INDIA in F1

Category: F2

  • Matsushita claims first F2 Feature Race win; Arjun Maini 15th

    Red Bull Ring, 29 June 2019: Nobuharu Matsushita claimed his first ever Feature Race win in FIA Formula 2, surging past Championship leader Nyck De Vries during a tantalizing final few laps at the Red Bull Ring. The Carlin driver hailed the victory as the best of his career over team radio, as he earned last season’s dominant force their maiden win of the campaign.
    On his return to F2, Indian racing talent Arjun Maini of Campos Racing finished 15th.
    The Japanese driver finished ahead of UNI-Virtuosi ace Luca Ghiotto, who followed him past De Vries. The Dutchman lost a further place to Sérgio Sette Câmara, but ended up on the podium when the DAMS’ driver was dropped to fifth after a five second time penalty was added.
    The race began in calmer circumstances with De Vries making a smooth start off the line to retain first place ahead of Anthoine Hubert. Guanyu Zhou quickly made an attempt on the Frenchman’s position, but ran out of track and swerved wide allowing Matsushita through to third.
    The Japanese racer was up to second a lap later with a successful assault on Hubert, but he then switched his attention to building a gap between himself and those behind him, ahead of his pit stop when he would switch the prime tyre.
    Tensions threatened to boil over further back when Sette Câmara’s attempts to pass teammate Nicholas Latifi ended with the Canadian getting thumped from behind and swung full circle. When he recovered, he had been dropped to P19 and the Brazilian was handed a five second time penalty for causing the collision.
    Those on the option tyres went for Soft rubber on lap 7, leaving Sean Gelael in first, with front five De Vries, Matsushita, Ghiotto, Zhou and Hubert amongst the drivers making the change. Zhou suffered a gearbox glitch upon his return and dropped down to 15th before he was able to get back up to speed.
    Seventeen seconds separated De Vries and the PREMA man out in front and the Dutchman’s charge began with an overtake on Ryan Tveter. Matsushita followed him through a lap later. Gelael was told to push harder over team radio, but by then the ART and Carlin men had already made their way past Patricio O’Ward and Tatiana Calderon for fourth and fifth, and were fast honing in.
    With Gelael unable to form a gap out in front, Nikita Mazepin took a stab at the race lead and passed the Indonesian. The PREMA man was then overtaken by De Vries, who had also just passed Arjun Maini. Gelael pitted and a slow stop saw him fall further down the grid.
    De Vries was joined by Matsushita and Ghiotto in the chase for first and was closing in on his teammate at the front of the field. The Russian still required a pit stop, but the Championship leader refused to wait and retook his place at the top of the pile. However, De Vries’ tyres had already taken a battering as the race headed into its final five laps.
    Sensing this, the duo behind him pounced at Turn 1 and the Championship leader was dragged back to third in dramatic circumstances, after both Matsushita and Ghiotto made their moves on him stick in one clean sweep.
    Having suffered earlier in the race, Zhou showed no slowdown in pace from the earlier issues, charging back through the pack to P6 thanks to a gritty recovery. Latifi also managed to dice his way through the field and re-enter to the points’ paying positions, but narrowly missed out on reverse grid pole as he finished in ninth behind the impressive Jordan King – who had started the race as far back as 15th.
    There was one final course of action when Sette Câmara endeavoured to make the most of his race, with the knowledge of an incoming five-second penalty. The Brazilian set the fastest lap with just one tour of the circuit to go and managed to slide past former race leader De Vries, who was still struggling with tyre degradation. De Vries reclaimed the position upon the chequered flag as Sette Câmara’s penalty saw him drop to fifth.
    Matsushita crossed the line in first, ahead of Ghiotto, who achieved his best finish since Barcelona. De Vries ran home in third, ahead of Hubert, with Sette Câmara in fifth, followed by Zhou, Louis Delétraz, King, Latifi and Jack Aitken.
    De Vries stretched his lead at the top of the standings to 140 points, 29 ahead of Latifi in second place. Sette Câmara climbs to third on 92 points ahead of Aitken on 86 and Ghiotto on 85. DAMS’ retain their position at the top of the Teams’ Championship on 203 points, 34 ahead of UNI-Virtuosi. ART Grand Prix are third with 146, ahead of Campos Racing on 116 and Carlin on 97.
    King will attempt to claim the top honours in tomorrow’s Sprint Race when he starts on reverse grid pole ahead of Louis Delétraz at 11am local time.
    2019 FIA Formula 2 Championship – Feature Race Classification
    DRIVER
    TEAM
    1
    Nobuharu Matsushita
    Carlin
    2
    Luca Ghiotto
    UNI-Virtuosi Racing
    3
    Nyck De Vries
    ART Grand Prix
    4
    Anthoine Hubert
    BWT Arden
    5
    Sergio Sette Camara
    DAMS
    6
    Guanyu Zhou
    UNI-Virtuosi Racing
    7
    Louis Deletraz
    Carlin
    8
    Jordan King
    MP Motorsport
    9
    Nicholas Latifi
    DAMS
    10
    Jack Aitken
    Campos Racing
    11
    Juan Manuel Correa
    Sauber Junior Team by Charouz
    12
    Nikita Mazepin
    ART Grand Prix
    13
    Giuliano Alesi
    Trident
    14
    Callum Ilott
    Sauber Junior Team by Charouz
    15
    Arjun Maini
    Campos Racing
    16
    Ryan Tveter
    Trident
    17
    Sean Gelael
    PREMA Racing
    18
    Tatiana Calderon
    BWT Arden
    19
    Mick Schumacher
    PREMA Racing
    20
    Patricio O’Ward
    MP Motorsport
    OVERALL FASTEST LAP
    Sergio Sette Camara (DAMS) – 1:18.209 on Lap 34
    FASTEST LAP ELIGIBLE FOR POINTS
    Sergio Sette Camara (DAMS)

  • De Vries wins in Le Castellet to take Championship lead; Mahaveer Raghunathan 12th: F2

