Qualifying report
FIA F2 Abu Dhabi
F2 Abu Dhabi: Iwasa leads DAMS 1-2 in truncated qualifying
Ayumu Iwasa led a DAMS 1-2 in the final FIA Formula 2 qualifying session of 2022 as a red flag ended running early.
Megan White
Edited: Nov 19, 2022, 2:47 AM
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The Red Bull junior had a lap time deleted just minutes before the session ended, but a last ditch attempt put him top with a 1m36.290s.
He demoted teammate Roy Nissany, who took a shock second place in his best qualifying result of the season, just 0.036s behind Iwasa.
Theo Pourchaire, who sits second in the standings, had looked set to take his first pole position since Monaco, but failed to improve on his last run before the red flag ended running.
It was caused by 2022 Formula 3 runner-up Zane Maloney, making his F2 debut this weekend, losing the rear of his Trident and spinning at Turn 9.
Pourchaire will settle for third as he hopes to secure the runner-up spot in the championship this weekend at Yas Marina circuit.
Pourchaire set an early benchmark with a 1m37.145s for ART, before he was demoted by Jack Doohan (Virtuosi), almost 0.5s faster.
The first stoppage came after seven minutes, with Doohan’s teammate Marino Sato spinning at Turn 14 and prompting a red flag.
Running resumed after a five-minute delay, with 2022 champion Felipe Drugovich moving up into second place with a 1m36.903s.
He was demoted by Pourchaire before the Prema duo of Jehan Daruvala and Dennis Hauger slotted in between the Frenchman and the Brazilian, pushing him down to fifth.
Ralph Boschung was next to enter the top five, jumping up onto the front row in his Campos, before Drugovich took the top spot with a 1m36.546s.
Pourchaire then reclaimed the top spot, almost 0.2s quicker than his title rival, before Logan Sargeant took second for Carlin, having been sat in 16th.
This weekend is crucial for Sargeant’s Formula 1 hopes for 2023 as he fights to secure enough superlicence points.
The Williams junior must finish fifth in the standings to secure enough points, or sixth without picking up any penalty points.
Drugovich improved to second in the last moments of the session as Pourchaire and Sargeant failed to improve on their times, while Doohan moved up into third with a 1m36.510s.
Nissany, whose previous best in qualifying this year was sixth, then took pole briefly before Iwasa pushed him down into second as the session was ended early.
Drugovich will line up fourth for Sunday’s race, with Doohan and Sargeant in fifth and sixth.
Richard Verschoor will start Saturday’s reverse-grid sprint race on pole for Trident, with Liam Lawson in second for Carlin.
Amaury Cordeel will line up third for Van Amersfoort Racing, with Hauger joining him on the second row.
Maloney finished the session in 19th, while Juan Manuel Correa took 18th for VAR in his first F2 qualifying since 2019.
F2 Abu Dhabi - Qualifying results:
Cla # Driver Team Time Gap 1 17 Ayumu Iwasa
DAMS 1'36.290 2 16
Roy Nissany
DAMS 1'36.326 0.036 3 10
Theo Pourchaire
ART Grand Prix 1'36.372 0.082 4 11
Felipe Drugovich
MP Motorsport 1'36.482 0.192 5 3
Jack Doohan
UNI-Virtuosi 1'36.510 0.220 6 6
Logan Sargeant
Carlin 1'36.514 0.224 7 1
Dennis Hauger
Prema Powerteam 1'36.550 0.260 8 25
Amaury Cordeel
Van Amersfoort Racing 1'36.578 0.288 9 5
Liam Lawson
Carlin 1'36.588 0.298 10 20
Richard Verschoor
Trident 1'36.588 0.298 11 7
Marcus Armstrong
HitechGP 1'36.619 0.329 12 2
Jehan Daruvala
Prema Powerteam 1'36.630 0.340 13 22
Enzo Fittipaldi
Charouz Racing System 1'36.680 0.390 14 15
Ralph Boschung
Campos Racing 1'36.685 0.395 15 8
Jüri Vips
HitechGP 1'36.794 0.504 16 9
Frederik Vesti
ART Grand Prix 1'37.023 0.733 17 12
Clement Novalak
MP Motorsport 1'37.045 0.755 18 24
Juan Manuel Correa
Van Amersfoort Racing 1'37.084 0.794 19 21
Zane Maloney
Trident 1'37.100 0.810 20 14
Olli Caldwell
Campos Racing 1'37.208 0.918 21 23
Tatiana Calderon
Charouz Racing System 1'37.828 1.538 22 4
Marino Sato
UNI-Virtuosi 1'59.749 23.459 View full results
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