In the free practice, Paul Aron was the fastest, with over six-tenths ahead of Bortoleto. The other title contender, Hadjar, finished only eleventh.
After more than two months away, Formula 2 roars back to life for the final stretch of the season, featuring several changes in the line-ups. We last left off with Trident’s Richard Verschoor claiming victory in the Feature Race in Baku, on the saddest day in the history of the Milan-based team due to the passing of Luca Salvadori, son of team owner Maurizio Salvadori.
The previous round also saw Gabriel Bortoleto overtake Isack Hadjar in the standings, moving into first place in the championship with a 4.5-point lead and only two rounds remaining.
The fastest driver in the sole free practice session was Paul Aron, showing strong form from the very first laps, with a time of 1:38.024. Over six-tenths behind him was championship leader Gabriel Bortoleto, followed closely by the two MP Motorsport drivers, Verschoor and Goethe.
The young German, a member of the Red Bull Junior Team, had posted the best times in the first two sectors before having to abort his lap due to a yellow flag caused by Jak Crawford’s spin.
Struggling instead was the other title contender, Isack Hadjar, who finished only eleventh, over a second and a half behind Aron. The two Prema drivers, Ollie Bearman and Andrea Kimi Antonelli, did not post competitive times, as their program was disrupted by the red flag caused by Luke Browning with 16 minutes remaining in the session.
Oliver Goethe was incredibly fast at the end of the free practice session. Could he be a surprise contender this weekend?
Free Practice F2 Qatar: the report of the session
After just 5 minutes, the first Virtual Safety Car of the weekend is deployed: an unfortunate debut for Dino Beganovic, who is forced to park his DAMS car at the pit lane exit. A likely technical issue for the Swedish driver, a member of the Ferrari Driver Academy, with the French team facing a tough job to get him back on track for qualifying, scheduled for 16:00 GMT.
After the first laps, the fastest on track is indeed the World Championship leader Gabriel Bortoleto, with a time of 1:40.366, just 8 thousandths ahead of Paul Aron. We are already seeing the first off-track moments and track limits violations, which will be a factor to watch closely this weekend, with numerous corners at risk.
Paul Aron is immediately in great form, continuing to set fast laps with each passing. The Estonian Hitech driver is the first to break the 1:39 barrier, setting a time of 1:38.926, two-tenths ahead of Bortoleto. Meanwhile, the Mecachrome engine is in fire for Kush Maini, the Invicta Racing teammate of the championship leader, forces him to get out of the car.
Technical problems also for Christian Mansell’s Trident, which recorded only one timed lap with a very slow time of 1:55.299. The Australian driver is one of the few with the certainty of being on the grid in 2025, having signed a contract with the Rodin team. Meanwhile, Aron continues to improve, lowering his previous time by nine-tenths.
The first interruption of the weekend comes 16 minutes before the end of the only free practice session for Formula 2: Luke Browning, fresh off the announcement of his Rookie Test with Williams, loses control of his ART car in the direction change at Turn 10 and spins. Red flag is waved, and the session is suspended!
Luke Browning spins at Turn 10. Red flag and session over for the British ART driver.
The session resumes with 9 minutes remaining: all drivers are back on track to find the best possible setup for qualifying, except for Browning and Beganovic. However, problems have been resolved for both Maini and Mansell.
The session ends with another spin, this time at Turn 14, by Jak Crawford’s DAMS while he was improving his lap time. Meanwhile, sparks fly between Cordeel and Bennett, with the rookie from Van Amersfoort trying to warm up his tires, inadvertently ruining the fast lap of the Belgian Hitech driver.
PHOTO: Formula 2.