    Nyck De Vries made light work of a fourth place start to make it three race wins from four and take the FIA Formula 2 Championship lead in France. The ART Grand Prix man’s hot streak of form continued in Le Castellet as he rose to first when the lights went and retained the position at the chequered flag, to finish ahead of poleman Sérgio Sette Câmara and Jack Aitken.
    The Dutchman made a superb move off the line to fly around the right of Guanyu Zhou and Sette Câmara ahead of the first corner. Aitken made an identical move down the left, but came out just behind his Championship rival in second, with both moves sticking going into Turn 1.
    Sette Câmara and Zhou were denied an immediate chance to react as a red flag swiftly brought a halt to proceedings after Sean Gelael caught the curb on T1 and sent his PREMA teammate Mick Schumacher soaring into the air and flying across the chicane, ending both of their races. Meanwhile, Nikita Mazepin and Ralph Boschung came to blows as well and stopped on track, which ended in retirement for both drivers. In the same chaotic period, a fifth retirement came in the shape of Dorian Boccolacci, whose home race ended in heartbreak when he stopped on track.
    When racing resumed De Vries held onto his position and left the Campos man behind him to battle with Sette Câmara. The front seven were all on the option tyre and it was the duo in P2 and P3 who ducked into the pits first, leaving De Vries to build up a lead for one more lap.
    When the Dutchman did pit, he came out behind Aitken, but any fears his strategy could cost him were swiftly alleviated by a stunning overtake on the mistral chicane. On the opposite strategy, Luca Ghiotto was handed P1 but building up a big enough lead to make it stick would be a mammoth ask.
    With the Italian attempting to increase his gap at the front, De Vries and Aitken were making their assault back up the field and fast gaining momentum, having both swept past Mahaveer Raghunathan.
    Meanwhile, behind them Callum Ilott pulled off what was arguably the move of the race, when he swept past Nicholas Latifi around the chicane. His hard work was all undone shortly after as he attempted to claim another position from Nobuharu Matsushita: the Briton got side-by-side with the Japanese driver but was forced to pull away when he ran out of track, hit the curb, and spun onto the gravel.
    Further risky moves ensued elsewhere on the field as Sette Câmara attempted to pass Aitken and like Ilott, ran out of track – he was forced to run over the chicane and would have to wait for his chance.
    Race leader Ghiotto managed to build up a 19s gap, but with tyre degradation and De Vries gaining momentum, the Dutchman began to take chunks out of this time. The UNI-Virtuosi man pitted with eight laps to go and returned in fifth, leaving just Jordan King – also yet to pit – ahead of De Vries.
    King eventually handed over P1, but a lightning fast pit stop from his MP Motorsport team returned him in 7th, having begun the race in 16th – an overtake on Luca Ghiotto, who had recently been passed by Latifi, later gained him a further place in P6. Shortly after, there was further disappointment for the Italian when Juan Manuel Correa caught his right tyre and slung him off the track, resulting in a retirement.
    With the obstacle of King’s MP Motorsport machine out of the way, De Vries quickly went about stretching his lead and soon held a 7s advantage over his rivals, which left Aitken and Sette Câmara to jostle over second and third. Aitken suffered a momentary wobble on Turn 8 and managed to recover and cling onto P2, however, the Brazilian was merely biding his time. The opportunity arose on the following lap and he flew past the Campos driver on the pit straight in a DRS powered move.
    It remained the same as they crossed the line, with De Vries claiming another win and the Championship lead, ahead of Sette Câmara, Aitken, Zhou, Latifi, King, Correa, Anthoine Hubert and Matsushita. Giuliano Alesi completed the top ten to score his first point in F2.
    De Vries now leads the standings, with 121 points, 16 ahead of Latifi in second place. Aitken is in third with 77, followed by Sette Câmara on 74 and Ghiotto on 67 points. DAMS lead the teams’ standings with 179 points, 46 points ahead of UNI-Virtuosi racing. ART Grant Prix are third with 127, ahead of Campos Racing on 107 and Carlin on 62.
    There will be a Frenchman on reverse grid pole in the Sprint Race when Hubert lines up at the front of the pack tomorrow, at 11.25am local time.
    2019 FIA Formula 2 – Round 5 Feature Race classification
    DRIVER
    TEAM
    1
    Nyck De Vries
    ART Grand Prix
    2
    Sergio Sette Camara
    DAMS
    3
    Jack Aitken
    Campos Racing
    4
    Guanyu Zhou
    UNI-Virtuosi Racing
    5
    Nicholas Latifi
    DAMS
    6
    Jordan King
    MP Motorsport
    7
    Juan Manuel Correa
    Sauber Junior Team by Charouz
    8
    Anthoine Hubert
    BWT Arden
    9
    Nobuharu Matsushita
    Carlin
    10
    Giuliano Alesi
    Trident
    11
    Tatiana Calderon
    BWT Arden
    12
    Mahaveer Raghunathan
    MP Motorsport
    NOT CLASSIFIED
    Luca Ghiotto
    UNI-Virtuosi Racing
    Louis Deletraz
    Carlin
    Callum Ilott
    Sauber Junior Team by Charouz
    Dorian Boccolacci
    Campos Racing
    Mick Schumacher
    PREMA Racing
    Sean Gelael
    PREMA Racing
    Ralph Boschung
    Trident
    Nikita Mazepin
    ART Grand Prix
    OVERALL FASTEST LAP
    Nyck de Vries (ART Grand Prix) – 1:44.584 on Lap 30
    FASTEST LAP ELIGIBLE FOR POINTS
    Nyck de Vries (ART Grand Prix)

  • Hubert holds on for photo finish victory; Mahaveer shunted out: F2

    Frenchman earns maiden F2 win on the streets of Monaco
    Monaco, 25 May 2019: Anthoine Hubert became the season’s first rookie winner by the finest of margins in the FIA Formula 2 Sprint Race at Monaco. The Frenchman survived a late onslaught from second placed Louis Delétraz whose front-wing was just inches behind the BWT Arden’s at the chequered flag. Fellow rookie Guanyu Zhou finished in third to claim his second podium in F2.
    Indian Mahaveer Raghunathan was shunted out after an unlucky incident.
    At the start of the race, Hubert, on a new set of Soft tyres, made a good getaway to retain the lead from Delétraz, while Zhou sailed around the outside of Artem Markelov into Turn 1 for P3. Also on fresher tyres, Ralph Boschung snuck into P7 ahead of yesterday’s Feature Race winner Nyck De Vries and Sérgio Sette Câmara. The safety car brought a brief stop to the racing after Luca Ghiotto made contact with Tatiana Calderon at Turn 5, which effectively ended the Colombian’s day.
    Racing resumed, but not for long: the Italian’s luckless weekend would continue when he entangled himself with Indian racer Mahaveer Raghunathan at the hairpin and ended both his own, and the MP Motorsport man’s race. The marshals were swift in clearing up the mess, but Hubert was even quicker – not only did he hold onto the lead at the restart, he went on to set the fastest lap.
    Despite his pace out in front, the 22-year-old had not been able to distance himself from the remainder of the front four and just 2.5s separated the quintet, who were all in search of their first F2 win.
    The title fight was then given a shake-up: mechanical issues forced Boschung into retirement, while Matsushita dropped to 9th, which elevated De Vries into P6 and handed him the Championship lead.
    Just over 10 laps remained and it all kicked off at the back: Sean Gelael failed to slow down at the Nouvelle Chicane and flung himself into the rear of Giuliano Alesi, which ended the Trident man’s race.
    The front four had pulled away from the Campos of Dorian Boccolacci in fifth, with a sturdy 10s gap, but out in front Hubert still couldn’t shake the unrelenting Carlin of Delétraz. Despite Zhou’s continued presence behind him, his eyes refused to leave the tail of the Renault Junior with little left to go.
    The Frenchman had been steadfast all race, but a momentary wobble on the final lap threatened to derail his race and he kissed the barrier. Delétraz had been gunning for this mistake, but was unable to capitalise and Hubert managed to steady his Arden and head for the chequered flag.
    The Renault Junior’s dalliances with the wall would have appeared to most as Delétraz’s final chance, but the Swiss had other ideas and attempted a daring lunge at the death. His Carlin cut around the outside of Hubert on the final straight and he edged to his left, but ended just inches behind when they crossed the line.
    Behind them, Zhou held on for third place in-front of Artem Markelov, Boccolacci, Sette Câmara, De Vries and Nikita Mazepin.
    Out of the points, but eligible for the fastest lap, Nicholas Latifi clawed further pace from his DAMS to snatch the quickest time at the death to remain on top of the Driver’s Championship on 95 points, followed by De Vries on 94 points. Ghiotto is in third on 67 points, ahead of Jack Aitken on 62 and Zhou on 54. In the Team’s standings, DAMS top the table with 147 points, 26 points ahead of UNI-Virtuosi Racing. ART Grand Prix are in third on 100 points, followed by Campos Racing on 92 and Carlin on 60.
    Racing will resume at the Circuit Paul Ricard in France in just under a month’s time, when Latifi and De Vries are sure to face up against one another once again.
    2019 FIA Formula 2 Championship – Monaco Sprint Race classification
    DRIVER
    TEAM
    1
    Anthoine Hubert
    BWT Arden
    2
    Louis Deletraz
    Carlin
    3
    Guanyu Zhou
    UNI-Virtuosi Racing
    4
    Artem Markelov
    MP Motorsport
    5
    Dorian Boccolacci
    Campos Racing
    6
    Sergio Sette Camara
    DAMS
    7
    Nyck De Vries
    ART Grand Prix
    8
    Nikita Mazepin
    ART Grand Prix
    9
    Nobuharu Matsushita
    Carlin
    10
    Nicholas Latifi
    DAMS
    11
    Mick Schumacher
    PREMA Racing
    12
    Juan Manuel Correa
    Sauber Junior Team by Charouz
    13
    Jack Aitken
    Campos Racing
    14
    Callum Ilott
    Sauber Junior Team by Charouz
    15
    Sean Gelael
    PREMA Racing
    NOT CLASSIFIED
    Giuliano Alesi
    Trident
    Ralph Boschung
    Trident
    Mahaveer Raghunathan
    MP Motorsport
    Luca Ghiotto
    UNI-Virtuosi Racing
    Tatiana Calderon
    BWT Arden
    OVERALL FASTEST LAP
    Sean Gelael (PREMA Racing) – 1:23.318 on Lap 27
    FASTEST LAP ELIGIBLE FOR POINTS
    Nicholas Latifi (DAMS) – 1:23.868 on Lap 30

