Photo: Mumbai Falcons

Andy Consani won twice in the final UAE4 round at Losail, but it was not enough to deny Sasha Bondarev the title.

Formula 4 Middle East race-winner Tomass Stolcermanis joined PHM Racing’s line-up and Ben Nguyen returned to Evans GP’s garage for the races in Qatar.

Pre-event testing was up first, and R-ace GP’s Kenzo Craigie pipped Mumbai Falcons’ Bondarev by 0.098 seconds. Hitech GP’s Scott Lindblom was third, 0.327s behind.

In free practice, Bondarev set a 1m55.645s to lead R-ace’s Consani by 0.018s and Yas Heat Academy’s Adam Al Azhari by 0.11s as a second split the top 19.

Trident’s Bernardo ‘Beco’ Bernoldi was first to set a representative laptime in qualifying for race one, then Pinnacle Motorsport’s Rowan Campbell-Pilling led the way. Consani and Bondarec were on top after that, with Consani prevailing by 0.176s.

Mumbai Falcons’ Alp Aksoy Hasan and Craigie were next up, 0.426s and 0.496s off pole respectively, then it was Al Azhari, Lindblom and his team-mate Theo Palmer.

In Q2, setting race three’s grid, Evans GP’s Thomas Ingram Hill were Palmer were the drivers to beat mid-session. Craigie went quickest for 0.911s before Prema’s David Cosma Cristofor lowered the pace in his tow, then Bondarev bettered that benchmark by 0.071s.

Prema’s Christian Costoya went even faster by 0.002s, and that kept him on top until after the chequered flag when Consani laid down a lap that earned him pole by 0.208s over Cosma Cristofor.

Lindblom qualified fifth, ahead of Aksoy, R-ace’s Elia Weiss, Al Azhari and title outsider Craigie.

Consani held off Bondarev’s attacks through the first corners of race one, while Al Azhari stalled and fell down the order. The safety car was then summoned due to PHM’s Platon Kostin crashing out at turn one.

Red flags waved on lap four due to Cosma Cristofor stopping on track, and green flags did not wave again until lap six by which point the sun was setting.

Several incidents meant the safety car returned on lap seven, and only one lap of racing remained once it left.

Consani led a weaving snake down the pit straight, held off Bondarev on his outside through turn one then led the field to the finish. His win cut Bondarev’s championship lead to 17 points.

Lindblom tried taking fourth, and Xcel Motorsport’s Joseph Smith claimed reversed-grid pole for race two the next day by coming home 12th.

Smith defended at the start but was passed by Mumbai Falcons’ Niccolo Maccagnani and a fast-starting Stolcermanis before turn one. He also briefly lost out to Weiss, and Consani had a terrible launch that dropped him outside of the top 20.

Bondarev passed Craigie for seventh at the end of lap two, and Consani recovered to 17th before being eliminated in a huge crash with Al Azhari on lap five. The safety car was called then red flags waved.

A lap behind the safety car occurred at the restart, then the field was released. Smith forced Stolcermanis into defending turn one, and Bondarev hassled Costoya multiple times as Maccagnani sprinted off.

Lindblom overtook Craigie for eighth after several corners of battling on lap eight, just before the safety car was needed again due to a collision down the field.

The race was then red flagged on lap nine, and process was repeated for the next restart which meant one lap of racing. Maccagnani was unrivalled again, and PHM’s Iacopo Martinese took fourth from Weiss who then lost several more places.

Craigie and Lindblom’s continued battle cost them places, and Bondarev got into fifth but then race-ending red flags waved again due to his team-mate Kingsley Zheng crashing so results were taken from the previous lap.

Maccagnani won, and seventh for Bondarev meant Consani remained in title contention.

Race three was also interrupted, with the safety car heading out on lap one after Stolcermanis crashed. Racing could continue by lap three though, and Bondarev had an off that cost him fourth to Lindblom.

The safety car returned on lap eight, as Kostin had crashed out and Craigie had stopped on track, eradicating Consani’s 1.9s lead.

