Abu Dhabi GP2: McLaren F1 reserve Stoffel Vandoorne tops practice
McLaren Formula 1 test driver Stoffel Vandoorne began his bid to beat 2015 Sauber racer Felipe Nasr to the GP2 runner-up spot with the fastest time in Abu Dhabi practice
While Jolyon Palmer has already wrapped up the GP2 title, Nasr is only eight points ahead of series rookie Vandoorne for second place.
Vandoorne led the way in Friday's opening session, clocking a 1m50.437s lap for ART to beat DAMS' Stephane Richelmi by 0.075 seconds.
DAMS held a one-two for a spell with Richelmi and Palmer, but they were first demoted, then separated, as Arthur Pic slotted his Campos entry into third.
Johnny Cecotto Jr completed the top five ahead of Nasr.
Ferrari and Red Bull proteges Raffaelle Marciello and Pierre Gasly were next up in seventh and eighth, followed by Mitch Evans and Kimiya Sato.
European Formula 3 and Formula Renault 3.5 racer Nicholas Latifi was 22nd on his GP2 debut with Hilmer, ahead of series returnees Conor Daly and Kevin Giovesi.
At the foot of the timesheets, both Jon Lancaster and Simon Trummer had mechanical problems.
Pos | Driver | Team | Time | Gap |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Stoffel Vandoorne | ART Grand Prix | 1m50.437s | - |
2 | Stephane Richelmi | DAMS | 1m50.512s | 0.075s |
3 | Arthur Pic | Campos Racing | 1m50.548s | 0.111s |
4 | Jolyon Palmer | DAMS | 1m50.760s | 0.323s |
5 | Johnny Cecotto Jr. | Trident | 1m50.855s | 0.418s |
6 | Felipe Nasr | Carlin | 1m50.911s | 0.474s |
7 | Raffaele Marciello | Racing Engineering | 1m51.012s | 0.575s |
8 | Pierre Gasly | Caterham Racing | 1m51.032s | 0.595s |
9 | Stefano Coletti | Racing Engineering | 1m51.122s | 0.685s |
10 | Mitch Evans | RT RUSSIAN TIME | 1m51.137s | 0.700s |
11 | Kimiya Sato | Campos Racing | 1m51.187s | 0.750s |
12 | Marco Sorensen | MP Motorsport | 1m51.401s | 0.964s |
13 | Nathanael Berthon | Venezuela GP Lazarus | 1m51.402s | 0.965s |
14 | Rio Haryanto | Caterham Racing | 1m51.427s | 0.990s |
15 | Sergio Canamasas | Trident | 1m51.442s | 1.005s |
16 | Julian Leal | Carlin | 1m51.464s | 1.027s |
17 | Takuya Izawa | ART Grand Prix | 1m51.542s | 1.105s |
18 | Artem Markelov | RT RUSSIAN TIME | 1m51.658s | 1.221s |
19 | Daniel de Jong | MP Motorsport | 1m51.772s | 1.335s |
20 | Andre Negrao | Arden International | 1m51.931s | 1.494s |
21 | Rene Binder | Arden International | 1m52.006s | 1.569s |
22 | Nicholas Latifi | Hilmer Motorsport | 1m52.185s | 1.748s |
23 | Conor Daly | Venezuela GP Lazarus | 1m52.321s | 1.884s |
24 | Kevin Giovesi | Rapax | 1m52.330s | 1.893s |
25 | Jon Lancaster | Hilmer Motorsport | 1m52.514s | 2.077s |
26 | Simon Trummer | Rapax | 2m04.662s | 14.225s |
CURRENT CHAMPIONSHIP STANDINGS:
Pos | Driver | Points |
---|---|---|
1 | Jolyon Palmer | 256 |
2 | Felipe Nasr | 200 |
3 | Stoffel Vandoorne | 192 |
4 | Mitch Evans | 151 |
5 | Johnny Cecotto Jr. | 128 |
6 | Stefano Coletti | 115 |
7 | Arthur Pic | 110 |
8 | Raffaele Marciello | 72 |
9 | Julian Leal | 68 |
10 | Stephane Richelmi | 63 |
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