F2Indians Abroad

Carlin’s Jehan Daruvala fastest on Day 2: F2 Testing

Sakhir (Bahrain) 2 March 2020: A rookie driver went fastest for the second day running of pre-season testing at Sakhir, Bahrain, as Carlin’s Jehan Daruvala beat out the experience of 2019’s best debutant, Guanyu Zhou, and fellow F3 graduate, Pedro Piquet, for top spot in the standings.

File photo of Jehan Daruvala
File photo of Jehan Daruvala with Prema Racing in 2019. Photo Prema Racing

The field were fast out of the shutters in the first session of the day, with all bar Jack Aitken getting out there in the opening 15 minutes. Of those, it was Zhou who went fastest, testing the water on a sandy track with a tour of 1:46.041.

There was red flag period as Nikita Mazepin stopped on track, before order resumed and Callum Ilott replaced his teammate at the top of the chart. The Briton was swiftly pipped by Artem Markelov, as the Russian took the times below 1m 44s for the first time. Shortly after, he was joined in the top two by his new teammate Giuliano Alesi, as newcomers HWA RACELAB started to find their feet.

Impetus switched to longer runs and garage work for the next hour, as Markelov remained untouched at the top of the order. Aitken and Luca Ghiotto both enjoyed spells propping up the Russian, with similar times, while undertaking more than 100 laps between the three of them.

There was a late flurry of laptimes as the session drew to a close, with Mazepin roaring round in 1:43.825 to take the morning’s fastest lap with less than 10 minutes to go. Ghiotto got within 0.005s of his tour, ahead of Markelov, who only missed out himself by 0.057s. Mazepin picked up from where he left off as the cars returned to the windy circuit for the afternoon session, with the sun setting on the Sakhir desert. The Russian took less than half an hour to beat the fastest time from the morning, as they dropped below 1m 42s for the first time on Day 2. He was backed up by the continually impressive Daruvala, thriving with Carlin on just his second day in F2 machinery.

Robert Shwartzman had been quiet in the opening day and a half of testing, but made his maiden appearance in the top three of times early during the afternoon, as he began to get to grips with his PREMA.

The rookies were running the show at this point, as teammates Daruvala and Yuki Tsunoda jumped to first and second on their 10th tour of the track this afternoon. Experience made a comeback though, as Aitken, Ghiotto and Sean Gelael stole the top three places in one fell swoop, by slashing the times to below 1m 42s for the first time in testing.

Shwartzman managed to squeeze his way back into that three as he continued to show what he is capable of in an F2 car. Sergey Sirotkin (ART) then came to the fore, as the session entered its final half hour; the Russian nudged ahead of Zhou in the standings, going just 0.075s quicker.

The script was yet again re-written in the very final moments, when Daruvala thundered around the track to set the fastest time and further solidify his growing confidence. The Indian racer set 1:41.260 on his final tour, before diving into the garage to cap off a successful day’s work.

Zhou, Piquet and Mick Schumacher also all set fast laps on their final tour of the Bahrain International circuit, to complete the top four places, pushing Sirotkin down to fifth. Aitken, Ilott, Nobuharu Matsushita, Felipe Drugovich and Shwartzman completed the top ten.

FIA Formula 2 Championship 2020 – Pre-season testing, Day 2, morning session

DRIVER TEAM LAPTIME LAPS
1 Nikita Mazepin Hitech Grand Prix 1:43.825 19
2 Luca Ghiotto Hitech Grand Prix 1:43.830 29
3 Artem Markelov BWT HWA RACELAB 1:43.882 23
4 Guanyu Zhou UNI-Virtuosi 1:43.978 31
5 Jack Aitken Campos Racing 1:43.986 36
6 Giuliano Alesi BWT HWA RACELAB 1:44.987 32
7 Marino Sato Trident 1:45.251 37
8 Callum Ilott UNI-Virtuosi 1:45.578 29
9 Felipe Drugovich MP Motorsport 1:45.636 29
10 Guilherme Samaia Campos Racing 1:45.867 28
11 Louis Deletraz Charouz Racing System 1:46.997 39
12 Mick Schumacher PREMA Racing 1:47.231 38
13 Pedro Piquet Charouz Racing System 1:47.242 41
14 Nobuharu Matsushita MP Motorsport 1:47.573 37
15 Sean Gelael DAMS 1:47.590 43
16 Sergey Sirotkin ART Grand Prix 1:47.601 33
17 Robert Shwartzman PREMA Racing 1:48.003 38
18 Dan Ticktum DAMS 1:48.036 37
19 Marcus Armstrong ART Grand Prix 1:48.852 42
20 Yuki Tsunoda Carlin 1:48.857 45
21 Jehan Daruvala Carlin 1:48.938 45
22 Roy Nissany Trident 1:49.207 35

FIA Formula 2 Championship 2020 – Pre-season testing, Day 2, afternoon session

  Driver Team Lap time LAPS
1 Jehan Daruvala Carlin 1:41.260 23
2 Guanyu Zhou UNI-Virtuosi 1:41.377 29
3 Pedro Piquet Charouz Racing System 1:41.491 24
4 Mick Schumacher PREMA Racing 1:41.531 33
5 Sergey Sirotkin ART Grand Prix 1:41.602 31
6 Jack Aitken Campos Racing 1:41.706 21
7 Callum Ilott UNI-Virtuosi 1:41.758 25
8 Nobuharu Matsushita MP Motorsport 1:41.784 15
9 Felipe Drugovich MP Motorsport 1:41.807 20
10 Robert Shwartzman PREMA Racing 1:41.972 29
11 Dan Ticktum DAMS 1:41.976 24
12 Sean Gelael DAMS 1:42.069 20
13 Marcus Armstrong ART Grand Prix 1:42.098 25
14 Luca Ghiotto Hitech Grand Prix 1:42.156 27
15 Roy Nissany Trident 1:42.355 20
16 Yuki Tsunoda Carlin 1:42.393 23
17 Nikita Mazepin Hitech Grand Prix 1:42.557 23
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