Four laps remained on the next restart, and Consani built a huge 2.7s lead. Cosma Cristofor and Costoya completed the podium, and Bondarev was crowned in fifth place. From 12th on the grid, Martinese charged up to seventh.

Results round-up
Race 1 (11 laps)
1 Andy Consani R-ace GP 45m09.622s
2 Sasha Bondarev Mumbai Falcons +0.736s
3 Alp Aksoy Hasan Mumbai Falcons +1.503s
4 Kenzo Craigie R-ace GP +1.935s
5 Scott Lindblom Hitech GP +2.579s
6 Theo Palmer Hitech GP +3.359s
7 Iacopo Martinese PHM Racing +3.698s
8 Christian Costoya Prema +4.228s
9 Tomass Stolcermanis PHM Racing +4.720s
10 Elia Weiss R-ace GP +5.250s
Pole: Consani, 1m55.393s
Fastest lap: Consani, 1m56.079s

Race 2 (10 laps)
1 Niccolo Maccagnani Mumbai Falcons 37m01.397s
2 Stolcermanis +1.913s
3 Joseph Smith Xcel Motorsport +3.794s
4 Weiss +6.422s
5 Martinese +8.978s
6 Costoya +10.554s
7 Bondarev +11.668s
8 Craigie +12.888s
9 Lindblom +14.798s
10 Aksoy +15.798s
FL: Bondarev, 1m57.113s

Race 3 (14 laps)
1 Consani 30m58.767s
2 David Cosma Cristofor Prema +2.741s
3 Costoya +3.183s
4 Lindblom +3.836s
5 Bondarev +4.416s
6 Aksoy +4.759s
7 Martinese +5.914s
8 Weiss +6.905s
9 Palmer +8.671s
10 Smith +9.802s
P: Consani, 1m54.921s
FL: Consani, 1m56.479s

Championship standings
1 Bondarev 191   2 Consani 183   3 Craigie 118   4 Maccagnani 98   5 Cosma 97   6 Costoya 86   7 Lindblom 71   8 Aksoy 70   9 Martinese 46   10 Emily Cotty 37

The post Consani wins twice but Bondarev takes UAE4 crown in Losail finale appeared first on Formula Scout.

Photo: Top Speed

Mumbai Falcons’ Kean Nakamura-Berta took the Formula Regional Middle East title in a heavily disrupted final round at Losail.

Due to FIA Formula 3 pre-season testing, ART Grand Prix was without Taito Kato so called up its Formula 2 signing Tasanapol Inthraphuvasak.

He was in the cockpit for pre-event testing, which there was only one session of in the first of several schedule revisions. His team-mate Kabir Anurag set the test pace, edging Mumbai Falcons’ Sebastian Wheldon by 0.098 seconds. G4 Racing’s Jules Roussel was third.

A second free practice session was added, and Roussel set a 1m48.132s to lead Pinnacle Motorsport’s Alex Powell by 0.231s in FP1. CL Motorsport’s Reno Francot lowered the pace to 1m48.057s in FP2, pipping MP Motorsport’s Alexander Abkhazava by 0.046s, Powell by 0.048s and G4’s Artem Severiukhin by 0.072s.

Qualifying had been scheduled for Thursday but was pushed to Friday due to technical issues that also led to race two being cancelled. In Q1, MP’s Jesse Carrasquedo Jr and Abkhazava were the drivers to beat before red flags waved with six minutes to go due to Van Amersfoort Racing’s Yuhao Fu going off.

Powell went quickest after the restart, then Mumbai Falcons’ Kean Nakamura-Berta posted a 1m48.461s on his penultimate lap to snatch race one pole by 0.169s.

Wheldon trailed by 0.332s in third, and Abkhazava was fourth ahead of R-ace GP’s points leader Rashid Al Dhaheri.

