F2 free practice in Australia, Formula 2 free practice results Australia, Fornaroli and Minì Formula 2 results, Formula 2
F2 Free Practice in Australia – While it’s just past midnight in Italy, a different story is unfolding in Australia in the early morning hours, told by the roaring engines of the Formula 2 cars speeding around the Albert Park Circuit, right after the first free practice session for Formula 3.
Among the young talents making their debut in the junior category this season are two proud Italian representatives: Gabriele Minì with Prema and Leonardo Fornaroli with Invicta. These two drivers delivered a thrilling battle last season for the championship title, which ultimately saw the Piacenza-born driver emerge victorious.
F2 Free Practice Session Recap
00:49 – The countdown is on for the first qualifying session of the year, set to start at 07:30 AM. Who will take pole position? (Find the full F2 weekend schedule here).
0:47 – The first and only Formula 1 practice session ends prematurely due to spins by Arvid Lindblad at Turn 10 and Amaury Cordeel at Turn 13. Martins remains in the lead, followed by Maini and Durksen. Here are the full results:
00:41 – The session will resume at 00:43 (Italian time) with only five minutes left, leaving teams without enough useful data to refine their setups ahead of the upcoming qualifying session.
00:33 – The FIA announces an investigation for possible impeding involving Minì and Stanek, but no consequences for the drivers.
00:24 – F2 Free Practice resumes in Australia. Victor Martins lowers the benchmark to 1:32.687, while Goethe loses control of his car at Turn 10 and goes off track, bringing out another red flag with less than 20 minutes remaining in the session.
00:20 – Session stopped with Richard Verschoor setting the fastest lap, improving on Crawford’s time with a 1:33.530, pushing the American to second place ahead of Roman Stanek (3rd), Luke Browning (4th), and Oliver Goethe (5th). Gabriele Minì currently holds ninth place, while the 2024 Formula 3 champion, Leonardo Fornaroli, is in 12th position.
00:15 – Red flag caused by Alexander Dunne going off track between Turns 11 and 12. The crash results in a damaged car and what appears to be a slight wrist injury for the driver. Additionally, the Irishman is among those who will serve a ten-place grid penalty in both the Sprint Race and the Feature Race. Cars return to the pit lane.
00:08 – Teams conduct Virtual Safety Car simulations in preparation for the first round of the season. Meanwhile, Jak Crawford tops the timing charts.
00:05 – Green light for the first Formula 2 free practice session at Albert Park! All cars take to the track.
Photo: Formula 2.
