INDIA in F1

Tag: Arjun Maini

  • Arjun Maini scores first points in F2; Kush Maini notches win and a podium in F3

    Arjun Maini scores first points in F2; Kush Maini notches win and a podium in F3

    India’s Kush Maini (centre) with the winner’s trophy.

    Baku, 29 April 2018: Haas Development driver Arjun Maini made an inspired comeback here at the weekend in the FIA Formula 2 Championship. Starting from P17, he made 11 overtakes to finish the race in P6. However, a post-race penalty to Sette Camara meant Arjun moved up to P5, scoring his first points in his debut season of the F2 championship.

    Meanwhile, in Rockingham, UK, Arjun’s younger brother, Kush Maini secured his first win in the BRDC British F3 Championship. The Lanan Racing driver won Race 2 at Rockingham and finished off with yet another podium in Race 3 to end the weekend on a high.

    Arjun began his race weekend with a P7 in qualifying, and showed some great promise at the start of the Race 1 when he moved swiftly into P4, but problems with the engine meant an early retirement from the race.

    Arjun Maini in Baku. Photo: Sebastiaan Rozendaal / Dutch Photo Agency

    Looking to make up for his rather unlucky start to the weekend, the JK Racing and TVS Motorsport supported driver began Race 2, which he started from P17 on the grid, on the front foot. He moved up into P9 by the end of the first lap itself with some great driving. He followed this up with some gritty racing and eventually passed a few cars ahead, a difficult task in the tricky streets of Baku and finished ahead of his fellow Trident teammate Ferrucci.

    Arjun Maini said: “It’s nice to finish the weekend on a positive note and get my first points in the championship. After the disappointing end to Race 1, I felt it was important to come back strong and this race will hopefully give me and the team momentum going forward.”

    Speaking about Arjun’s notable drive, Karun Chandok, Former F1 driver and Arjun’s mentor said: “Arjun did a great job all weekend. Racing for the first time in a new category on a street circuit can be quite daunting, but he coped with the challenge well.

    Arjun Maini on a charge in Baku. Photo: Sebastiaan Rozendaal / Dutch Photo Agency

    “It was a real shame that he had a car problem in the first race when running strongly in the top 5 and that sent him down the grid for the next race. However he showed on Sunday that he’s got the speed and potential to mix it in the top 6 and that’s where we’re aiming to be going forward.”

    Talking about the next round of the championship he added: “He knows the Barcelona circuit very well and won there in GP3 last year, so fingers crossed he can have some good reliability and deliver strong result.”

    Arjun will be in action at Barcelona shortly, as round 3 of the FIA F2 Championship is set to take place in a couple of weeks, between May 11-13. It’s the same track where he, last year, created history by becoming the first Indian to win a GP3 Series race.

    Arjun also joined the thousands of people in India in demanding justice for Asifa, in his own way, by having a message on the side of his car throughout the race weekend to raise awareness through his sport.

    KUSH MAINI WINS RACE 2 AT ROCKINGHAM

    ROCKINGHAM: Kush Maini secured his first win in Round 2 of the BRDC British F3 Championship. The Lanan Racing driver won Race 2 and finished off with yet another podium in Race 3 to end the weekend on a high.

    Kush Maini’s determination to win finally paid off as he came from P5 to claim his maiden race win in the championship. Also combining his second consecutive podium in Race 3, this weekend’s results meant he acquired a considerable chunk of points towards the driver’s championship, putting him currently in fourth place with 113 points, just six points off third placed Gamble.

    Kush Maini, who started off the weekend in the wet by qualifying in P6, was involved in an incident early on in Race 1, but fought back strongly to claim P7. As the track dried out over the next day, Kush started the race from P5, and won a couple of places off the start itself. He then chased down the front two, and was in the lead by the end of the first lap. A string of consecutive fastest laps helped him pull away from the rest of the pack as he ended the race with almost a 5-second gap back to the driver in P2.

    In Race 3, Kush, starting from pole, couldn’t capitalise on his momentum from the previous race as he battled hard in thrilling encounter. Lundqvist and Kjaergaard got off the line quicker as Kush stayed right on their tail. However, a string of safety cars and yellow flags made it difficult for him to keep the pressure. Nevertheless, he managed his second consecutive Race-3 podium in a close race with the top 3 separated by just 0.638s.

    Kush said, “In race 2, it was a case of keeping my nose clean the first lap. We knew from the start of the season, our pace in the dry is superior so as long as I could go the distance we could get a good result. It was disappointing to not win in Race 3 from pole, but it was a good race and another load of points so I’m looking forward to the next round.”

    The next round of BRDC F3 Championship takes place at Snettorton at the end of May where Kush will be looking to make this momentum count.

  • Albon grabs first F2 pole in Baku qualifying; Arjun Maini on P8

    Albon grabs first F2 pole in Baku qualifying; Arjun Maini on P8

    Baku, 27 April 2018: Alexander Albon of DAMS took his maiden FIA Formula 2 Championship pole position at Baku, Azerbaijan, snatching the quickest lap on his final run of a 1:54.480 just before the session ended on a red flag to go ahead of Carlin’s Lando Norris and George Russell of ART Grand Prix.
    Alexandar Albon takes F2 pole at Baku on Friday. An FIA image

    Reprising their roles from the earlier free practice session, Trident duo Santino Ferrucci and Arjun Maini scampered out of the pitlane first at the beginning of the session, quickly followed by Norris, Jack Aitken and Sergio Sette Camara, the latter of whom set the fastest time in the morning’s practice. Indian racer Maini qualified in P8.  As soon as the field got started on their first flying laps, Maximilian Günther crawled to a halt after the first corner to bring out a first red flag, pausing the session after the opening five minutes of running. The Trident drivers got the ball rolling once more at the restart, with Artem Markelov rushing to the front of the pack to make up for a lack of running in the morning practice session.