Carrasquedo, Abkhazava, Anurag, ART GP’s Matteo Giaccardi, Roussel, Trident’s Maximilian Popov and Powell all spent time on top in Q2 before Nakamura-Berta posted a 1m48.057s.

Red flags waved with three minutes to go due to Abkhazava stopping on track, and after the restart Anurag demoted him to fifth. Nakamura-Berta had beaten Wheldon to race three pole (which became the day’s season-ending second race) by 0.153s, with Powell 0.321s back.

Al Dhaheri qualified eighth and a second covered the top 19 after title outsider Abkhazava had all of his laptimes from both sessions deleted.

Race one started with drama. Powell and Al Dhaheri made poor launches, allowing Wheldon to attack Nakamura-Berta into the opening corner and for Race Performance Motorsport’s Jan Przyrowski to take third. Wheldon stuck alongside his team-mate for two corners after forcing him into defence, then was pressured by Przyrowski later in the lap before the safety car appeared due to Rodin Motorsport’s Maxim Rehm having a airborne crash.

Al Dhaheri had fallen to seventh, but recovered a spot on the lap four restart. The top 11 went unchanged for the 12 laps of green flag action, with Nakamura-Berta winning by 1.827s to reduce Al Dhaheri’s lead to seven points. Anurag finished fifth, and R-ace’s Emanuele Olivieri was seventh. Abkhazava recovered from 32nd to 26th, exiting title contention.

Race two ran at night. Nakamura-Berta was able to break clear on lap one as Powell attacked Wheldon and Anurag attacked Powell. There was contact in the battle for second, then for third too, but it calmed down on lap two.

The safety car was summoned at the end of that lap, and red flags followed. G4’s Andrea Dupe had spun, MP’s Alceu Feldmann Neto had crashed out and Abkhazava had ended his race by colliding with CL Motorsport’s Enea Frey.

Al Dhaheri sat seventh for the restart behind the safety car, having overtaken Carrasquedo. Green flags waved one lap later and both Wheldon and Anurag weaved heavily down the pit straight. The top seven held their positions, while Olivieri overtook Carrasquedo around the outside of turn one on lap seven of 16.

Wheldon never got close enough to Nakamura-Berta to threaten his lead, and the race-winner took the title as Al Dhaheri made no progress.

Severiukhin retired on lap 10 with his car on fire, Roussel got penalised for his engine cover detaching as he left the pits, and Carrasquedo was disqualified.

Results round-up
Race 1 (15 laps)
1 Kean Nakamura-Berta Mumbai Falcons 31m13.592s
2 Sebastian Wheldon Mumbai Falcons +1.827s
3 Jan Przyrowski R-P-M +5.448s
4 Alex Powell Pinnacle Motorsport +6.116s
5 Kabir Anurag ART Grand Prix +7.589s
6 Rashid Al Dhaheri R-ace GP +8.108s
7 Emanuele Olivieri R-ace GP +8.689s
8 Yuki Sano R-ace GP +9.640s
9 Maximilian Popov Trident +11.262s
10 Salim Hanna Mumbai Falcons
Pole: Nakamura-Berta, 1m48.461s
Fastest lap: Wheldon, 1m48.832s

Race 2 (16 laps)
1 Nakamura-Berta 44m00.126s
2 Wheldon +0.765s
3 Powell +1.918s
4 Anurag +4.670s
5 Przyrowski +5.390s
6 Hanna +6.208s
7 Al Dhaheri +6.590s
8 Olivieri +7.762s
9 Sano +10.702s
10 Miguel Costa R-P-M +13.219s
P: Nakamura-Berta, 1m48.057s
FL: Olivieri, 1m48.180s

Championship standings
1 Nakamura-Berta 151   2 Al Dhaheri 139   3 Abkhazava 95   4 Powell 76   5 Wheldon 71   6 Przyrowski 71   7 Maximilian Popov 70   8 Alex Ninovic 66   9 Anurag 62   10 Hanna 54

The post Nakamura-Berta steals FRegional Middle East title with Losail double appeared first on Formula Scout.

