Liam Lawson set the fifth fastest combined lap time on the first day of Formula 2 pre-seasoning testing in Bahrain. Marcus Armstrong ended the day’s action strongly in 14th.
F2 rookie Lawson was second in the day’s three-hour morning stint, with only a few cars using the session to post flying laps.
Carlin’s Dan Ticktum went to the top in the morning, finishing up six-tenths clear of Lawson. Ticktum’s teammate, Jehan Daruvala, ended up third fastest, a further 0.140s back.
Yet most teams took the morning to trial race set-ups, focusing on long-run pace over one-lap speed.
Armstrong was the ninth fastest driver, 1.4s adrift of Ticktum. But the Kiwi would only turn a mere 13 laps, the third-lowest total across the field.
The afternoon session again started slowly, with no one eager to push for purple lap times.
Eventually, times began to tumble in the final 30-minutes, with a flurry of hot laps shaking up the running order.
Lawson and Hitech teammate Juri Vips had the Sahkir circuit to themselves at one stage, with the Kiwi surging to the top of the timesheets. Still, the 1.44.280 Lawson set was some six-tenths slower than his morning run pace.
The Kiwi was finally usurped for the top spot by fellow Formula 3 graduate David Beckmann.
Beckmann posted the day’s only sub-1.43s lap time late into the final stages of the afternoon. His 1.42.844 would end up being the quickest overall of the day.
Lawson would eventually slip back to eighth at the chequered flag, though his morning session lap time would see him finish fifth on combined times.
Armstrong ended the day 14th quickest on combined times, though they did spend large portions dedicated to long-run pace. The 20-year-old racked up 34 laps in the afternoon, the fifth-largest total.
His times are expected to improve over the next two days when DAMS begin their qualifying simulations. Teammate Roy Nissany was two places further back in 16th.
Title favourites Prema were notable omissions from the top of the timesheets. Reigning F3 champion Oscar Piastri was ninth, and Robert Shwartzman finished a lowly 17th.
Combined results:
| P | Driver | Session 1 | Session 2 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | David Beckmann | 1’44.529 | 1’42.844 |
| 2 | Dan Ticktum | 1’43.021 | 1’48.885 |
| 3 | Christian Lundgaard | 1’44.880 | 1’43.534 |
| 4 | Théo Pourchaire | 1’45.038 | 1’43.570 |
| 5 | Liam Lawson | 1’43.621 | 1’44.280 |
| 6 | Jehan Daruvala | 1’43.761 | 1’49.637 |
| 7 | Felipe Drugovich | 1’44.706 | 1’43.871 |
| 8 | Jüri Vips | 1’44.143 | 1’44.079 |
| 9 | Oscar Piastri | 1’44.346 | 1’44.088 |
| 10 | Lirim Zendeli | 1’44.095 | 1’45.010 |
| 11 | Marino Sato | 1’44.620 | 1’44.279 |
| 12 | Bent Viscaal | 1’44.408 | 1’44.314 |
| 13 | Guanyu Zhou | 1’45.060 | 1’44.322 |
| 14 | Marcus Armstrong | 1’44.480 | 1’44.331 |
| 15 | Guilherme Samaia | 1’44.332 | 1’45.189 |
| 16 | Roy Nissany | 1’45.471 | 1’44.581 |
| 17 | Robert Shwartzman | 1’58.546 | 1’44.678 |
| 18 | Richard Verschoor | 1’44.859 | 1’45.134 |
| 19 | Matteo Nannini | 1’45.486 | 1’45.316 |
| 20 | Ralph Boschung | 1’45.496 | 1’45.561 |
| 21 | Gianluca Petecof | 1’46.362 | 1’46.238 |
| 22 | Alessio Deledda | 1’48.816 | 1’48.990 |