    Norris set the early pace, a benchmark within the 1m55s, which was beaten shortly after by Albon who collected a tow from the British driver on the next cycle around the track. Luca Ghiotto then grabbed top spot by a tenth, before his Campos Vexatec Racing teammate Roy Nissany brought the first phase of flying laps to an end after going off-road, bringing out a yellow flag.
    With the field retreating to the pits for fresh supersoft tyres, Norris and Russell battled to wrest pole from Ghiotto, setting the same first sectors as each other before Albon put the pair in the shade with a session-best opening split. Norris grabbed provisional pole, but the Thai driver snatched top spot by two tenths to go quickest overall.
    As the front-runners plotted their next runs, Nicholas Latifi spun at Turn 7 and came to a stop, creating a brief traffic jam with Antonio Fuoco before a red flag was waved with less than a minute of the session left to run. With no time for the drivers to start new laps, the session was declared over to cement Albon’s first F2 pole ahead of Norris and Russell.
    Ghiotto beat Ferrucci to fourth place, as Sette Camara and Aitken were sixth and seventh. Maini was eighth quickest, completing the top half of the field with Nyck de Vries and Ralph Boschung respectively.
    Tomorrow’s Feature Race will start at 12pm tomorrow and, with a history of hosting fascinating races, the Baku City Circuit should throw up quite a spectacle.
    2018 FIA Formula 2 Championship Round 2 Qualifying: Baku, Azerbaijan
    Driver
    Team
    Time
    Laps
    1
    Alexander Albon
    DAMS
    1:54.480
    9
    2
    Lando Norris
    Carlin
    1:54.694
    8
    3
    George Russell
    ART Grand Prix
    1:54.842
    10
    4
    Luca Ghiotto
    Campos Vexatec Racing
    1:54.980
    10
    5
    Santino Ferrucci
    Trident
    1:55.200
    9
    6
    Sergio Sette Camara
    Carlin
    1:55.212
    9
    7
    Jack Aitken
    ART Grand Prix
    1:55.236
    9
    8
    Arjun Maini
    Trident
    1:55.474
    9
    9
    Nyck de Vries
    PERTAMINA PREMA Theodore Racing
    1:55.728
    9
    10
    Ralph Boschung
    MP Motorsport
    1:55.761
    9
    11
    Maximilian Günther
    BWT Arden
    1:55.970
    9
    12
    Tadasuke Makino
    RUSSIAN TIME
    1:56.139
    8
    13
    Roberto Merhi
    MP Motorsport
    1:56.532
    9
    14
    Antonio Fuoco
    Charouz Racing System
    1:57.090
    9
    15
    Louis Delétraz
    Charouz Racing System
    1:57.105
    9
    16
    Nirei Fukuzumi
    BWT Arden
    1:57.351
    9
    17
    Sean Gelael
    PERTAMINA PREMA Theodore Racing
    1:57.508
    10
    18
    Artem Markelov
    RUSSIAN TIME
    1:57.604
    9
    19
    Roy Nissany
    Campos Vexatec Racing
    2:01.902
    5
    20
    Nicholas Latifi
    DAMS
    2:02.970
    8

  • Norris breezes to maiden victory in Bahrain feature race; Arjun Maini 15th

    Sakhir (Bahrain), April 7: Lando Norris secured his first FIA Formula 2 Championship victory in the Feature Race here on Saturday.
    Indian racer Arjun Maini of Trident team could finish only in the 15th place after he started on P14.
    Norris mastered the hot and windy conditions to win with a 8.3s advantage over Carlin teammate Sergio Sette Camara, who held onto second place after a thrilling battle in the final stages of the race with Russian Time’s Artem Markelov, the latter producing a spectacular recovery drive to secure the final podium position.
    With the majority of the field, save from the Trident team, opting to start on the medium-compound tyres, degradation was a hotly anticipated factor in the race. An aborted start was called at the beginning, as Markelov and MP Motorsport’s Roberto Merhi stalled on the grid and prompted a second formation lap; the Russian then took to the pits to restart from the back of the field while the Spanish driver retired from mechanical failure.
    At the second time of asking, Norris made a fantastic start to streak clear of the rest of the field, while Sette Camara took advantage of a slow start from George Russell to catapult himself into second. Russell, starting from the front row, also lost ground to a fast-starting Nyck de Vries and Nirei Fukuzumi, resulting in a scintillating scrap among them in the early stages of the race.
    De Vries soon put a move on Sette Camara to grab second, allowing Norris to scamper off into the distance at the rate of a second per lap. Further behind, Alexander Albon surged past Russell and subsequently did battle with De Vries and Sette Camara, the latter of whom ultimately won out for second as the Dutchman began to drop back.
    Seemingly unflappable in the lead, Norris had the luxury of not needing to react to the others once they’d begun to make their stops. Louis Delétraz opened proceedings among the top ten on lap 14, with Russell blinking a lap later – staying ahead of the Swiss driver. Sette Camara and Albon came in together later on and dropped behind Russell as they rejoined the track.
    Meanwhile, Markelov was charging forward, having dispatched the majority of the field with a flurry of well-timed passes into Turn 1, and continued to carve through the pack after his own stop on lap 16. Norris switched to the soft compound two laps later, continuing with the lead on his return to the track as the pair of Sette Camara and Albon returned to second and third after clearing Russell.
    Markelov also passed the British driver, with third-placed Albon next on his radar. Once more, the Russian used his DRS to blitz past at the first corner and, although the Thai driver fought back across the next few corners, the Renault development driver held firm to secure third.
    In the final five laps, Norris started to lose fractions of his 10 second lead to his teammate, who was simultaneously under attack from Markelov. The Brazilian was inch-perfect in his defence of second when Markelov approached, orchestrating an excellent switch back manoeuvre at the start of the final lap to hold second.
    Norris took the chequered flag after a seemingly untouchable performance, walking away with an impressive 31 points with pole, win and fastest lap. Sette Camara and Markelov’s battle for second delighted the crowd up to the line ahead of Albon.
    Russell kept fifth having lost ground to the front four, as Nyck De Vries completed the top six having fallen out of contention in the midway stages. Sean Gelael converted an early pitstop into seventh place from P19 on the grid, as Maximilian Günther, Jack Aitken and Ralph Boschung all battled hard to end the race in the top ten.
    Günther begins tomorrow’s Sprint Race from reverse-grid pole, and will start alongside Gelael as Norris will seek to win the second race of the weekend from eighth.
    2018 FIA Formula 2 Championship – Round 1 Feature Race Provisional Classification
    Driver
    Team
    1
    Lando Norris
    Carlin
    2
    Sergio Sette Camara
    Carlin
    3
    Artem Markelov
    RUSSIAN TIME
    4
    Alexander Albon
    DAMS
    5
    George Russell
    ART Grand Prix
    6
    Nyck de Vries
    PERTAMINA PREMA Theodore Racing
    7
    Sean Gelael
    PERTAMINA PREMA Theodore Racing
    8
    Maximilian Gunther
    BWT Arden
    9
    Jack Aitken
    ART Grand Prix
    10
    Ralph Boschung
    MP Motorsport
    11
    Nicholas Latifi
    DAMS
    12
    Luca Ghiotto
    Campos Vexatec Racing
    13
    Louis Deletraz
    Charouz Racing System
    14
    Santino Ferrucci
    Trident
    15
    Arjun Maini
    Trident
    16
    Roy Nissany
    Campos Vexatec Racing
    17
    Antonio Fuoco
    Charouz Racing System
    18
    Nirei Fukuzumi
    BWT Arden
    19
    Tadasuke Makino
    RUSSIAN TIME
    —
    Roberto Merhi
    MP Motorsport
  • Norris grabs maiden pole; 2nd sector time costs Arjun as he slips to P14: F2 qualifying