  • De Vries seals back-to-back F2 wins in Monaco; Mahaveer Raghunathan 15th

    Monte Carlo (Monaco), 24 May 2019: There was no nip and tuck about Nyck De Vries’ victory in Monaco: the Dutch dynamo produced a flawless display to claim back-to-back FIA Formula 2 wins. The ART man led Luca Ghiotto from lights-to-flag, whilst Carlin’s Nobuharu Matsushita took third.
    Indian racer Mahaveer Raghunathan of MP Motorsport finished 15th.
    Callum Ilott suffered heartbreak after the formation lap: the Briton who was starting from P2 signalled an issue on the grid, which caused an aborted race start. He would later retire from the pits.
    Polesitter De Vries appeared to be in an entirely different race when the lights went out: the Dutchman was unopposed off the line without anyone in P2 and quickly collected a comfortable lead. Ilott’s retirement also left Mick Schumacher with a clear run when the lights went out, but a poor getaway from the German allowed Anthoine Hubert to lunge ahead.
    After his disappointing beginning, Schumacher would use the power of his PREMA to good effect and quickly reassumed his position in fourth thanks to a daring move on Hubert. On the option/prime strategy, the German was amongst the first drivers to switch to Soft compounds and would head the cars on the same strategy.
    At the front, Ghiotto set the fastest lap in his pursuit of De Vries, but to little effect as the race leader was still able to build a 3s gap to the Italian who also had to check his mirrors as Sérgio Sette Câmara remained close.
    De Vries’ race lead looked all the more lucrative given his Championship rival’s woes further back: Nicholas Latifi tried to make a move on Schumacher but made the jump too soon and attempted a tight move on the hairpin which resulted in a battered front wing, having found no room on the inside. This forced the Canadian into the pits and he re-joined in lowly 15th.
    Trying to stay ahead of Louis Delétraz who was on the same strategy as him, Schumacher was desperate to overtake Tatiana Calderon (on the prime/option strategy). The German attempted to squeeze between the Colombian and the barrier at La Rascasse, but the room wasn’t there and he caught her tyre and spun the BWT Arden car. Delétraz had nowhere to go and came to a halt behind and the trio blocked the track, bringing out a red flag.
    The cars were pushed back into the pits ahead of the race restart, which derailed De Vries’ dominance at the front. The Dutchman had built up a 6s lead over Ghiotto, but this was shattered and he would need to do it all over again. They both switched to new soft tyres in the pitlane, before De Vries who made light work of the restart and moseyed off back out in-front.
    Latifi began making inroads in his search for a points finish. However, his progress was short-lived – his move on Sean Gelael for P10 at La Rascasse came too early and he collected the rear of the PREMA which sent him into the wall, allowing Hubert to dive past them both. The Canadian was handed a drive-through penalty and Gelael forced into a front-wing change.
    Ghiotto was the first of the front three to dive into the pits and returned in third place. De Vries and Sette Câmara followed on the next lap. The Dutchman re-joined ahead of Ghiotto whilst the Brazilian slotted in just ahead of Matsushita who had pitted one lap earlier. On warmer tyres, the Japanese passed the DAMS car at Turn 5, claiming third place along the way.
    With just five laps to go, drama returned to the streets of Monaco: Mahaveer Raghunathan appeared to hit the brakes late and jerked the back of Jack Aitken, which shunted his Campos into the barrier. Simultaneously, Juan Manuel Correa lost control and smashed into the wall at the swimming pool. The Safety Car came out bunching the cars at the front.
    At the restart with only one lap to go, De Vries would not be denied what felt rightfully his: he remained calm and collected to stay ahead of the pack and take the chequered flag first. Ghiotto settled for second as Matsushita returned to the podium with third place. Sette Câmara finished fourth ahead of Dorian Boccolacci, Guanyu Zhou, Artem Markelov, Delétraz, Hubert and Ralph Boschung.
    Starting from reverse grid pole, Delétraz will hope to be the second Carlin of the weekend to enjoy the podium, when racing resumes at 5.15pm local time.
    2019 FIA Formula 2 – Monaco Feature Race classification
    DRIVER
    TEAM
    1
    Nyck De Vries
    ART Grand Prix
    2
    Luca Ghiotto
    UNI-Virtuosi Racing
    3
    Nobuharu Matsushita
    Carlin
    4
    Sérgio Sette Câmara
    DAMS
    5
    Dorian Boccolacci
    Campos Racing
    6
    Guanyu Zhou
    UNI-Virtuosi Racing
    7
    Artem Markelov
    MP Motorsport
    8
    Louis Delétraz
    Carlin
    9
    Anthoine Hubert
    BWT Arden
    10
    Ralph Boschung
    Trident
    11
    Nikita Mazepin
    ART Grand Prix
    12
    Giuliano Alesi
    Trident
    13
    Nicholas Latifi
    DAMS
    14
    Mick Schumacher
    PREMA Racing
    15
    Mahaveer Raghunathan
    MP Motorsport
    16
    Tatiana Calderon
    BWT Arden
    17
    Juan Manuel Correa
    Sauber Junior Team by Charouz
    18
    Jack Aitken
    Campos Racing
    NOT CLASSIFIED
    Sean Gelael
    PREMA Racing
    Callum Ilott
    Sauber Junior Team by Charouz
    OVERALL FASTEST LAP
    Nobuharu Matsushita (Carlin) – 1:22.243 on Lap 38

