F2: Boschung fastest for Campos Racing on Day 1 of testing in Barcelona

Ralph Boschung was the only driver to break the 1m28s benchmark on a chilly first day of testing at Barcelona, with the Campos Racing driver beating Hitech Grand Prix’s Marcus Armstrong and DAMS’ Ayumu Iwasa.

MP Motorsport’s Felipe Drugovich led a gloomy morning session, with the current Championship leader setting a 1:29.755 early doors to see off ART Grand Prix’s Théo Pourchaire and Iwasa.

MORNING

With a sprinkling of rain and a track temperature of just 14 degrees, running was reduced on a quiet opening morning of testing, with only two drivers posting more than 30 laps.

Championship leader Drugovich picked up from where he left off at Round 2 in Jeddah, with the Brazilian jumping to the top of the order in the opening hour with a 1:29.755. In second, ART Grand Prix’s Pourchaire was 0.165s off his fellow title contender.

Felipe Drugovich of Brazil and MP Motorsport (11) drives on track during Day One of Formula 2 Testing at Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya on April 12, 2022 in Barcelona, Spain. (Photo by Joe Portlock – Formula 1/Formula Motorsport Limited via Getty Images)

Ayumu Iwasa was 0.369s off the pace in third for DAMS, with Hitech Grand Prix’s Jüri Vips and Virtuosi Racing’s Jack Doohan completing the top five.

There were three stoppages during the morning, including Calan Williams who spun to a stop at Turn 2. Liam Lawson’s Carlin later came to a halt at Turn 10, before Cem Bölükbaşı lost control of his Charouz at Turn 9 and went into the barrier.

Despite the stoppage, Lawson still managed to set the seventh-fastest time behind Marcus Armstrong, who made it two Hitech’s inside of the top 10.

Ralph Boschung was eighth for Campos Racing, as Lawson’s Carlin teammate Logan Sargeant put himself in ninth.

Finishing 10th fastest, Jake Hughes topped the lap count on Tuesday morning, completing 37 tours of the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya.

AFTERNOON

Track temperature marginally increased in the afternoon, rising to 19 degrees, and this meant that the grid was able to offer up a few push laps on the back of their race runs.

After a benchmark time of 1:29.897 from Armstrong during the long-running, Boschung fired to the top of the field, dropping a 1:27.929 to go more than a second faster than the Hitech ace.

Armstrong strapped on a pair of softs and headed back out onto the tarmac, but the New Zealander was unable to break the 1m 28s barrier and had to settle for second fastest, 0.241s off the rapid Campos racer.

Marcus Armstrong of New Zealand and Hitech Grand Prix (7) drives on track during Day One of Formula 2 Testing at Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya on April 12, 2022 in Barcelona, Spain. (Photo by Joe Portlock – Formula 1/Formula Motorsport Limited via Getty Images)

Also switching to Pirelli’s soft compound were Japanese duo Ayumu Iwasa and Marino Sato, and they were the only other drivers to come within a second of Boschung. The DAMS racer was third, 0.402s off the leading time, while the Virtuosi was fifth, just over half a second off P1.

The rest of the field opted to remain on the hard rubber, with Felipe Drugovich completing the top five with a 1:29.131. ART Grand Prix pairing Pourchaire and Frederik Vesti were directly behind the MP Motorsport driver, with Richard Verschoor taking eighth. Hughes made the top 10 once again, finishing ninth ahead of Clément Novalak.

There were two more Red Flags in the afternoon, firstly for Vips, who clipped the barriers at Turn 3, and later for Logan Sargeant, whose Carlin came to a halt on track at Turn 1.

Despite the stoppages, there was significantly more running in the afternoon, with just two drivers posting fewer than 30 laps. Boschung and Calan Williams completed the joint-most, with the duo carrying out 55 each.

The second day of testing at Barcelona begins at 9am local time on Wednesday morning.

MORNING SESSION

POS DRIVER NAT TEAM TIME LAPS
1 Felipe Drugovich BRA MP Motorsport 1:29.755 20
2 Théo Pourchaire FRA ART Grand Prix 1:29.920 23
3 Ayumu Iwasa JPN DAMS 1:30.124 19
4 Juri Vips EST Hitech Grand Prix 1:30.207 21
5 Jack Doohan AUS Virtuosi Racing 1:30.215 18
6 Marcus Armstrong NZL Hitech Grand Prix 1:30.245 22
7 Liam Lawson NZL Carlin 1:30.298 10
8 Ralph Boschung CHE Campos Racing 1:30.361 32
9 Logan Sargeant USA Carlin 1:30.403 19
10 Jake Hughes GBR Van Amersfoort Racing 1:30.412 37
11 Marino Sato JPN Virtuosi Racing 1:30.440 18
12 Calan Williams AUS Trident 1:30.454 17
13 Enzo Fittipaldi BRA Charouz Racing System 1:30.465 21
14 Jehan Daruvala IND PREMA Racing 1:30.466 16
15 Frederik Vesti DNK ART Grand Prix 1:30.586 23
16 Roy Nissany ISR DAMS 1:30.692 20
17 Clément Novalak FRA MP Motorsport 1:30.753 18
18 Olli Caldwell GBR Campos Racing 1:30.856 22
19 Amaury Cordeel BEL Van Amersfoort Racing 1:30.886 27
20 Richard Verschoor NLD Trident 1:30.944 13
21 Cem Bölükbasi TUR Charouz Racing System 1:31.455 21
22 Dennis Hauger NOR PREMA Racing 1:31.730 16

 

AFTERNOON SESSION

POS DRIVER NAT TEAM TIME LAPS
1 Ralph Boschung CHE Campos Racing 1:27.929 55
2 Marcus Armstrong NZL Hitech Grand Prix 1:28.170 34
3 Ayumu Iwasa JPN DAMS 1:28.331 51
4 Marino Sato JPN Virtuosi Racing 1:28.436 42
5 Felipe Drugovich BRA MP Motorsport 1:29.131 37
6 Théo Pourchaire FRA ART Grand Prix 1:29.312 52
7 Frederik Vesti DNK ART Grand Prix 1:29.383 49
8 Richard Verschoor NLD Trident 1:29.439 54
9 Jake Hughes GBR Van Amersfoort Racing 1:29.492 36
10 Clément Novalak FRA MP Motorsport 1:29.495 35
11 Jack Doohan AUS Virtuosi Racing 1:29.777 44
12 Logan Sargeant USA Carlin 1:29.788 31
13 Roy Nissany ISR DAMS 1:29.824 36
14 Enzo Fittipaldi BRA Charouz Racing System 1:29.844 41
15 Jehan Daruvala IND PREMA Racing 1:29.909 35
16 Calan Williams AUS Trident 1:29.975 55
17 Amaury Cordeel BEL Van Amersfoort Racing 1:29.993 39
18 Liam Lawson NZL Carlin 1:30.180 49
19 Dennis Hauger NOR PREMA Racing 1:30.439 36
20 Juri Vips EST Hitech Grand Prix 1:30.488 15
21 Olli Caldwell GBR Campos Racing 1:30.820 54