    Norris grabs maiden pole; 2nd sector time costs Arjun as he slips to P14: F2 qualifying

    Lando Norris takes F2 pole at Sakhir, a support race on F1 week-end, on Friday. An FIA image

    Sakhir (Bahrain), 6 April 2018: Lando Norris took pole position in the 2018 FIA Formula 2 Championship qualifying session at Sakhir, Bahrain in an enthralling battle for the first berth on the grid, setting a 1:41.761 to go fastest. The McLaren F1 reserve driver will be joined on the front row in tomorrow’s feature race by countryman George Russell of ART Grand Prix, as DAMS’ Alexander Albon will start from third place.

    The green flag was eagerly awaited by a queue of cars all lined up to hit the track, with Trident’s Santino Ferrucci first onto the circuit – closely followed by teammate Arjun Maini and Russian Time’s Artem Markelov, who quickly disposed of his medium-compound tyres after an exploratory lap to fall in line with everyone else on softs.
    Ferrucci set the opening laptime before BWT Arden’s Maximilian Günther dipped below the two-minute mark. The bar quickly began to rise, and Sergio Sette Camara (Carlin) was the first in the right ballpark with a lap in the 1m42s. Russell quickly dispatched the Brazilian to go into the midpoint of the session ahead, standing on top of the pile with half-a-tenth’s advantage.
    The field then pulled into the pits for the second round of running, bolting on fresh sets of soft tyres before looking to overhaul Russell’s benchmark. Maini looked threatening, but a moment in the second sector put paid to the Indian driver’s chances of snatching the headline time. Instead, Russell chiselled half a second out of his timesheet-topping lap, setting the latter two sectors purple en route.
    Albon got closest to Russell, fractions slower than the British driver’s time, before Norris snatched pole by under a tenth of a second despite going wide at the final sector. Russell and Albon could not find any more time to stop Carlin from claiming their first F2 pole, while Nyck de Vries popped up into fourth late on with the fastest final sector.
    Louis Delétraz gave Charouz Racing System a strong debut in the championship with fifth, narrowly clearing Sette Camara. Nirei Fukuzumi (Arden) and Tadasuke Makino (RUSSIAN TIME) will create an all-Japanese fourth row intomorrow’s race, as Jack Aitken (ART) and Günther completed the top ten.
    With the margins slim in the qualifying session, tomorrow’s feature race promises to deliver an exciting season opener. Warm afternoon conditions should provide something of an extra challenge, as each driver seeks to open their 2018 accounts with victory.
    2018 FIA Formula 2 Championship – Round 1 Qualifying Session
    Driver
    Team
    Time
    Laps
    1
    Lando Norris
    Carlin
    1:41.761
    10
    2
    George Russell
    ART Grand Prix
    1:41.823
    10
    3
    Alexander Albon
    DAMS
    1:41.850
    10
    4
    Nyck de Vries
    PERTAMINA PREMA Theodore Racing
    1:41.880
    11
    5
    Louis Deletraz
    Charouz Racing System
    1:42.174
    9
    6
    Sergio Sette Camara
    Carlin
    1:42.221
    11
    7
    Nirei Fukuzumi
    BWT Arden
    1:42.246
    10
    8
    Tadasuke Makino
    RUSSIAN TIME
    1:42.264
    10
    9
    Jack Aitken
    ART Grand Prix
    1:42.282
    11
    10
    Maximilian Gunther
    BWT Arden
    1:42.336
    9
    11
    Antonio Fuoco
    Charouz Racing System
    1:42.342
    11
    12
    Luca Ghiotto
    Campos Vexatec Racing
    1:42.414
    9
    13
    Roberto Merhi
    MP Motorsport
    1:42.423
    11
    14
    Arjun Maini
    Trident
    1:42.437
    9
    15
    Nicholas Latifi
    DAMS
    1:42.447
    10
    16
    Ralph Boschung
    MP Motorsport
    1:42.460
    10
    17
    Artem Markelov
    RUSSIAN TIME
    1:42.816
    11
    18
    Santino Ferrucci
    Trident
    1:42.818
    11
    19
    Sean Gelael
    PERTAMINA PREMA Theodore Racing
    1:43.016
    8
    20
    Roy Nissany
    Campos Vexatec Racing
    1:43.350
    9
  • Indian racer Arjun Maini of Trident tops first session to beat Carlin duo

    Indian racer Arjun Maini of Trident tops first session to beat Carlin duo

    Indian racer Arjun Maini of Trident tops 1st session at Bahrain on Friday. An FIA image.

