Posted on 14th April 2017
In the first practice session in the FIA Formula 2 Championship, Renault Formula 1 development driver Oliver Rowland topped the timesheets ahead of Artem Markelov and Charles Leclerc
The fastest times of the session were set during the early running on the medium Pirelli tyres, as the drivers encountered high track temperatures of 45C. But during the session, McLaren F1 junior and Rapax driver Nyck de Vries endured a disrupted session for Rapax.
De Vries spent the first third of the 45-minute session in the pits before he was finally able to put in timed a lap. He then twice ground to a halt in pitlane before making it back to the Rapax garage, and the 22-year-old’s problems eventually forced him to stop at Turn 8, which triggered the virtual safety car with just 12 minutes remaining.
Several drivers had off-track moments, particularly at Turn 10, with Oliver Rowland, Nobuharu Matsushita and Charles Leclerc among those caught out.
The classification of Practice 1 for the Bahrain GP F2 race is as follows:-
1. Oliver Rowland, DAMS, 1.42.221s
2. Artem Markelov, RUSSIAN TIME, 0.092s
3. Charles Leclerc, Prema Racing, 0.151s
4. Antonio Fuoco, Prema Racing, 0.160s
5. Norman Nato, Pertamina Arden, 0.373s
6. Luca Ghiotto, RUSSIAN TIME, 0.494s
7. Nyck de Vyres, Rapax, 0.831s
8. Johnny Cecotto Jr, Rapax, 0.925s
9. Nobuharo Matsushita, ART Grand Prix, 0.992s
10. Gustav Malja, Racing Engineering, 1.009s
11. Sergio Cette Camara, MP Motorsport, 1.039s
12. Jordan King, MP Motorsport, 1.044s
13. Nicholas Latifi, DAMS, 1.102s
14. Sean Gelael, Pertamina Arden, 1.134s
15. Ralph Boschung, Campos Racing, 1.258s
16. Stefano Coletti, Campos Racing, 1.411s
17. Nabil Jaffri, Trident, 1.670s
18. Sergio Canamasas, Trident, 1.737s
19. Louis Deletraz, Racing Engineering, 1.795s
20. Alexander Albion, ART Grand Prix, 2.139s
Driving for Pleasure will be covering the Bahrain F2 weekend with our practice, qualifying and race reports alongside the latest news.
Picture supplied by the FIA Formula 2 World Championship
Sarah Jones- @jonesy_laaa