Photo: Hitech GP

Hitech GP driver Dino Beganovic has labelled his run to ninth place in Formula 2’s Losail feature race as one of his best ever drives.

Beganovic had been 11th fastest in qualifying, 0.711 seconds off pole but 0.508s ahead of his then-title contending team-mate Luke Browning, so opted to start the race on Pirelli’s hard compound tyres while those ahead began on softs.

After the top 10 pitted across laps six and seven, Beganovic was promoted to the front of the field. He was 5.4s clear of the next driver on the same strategy by lap 10, and held a 10.6s lead when the safety car was summoned on lap 15.

While others chose to pit, committing to running half of the race on the quicker degrading soft tyres, Beganovic opted to stay out such was his pace advantage.

Following the restart pulled away again, creating a 5.6s gap before pitting on lap 27. That only left him with five laps to maximise the grippier compound he was now on, but he returned to track in 12th and after Browning had pitted from the lead Beganovic moved up to ninth. He found it far harder to utilise his pace in traffic, and made up no further places.

“It was a great race on Sunday – I think we did everything right. Looking back now, maybe we should have stopped when we got the early safety car period, seeing how this played out elsewhere, but I think we can be proud of our pace and our race in general,” Beganovic reflected. “We had fantastic speed, and I think this was one of my best races I’ve ever done.”

The fastest lap went to Beganovic by 0.263s, with Browning his closest rival on single-lap pace. On the final lap, Rodin Motorsport’s Alex Dunne became the third fastest driver in the field but was 1.301s off Beganovic’s benchmark.

“The consistency was great, and the pace all the way to the end was fantastic,” the 21-year-old Swede added.

“Without that safety car, we could have been fighting for the win – so very annoying – but at the same time I’m very proud. We came back from a disappointing Friday, where we didn’t extract everything and didn’t have it all set, but I have a really good feeling going into Abu Dhabi for the last round.”

A sprint race win in Baku, two feature race podiums and pole at Imola have been the standout results of Beganovic’s rookie F2 season and he sits eighth in the standings ahead of this weekend’s finale.

He made his F2 debut with DAMS last year, contesting the last two rounds and making the podium. Next season he will return to DAMS’ line-up.

The post Beganovic calls run to ninth in Qatar one of “best races I’ve ever done” appeared first on Formula Scout.

Photo: Formula Motorsport Ltd

Victor Martins won Formula 2’s feature race at Losail, holding off Leonardo Fornaroli who provisionally became champion with a round to spare.

Fornaroli started on pole, but Martins led before the opening corner as Alex Dunne passed Oliver Goethe for fourth.

ART Grand Prix’s Martins built a five-second lead in five laps, while Fornaroli struggled with front-left tyre degradation and pitted on lap six. Like most of the field, he had started on Pirelli’s soft compound tyres.

Martins was left with a 9.6-second lead over Fornaroli’s Invicta Racing team-mate Roman Stanek, who after going wide was passed at turn one by MP Motorsport’s Goethe. The top seven pitted on lap seven, moving Hitech GP’s Dino Beganovic to the front after he had started on the hard compound.

The drivers on the same strategy moved up into the top seven, with Campos Racing’s Arvid Lindblad, Van Amersfoort Racing’s John Bennett and Trident’s Laurens van Hoepen closest to Beganovic. That order changed when van Hoepen went deep into the final corner on lap eight and Hitech’s Luke Browning went past.

Beganovic was the fastest on track, already 5.4s clear by lap 10 and holding a 10.6s gap when the safety car appeared on lap 15 due to Goethe stopping trackside. Lindblad took the opportunity to pit, meaning he needed to do 17 laps on the soft tyres, as did DAMS’ Kush Maini and AIX Racing’s Cian Shields.

Martins took the lap 17 restart in fifth place, with Fornaroli on his tail then a gap of several seconds to Lindblad in seventh as the field had not been brought back together. Dunne, Prema’s Sebastian Montoya and Campos’s Nikola Tsolov rounded out the top 10, but Dunne and Tsolov had five-second penalties for unsafe releases from their pitstops.

