Abu Dhabi F2 tests, Day 2: Delétraz continues hot form on Day 2 of testing

Louis Delétraz led post-season testing in Abu Dhabi for the second day in a row, as the experienced Swiss racer continues to revel in Charouz machinery. The in-form 22-year-old finished ahead of PREMA Racing’s Robert Shwartzman and Carlin’s Nikita Mazepin.

There were just two changes to the field for the second day of testing, as Ralph Boschung took a turn in the MP Motorsport and Roy Nissany tried out the Trident.

With 20 minutes gone, it was a similar story to the morning of testing on Day 1, as Mick Schumacher put in a series of fast laps to top the table, setting the benchmark at 1:51.308. Delétraz was swiftly back on top though, as he smashed the fastest time from the first day to leap above the German.

Callum Ilott followed suit in the UNI-Virtuosi, as he matched Delétraz’ time of 1:50.461 exactly, to prop him up in first. Marcus Armstrong has had no trouble making the leap from Formula 3 so far, as the ART Grand Prix ace topped the times for the second time in as many days, leaping above Delétraz and Ilott.

Mazepin was running fourth, and also faster than on Day 1, when his Carlin machine stopped on track and brought out a fleeting red flag. The session got underway once more with 50 minutes to go, but no one would better Armstrong before lunch. Delétraz, Ilott, Mazepin and Guanyu Zhou completed the top five. Boschung was sixth on his return to F2, ahead of Shwartzman, Daniel Ticktum, Felipe Drugovich and Christian Lundgaard.

The afternoon stint was much more focused on long-runs, as the drivers divided 682 laps between them. Giuliano Alesi led for the first hour in his new BWT HWA RACELAB machine, before Drugovich and Boschung both took turns with the MP Motorsport.

Shwartzman enjoyed his first spell at the top of the leaderboard when he broke the 1m 52s barrier with two and a half hours of the afternoon to go. The F3 Champ led for all but five minutes of the remaining time, as Delétraz stole the show for the second day in a row.

Leaving it late once again, the Charouz racer beat Shwartzman’s time by 0.052s to run home first. That left the Russian to settle for second, ahead of Mazepin, Piquet and Boschung. Drugovich, Yuki Tsunoda, Artem Markelov, Alesi and Marino Sato completed the top 10.

The last day of testing begins tomorrow at 9am (local time), when Delétraz will attempt to make it a hat-trick and top all three days.

Morning session

1 Marcus Armstrong ART Grand Prix 1:50.436 40
2 Louis Delétraz Charouz Racing System 1:50.461 39
3 Callum Ilott UNI-Virtuosi 1:50.461 25
4 Nikita Mazepin Carlin 1:50.501 22
5 Guanyu Zhou UNI-Virtuosi 1:50.564 42
6 Ralph Boschung MP Motorsport 1:50.630 32
7 Robert Shwartzman PREMA Racing 1:50.804 31
8 Dan Ticktum DAMS 1:50.818 27
9 Felipe Drugovich MP Motorsport 1:50.831 37
10 Christian Lundgaard ART Grand Prix 1:50.888 36
11 Mick Schumacher PREMA Racing 1:50.897 12
12 Niko Kari Campos Racing 1:51.032 30
13 Yuki Tsunoda Carlin 1:51.172 36
14 Artem Markelov BWT HWA RACELAB 1:51.193 23
15 Giuliano Alesi BWT HWA RACELAB 1:51.302 27
16 Sean Gelael DAMS 1:51.313 24
17 Pedro Piquet Charouz Racing System 1:51.479 45
18 Roy Nissany Trident 1:51.979 36
19 Marino Sato Trident 1:51.986 38
20 Guilherme Samaia Campos Racing 1:52.276 35

Afternoon session

1 Louis Deletraz Charouz Racing System 1:50.124 44
2 Robert Shwartzman PREMA Racing 1:50.176 29
3 Nikita Mazepin Carlin 1:50.635 27
4 Pedro Piquet Charouz Racing System 1:50.812 47
5 Ralph Boschung MP Motorsport 1:50.869 24
6 Felipe Drugovich MP Motorsport 1:51.134 33
7 Yuki Tsunoda Carlin 1:51.175 29
8 Artem Markelov BWT HWA RACELAB 1:51.536 33
9 Giuliano Alesi BWT HWA RACELAB 1:51.679 44
10 Marino Sato Trident 1:51.877 30
11 Guilherme Samaia Campos Racing 1:52.035 16
12 Guanyu Zhou UNI-Virtuosi 1:52.172 43
13 Sean Gelael DAMS 1:55.916 49
14 Christian Lundgaard ART Grand Prix 1:55.961 37
15 Dan Ticktum DAMS 1:56.111 43
16 Roy Nissany Trident 1:56.124 43
17 Callum Ilott UNI-Virtuosi 1:56.261 37
18 Niko Kari Campos Racing 1:56.283 32
19 Marcus Armstrong ART Grand Prix 1:56.643 42
20 Mick Schumacher PREMA Racing - -