    Sakhir (Bahrain), 6 April 2018: Arjun Maini drew first blood in the first 2018 FIA Formula 2 Championship practice session at Sakhir, Bahrain, setting a 1:44.459 midway through the session to beat the Carlin duo of Lando Norris and Sergio Sette Camara to the quickest lap.

    Warm and breezy conditions greeted the drivers on their first free practice session of the 2018 season, and most drivers needed to set installation laps in the opening five minutes of running to acclimatise. ART Grand Prix’s George Russell led an early flurry of activity out of the pits, while the first timed lap was courtesy of BWT Arden’s Maximilian Günther, which was given short shrift by teammate Nirei Fukuzumi.

    Alexander Albon of DAMS was the first to wind the times below the two-minute mark before Fukuzumi briefly re-emerged on top of the standings to bring the laps below the 1m50 mark. Albon then took almost five seconds out of the Arden driver’s lap, leading the way after the first 20 minutes.

    The Carlin duo then struck, as Sette Camara pipped the Thai driver before Norris went quicker than his teammate by just 0.05s. Both were then put in the shade by Maini, who had languished at the bottom of the timesheets during the first half of the session. Setting the quickest first sector, the Haas F1 protégé grasped the first position by half a tenth, which he would not relinquish for the remainder of the session.

    The final five minutes were punctuated with a brief Virtual Safety Car test, allowing all teams to trial the new VSC functionality with the new car. Although the green flag returned for the final stages, nobody was able to improve on their lap times. Behind the top three, Albon stayed ahead of Russell for fourth, while Artem Markelov (RUSSIAN TIME) was the last of the drivers within the 1m44s.

    Roberto Merhi (MP Motorsport) was seventh, ahead of Günther and Antonio Fuoco (Charouz Racing System), as Sean Gelael of PERTAMINA PREMA Theodore Racing completed the top 10.

    With the top 16 drivers all within a second, this evening’s qualifying promises to be incredibly close fought, especially with cooler conditions and option tyre running to contend with.

    2018 FIA Formula 2 Championship – Round 1 Free Practice Classification
    Driver
    Team
    Time
    Laps
    1
    Arjun Maini
    Trident
    1:44.549
    12
    2
    Lando Norris
    Carlin
    1:44.600
    14
    3
    Sergio Sette Camara
    Carlin
    1:44.613
    11
    4
    Alexander Albon
    DAMS
    1:44.769
    15
    5
    George Russell
    ART Grand Prix
    1:44.812
    13
    6
    Artem Markelov
    RUSSIAN TIME
    1:44.861
    10
    7
    Roberto Merhi
    MP Motorsport
    1:45.005
    13
    8
    Maximilian Günther
    BWT Arden
    1:45.010
    16
    9
    Antonio Fuoco
    Charouz Racing System
    1:45.080
    15
    10
    Sean Gelael
    PERTAMINA PREMA Theodore Racing
    1:45.214
    13
    11
    Jack Aitken
    ART Grand Prix
    1:45.268
    14
    12
    Nicholas Latifi
    DAMS
    1:45.291
    16
    13
    Nyck de Vries
    PERTAMINA PREMA Theodore Racing
    1:45.329
    12
    14
    Tadasuke Makino
    RUSSIAN TIME
    1:45.331
    14
    15
    Luca Ghiotto
    Campos Vexatec Racing
    1:45.344
    14
    16
    Santino Ferrucci
    Trident
    1:45.419
    14
    17
    Ralph Boschung
    MP Motorsport
    1:45.564
    13
    18
    Nirei Fukuzumi
    BWT Arden
    1:45.849
    16
    19
    Louis Delétraz
    Charouz Racing System
    1:45.958
    14
    20
    Roy Nissany
    Campos Vexatec Racing
    1:46.407
    15

     

  • Günther on top; Arjun Maini 7th: Final day of Bahrain F2 pre-season test

    Günther on top; Arjun Maini 7th: Final day of Bahrain F2 pre-season test

    Gunther tops Final Day of Bahrain F2 Testing on Friday, 23rd March 2018. Photo: FIA

    Bahrain, March 23: Maximilian Günther set the fastest lap of the FIA Formula 2 Championship pre-season test at Sakhir, Bahrain on the final day, leading the way with a 1:42.756 set in the morning session to beat Charouz Racing System’s Louis Delétraz and ART Grand Prix’s George Russell. Günther’s BWT Arden teammate Nirei Fukuzumi was quickest in the afternoon session. Indian racing driver, Arjun Maini of Trident, who finished on top of the timesheets fon Day 2, ended up 7th on the Third Day of testing on Friday.

