Verschoor and Hauger lead the way on Day 1 of FIA F2 post-season test at Yas Marina 23.11.2022: FIA Formula 2 test Abu Dhabi day 1 Yas Marina Circuit November 23-25th, 2022 Wednesday, November 23rd 2022 Richard Verschoor ended fastest of all at the wheel of the Van Amersfoort Racing car, on the opening day of post-season testing at the Y

FIA Formula 2 test Abu Dhabi day 1
Yas Marina Circuit
November 23-25th, 2022
Wednesday, November 23rd 2022




Richard Verschoor ended fastest of all at the wheel of the Van Amersfoort Racing car, on the opening day of post-season testing at the Yas Marina Circuit. He beat PREMA Racing’s duo of Frederik Vesti and Oliver Bearman, with a time of 1:36.395.



In the morning session, it was MP Motorsport’s Dennis Hauger who claimed the top spot, with a time of 1:36.821, and he remained competitive throughout the afternoon.



Benefitting from the cooler track temperatures as the afternoon session drew to a close, Verschoor’s personal best was part of a series of late improvements, and he ended the day 0.003s clear of Vesti.





MORNING



It was a bright and early start for the field at the Yas Marina Circuit. Having already signed on for the 2023 season with Campos Racing, Ralph Boschung set the initial benchmark of a 1:37.820 during a relatively quiet opening 30 minutes.  



As the track became a hive of action, this season’s final pole-sitter and Feature Race winner Ayumu Iwasa put DAMS on top, going nearly a tenth quicker than Boschung. The Japanese ace‘s time was then bettered by Jack Doohan and Vesti, before Hauger became the first driver to break into the 1:36s.
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There were three Red Flag appearances during the final hour and a half of the opening session. Enzo Fittipaldi for Carlin and Campos’ Kush Maini stopped on track in separate incidents but were both able to continue their run programmes later. Brad Benavides, testing for Charouz Racing System, tagged the wall and didn’t resume running in the morning segment.



Hauger’s 1:36.821 remained unbeaten up to the chequered flag. Doohan finished second, only 0.085 down the MP driver, while Verschoor completed the top 3. In the Virtuosi Racing car, Doohan achieved a total of 41 laps – the most of anyone in the morning session.



The second Virtuosi driven by Amaury Cordeel finished fourth, ahead of 2022 Formula 3 Champion Victor Martins for ART Grand Prix and Fittipaldi. Roman Stanek closed his first F2 experience with Trident in seventh position with Iwasa, Vesti and Théo Pourchaire rounding out the top 10 times.





AFTERNOON



Straight out of the blocks at the green flag, Verschoor led the field out for the second session of the day. However, it was Maini who shot to first, posting a 1:38.567, before improving on his own time by over a second.  



Picking up where he left off in the morning, Hauger set a 1:37.309 to go two-tenths clear of the Indian rookie, before Stanek came to a halt, bringing out an early Red Flag within the opening hour.



Jehan Daruvala improved to make it an MP 1-2 at the top of the timing sheets, as Vesti slotted into third. Meanwhile, Roy Nissany was keeping busy as he reached over 30 laps by mid-session.



Cooler temperatures allowed for a flurry of late improvements. Firstly, Hauger continued to better his own time with a 1:36.829, followed by a 1:36.593 to retain the quickest time of the session. In his maiden F2 outing for PREMA, Bearman moved up to second with a 1:37.128 before being leapfrogged by teammate Vesti.
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The session was interrupted by another Red Flag period, with 47 minutes remaining, as Jak Crawford, testing for Hitech Grand Prix, spun into the barriers at Turn 2.



Returning to green flag conditions with just under half an hour to go, personal best times tumbled. The ART duo of Martins and Pourchaire moved inside the top six momentarily, before being usurped by Trident’s Clément Novalak and Stanek. However, the Czech driver wasn’t done yet, joining Hauger in the 1:36s and trading the P2 spot with Pourchaire and Iwasa.



