
German driver sets quickest time in opening hour of session
MEDIABALAP.com – Maximilian Günther completed the final morning of the FIA Formula 2 Championship pre-season test at Sakhir, Bahrain on top of the standings with a 1:42.756, the BWT Arden driver going quickest early on to head Charouz Racing System’s Louis Delétraz and ART Grand Prix’s George Russell.
Roy Nissany of Campos Vexatec Racing jumped the rest of the field onto the track, beating DAMS’ Alexander Albon and Nirei Fukuzumi (Arden) out of the pitlane. Günther led the opening stages, making up for a lack of running from the previous day’s afternoon session to take the early advantage.
Although Trident’s Arjun Maini – holder of yesterday’s fastest lap – briefly leapfrogged the German driver, Günther quickly reclaimed the top berth on the timing screens with the only lap in the 1m42s, ending the first hour on top, accosted soon after by Delétraz and RUSSIAN TIME’s Tadasuke Makino.
Jack Aitken (ART Grand Prix) brought out the red flag shortly after the second hour, coming to a halt at turn 8, leaving 45 minutes of the session to run after the track went live once more. Multiple teams took the opportunity to practice tyre changes, with the pitlane becoming a hive of activity after the green flag.
As attention turned to race preparation, Günther’s time remained unchallenged throughout the rest of the session, staying three tenths of a second ahead of Delétraz, as Russell completed the top three ahead of teammate Aitken. Carlin’s Sergio Sette Camara moved ahead of Makino for fifth, as Maini and Luca Ghiotto (Campos) grabbed seventh and eighth. Albon and Charouz’s Antonio Fuoco completed the top half of the field.
Driver | Team | Laptime | Laps | |
1 | Maximilian Günther | BWT Arden | 1:42.756 | 28 |
2 | Louis Delétraz | Charouz Racing System | 1:43.058 | 39 |
3 | George Russell | ART Grand Prix | 1:43.109 | 24 |
4 | Jack Aitken | ART Grand Prix | 1:43.143 | 24 |
5 | Sergio Sette Camara | Carlin | 1:43.149 | 28 |
6 | Tadasuke Makino | RUSSIAN TIME | 1:43.209 | 21 |
7 | Arjun Maini | Trident | 1:43.254 | 28 |
8 | Luca Ghiotto | Campos Vexatec Racing | 1:43.266 | 22 |
9 | Alexander Albon | DAMS | 1:43.388 | 29 |
10 | Antonio Fuoco | Charouz Racing System | 1:43.474 | 21 |
11 | Lando Norris | Carlin | 1:43.490 | 28 |
12 | Artem Markelov | RUSSIAN TIME | 1:43.682 | 23 |
13 | Nicholas Latifi | DAMS | 1:43.715 | 30 |
14 | Ralph Boschung | MP Motorsport | 1:43.828 | 17 |
15 | Nyck de Vries | PERTAMINA PREMA Theodore Racing | 1:43.876 | 22 |
16 | Santino Ferrucci | Trident | 1:43.890 | 22 |
17 | Roy Nissany | Campos Vexatec Racing | 1:43.975 | 22 |
18 | Sean Gelael | PERTAMINA PREMA Theodore Racing | 1:44.051 | 20 |
19 | Roberto Merhi | MP Motorsport | 1:44.625 | 28 |
20 | Nirei Fukuzumi | BWT Arden | 1:44.778 | 12 |
fiaformula2.com/ARL/waw