De Vries claims final day of Bahrain test

Dutchman leads the way on day three

De Vries claims final day of Bahrain test
Author: Franck Drui
31 March 2017 - 15:20

Nyck De Vries has set the pace on the final day of the FIA Formula 2 test at the Bahrain International Circuit, grabbing the top spot in both sessions as he denied his rivals twice over, with a time of 1:40.583, just seven thousands ahead of Nobuharu Matsushita and Oliver Rowland, in the morning session, and with an afternoon time of 1:41.880, ahead of Rapax teammate Johnny Cecotto and Norman Nato.

The morning session opened under overcast conditions and slightly cooler temperatures than seen for the last two days, with De Vries clearly enjoying the elements as he set the early pace. The PREMA pair of Charles Leclerc and Antonio Fuoco soon took over on top, with the Italian the first to drop below 1:41.

At the one hour mark yesterday’s quickest driver Nicholas Latifi grabbed the top spot, but teammate Oliver Rowland had his eye on the prize: the Briton dethroned the Canadian by just eight hundredths, with Matsushita soon splitting the DAMS pair, indicating the fine margins between the teams, but with just over a half an hour remaining De Vries stole past them all, grabbing P1 by just 0.007s.

Following a one hour break the pitlane was green again, with de Vries the first man on track as he looked to resume hostilities. Artem Markelov topped the timesheets in the opening stages before the Pertamina Arden of Sean Gelael and Nato took over, but on the one hour mark Cecotto went top, ahead of De Vries and Nato.

The Dutchman bided his time before striking in the final hour, again grabbing the top spot with Nato closing in to P2, but Cecotto reclaimed the position just before the chequered flag to hand his Rapax team a 1-2 in the final session before the opening round of the FIA Formula 2 Championship, to be run in Bahrain in just 2 weeks’ time, on 14-16 April.

Morning results

PosDriverTeamTimeLaps
1. Nyck de Vries Rapax 1:40.583 27
2. Oliver Rowland DAMS 1:40.590 16
3. Nobuharu Matsushita ART Grand Prix 1:40.618 18
4. Nicholas Latifi DAMS 1:40.679 12
5. Antonio Fuoco PREMA Racing 1:40.780 22
6. Alexander Albon ART Grand Prix 1:40.844 17
7. Charles Leclerc PREMA Racing 1:40.916 33
8. Norman Nato Pertamina Arden 1:41.180 37
9. Sean Gelael Pertamina Arden 1:41.181 35
10. Artem Markelov RUSSIAN TIME 1:41.197 23
11. Luca Ghiotto RUSSIAN TIME 1:41.211 26
12. Louis Deletraz Racing Engineering 1:41.281 21
13. Sergio Sette Camara MP Motorsport 1:41.329 13
14. Johnny Cecotto Rapax 1:41.448 30
15. Gustav Malja Racing Engineering 1:41.592 17
16. Ralph Boschung Campos Racing 1:41.602 32
17. Sergio Canamasas Trident 1:41.960 24
18. Raoul Hyman Campos Racing 1:42.359 32
19. Nabil Jeffri Trident 1:42.580 25
20. Jordan King MP Motorsport 1:45.862 29

Afternoon results

PosDriverTeamTimeLaps
1. Nyck de Vries Rapax 1:41.888 40
2. Johnny Cecotto Rapax 1:41.914 22
3. Norman Nato Pertamina Arden 1:42.807 42
4. Nabil Jeffri Trident 1:43.821 36
5. Sergio Sette Camara MP Motorsport 1:44.042 34
6. Oliver Rowland DAMS 1:44.923 42
7. Jordan King MP Motorsport 1:45.007 32
8. Artem Markelov RUSSIAN TIME 1:45.111 43
9. Ralph Boschung Campos Racing 1:45.265 31
10. Nicholas Latifi DAMS 1:45.354 43
11. Antonio Fuoco PREMA Racing 1:45.436 37
12. Luca Ghiotto RUSSIAN TIME 1:45.656 31
13. Alexander Albon ART Grand Prix 1:45.754 51
14. Sean Gelael Pertamina Arden 1:45.841 36
15. Nobuharu Matsushita ART Grand Prix 1:46.061 53
16. Raoul Hyman Campos Racing 1:46.072 28
17. Louis Delétraz Racing Engineering 1:46.314 39
18. Gustav Malja Racing Engineering 1:46.539 45
19. Charles Leclerc PREMA Racing 1:46.925 35
20. Sergio Canamasas Trident 1:47.261 31
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