F2 testing: McLaren F1 reserve Norris leads day one at Paul Ricard
McLaren Formula 1 reserve driver Lando Norris set the fastest time on the first day of Formula 2 pre-season testing at Paul Ricard
The F2 rookie, who will drive for returning outfit Carlin this season, was quickest in both the rain-affected morning session and on a dry track in the afternoon, ending the day with a best effort of 1m43.095s.
Tuesday's track action marked the first collective timed test for the new halo-fitted Dallara F2 2018 car, three weeks on from the shakedown runs teams completed at Magny-Cours.
Norris topped the morning session with a 1m56.136s lap on wet tyres, ending the first half of the day nine tenths clear of his nearest rival, MP Motorsport's new signing Ralph Boschung.
The Brit was quickest for the majority of the afternoon, too, but was shuffled down the order soon after the session entered its final hour - only to quickly reclaim top spot.
Fellow McLaren junior Nyck de Vries, who joined F2's leading team Prema in the off-season, finished the day in second and was two tenths off the pace.
Norris' Carlin team-mate Sergio Sette Camara was a close third, as he had been in the morning session, despite triggering one of a number of red-flag stoppages with an off.
Luca Ghiotto was fourth on the day for Campos, ahead of ART's Mercedes-backed reigning GP3 champion George Russell and second Prema driver Sean Gelael.
Russell's ART team-mate Jack Aitken, who will act as Renault's F1 reserve this season, took seventh overall, heading Arden duo Nirei Fukuzumi (above) and Maximilian Gunther.
Williams junior Oliver Rowland, testing for DAMS in place of the injured Nicholas Latifi, made up the top 10, with Alex Albon 14th after sitting out almost the entire afternoon due to an engine change.
Ex-F1 driver Roberto Merhi was 16th for MP Motorsport, while Russian Time's 2017 F2 runner-up Artem Markelov propped up the order, without a slick-tyre laptime to his name.
Morning times
| Pos | Driver | Team | Time | Gap | Laps |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lando Norris | Carlin | 1m56.136s | - | 30 |
| 2 | Ralph Boschung | MP Motorsport | 1m57.037s | 0.901s | 27 |
| 3 | Sergio Sette Camara | Carlin | 1m57.289s | 1.153s | 22 |
| 4 | Alexander Albon | DAMS | 1m57.357s | 1.221s | 28 |
| 5 | Arjun Maini | Trident | 1m57.591s | 1.455s | 36 |
| 6 | Maximilian Guenther | BWT Arden | 1m57.742s | 1.606s | 25 |
| 7 | Roberto Merhi | MP Motorsport | 1m58.358s | 2.222s | 20 |
| 8 | Louis Deletraz | Charouz Racing System | 1m58.619s | 2.483s | 19 |
| 9 | Antonio Fuoco | Charouz Racing System | 1m58.780s | 2.644s | 18 |
| 10 | Santino Ferrucci | Trident | 1m58.899s | 2.763s | 25 |
| 11 | Nirei Fukuzumi | BWT Arden | 1m59.759s | 3.623s | 17 |
| 12 | Luca Ghiotto | Campos Vexatec Racing | 2m00.067s | 3.931s | 20 |
| 13 | Nyck de Vries | Pertamina Prema Theodore Racing | 2m00.088s | 3.952s | 11 |
| 14 | Sean Gelael | Pertamina Prema Theodore Racing | 2m00.095s | 3.959s | 23 |
| 15 | Tadasuke Makino | RUSSIAN TIME | 2m03.229s | 7.093s | 8 |
| 16 | Roy Nissany | Campos Vexatec Racing | 2m03.983s | 7.847s | 15 |
| 17 | George Russell | ART Grand Prix | 2m04.282s | 8.146s | 8 |
| 18 | Artem Markelov | RUSSIAN TIME | 2m10.443s | 14.307s | 13 |
| 19 | Oliver Rowland | DAMS | 2m12.894s | 16.758s | 2 |
Afternoon times
| Pos | Driver | Team | Time | Gap | Laps |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lando Norris | Carlin | 1m43.095s | - | 29 |
| 2 | Nyck de Vries | Pertamina Prema Theodore Racing | 1m43.282s | 0.187s | 32 |
| 3 | Sergio Sette Camara | Carlin | 1m43.401s | 0.306s | 29 |
| 4 | Luca Ghiotto | Campos Vexatec Racing | 1m43.707s | 0.612s | 33 |
| 5 | George Russell | ART Grand Prix | 1m43.745s | 0.650s | 20 |
| 6 | Sean Gelael | Pertamina Prema Theodore Racing | 1m43.844s | 0.749s | 40 |
| 7 | Jack Aitken | ART Grand Prix | 1m44.115s | 1.020s | 34 |
| 8 | Nirei Fukuzumi | BWT Arden | 1m44.232s | 1.137s | 35 |
| 9 | Maximilian Guenther | BWT Arden | 1m44.277s | 1.182s | 26 |
| 10 | Oliver Rowland | DAMS | 1m44.345s | 1.250s | 25 |
| 11 | Arjun Maini | Trident | 1m44.522s | 1.427s | 31 |
| 12 | Ralph Boschung | MP Motorsport | 1m44.603s | 1.508s | 28 |
| 13 | Louis Deletraz | Charouz Racing System | 1m44.807s | 1.712s | 11 |
| 14 | Alexander Albon | DAMS | 1m44.950s | 1.855s | 4 |
| 15 | Santino Ferrucci | Trident | 1m45.023s | 1.928s | 25 |
| 16 | Roberto Merhi | MP Motorsport | 1m45.086s | 1.991s | 29 |
| 17 | Roy Nissany | Campos Vexatec Racing | 1m46.166s | 3.071s | 36 |
| 18 | Antonio Fuoco | Charouz Racing System | 1m46.480s | 3.385s | 3 |
| 19 | Tadasuke Makino | RUSSIAN TIME | 1m47.050s | 3.955s | 11 |
| 20 | Artem Markelov | RUSSIAN TIME | - | - | 13 |
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About this article
| Series | FIA F2 |
| Drivers | Lando Norris |
| Author | Valentin Khorounzhiy |
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