First test session of 2018 for F2 at Magny-Cours
The new generation of Formula 2 equipped with hybrid V6 engines completed its first testing session at the French circuit of Magny-Cours, in Nièvre, a week ago.
On February 14th, each F2 team had brought a copy of their new single-seaters for a one-day testing session. The main objective of the 10 teams was to debug the new car and test its reliability.
The morning session started in cold and humid conditions, with even some snow deposited on the edges of the track. The session began around nine in the morning. The first installation laps for all drivers took place quite quickly. All teams except Prema and Charouz clocked at least one significant lap time in the morning. The best time recorded was set by Lando Norris for Carlin, followed by Nirei Fukuzumi in his Arden, then Santino Ferrucci for Trident and Luca Ghiotto for Campos. All laps were completed on wet tires.
After lunch break, the conditions improved, allowing the drivers to switch to dry tires to go hunting for the best laps. The fastest in the afternoon turned out to be Luca Ghiotto in his Campos ahead of Arjun Maini for Trident and George Russell for ART.
This session cannot allow us to draw conclusions, but it shows a certain reliability of the new race car given the low number of incidents to report.
Regarding the drivers, know that Arden has confirmed German driver Maximilian Günther as the second driver. The 20-year-old driver comes straight from Formula 3 after finishing as runner-up in 2016 and third in the championship in 2017. Mercedes protege could have opted for the DTM, but given that the brand will withdraw from the championship at the end of the season, the choice was rather focused on F2. He will team up with Nirei Fukuzumi, who will also be a rookie in the discipline.
Other officialisation, that of Santino Ferrucci and Arjun Maini as drivers at Trident. The American driver, protege of Haas, arrived from GP3 but competed in a few races for the Italian team in F2 last year. As for the Indian driver who belongs to the Force Haas stable, he also comes from GP3.
Fancy some more pictures of our new car in action? Check out our best shots from yesterday’s Magny-Cours shakedown:https://t.co/QpqHR8gXMQ pic.twitter.com/4rEAKd7kyG
— FIA Formula 2 (@FIA_F2) 15 février 2018