    Roy Nissany of Campos Vexatec Racing jumped the rest of the field onto the track, beating DAMS’ Alexander Albon and Fukuzumi 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.
    Ghiotto was the first driver on track for the afternoon session, taking the initiative ahead of the two Charouz drivers to commence the post-break running. The Italian headed the early timesheets before Roberto Merhi (MP Motorsport) ended the first half-hour on top with over a second’s advantage over the field.
    Although Fuoco, Makino and his RUSSIAN TIME teammate Artem Markelov spent periods of time nestled behind Merhi in the standings, the Spanish driver kept them at arm’s length to retain control of the timing boards going into the final hour of running as the majority focused further on race simulations.
    Markelov then came to a halt to bring out the first red flag, the session resuming with 45 minutes left on the clock before Ralph Boschung (MP) brought out a second just quarter of an hour later. The restart shuffled the order somewhat, with Fukuzumi ending Merhi’s hold on the first position before Günther returned to the top of the pile shortly after.
    In the final ten minutes, Fukuzumi surged to the lead of the timing boards to complete Arden’s lock-out of both sessions. Günther completed a one-two for the British team with Fuoco third, as Camara and Markelov completed the top five. Long-time leader Merhi ended the day sixth, ahead of British duo Norris and Russell – the latter clocking in 58 laps over the afternoon’s running. Makino held the ninth-best time, as Sean Gelael (PREMA) grabbed tenth ahead of Albon.
    The Formula 2 season will officially begin in two weeks’ time – returning to Bahrain – from the 6-8 April for the first races of 2018.
    FIA Formula 2 Bahrain Test – Day 3 Morning Session
    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
    FIA Formula 2 Bahrain Test – Day 3 Afternoon Session
    Driver
    Team
    Laptime
    Laps
    1
    Nirei Fukuzumi
    BWT Arden
    1:43.430
    35
    2
    Maximilian Günther
    BWT Arden
    1:44.145
    35
    3
    Antonio Fuoco
    Charouz Racing System
    1:44.152
    39
    4
    Sergio Sette Camara
    Carlin
    1:45.310
    21
    5
    Artem Markelov
    RUSSIAN TIME
    1:46.895
    46
    6
    Roberto Merhi
    MP Motorsport
    1:46.908
    45
    7
    Lando Norris
    Carlin
    1:46.937
    24
    8
    George Russell
    ART Grand Prix
    1:47.860
    58
    9
    Tadasuke Makino
    RUSSIAN TIME
    1:47.239
    34
    10
    Sean Gelael
    PERTAMINA PREMA Theodore Racing
    1:47.419
    45
    11
    Alexander Albon
    DAMS
    1:48.110
    48
    12
    Ralph Boschung
    MP Motorsport
    1:48.412
    24
    13
    Santino Ferrucci
    Trident
    1:48.454
    43
    14
    Roy Nissany
    Campos Vexatec Racing
    1:48.469
    28
    15
    Jack Aitken
    ART Grand Prix
    1:48.600
    53
    16
    Luca Ghiotto
    Campos Vexatec Racing
    1:48.759
    56
    17
    Nicholas Latifi
    DAMS
    1:48.776
    34
    18
    Nyck de Vries
    PERTAMINA PREMA Theodore Racing
    1:48.857
    29
    19
    Louis Delétraz
    Charouz Racing System
    1:49.013
    41
    20
    Arjun Maini
    Trident
    1:49.327
    33
  • Arjun Maini fastest on Day 2: F2 Test

    Arjun Maini fastest on Day 2: F2 Test

    Arjun Maini, fastest on Day 2 at Shakir, Bahrain on Thursday. Photo: FIA

    Bahrain, March 22: Trident’s Arjun Maini ended the second day of the FIA Formula 2 Championship test here in Sakhir having set a quickest lap of 1:42.779 in the morning session, ending the day faster than ART Grand Prix’s Jack Aitken and Nyck de Vries of Pertamina Prema Theodore Racing.

     The competitors were once again greeted with perfect conditions, scrambling to get on track as soon as the green flag was waved. Maini and Trident teammate Santino Ferrucci were first to reach the circuit, followed in hot pursuit by Charouz Racing System’s Louis Delétraz.
    Luca Ghiotto (Campos Vexatec Racing) set the early pace, before trading best times with Delétraz in the opening stages of the session. Intruding on their fight for dominance, George Russell of ART soon displaced the pair from the top before the Swiss driver took six tenths out of his rival to raise the bar further.
    Maini then became the first driver to dip below the 1m43s marker, shading Delétraz by almost half a second to end the first hour on top. Artem Markelov (Russian Time) brought out a red flag for a spin at Turn 8 shortly after, but the ensuing burst of running after the session restarted was not enough to end the Indian driver’s stranglehold on the timing screens.
    Alexander Albon (DAMS) brought out a second red flag having stopped at the entry to the pitlane, before Aitken provided Maini’s sternest opposition yet having closed to within three tenths of the fastest lap. The final fifteen minutes brought out a final dash of activity, but Maini’s time proved to be unbeatable at the close of the session, with Aitken beating de Vries to second.
    Ghiotto ended the session fourth best ahead of Delétraz, with Russell and compatriot Lando Norris (Carlin) sixth and seventh. Maximilian Günther (BWT Arden) beat Tadasuke Makino (Russian Time) to ninth, with both edging ahead of Arden’s Nirei Fukuzumi.
    Race simulations took priority in the afternoon’s action as the temperatures rose, and Charouz took the initiative to send Antonio Fuoco and Delétraz out first. Ralph Boschung (MP Motorsport) set the early pace on his opening run, finding a time in the 1m47s which he then bested by over a second on his next set of laps.
    The Swiss led the standings throughout the majority of the session, before Ferrucci pipped the MP driver by a tenth of a second in the final 15 minutes to take control of the timesheets. He duly whittled his time down to a 1:45.522, which proved to be unbeatable throughout the remainder of the session.
    Boschung held onto second – half a second quicker than Maini’s afternoon best – while Delétraz took fourth ahead of Norris. Roberto Merhi (MP Motorsport) was sixth fastest, beating Aitken and Fuoco, while Sergio Sette Camara (Carlin) was ninth ahead of Fukuzumi. Aitken achieved the largest lap count of anyone across the day, circulating 86 times in total.
    Tomorrow’s final session will once more open from 9am until 12pm, with a two-hour interval before the running returns at 2pm. The test will conclude at 5pm.
    FIA Formula 2 Bahrain Test – Day 2 Morning Session
    Driver
    Team
    Laptime
    Laps
    1
    Arjun Maini
    Trident
    1:42.779
    34
    2
    Jack Aitken
    ART Grand Prix
    1:43.003
    34
    3
    Nyck de Vries
    PERTAMINA PREMA Theodore Racing
    1:43.080
    40
    4
    Luca Ghiotto
    Campos Vexatec Racing
    1:43.111
    24
    5
    Louis Delétraz
    Charouz Racing System
    1:43.145
    17
    6
    George Russell
    ART Grand Prix
    1:43.161
    40
    7
    Lando Norris
    Carlin
    1:43.212
    31
    8
    Maximilian Günther
    BWT Arden
    1:43.315
    22
    9
    Tadasuke Makino
    RUSSIAN TIME
    1:43.415
    20
    10
    Nirei Fukuzumi
    BWT Arden
    1:43.467
    27
    11
    Antonio Fuoco
    Charouz Racing System
    1:43.498
    33
    12
    Nicholas Latifi
    DAMS
    1:43.520
    29
    13
    Roberto Merhi
    MP Motorsport
    1:43.610
    17
    14
    Sergio Sette Camara
    Carlin
    1:43.612
    29
    15
    Artem Markelov
    RUSSIAN TIME
    1:43.641
    28
    16
    Sean Gelael
    PERTAMINA PREMA Theodore Racing
    1:43.686
    37
    17
    Santino Ferrucci
    Trident
    1:43.785
    22
    18
    Roy Nissany
    Campos Vexatec Racing
    1:43.971
    26
    19
    Alexander Albon
    DAMS
    1:44.001
    21
    20
    Ralph Boschung
    MP Motorsport
    1:44.164
    14
    FIA Formula 2 Bahrain Test – Day 2 Afternoon Session
    Driver
    Team
    Laptime
    Laps
    1
    Santino Ferrucci
    Trident
    1:45.522
    41
    2
    Ralph Boschung
    MP Motorsport
    1:45.664
    17
    3
    Arjun Maini
    Trident
    1:46.162
    39
    4
    Louis Delétraz
    Charouz Racing System
    1:46.737
    39
    5
    Lando Norris
    Carlin
    1:47.431
    33
    6
    Roberto Merhi
    MP Motorsport
    1:47.719
    25
    7
    Jack Aitken
    ART Grand Prix
    1:48.354
    52
    8
    Antonio Fuoco
    Charouz Racing System
    1:48.855
    38
    9
    Sergio Sette Camara
    Carlin
    1:48.862
    25
    10
    Nirei Fukuzumi
    BWT Arden
    1:48.867
    33
    11
    Roy Nissany
    Campos Vexatec Racing
    1:48.944
    38
    12
    Sean Gelael
    PERTAMINA PREMA Theodore Racing
    1:49.512
    40
    13
    Luca Ghiotto
    Campos Vexatec Racing
    1:49.688
    37
    14
    Nicholas Latifi
    DAMS
    1:49.796
    40
    15
    Alexander Albon
    DAMS
    1:49.995
    26
    16
    Nyck de Vries
    PERTAMINA PREMA Theodore Racing
    1:50.814
    38
    17
    Artem Markelov
    RUSSIAN TIME
    1:50.897
    35
    18
    Tadasuke Makino
    RUSSIAN TIME
    1:51.217
    34
    19
    George Russell
    ART Grand Prix
    1:51.243
    44
    20
    Maximilian Günther
    BWT Arden
    —
    —

