De Vries tops the times on first day

Manama : Nyck de Vries of Pertamina Prema Theodore Racing set the pace yesterday on the first day of official pre-season testing in the FIA Formula 2 Championship at Bahrain International Circuit (BIC).

De Vries clocked a fastest time of 1min 43.785secs around BIC’s 5.412 kilometre Grand Prix Track. He set the mark on the 19th of his 21-lap session in the afternoon, when runners enjoyed cooler temperatures in Sakhir. 

The Formula 2 tests are part of the series’ preparations for the start of the 2018 season. They are scheduled to continue until Friday. 

De Vries was 0.170secs quicker than Louis Deletraz of Charouz Racing System, whose time of 1min 43.955secs was also registered in the afternoon.

Luca Ghiotto of Campos Vexatec Racing was third fastest for the day. His best lap of 1min 44.042secs was clocked during today’s morning tests.

Fourth-best overall was Lando Norris of Carlin with a best time of 1min 44.051secs.

Arjun Maini of Trident was ranked fifth with a time of 1min 44.115secs, while Deletraz’s teammate Antonio Luoco rounded out the top six with a time of 1min 44.202.

Norris, Maini and Luoco all clocked their best laps of day one during the afternoon session.

A total of 20 cars from all 10 Formula 2 teams took part in today’s testing.

The Bahrain sessions are the second official pre-season tests of Formula 2. The first was in Le Castellet, France at Circuit Paul Ricard held earlier this month.

Testing is being done in the brand new Formula 2 2018 chassis. The new Formula 2 season will be flagging off in the kingdom, in support of the Formula 1 2018 Gulf Air Bahrain Grand Prix from April 6 to 8.

The FIA Formula 2 Championship is one of two support series to Formula 1 at this year’s Bahrain Grand Prix. The other is the Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge Middle East.

For more information, visit bahraingp.com or call the BIC Hotline on +973-17-450000.