  • Latifi seals Feature Race win, extends lead; Mahaveer 16th: F2

    Barcelona, 11 May 2019: Nicholas Latifi finished first and gained further ground on his Championship rivals as a carefully plotted attack came to fruition in the final laps of the FIA Formula 2 Feature Race in Barcelona, Spain. The DAMS driver saved his rubber to steal a potential win from the clutches of UNI-Virtuosi rookie Guanyu Zhou at the end, who finished in third behind Campos Racing’s Jack Aitken, who also passed him late on.
    Zhou’s teammate Luca Ghiotto had dominated the weekend up until the race but was forced to claw his way to fourth place from last with a momentous drive, following a sorry start to a race that he had begun on pole position.
    The Italian made a poor getaway from P1 and was instantly overtaken by his teammate after the lights went out. The Chinese driver flew through the middle of the front row, overtaking both Ghiotto and Latifi on his way to the race lead.
    Ghiotto lost another position to Nyck De Vries and his afternoon was worsened by the side of Dorian Boccolacci’s Campos when the Frenchman made an attempt down the inside of those behind the Italian driver, but instead collided with the front-wing of the Ghiotto’s car. This forced the UNI-Virtuosi man back to the pits and saw him plummet to last.
    The safety car had clocked up significant mileage last time out in Baku, but would enjoy it’s only outing early on in the race when Giuliano Alesi spun off track and beached himself on the gravel. Zhou held his nerve at the restart and retained the lead, albeit with a slender gap of just 0.7s.
    With the majority of the drivers heading into the pits for Prime tyres, Jordan King was on an alternate strategy and took advantage of an emptying track to slide past Sean Gelael for P4, while Ralph Boschung was handed the lead as Jack Aitken pitted to take on the soft tyre.
    After their mandatory pit stop, Zhou, Latifi and De Vries were beginning to close in on the top six, who were all on the alternate strategy and yet to change. Mahaveer Raghunathan was first to make way as Zhou eased passed the MP Motorsport rookie down the main straight, with Latifi following suit a lap later.
    Further up the field, Anthoine Hubert – on the Prime/Option strategy – was closing in on Boschung in the chase for P1 and would eventually blister past the Trident man down the lengthy main straight. King would claim second a lap later with a near identical move on the Swiss driver.
    While Zhou was being forced to fight off the experience of Latifi in behind, his teammate was laying the groundwork for a points finish, having already risen to 11th, while also setting the fastest lap so far.
    Latifi had already eyed up a move on the Chinese driver in third, with Hubert and King still yet to pit, before the DAMS racer was told over team radio that he would be fighting with Zhou for the win. With this, the battle intensified and he took a tow from the Renault driver before sling-shotting around him down the main straight.
    With this, Hubert and King finally pitted, awarding Latifi the race lead for the first time, and immediately started to build a gap between himself and Zhou, who was then under siege from Aitken. The British driver failed to take the rookie at the first attempt, but would make his move stick on the next lap of the course to seal P2.
    While one UNI-Virtuosi machine had lost a positon, the other was fast gaining and Ghiotto had somehow made it up to fourth place from last, despite having to pit twice. It would finish like this, with Latifi sealing victory, followed by early-season Championship rival Aitken.  Zhou would complete the podium, in-front of Ghiotto, De Vries, Hubert and King who started from P15 and P16 respectively while Callum Ilott secured reverse grid pole and his first points of the season in eighth place. Gelael and Boschung pocketed the remaining available points with ninth and tenth.
    Ilott will look to make a statement of his own in tomorrow’s Sprint Race, while Aitken and Ghiotto will endeavour to close the gap between themselves and Latifi, when the sprint race begins tomorrow at 11.30am local time.
    2019 FIA Formula 2 Round 3 – Feature Race Classification
    DRIVER
    TEAM
    1
    Nicholas Latifi
    DAMS
    2
    Jack Aitken
    Campos Racing
    3
    Guanyu Zhou
    UNI-Virtuosi Racing
    4
    Luca Ghiotto
    UNI-Virtuosi Racing
    5
    Nyck De Vries
    ART Grand Prix
    6
    Anthoine Hubert
    BWT Arden
    7
    Jordan King
    MP Motorsport
    8
    Callum Ilott
    Sauber Junior Team by Charouz
    9
    Sean Gelael
    PREMA Racing
    10
    Ralph Boschung
    Trident
    11
    Nobuharu Matsushita
    Carlin
    12
    Louis Delétraz
    Carlin
    13
    Tatiana Calderon
    BWT Arden
    14
    Dorian Boccolacci
    Campos Racing
    15
    Mick Schumacher
    PREMA Racing
    16
    Mahaveer Raghunathan
    MP Motorsport
    17
    Nikita Mazepin
    ART Grand Prix
    NOT CLASSIFIED
    Sérgio Sette Câmara
    DAMS
    Juan Manuel Correa
    Sauber Junior Team by Charouz
    Giuliano Alesi
    Trident
    OVERALL FASTEST LAP
    Jordan King (MP Motorsport) – 1:32.266 on Lap 35
    FASTEST LAP ELIGIBLE FOR POINTS
    Jordan King (MP Motorsport)

  • Aitken asserts his ability with first F2 Feature Race win; Mahaveer Raghunathan 11th

