge after a year of sporadic racing in 2019.

Red flags hindered both morning and afternoon sessions with Armstrong being one of those to bring the running to a brief halt when he stopped on track in the morning. Mahaveer Raghunathan, Felipe Drugovich and Guilherme Samaia also caused stoppages.

Recently announced DAMS driver Dan Ticktum was an impressive seventh on his first day as an F2 driver.

20-year-old Ticktum focused ahead of his first day of testing in F2. Credit: FIA Formula 2.

There are a further two days of testing to come from Abu Dhabi as many drivers are competing to earn themselves a seat for the 2020 season.

2019 FIA Formula 2 Championship – Post-season tests, Day 1, morning session

 DRIVERTEAMLAPTIMELAPS
1Mick SchumacherPREMA Racing1:50.94732
2Louis DelétrazCharouz Racing System1:50.95818
3Nikita MazepinCarlin1:51.03422
4Guanyu ZhouUNI-Virtuosi1:51.17826
5Sean GelaelDAMS1:51.44931
6Luca GhiottoTrident1:51.57027
7Callum IlottUNI-Virtuosi1:51.58518
8Artem MarkelovBWT HWA RACELAB1:51.62619
9Dan TicktumDAMS1:51.69228
10Niko KariCampos Racing1:51.96328
11Robert ShwartzmanPREMA Racing1:52.02133
12Christian LundgaardART Grand Prix1:52.07732
13Yuki TsunodaCarlin1:52.15527
14Felipe DrugovichMP Motorsport1:52.28130
15Pedro PiquetCharouz Racing System1:52.44832
16Marino SatoTrident1:52.51628
17Marcus ArmstrongART Grand Prix1:52.65322
18Giuliano AlesiBWT HWA RACELAB1:52.72123
19Mahaveer RaghunathanMP Motorsport1:53.50522
20Guilherme SamaiaCampos Racing1:53.54019

2019 FIA Formula 2 Championship – Post-season tests, Day 1, afternoon session

 DRIVERTEAMLAPTIMELAPS
1Louis DelétrazCharouz Racing System1:50.54349
2Marcus ArmstrongART Grand Prix1:50.79828
3Christian LundgaardART Grand Prix1:50.92328
4Mick SchumacherPREMA Racing1:50.96628
5Artem MarkelovBWT HWA RACELAB1:51.52326
6Pedro PiquetCharouz Racing System1:51.68533
7Dan TicktumDAMS1:51.72435
8Sean GelaelDAMS1:51.84039
9Robert ShwartzmanPREMA Racing1:51.97728
10Giuliano AlesiBWT HWA RACELAB1:52.09135
11Niko KariCampos Racing1:52.11725
12Mahaveer RaghunathanMP Motorsport1:52.46724
13Guanyu ZhouUNI-Virtuosi1:52.79635
14Roy NissanyTrident1:52.88125
15Guilherme SamaiaCampos Racing1:54.08215
16Nikita MazepinCarlin1:55.39333
17Yuki TsunodaCarlin1:55.78633
18Callum IlottUNI-Virtuosi1:56.39644
19Felipe DrugovichMP Motorsport1:56.62922
20Luca GhiottoTrident1:56.78923
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If it's got an engine, I've watched it race. F2 and F3 correspondent with a sprinkling of speedway here and there.
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