Sakhir, Day 1: Daruvala beats out Ticktum on Day 1 of post-season testing

Formula 2’s latest race winner Jehan Daruvala picked up from where he left off in Sakhir, topping the first day of post-season testing. The Red Bull junior finished 0.106s faster than his Carlin teammate Dan Ticktum, while Louis Delétraz completed the top three with MP Motorsport.

A handful of drivers managed to get an install lap in before running was brought to a halt by the Bahrain International Circuit, so that they could ensure that all the appropriate marshalling and safety support was in place. The session resumed at 1.30pm, with a new finishing time of 6.30pm and no break in-between.

Formula 3 title challenger Logan Sargeant was amongst the first to get out and stretch his legs with Campos, setting the initial pace at 1:44.715, before action was paused once more when Matteo Nannini stopped in the gravel at Turn 3.

There were further red flags when David Beckmann and Clement Novalak stopped on track, after Callum Ilott had clambered up the order. The Briton was assisting Charouz on Day 1 and took the time down to 1:43.360, before eventually finishing in sixth.

Daruvala and Delétraz were tussling for second at one point, before the Red Bull junior found some extra pace and leapt to P1, becoming the first driver to dip under 1m 43s.

F3 Champion Oscar Piastri found his feet at the two-hour mark, taking PREMA to the top of the table by five tenths, the PREMA man ended his debut in fifth as the highest placed rookie. There were three further stoppages, with Beckmann, Ralph Boschung and Sargeant all coming to a halt on track throughout the afternoon.

Daruvala and Delétraz picked up their battle at the top of the timesheets in the final 90 minutes, as the Swiss took first for a period, before the Indian broke the 1m 42s barrier with Carlin.

Daruvala was joined at the top by his Carlin teammate for the day, Dan Ticktum. The Briton dipping into second and pushing Deletraz down to third.

PREMA’s Robert Shwartzman fired ahead of his teammate in the final hour to take fifth, four tenths off the fastest time. Boschung had set a time fastest enough for P7 before stopping on track, with UNI-Virtuosi pairing Guanyu Zhou and Felipe Drugovich in eighth and ninth. ART Grand Prix’s Christian Lundgaard completed the top ten.

The field will be back for Day 2 on Wednesday at 9.00am (local time).

1 Jehan Daruvala Carlin 1:41.848 52
2 Dan Ticktum Carlin ’1:41.954 51
3 Louis Deletraz MP Motorsport 1:42.251 43
4 Robert Shwartzman PREMA Racing 1:42.253 46
5 Oscar Piastri PREMA Racing 1:42.424 44
6 Callum Ilott Charouz Racing System 1:42.450 46
7 Ralph Boschung Campos Racing 1:42.480 53
8 Guanyu Zhou UNI-Virtuosi 1:42.520 60
9 Felipe Drugovich UNI-Virtuosi 1:42.718 57
10 Christian Lundgaard ART Grand Prix 1:42.856 53
11 Liam Lawson Hitech Grand Prix 1:42.879 50
12 Lirim Zendeli MP Motorsport 1:42.907 55
13 Juri Vips Hitech Grand Prix 1:42.972 43
14 Marcus Armstrong DAMS 1:43.018 42
15 Clement Novalak Trident 1:43.049 35
16 Theo Pourchaire ART Grand Prix 1:43.075 55
17 Roy Nissany DAMS 1:43.078 50
18 Logan Sargeant Campos Racing 1:43.137 47
19 David Beckmann Charouz Racing System 1:43.309 43
20 Matteo Nannini BWT HWA RACELAB 1:43.497 41
21 Roberto Merhi BWT HWA RACELAB 1:44.179 33
22 Marino Sato Trident 1:44.428 39