    Campos driver climbs seven places to seal Feature Race win in Baku 
    Baku, 27 April 2019: Jack Aitken proved unflappable as he sealed his first ever FIA Formula 2 Feature Race win in chaotic circumstances, at Baku, Azerbaijan. The Campos driver remained composed and surged through the pack, to steer clear of the drama playing out behind him, finishing ahead of ART Grand Prix’s Nyck De Vries and MP Motorsport’s Jordan King.
    Indian driver Mahaveer Raghunathan of MP Motorsport finished 11th.
    Aitken laid the foundations for his win from the start, on a dry and sunny afternoon at the Baku City Circuit. The Brit started from eighth on the grid, but flew to third on Turn 1, slaloming around his competitors. Also on the up was Dutchman De Vries, who flashed in-front of polesitter Nobuharu Matsushita at the start.
    Chaos played out behind them, as the Trident drivers collided, forcing Giuliano Alesi into an early retirement. Louis Delétraz had done well to weave through the collision, but Callum Ilott wasn’t as lucky. He was forced into a front wing change, having been caught up in the crash.
    The Safety Car was deployed and when the track was clear, the race resumed with De Vries keeping the lead. Matsushita then suffered further frustration as issues with his car saw him plummet down the grid, before pitting.  He eventually returned but was already a lap behind the rest of the racers.
    Aitken’s first sight of the race lead was handed to him by De Vries, after the ART Grand Prix driver fell foul to a slow pit stop. Tatiana Calderon was the only driver to opt for the alternate strategy and the Colombian led the way after the rest of the cars pitted. The safety car was deployed once more to clean up Mick Schumacher’s PREMA Racing car, after he had spun to a stop in sector 3.
    Aitken was back on top after he passed Calderon who lost further places to drivers on fresher tyres. The Campos driver was fast being chased by De Vries, who had squeezed past Nicholas Latifi for P2. Further back, King was on the attack and had already stolen P8 from Anthoine Hubert, when Dorian Boccolacci went wide on the final corner, to gift him P7.
    The front three were in a league of their own at the front and race leader Aitken had built up a healthy gap to De Vries, but a third safety car period after Guanyu Zhou had slammed into the barrier after getting too close to the back of Juan Manuel Correa reduced that gap to almost nothing.
    With the safety car still out there, Calderon slowed to a stop down the main straight, with the BWT Arden team ready for her to pit. Further chaos ensued after the Safety Car came in and the race restart was aborted when two more cars were lost: Sérgio Sette Câmara spun on track and was forced to clamber out of his car, while, further behind him Louis Delétraz made contact with the back of Boccolacci and was out of his car too.
    Sean Gelael had taken advantage of the turmoil on track to finish off his ascent from the back of the grid. The PREMA man had started P19, but by the time racing resumed, he was up to seventh.
    King soared around Latifi at the restart, with Aitken looking to re-increase the gap between himself and second placed De Vries. The Dutchman briefly got to within touching distance of DRS range with just a minute to go, but the Brit found further speed from his Campos and couldn’t be touched by the ART driver at the chequered flag. Behind them, King kept his place in third, for his first ever F2 podium. Also in the points were Latifi, Boccolacci, Luca Ghiotto, Gelael, Correa, Nikita Mazepin and Anthoine Hubert.
    Racing will recommence tomorrow in the Sprint Race, as Juan Manuel Correa starts on pole in the reverse place grid, with further drama almost a certainty on this unpredictable Baku City Circuit.
    2019 FIA Formula 2 Championship – Baku Feature Race Provisional Classification
    DRIVER
    TEAM
    1
    Jack Aitken
    Campos Racing
    2
    Nyck de Vries
    ART Grand Prix
    3
    Jordan King
    MP Motorsport
    4
    Nicholas Latifi
    DAMS
    5
    Dorian Boccolacci
    Campos Racing
    6
    Luca Ghiotto
    UNI-Virtuosi Racing
    7
    Sean Gelael
    PREMA Racing
    8
    Juan Manuel Correa
    Sauber Junior Racing by Charouz
    9
    Nikita Mazepin
    ART Grand Prix
    10
    Anthoine Hubert
    BWT Arden
    11
    Mahaveer Raghunathan
    MP Motorsport
    12
    Ralph Boschung
    Trident
    13
    Nobuharu Matsushita
    Carlin
    NOT CLASSIFIED
    Sérgio Sette Câmara
    DAMS
    Louis Delétraz
    Carlin
    Callum Ilott
    Sauber Junior Racing by Charouz
    Tatiana Calderon
    BWT Arden
    Guanyu Zhou
    UNI-Virtuosi Racing
    Mick Schumacher
    PREMA Racing
    Giuliano Alesi
    Trident
    OVERALL FASTEST LAP
    Nobuharu Matsushita – 1:56.778 – Lap 25
    FASTEST LAP ELIGIBLE FOR POINTS
    Jack Aitken (Campos Racing)

  • Ghiotto fires to Bahrain pole; Mahaveer fumbles to last on grid: F2

    Italian tops qualifying on UNI-Virtuosi debut
    Sakhir, 29 March 2019: Luca Ghiotto has claimed the first points of the 2019 FIA Formula 2 Championship season with a storming lap in the closing stages of this afternoon’s qualifying session at the Bahrain International Circuit in Sakhir, holding his nerve while his rivals pushed early to claim pole by almost four tenths from of Louis Delétraz and Nyck de Vries.
    The Italian held tight to his plan despite a mid-session red flag messing up everyone’s timings: Ghiotto waited until late in the session before posting a 1:40.504 flyer with just 2 minutes remaining, and his rivals had no rubber left with which to compete.
    The temperature was still high despite the setting sun as the green lights lit to release the drivers, with Delétraz setting the early running before DAMS teammates Sergio Sette Câmara and Nicholas Latifi usurped the Swiss driver at the top of the timesheets. The fight was brought to an early end when Callum Ilott lost his car and found the barriers, prompting a red flag period while the marshals cleared up the mess.
    Most of the drivers returned to the pits earlier than intended, potentially missing out on some improved times but also prompting a rethink on qualifying strategy: with longer than usual left on the clock, should they head out early and use a clearer track, or stay in and stick to the plan?
    The DAMS pair decided a change was as good as a holiday, with the Brazilian the first driver on track when the green lights returned, but on his first push lap he had a big moment at turn 1 and had to abort the lap, while behind him Latifi set the pace to grab provisional pole from his teammate by half a second.
    Jack Aitken was soon in P2, with Sette Câmara closing in behind him on worn tyres, and then it was time for those who waited: de Vries sliced off a tenth from Latifi, with Delétraz shaving it even finer, but there was no denying Ghiotto, who topped the tricky middle sector to claim the top spot.
    Latifi and Aitken led the best of the rest ahead of Nobuharu Matsushita, Sean Gelael, Sette Câmara, Ralph Boschung and Mick Schumacher, who were all within a second of pole and will be looking for more in tomorrow afternoon’s feature race in Bahrain.
    2019 FIA Formula 2 Championship Round 1 Qualifying session: Sakhir, Bahrain
    DRIVER
    TEAM
    LAPTIME
    LAPS
    1
    Luca Ghiotto
    UNI-Virtuosi Racing
    1:40.504
    9
    2
    Louis Delétraz
    Carlin
    1:40.871
    9
    3
    Nyck De Vries
    ART Grand Prix
    1:40.889
    9
    4
    Nicholas Latifi
    DAMS
    1:40.964
    9
    5
    Jack Aitken
    Campos Racing
    1:41.115
    9
    6
    Nobuharu Matsushita
    Carlin
    1:41.137
    9
    7
    Sean Gelael
    PREMA Racing
    1:41.254
    8
    8
    Sérgio Sette Câmara
    DAMS
    1:41.310
    11
    9
    Ralph Boschung
    Trident
    1:41.505
    9
    10
    Mick Schumacher
    PREMA Racing
    1:41.583
    8
    11
    Anthoine Hubert
    BWT Arden
    1:41.596
    9
    12
    Juan Manuel Correa
    Sauber Junior Team by Charouz
    1:41.722
    10
    13
    Nikita Mazepin
    ART Grand Prix
    1:41.848
    9
    14
    Jordan King
    MP Motorsport
    1:41.857
    9
    15
    Giuliano Alesi
    Trident
    1:41.864
    9
    16
    Dorian Boccolacci
    Campos Racing
    1:41.918
    9
    17
    Guanyu Zhou
    UNI-Virtuosi Racing
    1:42.123
    8
    18
    Callum Ilott
    Sauber Junior Team by Charouz
    1:42.280
    5
    19
    Tatiana Calderon
    BWT Arden
    1:42.810
    9
    20
    Mahaveer Raghunathan
    MP Motorsport
    1:43.343
    10
  • Mahaveer Raghunathan logs in a creditable 7th on Day 2; puts in another 59 laps on final day

    Mahaveer Raghunathan logs in a creditable 7th on Day 2; puts in another 59 laps on final day

    Juan Manuel Correa (Sauber Junior Team by Charouz) tops final session on Day 3. An F2 image

    Barcelona, 7 March 2019: Nyck de Vries has once again topped the timesheets in the final day of the FIA Formula 2 pre-season testing at the Circuit de Barcelona. The ART Grand Prix driver set a laptime of 1:27.024 in the morning session to head Luca Ghiotto and Louis Delétraz. In the afternoon, Juan Manuel Correa was quickest.

