Isack Hadjar in Bahrain

Formula 2 News: Hadjar sets pace in opening Bahrain practice

Isack Hadjar made a fine start to the opening round of the weekend in Sakhir by topping the timesheets in Free F2 Practice in preparation for Qualifying later today.

The Campos Racing driver left it late in the session to complete a lap of 1:45.099 to lead MP Motorsport rookie Franco Colapinto by 0.137s.

As the lights turned green, most teams opted to keep their cars in the pitlane although Hadjar was the first driver out on track to complete a lap. However, it was his Campos teammate Josep María Martí who set the early benchmark with a time of 1:45.849.

But then came the Rodin Motorsport pair of Zane Maloney and Ritomo Miyata, with the former going to the top of the leaderboard with a time of 1:45.588 – the latter 0.092s behind in second.

With the session winding down to a close and the drivers now returning to the track for a final few laps, Hadjar secured top spot.

Colapinto enjoyed a fine start in his own regard to place second, followed by Maloney and Miyata, the second MP car of Dennis Hauger rounding out the top five.

Qualifying from the Bahrain International Circuit is set to begin at 16:55 local time later today.

Practice Results

POS DRIVER TEAM TIME LAPS
1. Hadjar I. Campos Racing 1:45.099 18
2. Colapinto F. MP Motorsport +0.137 16
3. Maloney Z. Rodin Motorsport +0.489 13
4. Miyata R. Rodin Motorsport +0.581 13
5. Hauger D. MP Motorsport +0.709 15
6. Crawford J. DAMS +0.725 14
7. Marti P. Campos Racing +0.750 15
8. O’Sullivan Z. ART Grand Prix +0.843 13
9. Fittipaldi E. Van Amersfoort Racing +0.846 14
10. Bortoleto G. Invicta Racing +0.869 14
11. Martins V. ART Grand Prix +0.875 14
12. Maini K. Invicta Racing +1.007 12
13. Correa J. M. DAMS +1.143 14
14. Aron P. Hitech Pulse-Eight +1.198 14
15. Antonelli K. Prema Racing +1.506 13
16. Verschoor R. Trident +1.554 14
17. Durksen J. PHM AIX Racing +1.594 11
18. Barnard T. PHM AIX Racing +1.748 11
19. Bearman O. Prema Racing +1.778 11
20. Cordeel A. Hitech Pulse-Eight +1.887 12
21. Stanek R. Trident +1.918 14
22. Villagomez R. Van Amersfoort Racing +2.132 14