Report
Théo Pourchaire ended the final day of in-season testing at Barcelona quickest of all with a 1:23.943, the best time across the three days.
The Frenchman recovered from an early spin to set the pace in a morning session predominantly focused on race simulations. In the afternoon, Roy Nissany led the way for PHM Racing by Charouz and remained fastest after rain fell late on in the final session of the week.
Here is how the final day of testing unfolded at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya.
MORNING
As quickly as the session started, the Red Flags waived for the first time after a spin for Pourchaire on cold tyres. Back underway and it was Enzo Fittipaldi who set the initial pace before Pourchaire put a time on the board good enough for P1. His 1:24.852 was the fastest lap in the opening half an hour of running.
The second Red Flag of the day came after Ralph Boschung went deep at Turn 5 and ran into the gravel. After the Campos Racing car was recovered, the session went back to green and Pourchaire lowered his fastest effort. He was the first driver into the 1:23s over the course of the three days, setting a 1:23.943 to extend his advantage at the top. His time remained unbeaten throughout the remainder of the session.
The order stayed relatively stable for the next hour with the focus on race runs. Ayumu Iwasa improved onto a 1:24.762, putting him third behind the ART duo of Pourchaire and Victor Martins.
Race simulations continued for the rest of the morning session, with Jack Doohan ending up with the most laps completed on 69, in what was a busy morning for Invicta Virtuosi Racing. Teammate Amaury Cordeel also logged the next best total with 68 to his name by the time the chequered flag fell.
AFTERNOON
Rain in between the morning and afternoon sessions meant there was no rush to get back out on track following the break. Roman Stanek led the way early on before Zane Maloney set a 1:37.435 to top the times after 45 minutes.
There was a Red Flag just before the hour mark after Iwasa stopped out on track in his DAMS. Back to green flag running with an hour and 50 minutes remaining of the test, Jak Crawford was first out on track and on slick tyres. The Hitech Pulse-Eight driver took the top spot briefly with consecutively quicker laps until Roy Nissany took over P1 on a 1:27.626 with just under an hour and a half to go. The PHM Racing by Charouz driver lowered his own benchmark to a 1:26.453 with a little over an hour to go.
Into the final 45 minutes the rain began to fall once again prompting everyone to return to the pits. With the track no longer at its best, several drivers logged more laps in the closing stages on wet tyres though there were no major changes in the order.
The action gets back underway next weekend with Round 5 at Imola, from May 19-21.
2023 FIA FORMULA 2 CHAMPIONSHIP - BARCELONA IN-SEASON TEST, DAY 3, MORNING SESSION
Position | Driver | Licence | Team | Time | Laps |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Théo Pourchaire | FRA | ART Grand Prix | 1:23.943 | 47 |
2 | Victor Martins | FRA | ART Grand Prix | 1:24.595 | 38 |
3 | Ayumu Iwasa | JPN | DAMS | 1:24.762 | 35 |
4 | Arthur Leclerc | MCO | DAMS | 1:24.851 | 52 |
5 | Kush Maini | IND | Campos Racing | 1:25.050 | 39 |
6 | Ralph Boschung | CHE | Campos Racing | 1:25.138 | 27 |
7 | Richard Verschoor | NLD | Van Amersfoort Racing | 1:25.346 | 61 |
8 | Roman Stanek | CZE | Trident | 1:25.539 | 40 |
9 | Juan Manuel Correa | USA | Van Amersfoort Racing | 1:25.819 | 58 |
10 | Dennis Hauger | NOR | MP Motorsport | 1:25.915 | 51 |
11 | Clément Novalak | FRA | Trident | 1:25.981 | 30 |
12 | Jehan Daruvala | IND | MP Motorsport | 1:26.237 | 51 |
13 | Enzo Fittipaldi | BRA | Rodin Carlin | 1:26.254 | 55 |
14 | Brad Benavides | USA | PHM Racing by Charouz | 1:26.346 | 59 |
15 | Zane Maloney | BRB | Rodin Carlin | 1:26.850 | 55 |
16 | Amaury Cordeel | BEL | Invicta Virtuosi Racing | 1:27.444 | 68 |
17 | Isack Hadjar | FRA | Hitech Pulse-Eight | 1:27.905 | 40 |
18 | Jak Crawford | USA | Hitech Pulse-Eight | 1:27.911 | 34 |
19 | Frederik Vesti | DAN | PREMA Racing | 1:28.628 | 41 |
20 | Roy Nissany | ISR | PHM Racing by Charouz | 1:28.926 | 58 |
21 | Jack Doohan | AUS | Invicta Virtuosi Racing | 1:29.276 | 69 |
22 | Oliver Bearman | GBR | PREMA Racing | 1:29.479 | 40 |
2023 FIA FORMULA 2 CHAMPIONSHIP - BARCELONA IN-SEASON TEST, DAY 2, AFTERNOON SESSION
Position | Driver | Licence | Team | Time | Laps |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Roy Nissany | ISR | PHM Racing by Charouz | 1:26.453 | 24 |
2 | Clément Novalak | FRA | Trident | 1:26.665 | 14 |
3 | Dennis Hauger | NOR | MP Motorsport | 1:27.892 | 14 |
4 | Isack Hadjar | FRA | Hitech Pulse-Eight | 1:28.420 | 38 |
5 | Zane Maloney | BRB | Rodin Carlin | 1:28.644 | 16 |
6 | Jehan Daruvala | IND | MP Motorsport | 1:29.135 | 8 |
7 | Brad Benavides | USA | PHM Racing by Charouz | 1:29.424 | 21 |
8 | Théo Pourchaire | FRA | ART Grand Prix | 1:29.578 | 12 |
9 | Jak Crawford | USA | Hitech Pulse-Eight | 1:29.689 | 43 |
10 | Frederik Vesti | DAN | PREMA Racing | 1:29.778 | 38 |
11 | Ayumu Iwasa | FRA | DAMS | 1:29.794 | 31 |
12 | Victor Martins | FRA | ART Grand Prix | 1:29.836 | 12 |
13 | Juan Manuel Correa | USA | Van Amersfoort Racing | 1:29.860 | 20 |
14 | Roman Stanek | CZE | Trident | 1:30.020 | 38 |
15 | Ralph Boschung | CHE | Campos Racing | 1:30.038 | 36 |
16 | Arthur Leclerc | MCO | DAMS | 1:30.850 | 35 |
17 | Richard Verschoor | NLD | Van Amersfoort Racing | 1:30.923 | 16 |
18 | Kush Maini | IND | Campos Racing | 1:31.319 | 26 |
19 | Jack Doohan | AUS | Invicta Virtuosi Racing | 1:35.317 | 9 |
20 | Enzo Fittipaldi | BRA | Rodin Carlin | 1:36.046 | 14 |
21 | Oliver Bearman | GBR | PREMA Racing | 1:38.877 | 30 |
22 | Amaury Cordeel | BEL | Invicta Virtuosi Racing | 1:40.261 | 5 |