The third day of the FIA Formula 2 in-season testing saw MP Motorsport’s Richard Verschoor top the timesheets with a 1:43.273 set in the afternoon session. Verschoor beat AIX Racing’s Joshua Dürksen to the top, with the Paraguayan driver falling just 0.121 seconds short of the veteran Dutchman.
Van Amersfoort Racing the team to beat in morning session
With the morning session underway, and most drivers on track, Van Amersfoort were the team to beat. Their driver pairing of Rafael Villagómez and John Bennett showed great speed. Bennett set an early benchmark of 1:47.228, finishing 0.271 seconds ahead of his teammate. With a large portion of the grid focusing on long runs and testing their race pace, Van Amersfoort Racing maintained its 1-2 for most of the three-hour session.
AIX Racing claimed the 3-4, with Cian Shields leading teammate Joshua Dürksen by 0.012 seconds. MP Motorsport’s Oliver Goethe slotted into fifth, ahead of PREMA Racing’s Sebastián Montoya and MP teammate Richard Verschoor. Into the last 15 minutes of the session, Campos Racing’s Arvid Lindblad jumped to eighth. PREMA Racing’s Gabriele Minì and Hitech TGR’s Luke Browning rounded out the top 10 in P9 and P10, respectively.
On the other end of the timesheet was Invicta Racing’s Leonardo Fornaroli. He set a top time of 1:49.398, but logged 50 laps—the most for the session.
Verschoor beats Dürksen to top of afternoon timesheets
The final session of in-season testing saw the drivers take to the track, with DAMS Lucas Oil’s Kush Maini setting the early benchmark. Dürksen, however, quickly claimed his place at the top of the timesheets, putting down a 1:46.042 in the first 15 minutes of the session. Hitech TGR’s Dino Beganovic then went top with a 1:45.596.
A Red Flag, brought out when Oliver Goethe stopped on the track, caused the first delay of the day. The MP Motorsport driver found himself unable to return to the pit lane and required the recovery of his car.
When the session resumed, Dürksen quickly claimed his place at the top of the time sheet, setting a 1:43.394 as the grid entered the second half of the season. He maintained his hold at the top for almost an hour. However, in the final 30 minutes of the session, Verschoor bettered Dürksen’s effort, setting a 1:43.273. He kept his hold at the top as the clock ticked down, claiming the fastest time of the final day of in-season testing. Dürksen settled for second, ahead of Trident’s Sami Meguetounif with a 1:43.698.
Late improvements from Goethe, Shields and Beganovic saw them end the afternoon fourth, fifth and sixth while Maini, who set the early benchmark, settled for seventh. Montoya finished eighth, ahead of ART Grand Prix’s Victor Martins in ninth. Villagómez rounded out the top ten, concluding the final day of F2 in-season testing.
