Marcus Armstrong and Liam Lawson have both finished inside the top-five after day two in the FIA Formula 2 pre-season test at Bahrain.
The Kiwi duo opted to complete qualifying simulations in the morning session, reserving the afternoon to focus on long-run performance.
Armstrong would end the morning with the third-fastest time, 0.10s shy of Brent Viscaal. Christian Lundgaard would finish atop the leader board with an electric 1.41.697.
Lundgaard’s time was comfortably the quickest of the day. The Dane would then see out the afternoon sessions as the only driver to dip into the 1.41s bracket.
Lawson was only one place behind Armstrong after the morning but would end up fifth on the combined results due to a quick lap by Dan Ticktum.
Though Lawson’s day wasn’t without its scares. The Hitech car brought out a red flag in the final hour of the afternoon after stopping on track. The team has given no word on what the issue was for Lawson. However, it is likely he will be back in action tomorrow.
Lap times for most of the field were significantly slower in the afternoon as nearly everyone dedicated time to understanding race pace. Armstrong was 16th, and Lawson ended up 18th.
The promising signs are that both Kiwis seem comfortable with their new cars in qualifying trim. Until Lawson’s mechanical mishap, they also looked reliable on long stints.
Prema enjoyed a better day at the office. Robert Shwartzman was sixth fastest, 0.01s behind Lawson, while Oscar Piastri was tenth.
Tonight sees the field begin the final day of the pre-season test and will be the last chance to complete some laps before the first practice session of 2021.
Combined Results:
| P | Driver | Session 1 | Session 2 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Christian Lundgaard | 1’41.697 | 1:46.913 |
| 2 | Bent Viscaal | 1’42.028 | 1:44.879 |
| 3 | Marcus Armstrong | 1’42.038 | 1:47.900 |
| 4 | Dan Ticktum | 1’43.158 | 1:42.185 |
| 5 | Liam Lawson | 1’42.256 | 1:48.814 |
| 6 | Robert Shwartzman | 1’42.257 | 1:47.614 |
| 7 | Jüri Vips | 1’42.299 | 1:47.497 |
| 8 | Théo Pourchaire | 1’42.347 | 1:47.429 |
| 9 | Roy Nissany | 1’42.419 | 1:48.974 |
| 10 | Oscar Piastri | 1’42.462 | 1:49.824 |
| 11 | Jehan Daruvala | 1’43.616 | 1:42.619 |
| 12 | Marino Sato | 1’42.997 | 1:49.501 |
| 13 | Guanyu Zhou | 1’43.997 | 1:43.114 |
| 14 | Guilherme Samaia | 1’44.575 | 1:43.129 |
| 15 | Felipe Drugovich | 1’45.865 | 1:43.194 |
| 16 | Ralph Boschung | 1’43.206 | 1:44.320 |
| 17 | David Beckmann | 1’43.954 | 1:44.640 |
| 18 | Richard Verschoor | 1’44.485 | 1:44.335 |
| 19 | Lirim Zendeli | 1’44.346 | 1:45.052 |
| 20 | Gianluca Petecof | 1’44.575 | 1:44.569 |
| 21 | Matteo Nannini | 1’45.865 | 1:50.445 |
| 22 | Alessio Deledda | 1’46.413 | 1:47.904 |
