F2 | FP | Saudi Arabian GP | Martins tops action-packed practice

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After the close battles in Bahrain last week, the second race of the Middle Eastern double-header takes place this weekend. F2 returned to the famous Jeddah Corniche Circuit, kicking off the 2025 Saudi Arabian GP with a necessary FP session. The standings for the drivers’ championship are as close as ever, with the top 5 separated by only a couple of points. INVICTA Racing’s Leonardo Fornaroli is currently leading the championship with 26 points. Alexander Dunne, the latest race winner and Rodin Motorsport driver, is in second place with just 25 points. He shares his podium with Hitech TGR’s Luke Browning, followed closely by Campos Racing’s Josep Maria Martí and MP Motorsport’s Richard Verschoor.

Lights out for FP in Saudi Arabia

It’ll be a difficult weekend for the drivers and teams, as the Jeddah track is known to provide chaos, drama and crashes. Free Practice session was underway at the first street circuit of the season. Fans welcomed the cars onto the track, with teams trying to collect as much data as possible.

Almost all cars went out on the circuit initially, with only a couple deciding to wait. Setting the early benchmark with 1:49:034, AIX Racing’s Joshua Dürksen took this opportunity to do a flying lap.

Hitech TGR’s Dino Beganivic attempted to beat Dürksen’s time, to no avail. However, ART Grand Prix’s Victor Martins managed a great lap time, taking the first position for a while.

Difficult street track

Not only were the temperatures high, but the Jeddah circuit caused both experienced drivers and rookies to have multiple run-off moments.

INVICTA Racing’s Roman Stanek did an amazing practice qualifying lap, which put him first with the fastest time so far. Nevertheless, Martins gathered his strength and pulled another fast lap, managing to bring the time to 1:47:000.

DAMS Lucas Oli’s Kush Maini did an even better overall lap time, 1:46:437, with Stanek following close behind with only +0.307. Dunne attempted to take the P1 position for Maini, but his time placed him at a +0.351 difference.

Half-time check-in

PREMA Racing’s Gabriele Minì tried his hand as well at dethroning Maini, however, he ended up doing a decent lap and getting up to P5 with such a close difference between the top 5.

Luke Browning had an unfortunate first-corner incident, which caused him to leave the track. The driver managed to keep control of the car, fortunately. This seemed to have been a problem for the whole session so far. A lot of the drivers had difficulties with the high-speed corners, experiencing a lot of run-offs as a result. The long straights were very demanding on the cars, with the teams struggling to find the perfect car balance.

DAMS Lucas Oli’s Maini had the best time of the FP session still, after another attempt done by ART Grand Prix’s Victor Martins that only put him in P2, split by just +0.100. However, Martins did not let that lead last for long. After another qualifying lap, he managed to take the best lap time with +1:46:432. Maini lost his place, getting pushed back to P2 with a minimal difference of +0.005.

While some of the drivers focused more on their race pace, INVICTA Racing’s Leonardo Fornaroli, the championship leader, attempted to take over one of the top positions. His flying lap took him up to the fourth place, separated from the first position by only +0.019.

With 15 minutes left of the practice, a black and white flag for track limits was received by TRIDENT’s Sami Meguetounif. This will be a problem all weekend long for the drivers, as the Jeddah Corniche circuit is a very well-known track for not allowing any mistakes. Getting together amazing times for all three sectors, AIX Racing’s Joshua Durksen pulled a great 1:46:387, taking the lead.

After another incredible flying lap from Stanek, the INVICTA driver managed a great overall time, taking the first place from DUR with 1:46:217.

DAMS Lucas Oil’s Jak Crawford separated Victor Martins even more from the top position. The driver took second place after a purple sector +0.031.

Last attempts at fastest times

8 minutes left of F2 FP in the Saudi Arabian GP weekend, and Gabriele Minì took pole position after his car was checked after a rough lap. However, he did not get to celebrate, as Stanek managed two purple sectors in his flying lap, which rounded up his time to 1:45:820.

More lock-ups destroyed some of the drivers’ fast pace. Despite that, PREMA Racing’s Montoya took P2. His time was quickly picked by his teammate Minì, who took his place, whilst Victor Martins continued his domination by climbing up to pole with a great 1:45:671.

Black and white flags were given to RODIN Motorsport teammates Dunne and Cordeel for failing to follow the racing instructions, as well as another black flag for Dunne for a track limits violation.

Within the last minute, Jak Crawford tried to take the pole position from Victor Martins. His time got deleted after he left the track and exceeded track limits. At the very end, Hitech TGR’s Dino Beganovici pulled through, putting his car in P3 and himself as a possible contender for qualifying on Saturday.