Beganovic pulled away again, creating a 5.6s gap before pitting at the end of lap 27. Hitech did not risk double stacking so Browning then inherited the lead by 11.4s over Bennett, with the pair making their compulsory pitstops on lap 29.

Van Hoepen pitted too, having held off Martins and Fornaroli for several laps by improving his pace. Keeping them at bay ultimately was not enough to help the other late pitters, since Beganovic was a distant ninth. He initially set fastest laps, but then failed to clear traffic once he reached it as Martins kept Fornaroli at bay up front.

Lindblad’s tyre-saving priorities allowed Dunne to open up a large enough gap to keep third after passing him, Montoya was fifth, and MP’s erstwhile title contender Richard Verschoor profited from Tsolov’s penalty to finish sixth.

Browning picked up the final point in 10th, but his title hopes ended along with DAMS driver Jak Crawford’s in 11th place.

Post-race, Lindblad was summoned to the stewards for allegedly driving unnecessarily slowly during the safety car period. Should he be penalised, it could put Verschoor back into title contention and second in the standings.

Race results (32 laps)

The post Martins wins F2’s Losail feature race as Fornaroli provisionally lands title appeared first on Formula Scout.

Photo: Formula Motorsport Ltd

MP Motorsport’s Richard Verschoor boosted his Formula 2 title chances by winning the sprint race at Losail.

A slow start from reversed-grid pole by Verschoor meant he lost the lead to AIX Racing’s Joshua Duerksen on lap one of 23.

There was 0.9 seconds between the pair before Verschoor began closing back in and he reclaimed the lead down the pit straight as lap four began.

The slipstream at that moment helped him then set the fastest lap and he escaped DRS range within a lap. It took another five for his lead to double to two seconds, and he consistently added to his gap.

Verschoor was on course to lower his fastest lap benchmark on lap 14 before the safety car came out and put Duerksen back on his tail. Trident’s Laurens van Hoepen and James Wharton had been battling at the bottom of the field and an incident at turn one sent debutant Wharton into retirement.

Seven drivers took the opportunity to pit, switching from Pirelli’s hard compound tyres to the softs, and within that group was DAMS’ Kush Maini who then came to a stop on track and prolonged the safety car period.

Racing resumed on lap 17, and Verschoor was unchallenged. He was able to lower his own pace as he built a 2.4s lead before the safety car returned on lap 20 due to AIX Racing’s Cian Shields spinning and then getting stranded on track.

One lap remained when green flags waved again, and Verschoor again had enough in hand to prevent Duerksen from attacking.

Van Amersfoort Racing’s Rafael Villagomez and Campos Racing’s debutant Nikola Tsolov had started on the front row, with Tsolov passing for third on lap one. They went wheel-to-wheel again on the final lap and Tsolov came off worse, dropping to 10th. Villagomez returned to third, ahead of Prema’s Sebastian Montoya and Rodin Motorsport’s Alex Dunne.

Invicta Racing’s Leonardo Fornaroli grew his points lead over DAMS’ Jak Crawford by finishing sixth, two places ahead of his rival, with Verschoor now a further eight points back and ahead of Hitech GP’s Luke Browning who started 18th and finished 17th. Dunne also remains in title contention, but is 57 points behind.

ART Grand Prix’s Victor Martins started eighth, lost two places on lap one and then on lap 12 ran wide at turn one and conceded two more positions. He could only gain back one place, from Prema’s Gabriele Mini on lap 18.

Roman Stanek was the top pitter. The Invicta driver fell from seventh to 15th by stopping, recovered one place from van Hoepen losing ground on the first restart then another when ART GP’s Ritomo Miyata was shuffled down the order on the next lap.

Race results (23 laps)

The post Verschoor boosts F2 title hopes by winning Losail sprint race appeared first on Formula Scout.

