The Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya hosted the shakedown of the new Formula 2 car on Wednesday, which will be introduced this season. All teams participated, but with only one car each. Nevertheless, all 20 confirmed drivers had the opportunity to run.
This small test had the main purposes of checking reliability and allowing teams to learn operational aspects. There were six hours of available work, with Enzo Fittipaldi (Van Amersfoort Racing) being the first one to hit the track. By lunchtime, 286 laps and 1,330km were completed.
After a break, conditions were milder in the afternoon, when Juan Manuel Correa (DAMS Lucas Oil) was the first to leave the pits. The drivers completed a total of 363 laps, with rookie Andrea Kimi Antonelli (Prema) standing out for completing 53 laps. In total, 649 laps and 3,018km were covered during the day.
The F2 Technical Director, Pierre-Alain Michot, stated: ‘The purpose of this shakedown was for the teams to understand how the new car operates, ensure that all systems are working well together, and understand how everything behaves. We are very pleased with the running done today. The teams were able to complete many kilometers, which is a good first step. The first milestone was achieved with all cars going on track this morning when the lights turned green. […]. And the second positive step was to have them all returning to the pits without any issues. There were no red flags, which means that all cars performed as expected while the teams are learning how to work with this new machine’.
Despite the positive indicators, the responsible emphasized that there are still some things to fine-tune: ‘There are still some small things to adjust before the first official test, but that is normal. With 11 teams, there are 11 different ways of working. This allows us to learn even more about this car. We have already been able to fix some things for the afternoon session, but there are still some adjustments to be made before the first race of the season, but we are not far from what we need. The next step will be the three days of official pre-season testing in Bahrain, with all 22 cars before the 2024 inaugural race, and I can’t wait to be on the starting grid!’.