    Earlier on Day 2, Indian racer Mahaveer Raghunathan of MP Motorsport put in 39 laps and logged in a creditable seventh fastest time. After learning the nuances of motorsport in karting, Mahaveer graduated to Formula cars in 2012 by competing in the JK Racing Asia Series. In 2013, he drove in the MRF Challenge Formula 1600. He also participated in three races of the Chinese Formula Masters. In 2014, Mahaveer moved to Europe and joined F&M in the Italian Formula 4 Championship. In 2015, he participated in the European Formula 3 championship for Motopark Academy. The 2016 season was his most productive with second overall finish in the Auto GP racing for Coloni’s Italian team PS Racing. At the end of the season, he weighed various options and even tested GP2 cars in Abu Dhabi. In 2017, he won the BOSS GP-Formula Class Championship with the Italian Team Coloni Racing securing 13 podiums out of 14 races and ended the season as Champion.
    Coming back to F2 testing, the studious afternoon was halted only once: forty minutes into the session Nikita Mazepin span and stopped at Turn 4. In the closing stages, Ralph Boschung dipped under 1m29s to go top ahead of Roberto Merhi who also improved with less than 20 minutes left on the clock.
    At te chequered flag, behind Boschung and Merhi, Matsuhita, Correa, Delétraz, Ilott, Raghunathan, Anthoine Hubert, Aitken and Gelael completed the top ten.
    Day 3 of testing opened in sunny conditions. Nicholas Latifi was the first driver to hit the track whilst de Vries set the early pace ahead of Ghiotto. The Dutchman improved further to set a time of 1:27.576 in the first half hour of the running. Carlin’s drivers Delétraz and Nobuharu Matsushita also broke the 1m28s barrier to move up to second and third respectively.
    The drivers switched from Medium to Soft tyres and Ghiotto went top in a 1:27.263 whilst teammate Guanyu Zhou moved up to second (+0.191s). De Vries also found some extra pace to clock in a blazing laptime of 1:27.024 as Delétraz went third quickest behind Ghiotto.
    Just before the midway point, the man of the day de Vries spun and stopped at Turn 2 bringing out a red flag. The remainder of the session was dedicated to race simulations and pit stop practices. At the chequered flag the top 3 remained unchanged. Zhou, Matsushita, Nikita Mazepin, Jack Aitken, Sérgio Sette Câmara, Sean Gelael and Ralph Boschung rounded up the top 10.
    After a one-hour break, the pit lane re-opened. Delétraz was the first man back on track ten minutes later. Soon after that Roberto Merhi signed the quickest laptime to sit pretty at the top of the timesheets ahead of Tatiana Calderon and Boschung.
    It was a studious afternoon for the teams and the drivers who once again focused on long runs. Twenty minutes before the chequered flag, Correa went fastest by three tenths over Merhi. Calderon ended third ahead of Boschung, Richard Verschoor (who replaced Jordan King at MP Motorsport today), Sette Câmara, Matsushita, Gelael, Aitken and Latifi.
    This concluded the pre-season testing for the FIA Formula 2 Championship. It’s time for the teams to pack up and get ready for the first Round of the 2019 season which will kick off at the Bahrain International circuit on March 29-31.
    FIA Formula 2 Barcelona Test – Day 3 Morning Session
    DRIVER
    TEAM
    LAPTIME
    LAPS
    1
    Nyck de Vries
    ART Grand Prix
    1:27.024
    24
    2
    Luca Ghiotto
    UNI Virtuosi
    1:27.263
    29
    3
    Louis Delétraz
    Carlin
    1:27.421
    23
    4
    Guanyu Zhou
    UNI Virtuosi
    1:27.454
    30
    5
    Nobuharu Matsushita
    Carlin
    1:27.585
    30
    6
    Nikita Mazepin
    ART Grand Prix
    1:27.731
    38
    7
    Jack Aitken
    Campos Racing
    1:27.817
    23
    8
    Sérgio Sette Câmara
    DAMS
    1:27.821
    29
    9
    Sean Gelael
    PREMA Racing
    1:27.959
    38
    10
    Ralph Boschung
    Trident
    1:27.960
    43
    11
    Mick Schumacher
    PREMA Racing
    1:28.022
    51
    12
    Callum Ilott
    Sauber Junior Team by Charouz
    1:28.022
    49
    13
    Roberto Merhi
    Campos Racing
    1:28.209
    27
    14
    Juan Manuel Correa
    Sauber Junior Team by Charouz
    1:28.424
    26
    15
    Nicholas Latifi
    DAMS
    1:28.463
    39
    16
    Giuliano Alesi
    Trident
    1:28.782
    52
    17
    Anthoine Hubert
    BWT Arden
    1:28.856
    31
    18
    Richard Verchoor
    MP Motorsport
    1:28.892
    36
    19
    Mahaveer Raghunathan
    MP Motorsport
    1:29.955
    26
    20
    Tatiana Calderon
    BWT Arden
    1:30.503
    19
    FIA Formula 2 Barcelona Test – Day 3 Afternoon Session
    DRIVER
    TEAM
    LAPTIME
    LAPS
    1
    Juan Manuel Correa
    Sauber Junior Team by Charouz
    1:30.095
    49
    2
    Roberto Merhi
    Campos Racing
    1:30.441
    43
    3
    Tatiana Calderon
    BWT Arden
    1:30.508
    57
    4
    Ralph Boschung
    Trident
    1:32.768
    49
    5
    Richard Verchoor
    MP Motorsport
    1:33.039
    44
    6
    Sérgio Sette Câmara
    DAMS
    1:34.374
    46
    7
    Nobuharu Matsushita
    Carlin
    1:34.403
    57
    8
    Sean Gelael
    PREMA Racing
    1:34.433
    54
    9
    Jack Aitken
    Campos Racing
    1:34.551
    47
    10
    Nicholas Latifi
    DAMS
    1:34.687
    64
    11
    Nyck de Vries
    ART Grand Prix
    1:34.712
    58
    12
    Louis Delétraz
    Carlin
    1:34.784
    52
    13
    Guanyu Zhou
    UNI Virtuosi
    1:34.817
    44
    14
    Luca Ghiotto
    UNI Virtuosi
    1:35.048
    56
    15
    Nikita Mazepin
    ART Grand Prix
    1:35.050
    58
    16
    Giuliano Alesi
    Trident
    1:35.083
    47
    17
    Anthoine Hubert
    BWT Arden
    1:35.238
    59
    18
    Mahaveer Raghunathan
    MP Motorsport
    1:35.554
    33
    19
    Mick Schumacher
    PREMA Racing
    1:35.879
    63
    20
    Callum Ilott
    Sauber Junior Team by Charouz
    1:36.055
    39
    FIA Formula 2 Barcelona Test – Day 1 Morning Session
    DRIVER
    TEAM
    LAPTIME
    LAPS
    1
    Sérgio Sette Camâra
    DAMS
    1:27.392
    34
    2
    Nyck de Vries
    ART Grand Prix
    1:27.507
    41
    3
    Guanyu Zhou
    UNI Virtuosi
    1:27.562
    43
    4
    Louis Delétraz
    Carlin
    1:27.620
    30
    5
    Luca Ghiotto
    UNI Virtuosi
    1:27.922
    34
    6
    Mick Schumacher
    PREMA Racing
    1:28.024
    32
    7
    Nicholas Latifi
    DAMS
    1:28.139
    31
    8
    Callum Ilott
    Sauber Junior Team by Charouz
    1:28.151
    13
    9
    Nobuharu Matsushita
    Carlin
    1:28.163
    29
    10
    Sean Gelael
    PREMA Racing
    1:28.243
    23
    11
    Jack Aitken
    Campos Racing
    1:28.270
    20
    12
    Jordan King
    MP Motorsport
    1:28.299
    23
    13
    Juan Manuel Correa
    Sauber Junior Team by Charouz
    1:28.493
    35
    14
    Nikita Mazepin
    ART Grand Prix
    1:28.529
    41
    15
    Ralph Boschung
    Trident
    1:28.652
    29
    16
    Roberto Merhi
    Campos Racing
    1:28.743
    22
    17
    Anthoine Hubert
    BWT Arden
    1:28.913
    30
    18
    Giuliano Alesi
    Trident
    1:28.988
    49
    19
    Tatiana Calderon
    BWT Arden
    1:29.682
    32
    20
    Mahaveer Raghunathan
    MP Motorsport
    1:29.828
    25
    FIA Formula 2 Barcelona Test – Day 2 Afternoon Session
    DRIVER
    TEAM
    LAPTIME
    LAPS
    1
    Ralph Boschung
    Trident
    1:28.789
    27
    2
    Roberto Merhi
    Campos Racing
    1:29.183
    31
    3
    Nobuharu Matsushita
    Carlin
    1:29.476
    37
    4
    Juan Manuel Correa
    Sauber Junior Team by Charouz
    1:29.555
    45
    5
    Louis Delétraz
    Carlin
    1:29.841
    41
    6
    Callum Ilott
    Sauber Junior Team by Charouz
    1:30.759
    44
    7
    Mahaveer Raghunathan
    MP Motorsport
    1:31.232
    39
    8
    Anthoine Hubert
    BWT Arden
    1:31.448
    41
    9
    Jack Aitken
    Campos Racing
    1:32.068
    55
    10
    Sean Gelael
    PREMA Racing
    1:32.608
    64
    11
    Jordan King
    MP Motorsport
    1:32.947
    31
    12
    Nikita Mazepin
    ART Grand Prix
    1:33.158
    54
    13
    Guanyu Zhou
    UNI Virtuosi
    1:34.454
    47
    14
    Nicholas Latifi
    DAMS
    1:34.575
    55
    15
    Giuliano Alesi
    Trident
    1:34.644
    35
    16
    Nyck de Vries
    ART Grand Prix
    1:34.656
    53
    17
    Luca Ghiotto
    UNI Virtuosi
    1:34.869
    32
    18
    Sérgio Sette Câmara
    DAMS
    1:35.354
    52
    19
    Mick Schumacher
    PREMA Racing
    1:35.624
    13
    20
    Tatiana Calderon
    BWT Arden
    1:36.525
    29
  • Mahaveer Raghunathan puts in 53 laps on Day 1 of Second Test: Formula 2