  • Arjun Maini sets 6th fastest time in the morning session: FIA Formula 2 pre-season test

    Le Castellet (France): Indian racer Arjun Maini set the sixth fastest time in the morning session and ended up 11th in the afternoon at the Formula 2 first pre-season test on Tuesday. At the end of the first hour, new Trident recruit Maini led the proceedings ahead of team-mate Santino Ferrucci.
    However, it was Lando Norris who set the day’s fastest lap. The Carlin driver set a 1:43.095 lap during the afternoon session to head the time sheets ahead of Nyck De Vries and teammate Sergio Sette Camara.
    A damp, overcast Circuit Paul Ricard greeted the teams as they sought to clock in their customary installation laps at the start of the day. Oliver Rowland was the first driver to hit the track on wet weather tyres for the DAMS team, narrowly beating MP Motorsport’s Ralph Boschung out of the garage.
    The first hour was punctuated with a few brief red flags following early spins, with Trident’s Santino Ferrucci and Sette Camara prompting stoppages as they got to grips with the wet track, while Louis Delétraz of Charouz Racing System came to a halt at the exit of the pitlane.

    Norris was first to break the two-minute boundary at the midway point of the session, with the track slowly drying out. Soon, a number of cars were dipping into the 1m59s as they became accustomed to the conditions, although the circuit was not dry enough throughout the session for anyone to attempt a lap on slick tyres.

    A red flag in the final half-hour of the session was called for Alexander Albon (DAMS) who stopped at turn 2 due to mechanical gremlins, as running got back underway with 10 minutes remaining. Although Boschung was quick on the draw at the restart to eat into Norris’ advantage, edging to within three-tenths of the leader, the British driver was able to put the first position well out of reach by going 0.6s quicker than his best time.

