PRACTICE: Iwasa gets up to speed in Red-Flagged Silverstone opener

DAMS’ Ayumu Iwasa kicked off Round 9 in style around Silverstone, laying down a 1:41.593 in the final minutes of a disrupted Free Practice to top the session by 0.060s from Victor Martins. The ART Grand Prix driver led throughout most of the session, as he and third-placed Jack Doohan traded fastest laps until Iwasa usurped them both.

Victor Martins got the first competitive lap of the day on the board after the opening 10 minutes. The ART Grand Prix driver’s 1:42.690 put him five-tenths ahead of Iwasa before improving further to a 1:42.067.

Having closed to within eight-thousandths of Martins, Doohan then took his turn in the top spot two-tenths clear of Théo Pourchaire and Rodin Carlin’s Enzo Fittipaldi.

Running was halted at the 24-minute mark. Juan Manuel Correa lost the rear of the #23 Van Amersfoort Racing Car, spinning off into the gravel at Copse and triggering a Red Flag.

The session resumed with just over 15 minutes remaining and Martins quickly took advantage to leapfrog teammate Pourchaire for P2. The Alpine junior wasn’t done there, improving onto a 1:41.653, before the Virtual Safety Car made an appearance. Dennis Hauger suffered a spin at Brooklands and couldn’t get his #1 MP Motorsport car restarted.

With the Virtual Safety Car ending with just five minutes left of the session, drivers quickly flooded out to set their flying laps. Iwasa had kept some life in his hard tyres to go 0.060s ahead of Martins with a 1:41.593 and the Japanese driver’s effort came not a moment too soon. Trident’s Clément Novalak spun off into the gravel at Stowe to bring out a second Red Flag and with only two minutes remaining, the session was not resumed.

Arthur Leclerc was another late improver to end up in fourth ahead of Fittipaldi and Jak Crawford. PREMA Racing’s Oliver Bearman got his home event off to a strong start in seventh ahead of Pourchaire, Richard Verschoor and Hauger, who rounded out the top 10.

The first points of the weekend are to play for when Qualifying gets underway at 15:05 local time.