Daruvala leads Carlin 1-2 on opening day of F2 test
Jehan Daruvala has topped the timesheet on the opening day of the Formula 2 post-season Bahrain test ahead of Dan Ticktum in the sister Carlin car.
Fresh from securing his maiden F2 win in the 2020 season finale around the Bahrain outer loop circuit, the Indian driver jumped to the head of the times with 50 minutes to go on the opening day of the three-day test, before lowering his own benchmark with a 1m41.848s.
Ticktum, who is set to join the Carlin F2 line-up for 2021, slotted into second place on the timesheet late on just 0.106s off Daruvala's best laptime, to push Louis Deletraz into third place for MP Motorsport.
The day's testing action was delayed for over four hours from its scheduled start time at the request of the Bahrain International Circuit, which needed "all the appropriate marshalling and safety support in place" before it permitted track action around the circuit's grand prix layout which was used for the penultimate round of this year's F2 campaign.
That meant the day's schedule was shuffled into a five-hour single session of track running that started at 1:30pm local time.
FIA Formula 3 champion Oscar Piastri was the early pace-setter for Prema, having joined the team's F2 driver line-up for 2021 to replace F2 champion Mick Schumacher, with the Renault F1 junior eventually shuffled down to fifth place overall with Prema teammate Robert Shwartzman taking fourth place and just 0.002s off Deletraz's best effort.
Callum Ilott claimed sixth place, the 2020 F2 runner-up only in action for the first day of the test for Charouz Racing System before handing over to David Beckmann with Guilherme Samaia stepping into the sister car, with the Ferrari Academy driver heading to Abu Dhabi to take part in next week's F1 young driver test for Alfa Romeo.
F2 returnee Ralph Boschung ended the opening day seventh fastest for Campos Racing ahead of UNI-Virtuosi pair Guanyu Zhou and Felipe Drugovich, as Christian Lundgaard completed the top 10 for ART Grand Prix.
F2 will continue its post-season test in Bahrain on Wednesday and Thursday.
Previous article
Formula 2 reveals entry list for Bahrain post-season test
Next article
Daruvala leads Shwartzman on Day 2 of Bahrain F2 testing
About this article
| Series | FIA F2 |
| Drivers | Jehan Daruvala |
| Teams | Carlin |
| Author | Haydn Cobb |
F1’s feeder series champions – hits and misses
#ThinkingForward with Bruno Michel
Remembering Anthoine Hubert
Ranked! Carlin's greatest F1 graduates
Carlin has helped guide enough drivers to Formula 1 to fill out an entire grid, plus a handful of reserves, to create a remarkable alumni list. With Yuki Tsunoda set to join that group, Motorsport.com has ranked its graduates to grace the grand prix scene...
How Mick Schumacher earned his Haas F1 chance
Michael Schumacher may have won seven Formula 1 titles, but he didn't even compete for a crown at the second tier. Son Mick put that right in 2020, and proved to Ferrari that he was deserving of a shot at motorsport's elite category in 2021…
How Aitken’s fortunes turned around for his shock F1 chance
As a consequence of George Russell's step up to Mercedes to cover for the COVID-positive Lewis Hamilton, Jack Aitken will make his Formula 1 debut for Williams at the Sakhir Grand Prix. Long on F1's peripheries, Aitken finally has a chance to shine.
How F1's foundation has responded to the coronavirus threat
While Formula 1 felt the public brunt of the coronavirus pandemic, the virus also put the Formula 2 and Formula 3 categories on hiatus. But their roles in feeding F1 with drivers meant their survival was crucial to their parent series' long-term future
The year Leclerc fully revealed his star status
In the latest feature in our series looking back on the 2010s, we revisit Charles Leclerc's sensational Formula 2 season - where he strode among on-track highs and lows, as well as tragedy away from motorsport, to earn a place on the Formula 1 grid
From Formula 1 exiles to part of the family
It wasn't long ago F2 drivers couldn't even get passes to the F1 paddock. Now, as Ross Brawn and Bruno Michel explain, attitudes are totally different
How Schumacher is really doing in Formula 2
Mick Schumacher's first victory in Formula 2 ignited a media frenzy, but how has Schumacher handled the pressure, and has he shown Formula 1 potential? Here's the story of his season to date
Can F2's underrated star 'do an Albon'?
There's a driver on the 2019 Formula 2 grid that has shown plenty of promise over the years, but is still a step away from making it to the top level. But one current F1 rookie's journey to grand prix racing has given this underrated driver hope.
