Lawson ends day fourth fastest, Armstrong just one place back

Liam Lawson and Marcus Armstrong have unlocked another gear in speed in day two of the FIA Formula 2 post-season test at Bahrain, finishing the day fourth and fifth quickest.

Coming off a sturdy rookie outing yesterday to end up 11th quickest, Lawson was a standout driver in the morning to finish third on the timing boards.

The 18-year-old would better his effort in the afternoon session, concluding the day as the fourth quickest driver overall.

Armstrong, on the other hand, has also adapted well to his new environment with DAMS. He finished the afternoon session fifth fastest, just a fraction over one-tenth behind his fellow Kiwi.

Both were handy in their long-run pace too, with Lawson completing 74 tours of the Sakhir International Circuit, and Armstrong a mammoth 82 laps.

Fastest for the second day in succession was Carlin’s Jehan Daruvala, edging out PREMA Racing’s Robert Shwartzman by 0.167s at the chequered flag.

Teammate to Daruvala for the three-day test, Dan Ticktum, was third overall to cap off a successful day of running for the Carlin outfit.

Initially, it was Ralph Boschung who topped the morning session after posting his best lap time within the first hour of running.

The majority of teams were focusing on longer runs in the morning, given the windy weather made the track surface inadequate for one-lap flyers.

Prema didn’t set a competitive time until the final ten minutes of the opening three-hour session, with Robert Shwartzman backing out of his best lap to finish 22nd and bottom of the timesheets.

Though it was soon back to usual ways for Prema, with Shwartzman and teammate Oscar Piastri launching to the top two positions in the opening moments of the afternoon session.

Yesterday’s pace-setters returned to the top order with 90-minutes left on the clock, Daruvala once again leading Ticktum.

Both were able to find small improvements over their next laps, but the final hour was interrupted by multiple red flags. Firstly, Matteo Nannini grounded to a halt at Turn 8, before Theo Pourchaire span into the barriers at the same corner.

A late effort by Shwartzman had him vault back into the top spot, but he was quickly dethroned by Daruvala one lap later.

Lawson’s best time also placed him as the day’s best-placed rookie.

Morning Session:

Afternoon Session: