Armstrong pips Lawson to Kiwi 1-2 in last day of F2 test

Marcus Armstrong has wrapped up the final day of Formula 2 pre-season testing in Bahrain at the top of the timesheets, with fellow Kiwi Liam Lawson just one place back.

The New Zealand 1-2 was the case for most of the morning as teams dedicated the session to another round of qualifying simulations.

Lawson initially set the early benchmark, with Armstrong eclipsing the Hitech driver just before the half-hour mark.

Neither improved on their time from then. The margin between first and second was a mere 0.45s.

Juri Vips was third fastest in a healthy day for the Hitech outfit. The Estonian’s best lap was only 0.06s slower than his teammate Lawson’s.

Guanyu Zhou and Lirim Zendeli rounded out the top-five.

Thanks to his fast lap in yesterday’s morning session, Christian Lundgaard finishes the three-day test with the overall quickest time. The Dane’s time was half-a-second up on Armstrong’s best. Yet the ART driver could only post the 14th best time today.

Teams once again used the afternoon session to experiment with long-run pace and race set-ups. No one across the 22-driver field would better their morning session time, with Ralph Boschung topping the final three-hour slot.

Lawson was the highest placed Kiwi in seventh, while Armstrong was a few spots back in 11th. Still, Armstrong racked up the second-highest number of laps, circling the Sakhir International Circuit a total of 61 times.

Lawson would only complete 39 tours, having encountered a minor drama that left him waiting in the garage for the first 90 minutes.

Both Kiwis have proven over the pre-season test that they have the speed and the machinery to challenge up the front this season.

But there are some questions left to be answered, such as the true pace of the Prema team? And will Hitech have ironed out the teething issues that hindered Lawson across the three days before the opening race?

The teams will return to the Bahrain circuit for the championship opener on March 26-28.