Martins and Maini top final day of post-season testing at Yas Marina 25.11.2022: Victor Martins ended the final day of post-season testing at Yas Marina on a high, claiming the fastest time of Day 3 in the morning session. Testing for ART Grand Prix, the 2022 Formula 3 Champion edged out Jack Doohan and Théo Pourchaire by le

Victor Martins ended the final day of post-season testing at Yas Marina on a high, claiming the fastest time of Day 3 in the morning session.  

 

Testing for ART Grand Prix, the 2022 Formula 3 Champion edged out Jack Doohan and Théo Pourchaire by less than a tenth with a 1:35.908.



Campos Racing’s Maini took the honours in the last track time of the season, being the only driver to dip below the 1:37 mark. A 1:36.875 saw him close the day ahead of Rafael Villagómez and Clément Novalak.




MORNING



Eager to get as much track time as possible on the final day of testing, Martins led the timing sheets for most of the morning.  



The Frenchman put the #9 ART Grand Prix car top with a 1:36.372 in the early stages, before DAMS’ Arthur Leclerc and then Roy Nissany went P1. Driving the #22 Charouz Racing System car, Nissany became the first driver of the day to break into the 1:35s.  



Oliver Bearman caused the morning’s only stoppage inside the opening hour of running, as the 2023 PREMA Racing driver nudged the Tecpro barriers at Turn 13.  


Post-Red Flag, ART returned to the top as Pourchaire clocked in a 1:35.968 before being leapfrogged by the sister car. Martins’ personal best of a 1:35.908 remained the time to beat all the way to the chequered flag.



Day 2 pacesetter Doohan slotted into second for Virtuosi Racing, only 0.027s off his fellow Alpine junior’s efforts. Pourchaire finished third ahead of Nissany, with the top four separated by less than a tenth.



Leclerc took fifth ahead of Maini, Enzo Fittipaldi and Isack Hadjar. Jehan Daruvala laid down an identical time to Hadjar to put 2022 Teams’ Champions MP Motorsport inside the top 10 once again in ninth, as Cordeel rounded out the top 10 for Virtuosi.  



Five drivers reached the 50-lap benchmark, with Frederik Vesti the busiest on 66 laps by the end of running. Meanwhile, Van Amersfoort Racing totaled over 100 laps between their two cars, driven by Juan Manuel Correa and Villagómez.  






AFTERNOON



Novalak put Trident comfortably clear during the opening 30 minutes of afternoon running and remained out front until the final half an hour. His benchmark of a 1:37.292 was over 1.6s faster than the field as teams focused much of their running on longer stints and pitstop practice.



The first Red Flag of the afternoon came in the second half of the session. Zane Maloney stopped on track having tapped the wall at Turn 14 in the #6 Carlin.




With 25 minutes remaining, Maini bettered Novalak’s time by over four-tenths to go top with a 1:36.875. The Red Flag was deployed once again with 11 minutes left on the clock due to Nissany coming to a halt along the back straight.



A late improvement from Villagómez moved the Mexican driver up into second, 0.354s off the Campos Racing driver’s time. Novalak ended third, ahead of Maloney, whilst Leclerc finished fifth fastest and topped the lap count on 68 laps.  



Iwasa ensured both DAMS cars finished inside the top six, beating out Doohan, Nissany and Pourchaire.



This concludes the 2022 Formula 2 campaign, with the teams and the drivers setting their sights on next season. The paddock will get back together for the 2023 pre-season tests at the Bahrain International Circuit, on February 14-15-16.




2022 FIA FORMULA 2 CHAMPIONSHIP - YAS MARINA POST-SEASON TEST,
DAY 3, MORNING SESSION



1    Victor Martins    ART Grand Prix    1:35.908    49
2    Jack Doohan    Virtuosi Racing    1:35.935    41
3    Théo Pourchaire    ART Grand Prix    1:35.968    36
4    Roy Nissany    Charouz Racing System    1:35.978    45
5    Arthur Leclerc    DAMS    1:36.014    50
6    Kush Maini    Campos Racing    1:36.041    53
7    Enzo Fittipaldi    Carlin    1:36.144    48
8    Isack Hadjar    Hitech Grand Prix    1:36.207    43
9    Jehan Daruvala    MP Motorsport    1:36.207    38
10    Amaury Cordeel    Virtuosi Racing    1:36.296    40
11    Zane Maloney    Carlin    1:36.361    32
12    Ralph Boschung    Campos Racing    1:36.365    38
13    Dennis Hauger    MP Motorsport    1:36.415    37
14    Ayumu Iwasa    DAMS    1:36.422    40
15    Clément Novalak    Trident    1:36.595    31
16    Oliver Bearman    PREMA Racing    1:36.599    44
17    Juan Manuel Correa    Van Amersfoort Racing    1:36.736    52
18    Jak Crawford    Hitech Grand Prix    1:36.847    43
19    Roman Stanek    Trident    1:37.046    39
20    Rafael Villagómez    Van Amersfoort Racing    1:37.307    50
21    Brad Benavides    Charouz Racing System    1:38.108    18
22    Frederik Vesti    PREMA Racing    1:40.144    66



2022 FIA FORMULA 2 CHAMPIONSHIP - YAS MARINA POST-SEASON TEST,
DAY 3, AFTERNOON SESSION


    
1    Kush Maini    Campos Racing    1:36.875    55
2    Rafael Villagómez    Van Amersfoort Racing    1:37.229    43
3    Clément Novalak    Trident    1:37.292    41
4    Zane Maloney    Carlin    1:37.681    45
5    Arthur Leclerc    DAMS    1:37.757    68
6    Ayumu Iwasa    DAMS    1:37.790    61
7    Jack Doohan    DAMS    1:37.844    67
8    Victor Martins    ART Grand Prix    1:38.242    63
9    Roy Nissany    Charouz Racing System    1:38.346    66
10    Théo Pourchaire    ART Grand Prix    1:38.447    58
11    Enzo Fittipaldi    Carlin    1:38.871    58
12    Isack Hadjar    Hitech Grand Prix    1:38.971    64
13    Ralph Boschung    Campos Racing    1:39.000    50
14    Jak Crawford    Hitech Grand Prix    1:39.123    64
15    Dennis Hauger    MP Motorsport    1:39.174    64
16    Jehan Daruvala    MP Motorsport    1:39.251    62
17    Roman Stanek    Trident    1:39.365    53
18    Frederik Vesti    PREMA Racing    1:39.488    62
19    Oliver Bearman    PREMA Racing    1:39.539    53
20    Juan Manuel Correa    Van Amersfoort Racing    1:40.183    67
21    Amaury Cordeel    Virtuosi Racing    1:40.363    29

- Alexa Quintin, photos Formula Motorsport LTd