Hitech Grand Prix‘s Red Bull junior driver Isack Hadjar went quickest on Day 2 of FIA Formula 3 Championship testing in Bahrain, with the fastest times coming in the morning session.
The best conditions were reversed compared to Wednesday’s sessions, with times not breaking into the 1:47s in the afternoon.
Victor Martins followed Hadjar home in the morning for ART Grand Prix, ahead of Jonny Edgar (Trident) in third.
Hadjar went ahead of his compatriot Martins in the latter stages in the morning, setting a 1:47.516 to top the times at the break.
Martins enjoyed marginally the best day of the 30-strong grid, finishing second and first across the two sessions, while Hadjar topped the first session with a 1:48.250 and finished third in the afternoon.
Despite temperatures soaring in the Bahrain desert, BWT Alpine F1 Team junior Martins went quickest with a 1:47.602 in the early stages, which was enough to keep him top for most of the morning until Hadjar went eight hundredths faster on F3’s first visit to Sakhir.
Juan Manuel Correa returned to the fold after an inconclusive COVID-19 test on Wednesday, clocking up 43 laps behind Gregoire Saucy and level with Martins.
GB3 champion Zak O’Sullivan finished eighth and ninth on Day 2, finishing as the highest-placed Carlin across the day. Team-mate Enzo Trulli only completed 32 laps in the afternoon after Wednesday’s engine failure meant he couldn’t complete a lap in the morning.
Long-run pace began to be prioritised in the afternoon as Martins’ fastest time was eight tenths off Hadjar’s best from the morning.
Charouz Racing System showed their hand for the first time in the day as Laszlo Toth and Francesco Pizzi exchanged the top spot early in the afternoon, before being replaced by Franco Colapinto (Van Amersfoort Racing) and Oliver Bearman (Prema Racing).
Martins set his, and the afternoon’s best time of 1:48.250 and ended the session ahead of Roman Stanek and Hadjar. Gregoire Saucy, Alexander Smolyar, Kaylen Frederick and Caio Collet rounded out the top seven.