In the final 10 minutes, Hauger was bumped down by Verschoor, who set a 1:36.395 to go quickest of all. Vesti and Bearman slotted into second and third places respectively at the chequered flag. Iwasa finished fifth, with Pourchaire, Maini, Stanek, Martins and DAMS’ Arthur Leclerc completing the top 10.  



Testing will resume at 9AM local time on Thursday. We will see a driver change as Verschoor moves across to drive the #25 Van Amersfoort Racing car. He will be joined by Juan Manuel Correa who will pilot car #24.






2022 FIA FORMULA 2 CHAMPIONSHIP - YAS MARINA POST-SEASON TEST, DAY 1, MORNING SESSION


1    Dennis Hauger    MP Motorsport    1:36.821    28
2    Jack Doohan    Virtuosi Racing    1:36.906    41
3    Richard Verschoor    Van Amersfoort Racing    1:36.924    28
4    Amaury Cordeel    Virtuosi Racing    1:36.941    36
5    Victor Martins    ART Grand Prix    1:36.987    36
6    Enzo Fittipaldi    Carlin    1:36.997    29
7    Roman Stanek    Trident    1:47.018    25
8    Ayumu Iwasa    DAMS    1:37.159    22
9    Frederik Vesti    PREMA Racing    1:37.225    33
10    Théo Pourchaire    ART Grand Prix    1:37.264    32
11    Clément Novalak    Trident    1:37.361    22
12    Jehan Daruvala    MP Motorsport    1:37.371    29
13    Roy Nissany    Charouz Racing    1:37.605    32
14    Arthur Leclerc    DAMS    1:37.619    33
15    Zane Maloney    Carlin    1:37.678    30
16    Oliver Bearman    PREMA Racing    1:37.730    33
17    Ralph Boschung    Campos Racing    1:37.820    28
18    Kush Maini    Campos Racing    1:37.982    20
19    Rafael Villagómez    Van Amersfoort Racing    1:38.160    32
20    Brad Benavides    Charouz Racing System    1:38.893    20
21    Isack Hadjar    Hitech Grand Prix    1:39.275    8
22    Jak Crawford    Hitech Grand Prix    1:39.694    25



2022 FIA FORMULA 2 CHAMPIONSHIP - YAS MARINA POST-SEASON TEST, DAY 1, AFTERNOON SESSION



1    Richard Verschoor    Van Amersfoort Racing    1:36.395    46
2    Frederik Vesti    PREMA Racing    1:36.398    32
3    Oliver Bearman    PREMA Racing    1:36.558    31
4    Dennis Hauger    MP Motorsport    1:36.574    29
5    Ayumu Iwasa    DAMS    1:36.773    34
6    Théo Pourchaire    ART Grand Prix    1:36.844    14
7    Kush Maini    Campos Racing    1:36.901    34
8    Roman Stanek    Trident    1:36.923    40
9    Victor Martins    ART Grand Prix    1:36.966    21
10    Arthur Leclerc    DAMS    1:37.067    38
11    Jehan Daruvala    MP Motorsport    1:37.142    30
12    Clément Novalak    Trident    1:37.143    37
13    Amaury Cordeel    Virtuosi Racing    1:37.176    50
14    Roy Nissany    Charouz Racing System    1:37.229    45
15    Brad Benavides    Charouz Racing System    1:37.878    35
16    Isack Hadjar    Hitech Grand Prix    1:38.148    38
17    Rafael Villagómez    Van Amersfoort Racing    1:38.825    33
18    Ralph Boschung    Campos Racing    1:38.940    37
19    Jack Doohan    Virtuosi Racing    1:38.955    59
20    Zane Maloney    Carlin    1:39.528    48
21    Jak Crawford    Hitech Grand Prix    1:39.529    18
22    Enzo Fittipaldi    Carlin    1:39.573    50




- Alexa Quintin, photos Getty / Formula Motorsport Limited