Photo: Formula Motorsport Ltd

Formula 2 points leader Leonardo Fornaroli has inherited pole position for the feature race at Losail after Oliver Goethe was handed a double grid penalty.

MP Motorsport driver Goethe had set a 1m36.115s in qualifying to beat Fornaroli to pole by 0.04 seconds, and initially it looked like Fornaroli was the one with something to worry about as he broke down at the end of the session.

That delayed his route to the post-qualifying press conference, but his car passed technical scrutineering without issue so his result was safe.

Later on, Goethe was found guilty of impeding Rodin Motorsport’s Martinius Stenshorne between turns five and six during the session and handed a three-place grid penalty for Saturday’s sprint race and for Sunday’s feature race. That means he will start 13th on the sprint race’s reversed grid, while team-mate Richard Verschoor lines up on pole.

Fornaroli provisionally shares the feature race front row with ART Grand Prix’s Victor Martins. Rodin’s Alex Dunne, Verschoor, DAMS’ Jak Crawford and Hitech GP’s Luke Browning, who are Fornaroli’s title rivals, are set to start fifth, 10th, 15th and 18th.

Goethe had been “extremely, extremely pleased” to qualify on pole for the first time in his F2 career and “really gave it my all on that last lap” to clinch top spot.

“Over the long break [since Baku] I was working really hard so I had a good feeling about this weekend. I was expecting something good. We were quick here last year. Maybe not pole position but I knew I was capable of it,” he said to media including Formula Scout before his penalty was applied.

“I am confident going into the races. On this track there are a lot of things that can happen, the degradation is quite big so I have to manage it well. I am looking forward to it.”

The qualifying result, which now has not translated into starting from the front, was of particular significance to Goethe.

“It means a huge amount, really. It has been a tough year. A lot of downs this year so I am happy for myself, for my family and for the whole team,” he reflected.

“They have been working really hard to get me back up. I’ve been working really hard, so it feels really good.”

Later on he added: “At the start of the season, let’s say the first half of the season, I would say qualifying was actually the weaker point. So it feels actually extra nice to be on top in qualifying. I’ve been working really hard to finally deliver this, on the simulator, working with the team, working on myself training. So I would say just slowly but surely it’s been coming this season, and now I’ve been able to deliver that good lap, and I feel like we can use this momentum to continue to be strong.”

The post Fornaroli inherits F2 pole at Losail after Goethe gets double grid penalty appeared first on Formula Scout.

Photo: Red Bull

Oliver Goethe claimed his maiden Formula 2 pole under the floodlights at Losail, pipping points leader Leonardo Fornaroli.

ART Grand Prix’s Victor Martins was first to the top in the 30-minute qualifying session, then Campos Racing’s Arvid Lindblad and Nikola Tsolov laid down a far quicker pace.

The first true flying lap came six minutes in from Martins, who posted a 1m38.518s.

Prema’s Sebastian Montoya beat that by 0.518 seconds, with team-mate Gabriele Mini and Goethe then occupying second place as Martins was shuffled down to fifth.

The first sub-1m38s lap was set by Invicta Racing’s Roman Stanek, then he was bettered by team-mate Fornaroli and DAMS’ Jak Crawford. The former posted a 1m37.850s, putting him on top by 0.113s, with Montoya and Goethe completing the top five and Rodin Motorsport’s Alex Dunne setting a 1m38.114s to go sixth fastest.

At this point Trident’s debutant James Wharton finally headed out, but he returned to the pits as the only driver not to complete a lap.

Martins reclaimed top spot shortly before qualifying’s 10-minute mark, setting a 1m37.512s to lead Mini by 0.227s. When MP’s drivers crossed the line they moved ahead, a 1m37.370s earning Goethe first place by 0.129s over Richard Verschoor.

Stanek then lowered the pace further to 1m37.189s, with Crawford trailing by 0.141s. Fornaroli was rapid in sector one, which set up the first sub-1m37s lap.