    Norris was the only driver to break into the 1m56s, as his teammate Sette Camara slotted in behind Boschung for third. Albon was fourth quickest, ahead of Maini – who set a session high of 36 laps – and Arden’s Maximilian Günther. Roberto Merhi (MP Motorsport) was seventh ahead of Delétraz, while Antonio Fuoco (Charouz) and Ferrucci completed the top ten.
    ART Grand Prix’s Jack Aitken kicked off proceedings after the break to make up for a lack of mileage across the morning’s session, bolting on a set of medium compound tyres after the circuit had dried. The Brit had the track to himself in the opening stages, before teammate George Russell and the Campos Vexatec Racing duo of Luca Ghiotto and Roy Nissany joined him.
    After the first hour, PERTAMINA PREMA Theodore Racing’s De Vries led the standings ahead of Russell, the pace decidedly faster than the morning’s benchmark. Norris then immediately stamped his authority on the time sheets and was joined by Sette Camara for a Carlin 1-2.
    A brief red flag was called for Günther who suffered a spin and stopped on the track, but after the action returned Norris continued to whittle away at his best time, dropping below the 1m44s mark with a full house of fastest sectors.
    Sean Gelael (PERTAMINA PREMA) wrested the second sector away from Norris, slotting in between the two Carlins as the session wound into the final hour. Ghiotto and de Vries briefly seized control of the timing boards, but with 20 minutes remaining, Norris once again reclaimed the fastest time. It proved to be unassailable, despite De Vries’ best efforts in the latter stages.
    Sette Camara was third quickest, ahead of Ghiotto and Russell. Gelael finished the day sixth fastest, completing a session-best of 40 laps, while Aitken beat Nirei Fukuzumi (BWT Arden) to seventh. Günther and Rowland ended the session in the top ten. Over the day, 881 laps were for a cumulative total of 5000 km.
    The action will resume tomorrow at 9 am for the second day of the test; the morning’s running ends at 12 pm, before the afternoon session takes place from 2 pm to 5 pm.
    FIA Formula 2 Le Castellet Test – Day 1 Morning Session
    Driver
    Team
    Laptime
    Laps
    1
    Lando Norris
    Carlin
    1:56.136
    30
    2
    Ralph Boschung
    MP Motorsport
    1:57.037
    27
    3
    Sergio Sette Camara
    Carlin
    1:57.289
    22
    4
    Alexander Albon
    DAMS
    1:57.357
    28
    5
    Arjun Maini
    Trident
    1:57.591
    36
    6
    Maximilian Günther
    BWT Arden
    1:57.742
    25
    7
    Roberto Merhi
    MP Motorsport
    1:58.358
    20
    8
    Louis Delétraz
    Charouz Racing System
    1:58.619
    19
    9
    Antonio Fuoco
    Charouz Racing System
    1:58.780
    18
    10
    Santino Ferrucci
    Trident
    1:58.899
    25
    11
    Nirei Fukuzumi
    BWT Arden
    1:59.759
    17
    12
    Luca Ghiotto
    Campos Vexatec Racing
    2:00.067
    20
    13
    Nyck De Vries
    PERTAMINA PREMA Theodore Racing
    2:00.088
    11
    14
    Sean Gelael
    PERTAMINA PREMA Theodore Racing
    2:00.095
    23
    15
    Tadasuke Makino
    RUSSIAN TIME
    2:03.229
    8
    16
    Roy Nissany
    Campos Vexatec Racing
    2:03.983
    15
    17
    George Russell
    ART Grand Prix
    2:04.282
    8
    18
    Artem Markelov
    RUSSIAN TIME
    2:10.443
    13
    19
    Oliver Rowland
    DAMS
    2:12.894
    2
    20
    Jack Aitken
    ART Grand Prix
    —
    —
    FIA Formula 2 Le Castellet Test – Day 1 Afternoon Session
    Driver
    Team
    Laptime
    Laps
    1
    Lando Norris
    Carlin
    1:43.095
    29
    2
    Nyck De Vries
    PERTAMINA PREMA Theodore Racing
    1:43.282
    32
    3
    Sergio Sette Camara
    Carlin
    1:43.401
    29
    4
    Luca Ghiotto
    Campos Vexatec Racing
    1:43.707
    33
    5
    George Russell
    ART Grand Prix
    1:43.745
    20
    6
    Sean Gelael
    PERTAMINA PREMA Theodore Racing
    1:43.844
    40
    7
    Jack Aitken
    ART Grand Prix
    1:44.115
    34
    8
    Nirei Fukuzumi
    BWT Arden
    1:44.232
    35
    9
    Maximilian Günther
    BWT Arden
    1:44.277
    26
    10
    Oliver Rowland
    DAMS
    1:44.345
    25
    11
    Arjun Maini
    Trident
    1:44.522
    31
    12
    Ralph Boschung
    MP Motorsport
    1:44.603
    28
    13
    Louis Delétraz
    Charouz Racing System
    1:44.807
    11
    14
    Alexander Albon
    DAMS
    1:44.950
    4
    15
    Santino Ferrucci
    Trident
    1:45.023
    25
    16
    Roberto Merhi
    MP Motorsport
    1:45.086
    29
    17
    Roy Nissany
    Campos Vexatec Racing
    1:46.166
    36
    18
    Antonio Fuoco
    Charouz Racing System
    1:46.480
    3
    19
    Tadasuke Makino
    RUSSIAN TIME
    1:47.050
    11
    20
    Artem Markelov
    RUSSIAN TIME
    —
    13

    eom/david/F2 release

  • Maiden victory for Kari; Podium for Maini: GP3 Series

    Maiden victory for Kari; Podium for Maini: GP3 Series

    Arjun Maini (right) comes 3rd, for another podium at Abu Dhabi on Saturday. Photo by Zak Mauger

    Niko Kari drove a perfect race in this afternoon’s Race 1 at the Yas Marina Circuit, pushing up to the lead at the start and absorbing all the pressure his rivals could through at him, along with a couple of VSC periods, for his maiden win in the GP3 Series ahead of 2017 champion George Russell and Arjun Maini.

