After a wet and windy first practice session (FP1), topped by Rodin Motorsport and Alpine Academy’s Abbi Pulling (PUL), F1 Academy returns to Circuit Zandvoort for their second and final practice session (FP2) of the Dutch Grand Prix weekend.
In the almost five hours since FP1, there have been significant improvements to conditions at the circuit, with blue skies replacing the morning’s rain clouds. There is no expectation of rain over the 40-minute session, though windy conditions remain, with gusts likely to pose a challenge to the drivers.
As the session gets underway, a few drivers have come out of the pitlane for an out-lap around the circuit. Campos Racing’s Chloe Chambers, in the Haas livery, is the first to set a representative time of 1:38.696. The drivers, Chambers included will be hoping to improve on this as the session progresses.
Chambers’ Campos Racing teammates, Nerea Martí (MAR), supported by Tommy Hilfiger, and Carrie Schreiner (SCH), supported by Kick Sauber, are next on the board, though neither top Chambers’ initial time.
More and more drivers are now getting their first representative lap times in. With 30 minutes left, Mercedes Driver Academy and PREMA Racing’s Doriane Pin (PIN) goes fastest, setting a time of 1:37.794, with Rodin Motorsport’s Jessica Edgar (EDG), supported by American Express, just behind with a time of 1:38.052.
At the end of the first quarter of the session, the standings are PIN, EDG, MAR, BLO, CHA, GAD, HAU, LOV, NOB, SCH, BUS and WEG. Four drivers have yet to set their first lap time, including Abbi Pulling who topped the first session.
These drivers soon add their first times, with the drivers rising and falling in the standings as more laps are put on the evolving track. With thirteen minutes of the session complete, all drivers have put a lap time onto the board. Abbi Pulling goes top, setting a time of 1:37.546, less than 0.05 seconds faster than MP Motorsport’s Hamda Al Qubaisi (HAL) in the Red Bull Racing livery. Ferrari Driver Academy and PREMA Racing’s Maya Weug (WEU) sits third but soon falls to fourth as Edgar goes just about 0.001 seconds faster.
With just over 22 minutes left in the session, yellow flags are brought out in Sector 2. ART Grand Prix’s Bianca Bustamante (BUS), in the McLaren livery, has gone off track. She is out of the session, and the yellow flags are upgraded to red to allow for the recovery of her car. Bustamante, who sits at the bottom of the timesheet with a time of 1:39.362 will finish the session there, a disappointment for the McLaren-associated driver.
Chambers is the first back onto the track as it goes green. She is on new tyres, having been putting them on when the red flag was called. Some other drivers have also gone onto new tyres, likely for qualification simulations ahead of Saturday’s qualifying sessions and first race. The teams will have only 15 minutes to finish their data collection, having lost just over five due to the red flag.
As the drivers get into the final ten minutes of the session, Chambers goes top, setting a time of 1:37.331, just about 0.03 seconds ahead of Martí in second, and 0.07 seconds ahead of Pulling now in third. The standings are CHA, MAR, PUL, HAL, EDG, WEU, PIN, BLO, GAD, HAU, DEH, AAL, LOV, SCH, NOB and BUS.
Martí, however, soon improves her time to 1:37.146, going just over 0.1 seconds off Chambers. Chambers then drops to third as Edgar’s improved lap time of 1:37.058 takes her to the top.
Edgar’s hold on the top time, however, is soon lost, with Pin going fastest with a time of 1:37.017. Pin is quickly overtaken by Martí with a time of 1:36.775. Martí then loses her place to Weug who goes top with a time of 1:36.757.
With just over three minutes remaining in FP2, Weug holds on at the top of the timesheet, with an improved time of 1:36.470. Pulling attempts another fast lap but is unable to top Weug’s time. She goes second with a time of 1:36.600. Hamda Al Quabaisi goes third with a time of 1:36.706.
With less than a minute remaining in the session, Pulling improves her time to 1:36.419, going top, 0.05 seconds ahead of Weug. As the checkered flag falls, she improves to 1:36.367, now just over 0.1 seconds ahead of Weug.
As the drivers return to the pitlane, the final standings of the session are PUL, WEU, HAL, EDG, MAR, PIN, DEH, HAU, AAL, NOB, LOV, CHA, GAD, BLO, SCH and BUS. Just over 1.5 seconds separate Pulling at the top from fifteenth-place Schreiner.
F1 Academy will return at 10:15 local time on Saturday morning for Qualifying.
