Barcelona F2: Ticktum heads Schumacher in practice by 0.009s
Dan Ticktum led the way in free practice for this weekend's Barcelona Formula 2 round, heading his former F3 title rival Mick Schumacher by nine thousandths of a second
Prema driver and Ferrari junior Schumacher spent much of the first 15 minutes of the 45-minute session in command of the timesheets, becoming the first driver to break the 90-second barrier with a 1m29.933s.
The German was briefly deposed by Louis Deletraz on a 1m29.807s before regaining control with a 1m29.669s with just under half an hour left on the clock.
But moments later that was beaten by DAMS driver Ticktum, who recorded a 1m29.660s that would go unthreatened for the rest of the session as the field largely turned its attentions to gathering long-run data on the hard-compound Pirelli tyre.
Honda protege Yuki Tsunoda, who became F2's newest winner in the Silverstone sprint race, was third quickest and just 0.101s off the pace for Carlin, although the Japanese driver did experience some late trouble as he stalled in the pitlane twice.
Charouz driver Deletraz ended up fourth, followed by championship leader Callum Ilott in the best of the UNI-Virtuosi entries, HWA's Artem Markelov and Luca Ghiotto for Hitech.
Marino Sato was an encouraging eighth-fastest for Trident but caused a virtual safety car and red flag with nine minutes left on the clock when he went off the track at Turn 4 and parked up on an access road.
Action resumed with just under five minutes left but with no notable changes to the times.
Rounding out the top 10 were Felipe Drugovich (MP Motorsport) and Robert Shwartzman in the second of the Prema cars, a little under half a second slower than team-mate Schumacher - with whom he collided while fighting for the lead in the most recent race at Silverstone.
ART Grand Prix had a low-key session as Christian Lundgaard, Ilott's closest challenger in the points, was only 16th fastest, four places ahead of team-mate Marcus Armstrong.
Fresh from his appearance in Formula 1's first Spanish Grand Prix practice session for Williams, Roy Nissany was 22nd and last for Trident after a brief trip through the gravel.
Practice result
| Pos | Driver | Team | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Dan Ticktum | DAMS | 1m29.660s |
| 2 | Mick Schumacher | Prema Racing | 0.009s |
| 3 | Yuki Tsunoda | Carlin | 0.101s |
| 4 | Louis Deletraz | Charouz Racing System | 0.147s |
| 5 | Callum Ilott | UNI-Virtuosi | 0.163s |
| 6 | Artem Markelov | BWT HWA RACELAB | 0.304s |
| 7 | Luca Ghiotto | Hitech Grand Prix | 0.349s |
| 8 | Marino Sato | Trident | 0.368s |
| 9 | Felipe Drugovich | MP Motorsport | 0.390s |
| 10 | Robert Shwartzman | Prema Racing | 0.451s |
| 11 | Nikita Mazepin | Hitech Grand Prix | 0.519s |
| 12 | Jehan Daruvala | Carlin | 0.562s |
| 13 | Guanyu Zhou | UNI-Virtuosi | 0.654s |
| 14 | Pedro Piquet | Charouz Racing System | 0.660s |
| 15 | Jack Aitken | Campos Racing | 0.720s |
| 16 | Christian Lundgaard | ART Grand Prix | 0.790s |
| 17 | Sean Gelael | DAMS | 0.826s |
| 18 | Giuliano Alesi | BWT HWA RACELAB | 0.944s |
| 19 | Nobuharu Matsushita | MP Motorsport | 0.989s |
| 20 | Marcus Armstrong | ART Grand Prix | 1.021s |
| 21 | Guilherme Samaia | Campos Racing | 1.287s |
| 22 | Roy Nissany | Trident | 1.359s |
Honda: Tsunoda "showed how much he has grown" with F2 win
Barcelona F2: Ilott takes third pole position of the season
Why WTR Acura lacked pace to beat MSR in Daytona 24 showdown
Filipe Albuquerque admits that he knew it would be a tall order for Wayne Taylor Racing to overcome sister Acura squad Meyer Shank Racing in last weekend's Daytona 24 Hours.
How MSR took Acura to the first win of sportscar racing's new era
After much anticipation, the new dawn for sportscar racing got underway with a result that mirrored last year's IMSA SportsCar Championship's season-opener run to the previous DPi rules. Here's how Acura once again took top honours in the Daytona 24 Hours with a 1-2 led by Meyer Shank Racing, as the new GTP class for LMDh hybrid prototypes made its bow
Alonso's pushy trait a boost for me in 2023 F1 season, says Stroll
Aston Martin Formula 1 driver Lance Stroll says Fernando Alonso's pushy nature will be a boost to both him and the squad this year.
Porsche aims to “learn quick” from Daytona 24 Hours disappointment
Porsche’s director of factory racing Urs Kuratle says his team will gain valuable answers from its disappointing results in the Daytona 24 Hours.
Ranking the 10 best drivers from F1's junior series in 2022
The ladder to F1 never gets any less slippery. But a strong cast of Formula 3 and Formula 2 aces proved sure of foot as they continued their climbs in 2022
The next steps for France's latest F1 hopeful after an F2 title miss
Theo Pourchaire entered the 2022 Formula 2 season a firm favourite for the title after remaining with ART Grand Prix for a second season. But an unexpected charge from Felipe Drugovich and MP Motorsport meant the Frenchman was forced to settle for second. What went wrong for the Sauber protege, and where does he go from here?
The remarkable career turnaround of an ever-improving F2 talent
Sixth in the F2 standings heading into this month's final round, but within touching distance of third, Enzo Fittipaldi has quietly put together a strong first full season in the Formula 1 support series, recovering well from the scary Jeddah start crash that cut his 2021 campaign short. It marks a turn in fortunes for the Brazilian who thought he'd bid hopes of a career in Europe goodbye two years ago
What the future holds for two Red Bull juniors fighting in the F2 battleground
Despite having two talented drivers, albeit at very different stages of their careers, Prema Racing has had mixed fortunes in FIA Formula 2 this year. Both drivers told Autosport how they rate their seasons so far – and their next steps beyond 2022
The problem sausage kerbs continue to cause
Track limits are the problem that motorsport doesn't seem to be able to rid itself of. But the use of so-called 'sausage kerbs' as a deterrent has in several instances only served to worsen the problem, and a growing number of voices want to see action taken
The on-form F1 protege carrying America's hopes on his shoulders
Two feature race wins in as many rounds have helped Logan Sargeant to emerge as the closest challenger to runaway Formula 2 points leader Felipe Drugovich. The Williams F1 junior couldn't have timed his rise better, with interest in grand prix racing on the rise in his US homeland, and he could be his country's best shot at getting a driver on the grid for the first time since 2015
What racing in Australia means for the future of F1's junior series
The announcement that FIA Formula 2 and 3 would race alongside the Australian Grand Prix from 2023 came as a surprise, not only to fans but to the series’ teams too. But with Formula 1’s boom in popularity bringing more fans to the championships, team principals are relishing the opportunity
The other Doohan charting his way to motorsport success
Heading into FIA Formula 2 this season, there was a lot of pressure on Jack Doohan. The 2021 F3 runner-up joined a new team for his next challenge, as well as signing up to the Alpine Academy. He told Autosport how he’s tackling the step up - with some help from his motorcycle legend father
Subscribe and access Autosport.com with your ad-blocker.
From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.