F2: Ticktum tops Barcelona Free Practice, 0.009s ahead of Schumacher

FIA Formula 2 Free Practice was settled by the smallest of margins in Barcelona. DAMS’ Dan Ticktum beat out PREMA Racing’s Mick Schumacher by just 0.009s to top the opening session for the first time in F2. Carlin’s Yuki Tsunoda was just 0.1s further back, clinching third.

The field fed out onto the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya for a quick installation lap, before diving back into the pitlane. The PREMAs were the first to return to the track for a flying lap, and Robert Shwartzman tested the conditions with an initial attempt of 1m 50s, before firing around in 1m 30s once his Pirellis were warm.

His teammate, Schumacher, was able to better him by two tenths on the next tour of Barcelona before Felipe Drugovich got a fast lap in of his own to take P1. The times continued to tumble as driver confidence grew, and it was Schumacher who broke the 1m 29s barrier for the first time.

Ticktum joined the German in breaking that barrier, and he even managed to do it ever so slightly faster, going 0.009s quicker, to jump to first. Tsunoda also dipped under 1m 30s, but couldn’t quite match the PREMA, settling for third, 0.1s off.

Knowing how challenging the hard Pirelli tires have been to manage so far this season, the teams switched their focus to longer runs at the midway point. These runs were brought to a halt when Marino Sato ran out of road and got himself stuck in the gravel trap, which brought out a red flag and suspended the session with ten minutes to go.

Returning with five minutes on the clock, the grid opted against setting any more fast laps. Ticktum would remain top, ahead of Schumacher and Tsunoda.

Louis Delétraz was fourth fastest, ahead of Callum Ilott, Artem Markelov, Luca Ghiotto, Sato, Drugovich, and Shwartzman.

Ticktum will look to convert his one-lap pace to pole in Qualifying this afternoon, which takes place around Barcelona at 5pm local time.

Practice Results

POS No. Driver Team LAPS GAP INT.
1 23 R. Stanek Charouz Racing System 15 0.000 0.000
2 29 A. Peroni Campos Racing 13 0.186 0.186
3 3 L. Sargeant PREMA Racing 14 0.190 0.004
4 24 I. Fraga Charouz Racing System 16 0.266 0.076
5 1 O. Piastri PREMA Racing 13 0.453 0.187
6 15 J. Hughes HWA RACELAB 11 0.498 0.045
7 7 T. Pourchaire ART Grand Prix 12 0.514 0.016
8 11 D. Beckmann Trident 10 0.589 0.075
9 5 L. Lawson Hitech Grand Prix 14 0.600 0.011
10 2 F. Vesti PREMA Racing 14 0.711 0.111
11 6 D. Hauger Hitech Grand Prix 18 0.714 0.003
12 26 C. Novalak Carlin Racing 10 0.736 0.022
13 16 J. Doohan HWA RACELAB 11 0.779 0.043
14 10 L. Zendeli Trident 9 0.809 0.030
15 9 S. Fernández ART Grand Prix 12 0.865 0.056
16 22 M. Nannini Jenzer Motorsport 13 0.892 0.027
17 4 M. Fewtrell Hitech Grand Prix 14 0.895 0.003
18 20 C. Williams Jenzer Motorsport 13 0.984 0.089
19 21 F. Malvestiti Jenzer Motorsport 13 1.005 0.021
20 19 L. Dunner MP Motorsport 12 1.045 0.040
21 17 R. Verschoor MP Motorsport 10 1.089 0.044
22 12 O. Caldwell Trident 12 1.136 0.047
23 14 E. Fittipaldi HWA RACELAB 11 1.403 0.267
24 8 A. Smolyar ART Grand Prix 12 1.422 0.019
25 27 L. Pulcini Carlin Racing 12 1.439 0.017
26 18 B. Viscaal MP Motorsport 11 1.598 0.159
27 28 C. Das Carlin Racing 12 1.679 0.081
28 30 A. Deledda Campos Racing 13 1.793 0.114
29 31 S. Floersch Campos Racing 14 2.068 0.275
30 25 D. Schumacher Charouz Racing System 9 2.494 0.426
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