After a late announcement that DAMS Lucas Oil’s Jak Crawford, Rodin Motorsport’s Christian Mansell and Alexander Dunne, and Trident’s Max Esterson would have their times deleted due to their cars breaching Article 10.2 of the FIA Formula 2 Sporting Regulations, the 12 F2 teams returned to the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya for the final day of pre-season testing. This time, however, it was Trident’s Sami Meguetounif‘s time to shine. His top time of 1:24.363 in the afternoon session saw him end the final day of the 2025 F2 pre-season testing at the top of timesheets.
A wet start to the morning session
After overnight rain, the drivers took to the track on the Wet Pirelli tyres, aiming to get some practice in the less-favourable conditions. However, a Red Flag, brought out after DAMS Lucas Oil’s Kush Maini came to a halt at Turn 3, cut their running short, limiting the drivers’ ability to set a representative lap time.
Though the session soon resumed, a second stoppage, this time caused by Trident’s Sami Meguetounif, again interrupted the early proceedings. Meguetounif, who had set the best representative time, a 1:36.479, stopped at the side of the track at Turn 9. He too required the recovery of his car.
A busy second hour of testing
Following the resumption of the session, and with just about two hours left before the end of the morning session, Rodin Motorsport’s Christian Mansell, who was one of four drivers to have his Day 2 laptimes deleted, moved up to P1. His time, a 1:29.699, was the first under 1:30 seconds. He soon dropped to P2, however, as his teammate, Alexander Dunne set a 1:28.493 which he soon improved to a 1:27.590.
As the final hour approached, Meguetounif, who had caused the second Red Flag, went top with a 1:27.223. His hold at the top of the timesheet was brief, though, as Richard Verschoor followed up with a 1:27.013 for MP Motorsport.
Martins tops morning session
After another brief Red Flag caused by a spin from Prema Racing’s Sebastián Montoya at Turn 1, Van Amersfoort Racing’s surged to P1 with a 1:26.311 with just over 40 minutes left.
DAMS Lucas Oils’ Jak Crawford followed with a 1:26.320, missing out on P1 by just 0.009 seconds. He settled for second, behind Montoya, before dropping to third, after his teammate, Kush Maini broke into the 1:25s. Crawford, would however, improve on his next lap. He returned to top of the timesheets with a 1:25.580, leading his teammate by 0.013 seconds.
With 20 minutes left before the end of the morning session, however, the DAMS Lucas Oil 1-2 would become a 2-3 as ART Grand Prix’s sailed to a 1:24.673, taking P1 by a comfortable margin of over nine-tenths. There would be no chance for a late improvement, however, as Mansell’s spin into the barriers at Turn 3 brought out the fourth Red Flag of the day.
Though the session resumed with about six minutes left on the clock, a fifth Red Flag would bring a premature end to the F2 pre-season testing session. Martins found the gravel at Turn 5, preventing any challenge to his P1 finish. He led the ART Grand Prix 1-2, with teammate Ritomo Miyata settling for second with a 1:25.148.
Crawford and Maini claimed a 3-4 finish for DAMS Lucas Oil, with Trident’s Max Esterson rounding out the top 5. AIX Racing’s Joshua Dürksen finished sixth, ahead of the Van Amersfoort Racing duo of Rafael Villagómez and John Bennett in seventh and eighth respectively. MP Motorsport’s Richard Verschoor finished ninth, less than one-tenth ahead of Campos Racing’s Josep María Martí.
Lindblad set early benchmark in afternoon session
Unlike the slow start to the morning, the final afternoon of F2 pre-season testing kicked off quickly, with Campos Racing, MP Motorsport and Trident immediately taking to the track to maximise their time in the improved conditions. Campos Racing’s Arvid Lindblad, who steps up to F2 after a fourth-place finish in the 2024 F2 championship, set the early pace. He claimed P1 with a 1:25.427, 0.288 seconds ahead of Verschoor who settled for P2.
Lindblad, however, was soon knocked to P2 as Sami Maguetounif crossed the line with a 1:24.363. This saw him claim P1, just before first Red Flag of the session was brought out. Meguetounif’s teammate, Max Esterson, spun at Turn 9, disrupting the afternoon session.
With just two hours remaining when the session resumed, the teams opted to prioritise race simulations. However, just minutes after the cars returned to the track, Van Amersfoort Racing’s John Bennet suffered a spin in the final corner. The session was red-flagged as his car, which had hit the wall, was recovered.
Meguetounifs holds on to top time of afternoon session
Though the session soon resumed, there was little movement in the times, as teams continued to prioritise their performance over long distances over any evaluation of single-lap speed. In fact, Alexander Dunne would be the only notable change on the timesheets. Just inside the final hour, he moved up to second, with his 1:25.048, only 0.685 seconds down on Meguetounif’s early benchmark time.
No other driver would come close to challenging Meguetounif, as two disruptions, the first caused by MP Motorsport’s Oliver Goethe, and the second by Meguetounif himself, would break up the on-track action.
As the chequered flag waved, bringing an end to the 2025 F2 pre-season testing, Meguetounif found himself at the top of the timesheets, followed by Dunne and Lindblad in second and third respectively. Verschoor finished fourth, while fifth-place Mansell led the AIX Racing duo of Joshua Dürksen and Cian Shields. Lindblad’s Campos Racing teammate, Josep María Martí, finished eighth, just under 0.05 seconds ahead of Martins in ninth. Meguetounif’s teammate, Max Esterson, rounded out the top 10 with a 1:26.444.
