Théo Pourchaire emerged as the fastest driver on the final day of in-season testing in Barcelona, clocking an impressive time of 1:23.943, which remained unbeaten throughout the three-day session.

Despite an early spin on cold tires, the Frenchman showcased his speed and set the pace in the morning session, where race simulations took center stage. In the afternoon, Roy Nissany from PHM Racing by Charouz led the way before rain arrived late in the session.

The morning session started with a red flag caused by Pourchaire’s spin, but the action quickly resumed. Enzo Fittipaldi initially set the pace, but Pourchaire soon surpassed him with a time of 1:24.852, marking the fastest lap in the opening 30 minutes.

Another red flag was triggered when Ralph Boschung ran into the gravel at Turn 5, halting the session temporarily. Pourchaire continued to impress and lowered his own fastest time, becoming the first driver to break into the 1:23s with a blistering lap of 1:23.943, solidifying his lead at the top.

This time remained unbeaten for the rest of the session as the focus shifted to race simulations. Ayumu Iwasa improved his time to secure the third spot, trailing behind the ART duo of Pourchaire and Victor Martins.

Throughout the morning, Jack Doohan of Invicta Virtuosi Racing completed the most laps, logging a total of 69, making it a busy session for the team. His teammate Amaury Cordeel closely followed with 68 laps completed by the end of the morning session.

Following a break between the morning and afternoon sessions, rain arrived, causing a delay in getting back on track. Roman Stanek initially led the way, but Zane Maloney soon topped the timesheets with a time of 1:37.435 after 45 minutes. With an hour left in the session, a red flag was waved when Iwasa’s DAMS car came to a stop on track.

As the session resumed, Jak Crawford took a brief stint at the top with consistently quicker laps before Roy Nissany claimed P1 with a time of 1:27.626, holding the position for the majority of the session. Nissany further improved his benchmark to 1:26.453 with just over an hour remaining.

In the final 45 minutes, rain started to fall again, prompting drivers to return to the pits. With track conditions deteriorating, no further improvements were made to the order, although several drivers logged additional laps on wet tires. The next round of action is set to take place at Imola from May 19-21 for Round 5 of the competition.

Source: FIA Formula 2 Media
Image: Formula Motorsport Limited