Mihai Marinescu leads opening Formula 2 practice session at Silverstone
Mihai Marinescu set the pace in the opening practice session of the Formula 2 season at Silverstone on Friday
The 23-year-old Romanian, who finished fifth in last year's standings, leapt to the top of the timesheets early on and whittled his pace down to a 1m47.631s lap during the 45-minute session.
Behind Marinescu, the rest of the top five was dominated by rookies, with Formula 3 coverts Alex Fontana and Markus Pommer second and third; Swiss driver Fontana 0.208 seconds adrift of the pacesetter.
BARC Formula Renault champion Dino Zamparelli was the best of the British contingent in fourth despite a spin at Club midway through the session. His countryman Luciano Bacheta was fifth.
Christopher Zanella, the 2011 series runner-up, was sixth with Brit Hector Hurst, Iranian Kourosh Khani, Formula Renault 3.5 convert Daniel McKenzie and 15-year-old Matheo Tuscher completing the top 10.
Pos Driver Time Gap 1. Mihai Marinescu 1m47.631s 2. Alex Fontana 1m47.911s + 0.280s 3. Markus Pommer 1m47.989s + 0.358s 4. Dino Zamparelli 1m48.231s + 0.600s 5. Luciano Bacheta 1m48.435s + 0.804s 6. Christopher Zanella 1m48.479s + 0.848s 7. Hector Hurst 1m48.503s + 0.872s 8. Kourosh Khani 1m48.546s + 0.915s 9. Daniel McKenzie 1m48.573s + 0.942s 10. Matheo Tuscher 1m48.983s + 1.352s 11. Parthiva Sureshwaren 1m49.004s + 1.373s 12. David Zhu 1m49.162s + 1.531s 13. Jose Luis Abadin 1m49.414s + 1.783s 14. Kevin Mirocha 1m49.445s + 1.814s 15. Mauro Calamia 1m49.513s + 1.882s 16. Plamen Kralev 1m49.577s + 1.946s 17. Samuele Buttarelli 1m50.232s + 2.601s
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