The DAMS drivers ended their first runs after that, with many following, while Martins and Goethe stayed out. Martins improved to 1m37.428s in fifth, and Goethe got within 0.075s of the provisional pole time by setting a 1m37.071s.

With eight minutes to go the second runs were underway for most, and Wharton was finally on track ready to lap at pace.

The first personal bests on the fresher tyres came from Hitech GP’s drivers, with Dino Beganovic lowering the pace to 1m36.826s. His team-mate Luke Browning was briefly fourgh before Crawford took the position, then Van Amersfoort Racing’s John Bennett surprised by setting a 1m37.034s that put him third.

Fornaroli went fastest again with five minutes to go, posting a 1m36.307s that put him 0.214s clear of Stanek and 0.223s ahead of Goethe. Martins and Dunne improved in fifth and sixth, with Crawford demoted to 10th behind Mini and Montoya.

That later became 12th as AIX Racing’s Joshua Duerksen and then Verschoor broke the 1m37s barrier, the pair slotting into sixth and fourth respectively.

There were big changes to the order with 90s to go too, as VAR’s Rafael Villagomez briefly jumped up to fifth, then Tsolov. Montoya set a 1m36.741s to rise to fourth, before the pole contenders crossed the line. A 1m36.115s from Goethe put him on top by 0.04s over Fornaroli, with Stanek 0.23s off pole in third.

Martins managed to beat Stanek, by 0.06s, and Dunne went fifth fastest in the final minute.

Crawford and Browning ended up qualifying 15th and 18th, but had reason to hope after title rival Fornaroli broke down on his cooldown lap. Verschoor, the other title contender, ended qualifying in 10th so will benefit from the sprint race’s reversed grid.

Qualifying results

The post Goethe denies Fornaroli at Losail as F2 title contenders have mixed time appeared first on Formula Scout.

Photo: Formula Motorsport Ltd

Formula 2 points leader Leonardo Fornaroli was fastest as the paddock returned to action at Losail on Friday afternoon.

Everyone ran Pirelli’s hard compound tyres for free practice, before they switch to softs for qualifying later today.

DAMS’ Jak Crawford was first to the top in the 45-minute session, a 1m42.715s being his opening benchmark set almost nine minutes in.

That was then beaten by ART Grand Prix’s Victor Martins and Hitech GP’s Luke Browning, and a minute later they were at the bottom of the top 10 as MP Motorsport’s Richard Verschoor posted a 1m41.163s and Laurens van Hoepen (Trident) and Rafael Villagomez (Van Amersfoort Racing) were also able to lap sub-1m42s.

Fornaroli got within 0.225 seconds of Verschoor’s pace, and after being shuffled all the way down to 15th the title-contending Crawford improved to 1m41.539s and fifth place on his next lap.

That laptime was deleted though, and approaching the 15-minute mark he and Rodin Motorsport’s Alex Dunne occupied the bottom two positions while Fornaroli had lowered the pace to 1m40.342s to lead Verschoor by 0.04s and Martins by 0.08s.

Next to the top was Browning, a 1m39.701s putting him 0.567s ahead of Martins as Crawford and Dunne showed more representative pace to sit eighth and ninth but remained a second off the fastest lap.

Invicta’s Roman Stanek reduced Browning’s advantage to 0.345s before yellow flags waved, and once the track was fully green again Verschoor and Fornaroli both got within 0.05s of the new benchmark. Prema’s Sebastian Montoya demoted Stanek to fifth, and Martins fell to eighth as his fastest lap was deleted.

After a cooldown lap, Browning lowered the pace again to 1m39.285s and Stanek set a 1m39.748s in third. Verschoor lapped 0.251s shy of Browning, then a rapid sector one put Fornaroli 0.057s off top spot as the second half of practice began.

Villagomez and Dunne disputed fifth place before the end of the first runs, then Fornaroli waited for a quieter track before an excellent sector one set up another personal best lap. He went fastest with a 1m39.064s, and Stanek utilised clean air as well for two improvements that left him 0.169s off the new benchmark laptime.

