Championship contenders Paul Aron and Gabriel Bortoleto finish in first and second position at the F2 FP1 2024 Qatar GP, with Richard Verschoor completing the top three.
After a two-month break, Formula 2 has returned for the penultimate round of the season.
With Qatar being a new addition to the FIA Formula 2 calendar, it will be a new challenge for all of the drivers to navigate.
This may be of benefit to several of the drivers, with John Bennett, Cian Shields, Dino Beganovic and Max Esterton debuting in the desert this weekend.
The title for both the Drivers’ and Team Championships will be decided in the next two weekends.
Chequered flag 🏁
— Formula 2 (@Formula2) November 29, 2024
Top-10:
Aron
Bortoleto
Verschoor
Goethe
Martins
Maloney 📸
Cordeel
Duerksen
Crawford
Miyata
We'll be back for Qualifying at 19:10 local time #F2 #QatarGP pic.twitter.com/lF3hcPqdbh
Lights Out
Championship leader Gabriel Bortoleto was first to make his way onto the track for some exploratory laps, with the driver being part of arguably the biggest headline that broke since the last race in Baku.
Bortoleto will be joining Stake F1 Team Kick Sauber for the 2025 season after just one season in Formula 2.
F1 bound Prema-duo Oliver Bearman and Kimi Antonelli shortly followed.
Physically, this track will prove one of the most challenging, with warm temperatures and high wind speed being defining features.
With 36 minutes to go, Bearman ran wide before rejoining the track at Turn 5.
The circuit will be moving forward extremely quickly compared to other venues on the calendar.
Virtual Safety Car
Officials showed a yellow flag before deploying the virtual safety car, as Beganovic came to a stop on the track.
This is the driver’s first weekend in the DAMS Lucas Oil car after coming second in the 2024 FIA Formula 3 Championship.
Green Light
With the green light showing, Victor Martins quickly topped the timings with a 1:43.018 on the hard tyre.
Jak Crawford followed with a 1:43.019 for DAMS Lucas Oil.
Martins was replaced by Prema-duo Bearman and Antonelli who went into P1 and P2 with a 1:41.232 and 1:41.681 respectively.
Tumbling Times
Title contender Paul Aron topped the timings with a 1:40.374, with the Estonian currently fourth in the Standings.
Zane Maloney is also still in mathematical contention. However, the driver expects to make this weekend his last round in the series as he heads to Formula E for the 2024/25 season.
Therefore, the title fight is primarily between Bortoleto and Isack Hadjar, with just 4.5 points currently separating them.
Bortoleto topped the timings with a 1:40.366 but Aron replaced him once again with a 1:39.236.
Richard Verschoor hit the gravel at Turn 15 in his debut at MP Motorsport, replacing Dennis Hauger, who is bound for IndyNXT.
Kush Maini appeared to have an issue with his car as he stood in the pit lane. A worry for Invicta Racing, who currently lead the Team Standings.
As expected, the track continually improved, with Aron once again topping the timings with a 1:38.024, followed by Bortoleto with a 1:38.666.
Like Bearman, Josep Maria Marti found the gravel at Turn 5 but was able to rejoin with no issues.
Red Flags 🚩
— Formula 2 (@Formula2) November 29, 2024
Luke Browning spins and finds himself beached in the gravel#F2 #QatarGP pic.twitter.com/zFxC6ymMUB
Red Flag
Williams Junior Driver Luke Browning spun into the gravel on the way into Turn 9, causing a red flag as he seemingly beached himself.
Browning finished in third position in the 2024 FIA Formula 3 Championship and will be driving the Williams of Alex Albon in next weekend’s F1 FP1 session.
With Nine Minutes To Go
With nine minutes remaining, they showed the green light.
Christian Mansell was finally able to make his way onto the track after an issue that saw him in the pits for much of the session.
With just minutes of the session left, it was clear that the drivers were struggling to improve on their previous times.
Maloney managed to find a little bit of time, going into P5 with a 1:39.219.
Yellow Flag
With two seconds of the session left, Crawford had a big spin on the exit of Turn 14, finding the gravel.
As they waved the chequered flag, the red flag became unnecessary, although they needed to recover Crawford from the track.
Paul Aron finished in first position with a 1:38.024, followed by Gabriel Bortoleto with a 1:38.666. Richard Verschoor completes the top three with a 1:38.890.
Featured Image Credit: Formula Motorsport Limited
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