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Practice report

Red Bull Ring F2: Leclerc leads Prema 1-2 in practice

Ferrari Formula 1 junior driver Charles Leclerc topped Formula 2 practice at the Red Bull Ring in front of his Prema Racing teammate Antonio Fuoco.

Charles Leclerc, PREMA Powerteam

Charles Leclerc, PREMA Powerteam

FIA Formula 2

Leclerc, the current championship leader, produced a best time of 1m14.356, which was 0.365-seconds quicker than Fuoco’s fastest lap, and McLaren F1 junior Nyck de Vries completed the top three for Rapax.

Several drivers – including Leclerc – had off-track moments at the short but high-speed circuit, with the Monegasque racer’s off coming as the session entered its final five minutes when he locked his left front and then right front at the downhill right-hander of Turn 4.

Leclerc skated across the gravel trap but was able to stop his car just in front of the barriers before rejoining via an escape road.

Nicholas Latifi finished fourth fastest ahead of his DAMS teammate Oliver Rowland, who enters the weekend second in the points standings.

Sergio Canamasas was sixth quickest in his first appearance for the Rapax squad, and the Spaniard was among the contingent of drivers to lock up heavily under braking for the tight uphill right-hander of Turn 3.

Nobuharu Matsushita finished seventh for ART Grand Prix, just in front of his teammate Alexander Albon, who is making his return to F2 competition after missing the previous round of the season in Baku, having fractured his collarbone in a mountain biking accident.

Ralph Boschung and Luca Ghiotto completed the top 10 for Campos Racing and Russian Time respectively.

Baku sprint race winner Norman Nato was 11th fastest for Arden International ahead of Artem Markelov and Jordan King.

Raffaele Marciello, who is making his return to the F1 support series for the Trident team, finished practice in 17th place.

The session was brought to an early end when Sergio Sette Camara stopped his MP Motorsport car at the entrance to the pit lane, which caused the virtual safety car to be deployed, moments before the heavens opened as the drivers practiced their starting procedures.

Practice results

Pos.#DriverTeamLapsTimeGap
1 1 monaco Charles Leclerc italy Prema Powerteam 25 1'14.356  
2 2 italy Antonio Fuoco italy Prema Powerteam 23 1'14.721 0.365
3 18 netherlands Nyck de Vries italy Rapax 24 1'14.730 0.374
4 10 canada Nicholas Latifi france DAMS 27 1'14.822 0.466
5 9 united_kingdom Oliver Rowland france DAMS 25 1'14.865 0.509
6 19 venezuela Johnny Cecotto italy Rapax 23 1'14.877 0.521
7 7 japan Nobuharu Matsushita france ART Grand Prix 20 1'14.915 0.559
8 8 russia Sergey Sirotkin france ART Grand Prix 26 1'14.951 0.595
9 11 switzerland Ralph Boschung spain Campos Racing 20 1'15.029 0.673
10 5 italy Luca Ghiotto russia RUSSIAN TIME 23 1'15.031 0.675
11 20 france Norman Nato united_kingdom Arden International 28 1'15.066 0.710
12 6 russia Artem Markelov russia RUSSIAN TIME 24 1'15.081 0.725
13 15 united_kingdom Jordan King netherlands MP Motorsport 26 1'15.099 0.743
14 21 indonesia Sean Gelael united_kingdom Arden International 25 1'15.100 0.744
15 14 brazil Sergio Sette Camara netherlands MP Motorsport 20 1'15.174 0.818
16 3 switzerland Louis Deletraz spain Racing Engineering 26 1'15.246 0.890
17 4 sweden Gustav Malja spain Racing Engineering 24 1'15.480 1.124
18 17 spain Sergio Canamasas italy Trident 25 1'15.488 1.132
19 12 romania Robert Visoiu spain Campos Racing 26 1'15.554 1.198
20 16 malaysia Nabil Jeffri italy Trident 26 1'15.643 1.287

 

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