Victor Martins, the ART Grand Prix driver, emerged as the fastest on the opening day of in-season testing in Sakhir, Bahrain. He set a new benchmark with a remarkable 1:42.536, securing the quickest time for ART Grand Prix. In the morning session, Roman Stanek of Invicta Racing showcased his speed, finishing the session as the fastest driver.
The morning session commenced with Arvid Lindblad setting the pace, clocking a 1:47.820.
the Campos Racing driver quickly followed suit, improving his time to 1:47.308. Victor Martins then took over the lead, setting the fastest time of the session at 1:47.131.
After an hour of intense competition, Jak Crawford of DAMS Lucas Oil pipped Martins to the top spot, achieving a 1:47.032. Oliver Goethe then became the first driver to break into the 1:46 barrier, setting a new benchmark with a 1:46.775.
Josep María Martí of Campos Racing regained the lead, setting a 1:46.604 in the second hour. This time, longer runs and aero tests became the focus of many drivers.
Roman Stanek of Invicta Racing rose to the top of the times in the final 25 minutes of the session, completing a 1:46.454. This impressive performance secured the top spot for Invicta Racing. With just over five minutes remaining, Stanek further solidified his lead by setting a 1:44.789, nearly two seconds ahead of the pack. This remarkable feat concluded the first session with Stanek as the fastest driver.
After the break, Lindblad continued his impressive run under the floodlights, setting a remarkable 1:45.876 in the opening 10 minutes.
Teammate Marti then made a significant improvement, shaving off 0.0615 seconds to bring the time to beat down to an astonishing 1:44.996. This achievement made Marti the first driver to break into the coveted 1:44s.
Invicta Racing’s Leonardo Fornaroli then secured second place with a lap that was just 0.5615 seconds behind Marti’s earlier time.
With an hour and a half remaining, Sami Meguetounif made a remarkable move, climbing up the timing screens to secure the top spot for TRIDENT. However, Fornaroli, his 2024 F3 teammate, quickly overtook him, setting a new fastest time of 1:44.911.
As the final hour of the session commenced, Campos Racing made a comeback, with Lindblad and Marti leading the charge and returning the Spanish outfit to the top of the timing screens. Marti’s 1:42.584 lap comfortably set the fastest time of the session, with a margin of 0.420 seconds over his teammate.
Fornaroli and Crawford then made further improvements, narrowing the gap to 0.130 seconds as they both dipped into the 1:42s, along with Marti.
In the final minutes of the session, Victor Martins of ART put in a 1:42.536 lap, narrowly edging out Marti’s effort to secure the fastest time of the day.
Fornaroli finished in third place, ahead of TRIDENT’s Max Esterson, Crawford, and Lindblad. Amaury Cordeel of Rodin Motorsport secured seventh place, followed by Ritomo Miyata, Alexander Dunne, and Gabriele Mini, who rounded out the top 10.
