Formula 1 News: Mercedes move for Sainz Jr. waits on Antonelli (Update)

Martí fastest for Campos Racing on Day 2 of F2 testing in Barcelona

Josep María Martí was the quickest driver on the second day of in-season testing. The Spaniard set a 1:23.681 in the morning session, the fastest lap of the test so far, to lead the way from ART Grand Prix’s Victor Martins and MP Motorsport driver Dennis Hauger

In the afternoon it was Ritomo Miyata and Rodin Motorsport that led the way, ending the day quickest by 0.2s ahead of Invicta Racing’s Gabriel Bortoleto with a 1:24.878.

MORNING

Juan Manuel Correa set the pace in the opening half hour of running on day two, improving on multiple laps to lower his best to a 1:26.214 early on. Campos’ Isack Hadjar was next to go to the top, bettering the DAMS Lucas Oil driver’s effort by 0.039s with 40 minutes run.

Just before the end of the first hour, further improvements began to filter in with Trident going to the top on soft tires. Roman Stanek led teammate Richard Verschoor with a 1:24.392, 0.3s ahead of the Dutch driver.

Verschoor found more speed to then go quickest with a 1:24.202 just prior to the first Red Flag      of the day. Miyata was the driver stopped in the final sector between Turns 10 and 11, bringing a pause to the on-track action with just over half the morning segment remaining.

The session was quickly back underway and Hadjar moved back up to P1, becoming the first into the 1:23s. Dennis Hauger got to within 0.003s of the Frenchman’s 1:23.881 to go second for MP Motorsport as multiple teams began to focus on soft tire runs.

Zane Maloney lifted Rodin up to third position, 0.146s down on Hadjar’s fastest time with Zak O’Sullivan going fourth for ART Grand Prix, another 0.040s behind the Bajan.

Martí then moved himself to the top of the timing screens, displacing his teammate by two- tenths of a second with a 1:23.681 with just under an hour and a half remaining.

With an hour to go, Martins improved his personal best to go back up to second in his ART, 0.160s shy of Martí’s time. Hauger was back out on track and moved himself to third, another 0.021s behind the Frenchman.

The timing charts remained largely the same for the remainder of the morning, with no changes  to the top five. Martí finished as the fastest from Martins, Hauger, Hadjar and Paul Aron.

Having been fastest on the opening day, Bortoleto ended the morning of day two as the busiest driver of all, logging 71 laps for Invicta.

AFTERNOON

PREMA, ART and MP were on track right away to kick off the afternoon’s running, but Franco Colapinto’s session was put on pause with 10 minutes gone. The Argentinian driver came to a halt in Sector 2, bringing out the second Red Flag of the day.

Teammate Hauger was the fastest driver in the early phases once running got back underway, 1:26.883 the time to beat with half an hour gone.

After a relatively quiet morning, Enzo Fittipaldi put Van Amersfoort Racing on top next, with his

1:26.807 just under a tenth quicker than Hauger’s earlier effort.

With little over an hour to go on day two, Bortoleto went quickest, lowering the time to beat to a 1:26.573 in his Invicta. Teammate Kush Maini improved up to third with over 45 minutes left of the session, 0.257s down on the Brazilian’s time.

That was until the Rodin Motorsport pair bolted on softs to make it a one-two for the team. Miyata set a 1:24.878 for P1, 0.204s quicker than teammate Zane Maloney in second.

Not long after, Bortoleto restored himself to second with a 1:25.067, splitting the two Rodins and just missing out on topping consecutive afternoon sessions.

O’Sullivan proved to be the busiest driver of the afternoon segment, logging 68 laps in his #2 ART Grand Prix car.

Day three of the in-season test is set to get underway at 09:00 local time though will feature an altered afternoon timetable, with the latter session starting at 13:00 and finishing at 16:00 local time.

(GMM) Carlos Sainz Jr.’s rumored move to Mercedes for 2025 may not yet be set in stone because Mercedes wants to see how well Italian youngster Kimi Antonelli tests first.

What is for sure is that Toto Wolff’s choice to replace the Ferrari-bound Lewis Hamilton next year is yet to be officially announced.

Related Article: F1 News – Sainz Jr. closing in on 2025 Mercedes deal – Rumor

It is clear that the team boss and co-owner’s number 1 target is Max Verstappen, as Red Bull’s disruptive power struggle continues to bubble in the background.

Also reasonably clear is that serious talks with soon-to-be Ferrari refugee Sainz Jr.have taken place.

But as recently as Tuesday, the on-form 29-year-old himself was quoted by F1’s official website as saying that his next move “also depends on other people, on other teams – what they choose to go for”.

Wolff’s 17-year-old protégé Kimi Antonelli has now kicked off an extensive test program in older Mercedes F1 cars, as per the strict testing rules.

And a new report in the Kolner Express newspaper claims that Wolff regards another driver he manages – Esteban Ocon – as the other ‘plan B’ in the event that Verstappen stays at Red Bull.

“We could take a young driver and give him the opportunity to immediately fight for victories without much pressure,” Wolff said. “Or put an experienced driver in the car who can help us get out of our current situation.”

The rumor mill suggests that Sainz definitely has the option of moving to Audi-owned Sauber on a long-term deal, with Nico Hulkenberg tipped as another strong candidate.

Sauber “CEO Andreas Seidl has long since realized that new drivers are needed”, reports the veteran F1 journalist Roger Benoit, writing in Blick newspaper.

“(Valtteri) Bottas and (Guanyu) Zhou are a thing of the past. New motivation is needed in the cockpit now. Even the most loyal Sauber fans agree on this,” Benoit added.

He also thinks Williams is another option for Sainz, even if the Spaniard himself is quoted as saying: “I don’t want to be stuck in the midfield or even further back in 2025.”

It leaves Mercedes as arguably Sainz’s best overall option for 2025, amid reports that Wolff may only be offering him a firm one-year offer – with the team-sided ‘option’ to extend into F1’s new era in 2026.

According to former F1 driver Ralf Schumacher, it’s a critical moment for Wolff as he attempts to steer the formerly-dominant team through far less competitive times.

“His client teams, especially McLaren, are beating him, and that is the worst thing that can happen to him,” he told Sky Deutschland.

“Their number 1 driver is leaving them because he no longer believes in the team. That’s a big problem for Toto. He has to make sure that he remains attractive as a team so that the really good drivers want to go there.

“Mercedes is in a mess right now,” Schumacher continued. “You can see it in Toto’s reactions in the media. I admire him and I like him, but what is going on there now is a disaster.”