Weug leads the field on Day 2 of testing in Bahrain

Maya Weug continued her fine form around the Bahrain International Circuit, scoring a second consecutive clean sweep on Day 2 of in-season testing.

The Ferrari driver set a 2:04.567 in the morning segment to pip MP Motorsport teammate Joanne Ciconte to the top spot by 0.098s. Her pace remained strong into the afternoon as Weug posted a 2:04.517 to lead another 1-2 result for the Dutch team, with Alba Larsen in second by 0.056s.

MORNING

The field wasted no time clocking in the first set of push laps as the session began as Nina Gademan set the pace on a 2:08.683, before improving on to a 2:06.997. Doriane Pin then went seven tenths quicker than her PREMA Racing teammate, but she too would be knocked off the top spot soon after.

Maya Weug carried on from where she left off on Day 1, setting a 2:05.191 moments before Alba Larsen stopped on the back straight to bring out the first Red Flags of the test. Once the session restarted, Pin went fastest on a 2:05.037. However, the Mercedes driver was demoted in quick succession by Alisha Palmowski and Weug, who broke into the 2:04s.

Joanne Ciconte was next to jump up to P1 in the #25 Wella-liveried car, reducing the time to beat down to a 2:04.777. The MP Motorsport driver pushed on and despite another improvement to a 2:04.665, it would be Weug who went top, going 0.098s quicker thanks to a 2:04.567.

The Red Flags would be back out early into the second hour as Ella Lloyd found the gravel trap at Turn 3. The session was restarted before the halfway mark, but running order was mostly untroubled as the focus shifted towards long runs.

This left Weug at the top of the timesheets ahead of Ciconte, with Campos Racing’s Chloe Chambers and Palmowski over a tenth off in third and fourth, respectively. Emma Felbermayr was fifth followed by Lloyd, Pin, Gademan, Tina Hausmann and Chloe Chong, who rounded out the top 10.

AFTERNOON

It was back down to business straight away as Hausmann, Pin and Ciconte lowered the benchmark time down into the 2:06s inside the opening 10 minutes.

Larsen was next to occupy the P1 spot, going fastest on a 2:06.418. However, the Tommy Hilfiger driver was swiftly demoted to second place as Hausmann bettered her effort by 0.065s, with Pin a further four tenths back in P3. Campos moved out in front towards the end of the first hour as Chambers and Palmowski each exchanged fastest laps, with Chambers setting a 2:05.752.

Improvements continued to flood in as Weug returned to the top on a 2:05.752, which was reduced by a further two tenths over the course of the run. Ciconte was also pushing, going 0.072s quicker than Weug as the field all began to steadily head into the pits.

READ MORE: Larsen revels in Day 1 pace in Bahrain as she looks to get on top of Qualifying technique

After a break in running, ART Grand Prix’s Aurelia Nobels and Lia Block each briefly elevated themselves to the head of the order. Larsen then regained the leading effort thanks to a 2:05.128 and followed that up by breaking into the 2:04.613.

As the final half an hour went on, Weug was the last driver to take control of the timesheets, delivering a 2:04.517 to shade Larsen by 0.056s. Chambers and Palmowski completed the top four followed by Block and Felbermayr. Nobels finished in seventh ahead of Ciconte, Pin and Racing Bulls’ Rafaela Ferreira.

That’s all from Day 2 of testing, but the field will have one final day of running around the Bahrain International Circuit, which gets underway at 09:00 local time (UTC+3).