    Mahaveer Raghunathan puts in 53 laps on Day 1 of Second Test: Formula 2

    Nyck Vries tops Day 1 on 6th March 2019. An F2 image

    Barcelona, 6 March 2019: Nyck de Vries set the quickest laptime on the opening day of the second FIA Formula 2 pre-season testing at Barcelona. The Dutchman from ART Grand Prix set a time of 1:28.655 in the afternoon session to lead the way ahead of DAMS’ Sérgio Sette Câmara and rookie Nikita Mazepin.

    The only Indian racer Mahaveer Raghunathan of MP Motorsport was 18th fastest in the morning and improved to 16th in the afternoon session. He did 26 laps in the morning and added 27 more in the post-lunch session to gain some useful information for the team.
    The pit lane opened at 9.30 local time under grey skies. Both Trident cars hit the track first with Giuliano Alesi leading Ralph Boschung. There was an early red flag a few minutes into the session after MP Motorsport’s Mahaveer Raghunathan stopped on track at Turn 7. The proceedings were halted once more shortly after the re-start so that the marshals could clean the pit lane.
    One hour into the session, Raghunathan was the only driver who had set a laptime until his teammate Jordan King found some pace to dip under 1m30s. Carlin’s Louis Delétraz went top in a 1:28.919, heading teammate Nobuharu Matsushita by +0.804s, but de Vries went quickest just before the two-hour mark in a 1:28.821 as Luca Ghiotto slotted in P2 (+0.048s).
    At the chequered flag de Vries sat pretty at the top of the standings ahead of Ghiotto and Delétraz. Jack Aitken was fourth ahead of Mazepin, Nicholas Latifi, Matsushita , Alesi, Sette Câmara and Guanyu Zhou.
    After a two-hour lunch break, the action resumed under blue skies. The ART pair of de Vries and Mazepin were the first to take to the track, but it was Ghiotto who set the early pace in a 1:29.176. The afternoon session was dedicated to race simulations and pit stop practice. Campos’ Roberto Merhi brought out a first red flag on the one-hour mark after he stopped at Turn 2.
    At the re-start, Juan Manuel Correa placed his Sauber Junior Team by Charouz car on P2 but de Vries bettered the American’s time by three tenths. On his next effort, the Dutchman was able to go top whilst teammate Mazepin also set a personal best to move up to second.
    In the opening of the final hour, Mick Schumacher claimed the top spot in a 1:28.866 and remained unchallenged until fifteen minutes before the end of the session: de Vries reclaimed P1 as Sette Câmara moved up to P2 to edge Schumacher. Mazepin also improved to take third in the closing stages.
    Five minutes before the chequered flag Raghunathan stopped at Turn 8 bringing out one final Red Flag. The session was not restarted. Behind the top three, Schumacher, Ghiotto, Zhou, Sean Gelael, Boschung, Correa and Aitken completed the top ten.
    Day 2 will kick off tomorrow at 9.00 local time.
    FIA Formula 2 Barcelona Test – Day 1 Morning Session
    DRIVER
    TEAM
    LAPTIME
    LAPS
    1
    Nyck de Vries
    ART Grand Prix
    1:28.821
    18
    2
    Luca Ghiotto
    UNI Virtuosi
    1:28.869
    16
    3
    Louis Delétraz
    Carlin
    1:28.875
    31
    4
    Jack Aitken
    Campos Racing
    1:28.928
    21
    5
    Nikita Mazepin
    ART Grand Prix
    1:29.107
    17
    6
    Nicholas Latifi
    DAMS
    1:29.343
    30
    7
    Nobuharu Matsushita
    Carlin
    1:29.413
    32
    8
    Giuliano Alesi
    Trident
    1:29.492
    23
    9
    Sérgio Sette Câmara
    DAMS
    1:29.555
    20
    10
    Guanyu Zhou
    UNI Virtuosi
    1:29.589
    13
    11
    Ralph Boschung
    Trident
    1:29.708
    26
    12
    Anthoine Hubert
    BWT Arden
    1:29.709
    18
    13
    Jordan King
    MP Motorsport
    1:29.743
    23
    14
    Roberto Merhi
    Campos Racing
    1:29.752
    35
    15
    Callum Ilott
    Sauber Junior Team by Charouz
    1:29.796
    15
    16
    Juan Manuel Correa
    Sauber Junior Team by Charouz
    1:30.000
    16
    17
    Tatiana Calderon
    BWT Arden
    1:30.773
    22
    18
    Mahaveer Raghunathan
    MP Motorsport
    1:34.373
    26
    19
    Mick Schumacher
    PREMA Racing
    —
    30
    20
    Sean Gelael
    PREMA Racing
    —
    32
    FIA Formula 2 Barcelona Test – Day 1 Afternoon Session
    DRIVER
    TEAM
    LAPTIME
    LAPS
    1
    Nyck de Vries
    ART Grand Prix
    1:28.655
    37
    2
    Sérgio Sette Câmara
    DAMS
    1:28.772
    31
    3
    Nikita Mazepin
    ART Grand Prix
    1:28.829
    43
    4
    Mick Schumacher
    PREMA Racing
    1:28.886
    29
    5
    Luca Ghiotto
    UNI Virtuosi
    1:28.993
    33
    6
    Guanyu Zhou
    UNI Virtuosi
    1:29.070
    27
    7
    Sean Gelael
    PREMA Racing
    1:29.180
    28
    8
    Ralph Boschung
    Trident
    1:29.249
    32
    9
    Juan Manuel Correa
    Sauber Junior Team by Charouz
    1:29.391
    27
    10
    Jack Aitken
    Campos Racing
    1:29.459
    63
    11
    Callum Ilott
    Sauber Junior Team by Charouz
    1:29.776
    29
    12
    Anthoine Hubert
    BWT Arden
    1:29.848
    37
    13
    Jordan King
    MP Motorsport
    1:29.952
    19
    14
    Giuliano Alesi
    Trident
    1:30.169
    34
    15
    Tatiana Calderon
    BWT Arden
    1:30.185
    31
    16
    Mahaveer Raghunathan
    MP Motorsport
    1:31.639
    27
    17
    Louis Delétraz
    Carlin
    1:34.850
    43
    18
    Nobuharu Matsushita
    Carlin
    1:35.235
    34
    19
    Nicholas Latifi
    DAMS
    1:35.290
    36
    20
    Roberto Merhi
    Campos Racing
    1:35.664
    23

  • George Russell wins final race, clinches F2 title; Arjun Maini suffers DNF in opening chaos

    Briton slices through hectic feature for win and title

    Abu Dhabi, 24 Nov 2018: George Russell claimed the 2018 FIA Formula 2 Championship drivers’ title with his seventh victory of the season in an eventful feature race tonight at the Yas Marina Circuit, losing and then regaining the lead while turmoil reigned behind as he sailed to victory by three seconds over Artem Markelov and Luca Ghiotto.

    It was the first night start of the season for the grid, bringing with it pressure of starting in the unknown: Russell made a poor getaway from pole, allowing a fast starting Nyck de Vries to grab the lead at turn one from the championship leader and Markelov, but there was chaos behind as DAMS duo Alexander Albon and Nicholas Latifi stalled, along with Sergio Sette Câmara.

    Arjun Maini was unable to get around the Canadian and the pair had an enormous impact, with Nirei Fukuzumi being tagged as he went around the stricken cars: with 5 vehicles in various states of undress on the front straight there was no choice but to release the safety car, with the remainder of the field coming through the pits each time around, including the restarted Albon and Sette Câmara, for 5 laps as the marshals cleared a path for them.

    When the race went live Russell was pushing de Vries all around the circuit, with Markelov in hot pursuit: both drivers ran heavily over the kerbs in their efforts to gain ground on the man ahead until the Briton headed into the pits on lap 9: an incredible out lap allowed him to blow past de Vries as he exited the pits, and a record-equalling victory was on the cards.

    Markelov came in next time around, slotting in right behind de Vries on his return, handing the lead on the road to Ghiotto, one of the few to risk the alternate tyre strategy from P16 on the grid. The Italian had a 24-second lead but the rest of the field was closing, cutting 5 seconds in 6 laps before the gap started to reverse, stretch back out to 24 seconds over the next 6 laps and handing Ghiotto an unexpected opportunity at victory.

    Unfortunately for the Italian, he ran too deep at the marina chicane just before his stop, picking up a 5 second time penalty for gaining an advantage and undoing his good work: he served it before his team swapped tyres on lap 26, and re-emerged in P5 on fresh rubber. He made short work of Lando Norris and was soon storming after de Vries, who had been unable to contain a charging Markelov a few laps earlier.

    On the penultimate lap Ghiotto blew past de Vries at the marina, but ran out of time to improve his podium position: Russell cruised to the win, equalling the F1 feeder record of 7 wins held jointly by Stoffel Vandoorne and Charles Leclerc, by 3s ahead of Markelov, who was almost 5s to the good over Ghiotto at the flag. De Vries was disappointed with P4 ahead of Norris, with Louis Deletraz a second ahead of teammate Antonio Fuoco after he mugged Roberto Merhi for 7th on the final lap, and Tadasuke Makino and Jack Aitken rounding out the points in the final feature race of the season.

    Provisional Feature Race Classification

    Position Driver Team Gap
    1 George Russell ART Grand Prix
    2 Artem Markelov RUSSIAN TIME 3.301
    3 Luca Ghiotto Campos Vexatec Racing 8.283
    4 Nyck de Vries PERTAMINA PREMA Theodore Racing 12.046
    5 Lando Norris Carlin 19.050
    6 Louis Delétraz Charouz Racing System 21.964
    7 Antonio Fuoco Charouz Racing System 23.633
    8 Roberto Merhi Campos Vexatec Racing 27.375
    9 Tadasuke Makino RUSSIAN TIME 27.840
    10 Jack Aitken ART Grand Prix 32.786
    11 Daniel Ticktum BWT Arden 42.485
    12 Dorian Boccolacci MP Motorsport 46.303
    13 Alessio Lorandi Trident 47.809
    14 Alexander Albon DAMS 55.571
    15 Niko Kari MP Motorsport 70.190
    16 Sergio Sette Câmara Carlin 70.766
    17 Sean Gelael PERTAMINA PREMA Theodore Racing 89.971
    Not Classified
    Nicholas Latifi DAMS DNF
    Nirei Fukuzumi BWT Arden DNF
    Arjun Maini Trident DNF