Having put the first three seasonal events in Sakhir, Jeddah and Melbourne behind them, Formula 2 arrives in Europe for three days of testing on the Montmelò circuit. Let’s do a quick review. Zane Maloney leads the general classification with 62 points ahead of rookie Paul Aron with 47 and Dennis Hauger with 41. The six races held so far have featured five different winners. Maloney achieved a great one-two in Bahrain, in Saudi Arabia Hauger and Enzo Fittipaldi won while in Melbourne first place went to Roman Stanek and Isack Hadjar.
The day of testing saw Gabriel Bortoleto of the Virtuosi team prevail and set the best time in the second round in 1’25″143 ahead of Jak Crawford (Dams) in 1’25″182. The difference between the American and the third place finisher in the afternoon, Enzo Fittipaldi, who set a time of 1’25″744, was notable.
The Prema team was sixth with Oliver Bearman and 11th with Andrea Antonelli. As always happens in F2, there is a big difference in performance between those who work on set-ups, those who look for time, those who dedicate themselves to long runs. Red flag for Zak O’Sullivan, who remained stationary along the track. Session also stopped due to Antonelli’s exit at turn 9.
The morning session, which started on a wet track, saw Hauger of MP Motorsport prevail in 1’25″372 ahead of Kush Maini (Virtuosi) in 1’25″486. Tridenti did well, third and fourth with Richard Verschoor and Roman Stanek. A red flag was necessary for Ritomo Miyata.
Tuesday 23 April 2024, 1st round
1 – Dennis Hauger – MP Motorsport – 1’25″372 – 41 laps
2 – Kush Maini – Campos – Virtuosi – 1’25″486 – 28
3 – Richard Verschoor – Trident – 1’25″702 – 22
4 – Roman Stanek – Trident – 1’26″025 – 26
5 – Gabriel Bortoleto – Virtuosi – 1’26″046 – 32
6 – Franco Colapinto – MP Motorsport – 1’26″064 – 29
7 – Zane Maloney – Rodin – 1’26″210 – 29
8 – Jake Crawford – Dams – 1’26″215 – 33
9 – Isack Hadjar – Campos – 1’26″271 – 22
10 – Enzo Fittipaldi – Van Amersfoort – 1’26″291 – 29
11 – Victor Martins – ART – 1’26″478 – 39
12 – Ritomi Miyata – Rodin – 1’26″487 – 28
13 – Rafael Villagomez – Van Amersfoort – 1’26″582 – 30
14 – Juan Manuel Correa – Dams – 1’26″761 – 25
15 – Zak O’Sullivan – ART – 1’27″061 – 37
16 – Josep Maria Martì – Campos – 1’27″188 – 22
17 – Oliver Bearman – Prema – 1’37″825 – 50
18 – Andrea Kimi Antonelli – Prema – 1’41″948 – 52
19 – Paul Aron – Hitech – 1’43″312 – 40
20 – Joshua Durksen – PHM – 1’49″661 – 28
21 – Taylor Barnard – PHM – 1’55″215 – 26
22 – Amaury Cordeel – Hitech – no time – 26
Tuesday 24 April 2024, 2nd round
1 – Gabriel Bortoleto – Virtuosi – 1’25″143 – 30 laps
2 – Jake Crawford – Dams – 1’25″182 – 25
3 – Enzo Fittipaldi – Van Amersfoort – 1’25″744 – 32
4 – Rafael Villagomez – Van Amersfoort – 1’25″756 – 37
5 – Paul Aron – Hitech – 1’26″032 – 43
6 – Oliver Bearman – Prema – 1’26″325 – 30
7 – Isack Hadjar – Campos – 1’26″361 – 38
8 – Victor Martins – ART – 1’26″396 – 33
9 – Richard Verschoor – Trident – 1’26″413 – 30
10 – Juan Manuel Correa – Dams – 1’26″433 – 25
11 – Andrea Kimi Antonelli – Prema – 1’26″652 – 29
12 – Joshua Durksen – PHM – 1’26″699 – 24
13 – Amaury Cordeel – Hitech – 1’26″806 – 40
14 – Kush Maini – Virtuosi – 1’26″819 – 25
15 – Josep Maria Martì – Campos – 1’26″847 – 33
16 – Zak O’Sullivan – ART – 1’26″862 – 35
17 – Roman Stanek – Trident – 1’26″955 – 40
18 – Dennis Hauger – MP Motorsport – 1’27″008 – 37
19 – Zane Maloney – Rodin – 1’27″112 – 38
20 – Franco Colapinto – MP Motorsport – 1’27″226 – 20
21 – Ritomi Miyata – Rodin – 1’27″615 – 23
22 – Taylor Barnard – PHM – 1’27″926 – 24
Tags: Test Montmelò #1st day Bortoleto immediately fastest
