Hamda Al Qubaisi leads the way in Valencia testing

MP Motorsport’s Hamda Al Qubaisi led the timesheets in a 1:34.071 at Circuit Ricardo Tormo in today’s untroubled pre-Round 2 testing session, ahead of this weekend’s three-day event in Valencia. Campos Racing’s Nerea Marti topped the three-hour morning session, with a lap time of 1:34.237.

All fifteen drivers worked at getting up to speed in a day that saw 1020 laps completed under the Spanish sun.

Al Qubaisi, who was driving in Valencia for the first time in her career said: “It is my first time here in Valencia and I really enjoy the layout. It’s very technical and it is my style of driving so I really like it. It is also really tough physically and mentally, but I like challenges so it’s nice!

“I was quickest in the afternoon and overall fastest too, and probably could have been quickest in the morning, but I was still learning the track and with two of us in the Top 3, there are good vibes in the team.

“Today, we focused more on long runs with used tyres since the races are 30 minutes long and very physical and wanted to see how we perform. Normally I struggle with the used tyres so to only be 0.6s of the new tyres was really good.”

PREMA Racing’s Bianca Bustamante was also making her first appearance at the Circuit Ricardo Tormo, and achieved two P7 finishes across the sessions. She commented: “At first I was just trying to get to grips with the track, but we were able to be up there quickly with the preparation we had, including the sim training.

“You’re still trying to find the technique and the edge on the first day because Valencia is a very technical and physical track with a lot of high speed and medium speed corners that require a lot of trail braking and bringing the car to the limit on entry.

“Marta (García) has really fast-tracked our progress here in Valencia. With her being such an experienced driver, getting her onboards and her data has really made a huge difference. I think with a car like PREMA’s, we are definitely able to be up there this time out!”

Nerea Martí, driver for Campos Racing, is taking on her home track in Valencia and found getting up to speed easy, as she topped the morning session. She said: “The session was really good and we did some changes from Austria, which we achieved and we were trying everything we could to improve and we were particularly quick on the new tyres.

“This weekend I need to take all the points that I can after a difficult first week in Austria. I need to be consistent and that is the main goal that I have. I am super focused and motivated to get this done.”

2023 F1 ACADEMY - VALENCIA TEST, DAY 1, SESSION 1

2023 F1 ACADEMY - VALENCIA TEST, DAY 1, SESSION 2