Three days of private testing for the F2 at Paul Ricard

Day 1:

The first of the three testing days of the F2 championship, which took place this time at the Castellet circuit, started under rainy conditions, but without snow unlike the shakedown in Magny-Cours a few weeks ago.

Oliver Rowland was the first to complete an installation lap aboard his DAMS just ahead of Ralph Boschung for MP Motorsport. At the end of the first hour of running, it was the new Trident driver Arjun Maini who led the way ahead of his teammate Santino Ferrucci.

On a slowly drying track, Lando Norris was the first to break the two-minute mark halfway through the session. However, it was not possible to switch to dry tires.

Only notable incidents, 3 red flags were triggered first by Santino Ferrucci (Trident) and Sergio Sette Camara (Carlin) who collided following a loss of control due to rain, then by Louis Delétraz (Charouz) stopped at the pit exit and finally by Alexander Albon (DAMS) stopped at turn 2 due to mechanical issues.

Morning update, Lando Norris (Carlin) was lapping around the 56th minute ahead of Ralph Boschung (MP Motorsport), his teammate Sergio Sette Camara, Alexander Albon (DAMS), and finally Arjun Maini (Trident).

After the break, it was Jack Aitken in his ART who was the first to hit the track in order to make up for the lack of kilometers covered in the morning. The track had finally dried up, making it possible to drive on slick tires. The British driver was quickly joined by his teammate George Russell and the Campos duo with Luca Ghiotto and Roy Nissany at the wheel.

After the first hour, Nyck de Vries in the Prema had taken the lead in the standings ahead of George Russell. This was not counting without Lando Norris (Carlin) ahead of his teammate Sette Camara. The session was quite calm with only a brief red flag triggered by Maximilian Günther (Arden), falling victim to a spin.

At the end of the day, Lando Norris (Carlin) was once again the fastest ahead of Nyck de Vries (Prema), Sergio Sette Camara (Carlin), Luca Ghiotto (Campos) and finally George Russell (ART).

.@LandoNorris topped yesterday’s sessions at @CarlinRacing pic.twitter.com/68nci865oD

— FIA Formula 2 (@FIA_F2) 7 mars 2018

Day 2:

The second day of testing started under sunny weather, allowing the drivers to quickly hit the track with dry tires. Arjun Maini (Trident) was the first to take to the track, closely followed by Sergio Sette Camara (Carlin). They were soon joined by the rest of the pack, eager to quickly set meaningful lap times.

Jack Aitken in his ART managed to beat the best time set by Lando Norris the day before after 20 minutes of the session, before Nyck de Vries (Prema) beat the time of the British driver.

Three red flags were recorded in this session. The first was triggered by Roberto Merhi (MP Motorsport) stopped at turn 12. The second by Sean Gelael, also stopped on the track (Prema), and finally the third by George Russell (ART), briefly stopped on the track.

At the end of the session, it was finally Lando Norris who was the fastest ahead of his teammate Sergio Sette Camara, Jack Aitken (ART), Louis Delétraz (Charouz) and Arjun Maini (Trident).

In the afternoon, it was Maximilian Günther (Arden) who immediately took to the track ahead of a very diligent Arjun Maini (Trident) as well as the two Charouz of Louis Delétraz and Antonio Fuoco.

At the halfway point of the session, it was Louis Delétraz (Charouz) who was the fastest before being overtaken by Nyck de Vries (Prema). He took the lead after improving the Swiss driver’s time. The rest of the session was quite calm and without major incidents. The entire field was busy conducting race simulations.

Once the day was over, it was finally Alexander Albon for DAMS who set the fastest time ahead of Nyck de Vries (Prema), Louis Delétraz (Charouz), Oliver Rowland (DAMS) and finally Arjun Maini (Trident).

We’ve also got a driver change to tell you about! @DanTicktum replaces @oliverrowland1 at @damsracing for the final day of testing. All the best, Dan! #F2 pic.twitter.com/9ezlkYcgur

— FIA Formula 2 (@FIA_F2) 8 mars 2018

Day 3:

The last day of testing was once again taking place under sunny weather. As often since the beginning of these tests, it was the Trident driver, Arjun Maini, who was the first to take off before being joined by the ART drivers Jack Aitken and George Russell and then by his teammate Santino Ferrucci.

From the perspective of incidents, it was Roy Nissany (Campos) who triggered the first red flag after a breakdown on the Mistral straight. It was then Antonio Fuoco (Charouz) who triggered the second one for similar reasons, then briefly Artem Markelov (Russian Time) and Ralph Boschung (MP Motorsport) slowed down temporarily.

At this stage, George Russell (ART) was leading the standings on medium tires around minute 43, battling with his teammate Jack Aitken. Subsequently, there were no notable improvements as the drivers were heading towards a long relay program.

In the standings, it was George Russell (ART) who kept the lead ahead of his teammate Jack Aitken (ART), Nyck de Vries (Prema), Alexander Albon (DAMS) and Louis Delétraz (Charouz).

After a one-hour break, the drivers were back on track for the final session of these tests. The first driver to go out was Lando Norris (Carlin) just ahead of Louis Delétraz (Charouz).

The session was interrupted twice by red flags, the first was brief after a temporary stop on the track by Maximilian Günther (Arden). The second by Sean Gelael (Prema) for similar reasons.

At the halfway point, Lando Norris would take the lead, very close however to Maximilian Günther. The drivers took advantage of the last few hours of driving to chain together long stints, which only led to few improvements in lap times. It wasn’t until less than half an hour before the end that Arjun Maini (Trident) took the lead, two tenths behind Norris. This was without counting on a fantastic time set by Alexander Albon for DAMS right at the end of the session.

The latest ranking was as follows: Alexander Albon (DAMS) ahead of Arjun Maini (Trident), Lando Norris (Carlin), Daniel Ticktum (DAMS), and Maximilian Günther (Arden).

This is how the first testing session for the F2 concluded before the second session scheduled in Bahrain from March 21st to 23rd.