Yas Marina Tests, Day 2: Alexander Albon ends on top

ART Grand Prix ace fastest overall at Yas Marina Circuit

By Franck Drui

1 December 2016 - 17:05
Yas Marina Tests, Day 2: Alexander (...)

Alexander Albon topped the second day of post-season testing at Yas Marina: at the wheel of an ART Grand Prix car, the Thai clocked in a laptime of 1:49.062. Raffaele Marciello and Charles Leclerc completed the top three.

Day 2 of post-season testing opened at 11.45 local time (GMT+4) with the twenty-two drivers on Pirelli Medium tyres. Some new faces joined the field with Callum Ilott (ART Grand Prix), Daniel Juncadella (Pertamina Campos Racing), Chris Höher (RUSSIAN TIME) and Nyck de Vries (Rapax) whilst other drivers switched teams. When the session turned green, it was quickly interrupted by a red flag period as the car of Antonio Fuoco stopped on the straight. At the restart, it was Oliver Rowland who set the early pace in a 1:49.878 but Marciello continued his top form from yesterday and went P1 with a laptime 0.016s better than the Briton.

There was a second short red flag period courtesy of rookie Leclerc who stopped on track at Turn 3. Soon after the restart, Rowland reclaimed P1 after improving on the Italian’s best time with a laptime of 1:49.675. In the closing stages, the proceedings were shortly halted for a third time after Juncadella stopped on track at Turn 11.

At the chequered flag, Rowland remained top ahead of Marciello, Johnny Cecotto, Jordan King (MP Motorsport), Albon, Luca Ghiotto (Arden International), Sergio Sette Camara, Louis Delétraz, de Vries and Philo Paz Armand (Trident).

The evening session opened as the sun set down with King setting the early pace in a 1:49.978 but Cecotto improved on the Briton’s time by 0.076s to top the timesheets. Thirty minutes into the session, it was PREMA’s Leclerc who clocked in a time of a 1:49.288 to go P1 ahead of Marciello. With one hour left on the clock, King retook the top spot with a laptime of a 1:49.152. In the closing stages, Albon lapped the track in a 1:49.062 - the fastest laptime of the past two days.

The proceedings were briefly halted as Mahaveer Raghunathan stopped on track at Turn 7. After the track went live, the red flags were out again quickly after Antonio Fuoco ran off track at Turn 20. At the chequered flag, Albon remained unchallenged ahead of Marciello and his former GP3 teammate Leclerc. King, Cecotto, Delétraz, Rowland, Nicholas Latifi, Fuoco and De Vries rounded up the top ten.

The final day of testing will open tomorrow at 10.40 local time and will run until 13.10. The proceedings will then resume from 18.30 to 21.00 (GMT+4).

Morning results

PosDriverTeamTimeLaps
1. Oliver Rowland DAMS 1:49.675 32
2. Raffaele Marciello Trident 1:49.712 27
3. Johnny Cecotto Rapax 1:49.959 19
4. Jordan King MP Motorsport 1:50.077 15
5. Alexander Albon ART Grand Prix 1:50.540 31
6. Luca Ghiotto Arden International 1:50.569 25
7. Sergio Sette Camara MP Motorsport 1:50.845 28
8. Louis Delétraz Racing Engineering 1:50.960 31
9. Nyck De Vries Rapax 1:50.989 24
10. Philo Paz Armand Trident 1:51.020 20
11. Gustav Malja Racing Engineering 1:51.078 23
12. Callum Ilott ART Grand Prix 1:51.631 26
13. Egor Orudzhev Pertamina Campos Racing 1:51.808 26
14. Mahaveer Raghunathan Carlin 1:52.012 28
15. Artem Markelov RUSSIAN TIME 1:52.172 33
16. Felix Serralles Carlin 1:52.203 11
17. Daniel Juncadella Pertamina Campos Racing 1:52.458 16
18. Chris Höher RUSSIAN TIME 1:52.634 25
19. Sean Gelael Arden International 1:52.701 27
20. Antonio Fuoco PREMA Racing 1:52.821 35
21. Charles Leclerc PREMA Racing 1:53.000 38
22. Nicholas Latifi DAMS 1:53.052 47

Afternoon results

PosDriverTeamTimeLaps
1. Alexander Albon ART Grand Prix 1:49.062 28
2. Raffaele Marciello Trident 1:49.086 19
3. Charles Leclerc PREMA Racing 1:49.092 19
4. Jordan King MP Motorsport 1:49.152 14
5. Johnny Cecotto Rapax 1:49.210 20
6. Louis Delétraz Racing Engineering 1:49.414 18
7. Oliver Rowland DAMS 1:49.432 26
8. Nicholas Latifi DAMS 1:49.440 19
9. Antonio Fuoco PREMA Racing 1:49.582 23
10. Nyck De Vries Rapax 1:49.594 23
11. Gustav Malja Racing Engineering 1:49.606 13
12. Sean Gelael Arden International 1:49.664 12
13. Luca Ghiotto Arden International 1:49.772 17
14. Callum Ilott ART Grand Prix 1:49.847 23
15. Sergio Sette Camara MP Motorsport 1:49.945 16
16. Egor Orudzhev Pertamina Campos Racing 1:50.044 27
17. Artem Markelov RUSSIAN TIME 1:50.200 13
18. Philo Paz Armand Trident 1:50.362 18
19. Felix Serralles Carlin 1:51.302 4
20. Daniel Juncadella Pertamina Campos Racing 1:51.549 28
21. Mahaveer Raghunathan Carlin 1:51.800 28
22. Chris Höher RUSSIAN TIME 1:52.070 25

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