    The victory was made at the start: when the lights went out Arden teammates Leonardo Pulcini and Kari made great getaways from P2 and P3 respectively, leaving poleman Russell the choice of which driver to cover. He chose the Italian and pushed across to the inside line, leaving the outside wide open for Kari to swoop through and into the lead at turn 2, ahead of Russell, Pulcini and Maini, while behind them Nirei Fukuzumi and Raoul Hyman were slow to get away from the grid, delaying most of their rivals.
    The Japanese driver clattered into Giuliano Alesi at turn 8, forcing both drivers to pit, while ahead of them Pulcini blew past Russell to set up an Arden 1-2 on track, with the top 4 edging away and behind them Dan Ticktum leading Dorian Boccolacci, Anthoine Hubert (who was hoping to insert himself into the fight for the vice-champion position), Alessio Lorandi, Steijn Schothorst and Ryan Tveter.
    Kari was looking to build a DRS buffer back to his teammate when Marcos Siebert stopped at turn 8, prompting a brief VSC period on lap 5: the Finn easily controlled the restart with Russell almost catching Pulcini napping and being forced to run over the kerbs to avoid the Italian, handing Kari the vital 1s gap he needed to avoid the DRS and allowing him to control the race, and his tyres.
    Ticktum and Lorandi were both mugged at the restart but soon regained their positions, with the Briton sailing away into the distance and the Italian soon looking for more: as Hubert suddenly slowed with some sort of gremlin dropping him back through the field, Lorandi got the jump on Boccolacci on the back straight for P6 just before Alesi rolled to a stop at turn 20, bringing out the VSC boards once again.
    Russell caught out Pulcini once again at the restart, but this time made it stick for P2 on the final turn, while Lorandi and Boccolacci resumed battle again, swapping position all around the circuit before the Italian finally made it stick on lap 14, with Schothorst inserting himself into the battle and forcing the Frenchman to keep an eye on his mirrors.
    There was soon more bad news for Pulcini: his left rear started to deflate, dropping him back down the grid before an inevitable retirement on lap 17, handing Maini a place on the podium. Ahead of him Russell was unable to do anything about the speed of Kari, who punched the air with delight as he was greeted by the flag across the line. Ticktum rolled home a lonely 4th, ahead of Lorandi and Schothorst, who both broke away from the squabble behind them: Boccolacci just held off a fast charging Hubert, who drove a magnificent recovery effort for P8 and tomorrow’s pole, just ahead of Tveter and Kevin Joerg.
    Provisional Race 1 Classification
    Driver
    Team
    1
    Niko KARI
    Arden International
    2
    George RUSSELL
    ART Grand Prix
    3
    Arjun MAINI
    Jenzer Motorsport
    4
    Daniel TICKTUM
    DAMS
    5
    Alessio LORANDI
    Jenzer Motorsport
    6
    Steijn SCHOTHORST
    Arden International
    7
    Dorian BOCCOLACCI
    Trident
    8
    Anthoine HUBERT
    ART Grand Prix
    9
    Ryan TVETER
    Trident
    10
    Kevin JOERG
    Trident
    11
    Bruno BAPTISTA
    DAMS
    12
    Juan Manuel CORREA
    Jenzer Motorsport
    13
    Raoul HYMAN
    Campos Racing
    14
    Jack AITKEN
    ART Grand Prix
    15
    Nirei FUKUZUMI
    ART Grand Prix
    16
    Tatiana CALDERON
    DAMS
    17
    Leonardo PULCINI
    Arden International

    eom/GP3 series press release

  • Russell strikes back for 4th pole; Maini takes P5: GP3 series

    George Russell pulled out a champion’s drive in this afternoon’s qualifying session at the Yas Marina Circuit: the Briton defied the difficulty of jumping from GP3 to F1 with Force India and back today with a stunning last lap to claim his fourth pole position of the season (and rounding out 2017 by ensuring that ART Grand Prix grabbed every pole of the year) by three tenths from Arden International teammates Leonardo Pulcini and Niko Kari.
    The new champion’s best time of 1:54.751 came after the chequered flag had dropped: Russell was the last man in a series of quickest laps to ensure that his rivals realised he will not be taking this weekend easily just because the pressure of the championship is over.
    The track opened to hot and sunny conditions, with all of the drivers running straight out to take advantage of the F1 rubber from their recent free practice. Russell, who had helped to lay down some of it, was taking the early part of the session easy as his rivals squabbled over the top spot: Dorian Boccolacci, Arjun Maini and Dan Ticktum all spent time on the top spot before returning to the pits, with Russell staying out one lap later and running green in sector 1 and purple in sector 2 before ominously aborting the lap as he returned to the pits, confident he had more to come.
    With 5 minutes remaining the drivers were swapping best times in the various sectors as they warmed their tyres for the push to the flag: Pulcini and then Russell claimed P1 with a few minutes remaining, then pulled back for a slow lap before pushing again on the last tour. Maini ran wide out of the marina section and lost his chance while up front Kari topped the timesheets before being usurped by teammate Pulcini and then Russell as the chequered flag dropped, and the session was over.
    Behind the top 3 Ticktum just missed out again for P4, but finished ahead of Maini, Nirei Fukuzumi, Boccolacci (who lost time in sector 2 and missed his chance to shine), Raoul Hyman, Anthoine Hubert and Alessio Lorandi were among the 12 drivers within a second of the top spot, all of whom will be looking to unleash their speed in tomorrow’s Race 1.
    Provisional Qualifying Classification
    Driver
    Team
    Laptime
    Laps
    1.
    George RUSSELL
    ART Grand Prix
    1:54.751
    12
    2.
    Leonardo PULCINI
    Arden International
    1:55.073
    12
    3.
    Niko KARI
    Arden International
    1:55.157
    11
    4.
    Daniel TICKTUM
    DAMS
    1:55.289
    12
    5.
    Arjun MAINI
    Jenzer Motorsport
    1:55.466
    11
    6.
    Nirei FUKUZUMI
    ART Grand Prix
    1:55.484
    12
    7.
    Dorian BOCCOLACCI
    Trident
    1:55.533
    12
    8.
    Raoul HYMAN
    Campos Racing
    1:55.583
    11
    9.
    Anthoine HUBERT
    ART Grand Prix
    1:55.594
    12
    10.
    Alessio LORANDI
    Jenzer Motorsport
    1:55.605
    12
    11.
    Steijn SCHOTHORST
    Arden International
    1:55.610
    12
    12.
    Ryan TVETER
    Trident
    1:55.684
    11
    13.
    Tatiana CALDERON
    DAMS
    1:55.772
    13
    14.
    Kevin JOERG
    Trident
    1:55.774
    12
    15.
    Jack AITKEN
    ART Grand Prix
    1:55.823
    12
    16.
    Giuliano ALESI
    Trident
    1:55.909
    12
    17.
    Bruno BAPTISTA
    DAMS
    1:56.088
    13
    18.
    Marcos SIEBERT
    Campos Racing
    1:56.485
    10
    19.
    Juan Manuel CORREA
    Jenzer Motorsport
    1:56.597
    12
    20.
    Julien FALCHERO
    Campos Racing
    1:57.015
    9

    eom/press release