The next bunch of improvements came with eight-and-a-half minutes to go, and Hitech’s Dino Beganovic jumped from 19th to fifth ahead of Dunne. Next time by he did even better, lapping 0.044s off Fornaroli as MP’s Oliver Goethe improved to fourth.

That became fifth as Stanek set a 1m39.295s in the final five minutes to snatch back a spot, and with two minutes to go Dunne posted a 1m39.258s to go third fastest.

Most outside the top 10 were improving, as was Fornaroli who laid down an unbeatable 1m38.656s with 11s left of practice. The chequered flag waved, and Beganovic reduced Fornaroli’s advantage to 0.104s. Meanwhile team-mate Browning spun.

Free practice results

The post Fornaroli in first place as F2 paddock returns to action at Losail appeared first on Formula Scout.

Photo: Trident

James Wharton will make his Formula 2 debut this weekend at Losail, joining Trident in a revised line-up.

The team ran Max Esterson and Sami Maguetounif in the first 11 rounds, then parted ways with the pair ahead of the most recent round in Baku last month and signed Laurens van Hoepen and Martinius Stenshorne.

It was announced last week that van Hoepen would keep the seat for the last two rounds at Losail and Yas Marina Circuit, while Stenshorne has switched to Rodin Motorsport for the rest of the season.

“I am incredibly grateful to Trident Motorsport for giving me this opportunity to race in the F2 championship,” said Wharton.

“It’s definitely a huge step in my career; there will be new challenges, starting with a more powerful car, longer races, increased tyre degradation, and pitstops. There will be a lot to learn, but I’ll try to make the most of this opportunity.

“Even though I won’t be racing in F2 next year, this is definitely a great opportunity to learn something new, grow, and bring home a good result.”

The 19-year-old Australian was Formula Regional European Championship runner-up and sixth in FRegional Middle East with Prema in 2024, then stepped up to the FIA Formula 3 Championship this year with ART Grand Prix and came 18th in the standings with one win but only three other points-scoring races. He will stay in F3 for 2026, joining Prema’s line-up.

“We are extremely happy to be able to field James Wharton in the next round of the F2 Championship,” Trident’s team manager Giacomo Ricci said.

“He is undoubtedly one of the most talented emerging drivers we have seen in FIA F3 this year. James is an extremely capable and fast driver. Making his debut in Lusail will certainly be a great challenge, but we have carried out intense preparation work that, I am confident, will bear fruit.”

The post James Wharton to debut in F2 with Trident at Losail appeared first on Formula Scout.

Photo: Formula Motorsport Ltd

Trident has announced that Laurens van Hoepen will remain part of its Formula 2 line-up for the last two rounds of the season.

The 20-year-old Dutchman made his championship debut with the team last time out in Baku, as Trident parted ways with its regular drivers and brought in Martinius Stenshorne and van Hoepen as replacements.

After being 20th fastest in qualifying, van Hoepen finished both races in 17th. His next F2 outing will be at Losail, on November 28-30, then the season finale at Yas Marina Circuit is on December 5-7.

“I can’t wait to get back on track, where consistency will be the key for me. My goal will be to be steadily fast,” said van Hoepen.

Before debuting in F2 he drove for ART Grand Prix in the FIA Formula 3 Championship, coming 12th in the standings with two sprint race podiums. That was two points and one place higher than in 2024, when he made the podium three times.

Trident’s team manager Giacomo Ricci said van Hoepen had a “positive debut in Baku” and that retaining him in its line-up is an “important and natural continuation” in which the team will have “the aim of helping him grow in the category and being consistently competitive”.

It is yet to be confirmed who will be van Hoepen’s team-mate. Stenshorne started off impresively on his debut by qualifying eighth, but only got 11 laps of racing action as he suffered two retirements.

In the preceding 11 rounds, Sami Meguetounif had scored two points and Max Esterson went points-free before the pair parted ways with Trident.

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