Subscribe

Sign up for free

  • Get quick access to your favorite articles

  • Manage alerts on breaking news and favorite drivers

  • Make your voice heard with article commenting.

Autosport Plus

Discover premium content
Subscribe

Abu Dhabi Formula 2 test: Carlin's Louis Deletraz fastest in opener

Louis Deletraz set the pace on the opening day of post-season Formula 2 testing in Abu Dhabi

Deletraz, who had his maiden Formula 1 outing with Haas earlier this week, led the way with a 1m49.984s effort in the afternoon, driving for the series' newly-crowned teams' champion Carlin.

The afternoon session was suspended for half an hour - and subsequently extended by the same amount - due to a track lighting problem at the Yas Marina Circuit.

Deletraz overhauled DAMS driver Nicholas Latifi for the top spot shortly after the interruption, before dipping into the sub-1m50s margin with 30 minutes left on the clock.

Luca Ghiotto, returning to the Russian Time outfit that is undergoing a change in ownership, had topped the morning and found extra pace after the break.

But he had to settle for second and time that was a tenth and a half down on Deletraz.

GP3 graduate Callum Ilott was the top rookie in third place for Charouz, while experienced F2 racers Latifi and Nyck de Vries - the latter recently confirmed for the full 2019 campaign with ART - made up the top five.

Sauber development driver Tatiana Calderon, new McLaren recruit Sergio Sette Camara, Carlin's confirmed 2019 signing Nobuharu Matsushita and Prema returnee Sean Gelael were the other drivers to have outpaced Ghiotto's morning benchmark in the second session.

Gelael's team-mate Mick Schumacher was 12th in his maiden F2 test.

The European F3 champion slotted in behind fellow rookies Juan Manuel Correa and Nikita Mazepin, but ahead of another two other GP3 graduates in Ryan Tveter and champion Anthoine Hubert.

Rebellion LMP1 driver Thomas Laurent joined de Vries in bringing out the red flag during the day and ultimately rounded out the order, finishing four seconds off the pace.

Both of the F2 sessions were preceded by GP3 track action, with Niko Kari ending the day quickest for Trident.

The ex-Red Bull junior was over half a second clear thanks to a final-hour best lap as he led European F3 drivers Jehan Daruvala and Sebastian Fernandez.

David Beckmann, who won three of the last eight GP3 races, was fifth, heading a refreshed line-up for champion squad ART.

Result

Pos Driver Team Gap Laps
1 Louis Deletraz Carlin 1m49.984s 27
2 Luca Ghiotto RUSSIAN TIME 0.143s 28
3 Callum Ilott Charouz Racing System 0.266s 30
4 Nicholas Latifi DAMS 0.333s 30
5 Nyck de Vries ART Grand Prix 0.351s 29
6 Tatiana Calderon Charouz Racing System 0.377s 36
7 Sergio Sette Camara DAMS 0.465s 27
8 Nobuharu Matsushita Carlin 0.527s 28
9 Sean Gelael Pertamina Prema Theodore Racing 0.555s 25
10 Juan Manuel Correa MP Motorsport 0.603s 30
11 Nikita Mazepin ART Grand Prix 0.723s 31
12 Mick Schumacher Pertamina Prema Theodore Racing 0.818s 30
13 Anthoine Hubert MP Motorsport 1.194s 27
14 Guanyu Zhou RUSSIAN TIME 1.319s 26
15 Ryan Tveter Trident 1.455s 27
16 Ralf Aron Campos Vexatec Racing 1.747s 23
17 Ralph Boschung BWT Arden 2.005s 28
18 Marino Sato Campos Vexatec Racing 2.236s 27
19 Leonardo Pulcini Trident 2.782s 12
20 Thomas Laurent BWT Arden 4.236s 22

Be part of the Autosport community

Join the conversation
Previous article Red Bull F1 junior Ticktum won't contest full-time 2019 F2 campaign
Next article Correa tops second day of F2 Abu Dhabi testing, Schumacher second

Top Comments

There are no comments at the moment. Would you like to write one?

Sign up for free

  • Get quick access to your favorite articles

  • Manage alerts on breaking news and favorite drivers

  • Make your voice heard with article commenting.

Autosport Plus

Discover premium content
Subscribe