Any doubts people had about Alex Palou's ability have been blown out of the water, as the driver leaves Valencia as the fastest man. Despite only coming 3rd in EuroFormula Open last year, he has outperformed the drivers he lost the championship to, as well as the favourites for the title.
Friday proved to be warmer than Thursday meaning the cars were able to use their tyres more and set quicker times. So, unlike yesterday, most of the times were set in the first hour, with Palou and then Kirchhofer breaking the 1 minute 21 second barrier. Ocon would be the only other driver to break that time barrier. Most of the teams decided to focus on race simulations or qualifying runs so pace was varied throughout the morning session.
Eriksson was the one setting the pace in the afternoon session as the pace picked up, but many chose to focus on long run pace instead of quick laps. The pace picked up in the final hour, but any chance of the cars getting into a rhythm was interrupted with 2 red flags from Kirchhofer, then Parry stopping out on track. When it was restarted, Varhaug and Gilbert moved to the top of the time sheets at the end of the session.
The final test will be at Barcelona on the 22nd and 23rd of April.
Results:
Pos.
|
Driver
|
Nat.
|
Team
|
Morning
|
Afternoon
|
1
|
Pal Varhaug
|
SUI
|
Jenzer
Motorsport
|
1:21.384
|
1:21.719
|
2
|
Mitchell
Gilbert
|
AUS
|
Carlin
|
1:21.810
|
1:22.021
|
3
|
Kevin Korjus
|
EST
|
Koiranen GP
|
1:21.144 [4]
|
1:22.064
|
4
|
Jimmy Eriksson
|
SWE
|
Koiranen GP
|
1:21.215
|
1:22.086
|
5
|
Seb Morris
|
GBR
|
Status Grand
Prix
|
1:21.874
|
1:22.222
|
6
|
Oscar Tunjo
|
COL
|
Trident
|
1:21.425
|
1:22.258
|
7
|
Antonio Fuoco
|
ITA
|
Carlin
|
1:21.443
|
1:22.263
|
8
|
Matthew Parry
|
GBR
|
Koiranen GP
|
1:21.382
|
1:22.281
|
9
|
Kevin Ceccon
|
ITA
|
Arden
International
|
1:22.118
|
1:22.316
|
10
|
Alex Fontana
|
SUI
|
Status Grand
Prix
|
1:21.618
|
1:22.332
|
11
|
Zaid Ashkanani
|
KUW
|
Campos Racing
|
1:21.727
|
1:22.383
|
12
|
Emil
Bernstorff
|
GBR
|
Arden
International
|
1:21.591
|
1:22.393
|
13
|
Matheo Tuscher
|
SUI
|
Jenzer
Motorsport
|
1:21.165 [5]
|
1:22.551
|
14
|
Sandy Stuvik
|
THA
|
Status Grand
Prix
|
1:21.598
|
1:22.683
|
15
|
Esteban Ocon
|
FRA
|
ART Grand Prix
|
1:20.980 [3]
|
1:23.199
|
16
|
Luca Ghiotto
|
ITA
|
Trident
|
1:21.424
|
1:23.275
|
17
|
Samin Gomez
|
VEN
|
Campos Racing
|
1:23.414
|
1:23.486
|
18
|
Marvin
Kirchhöfer
|
GER
|
ART Grand Prix
|
1:20.892 [2]
|
1:23.618
|
19
|
Alex
Palou
|
ESP
|
Campos Racing
|
1:20.880
[1]
|
1:23.705
|
20
|
Artur Janosz
|
POL
|
Trident
|
1:22.671
|
1:23.821
|
21
|
Ralph Boschung
|
SUI
|
Jenzer
Motorsport
|
1:21.343
|
1:23.983
|
22
|
Aleksander
Bosak
|
POL
|
Arden
International
|
1:22.770
|
1:24.169
|
23
|
Jann
Mardenborough
|
GBR
|
Carlin
|
1:21.588
|
1:24.433
|
24
|
Alfonso Celis.
Jr
|
MEX
|
ART Grand Prix
|
1:21.324
|
1:24.522
|
The
Positions are the results of the Afternoon Session
[1] –
Position in Morning Session (only top 5 shown)
|
What have we learned
The biggest news remains Palou's pace, while it might be down to his experience of the track over his raw speed. You would have thought that others would have caught up by the second day. All Palou did was extend his gap. We've also seen the pace of Samin Gomez. The slow pace suggests that she may have not done enough to secure the one remaining seat. However, only time will tell.
-|RacingRecaps|-
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