Hamda Al Qubaisi tops first day of testing in Aragon

The five F1 Academy teams headed to Motorland Aragón for two days of testing ahead of Round 4 in Zandvoort. Day 1 saw the drivers take on two three-hour sessions in mixed conditions, as overnight rain gave the teams the chance to trial different setups.

Rodin Carlin’s Jessica Edgar said ahead of testing that she felt confident driving in the wet, and the Brit showcased her ability to master mixed conditions as she topped the time sheets early on in the first session.

Her stay at the top didn’t last long however as after track evolution came into play. Léna Bühler, fresh off her debut win in Barcelona, headed to the top of the standings. The Swiss driver’s consistency this season has seen her make steady progress in the standings, moving up to third after Round 3.

With the overcast conditions making way for the Spanish sun later in the session, times begun to tumble. Series leader Marta García stormed to the top of the time charts with a 2:00.702, followed closely by Rodin Carlin’s Abbi Pulling with a 2:00.834.

Campos Racing’s Maite Cáceres was also happy to get some valuable time under her belt after a few weeks break, completing 19 laps in the morning session: “I was really happy with the performance and after all the weeks off and now getting back into the car, the focus is being better than the first half of the season. I am happy with the progress we have made today and tomorrow we have a lot of work to do.”

Despite a heavy thunderstorm being predicted for the afternoon session, the skies stayed clear as all fifteen drivers took to the track.

As the cars headed out under the afternoon sun, MP Motorsport’s Hamda Al Qubaisi led the way with the fastest overall time of the day, a 2:00.439. The Dutch outfit will be looking to extend their lead at the top of the standings next week in their home race at Zandvoort, having taken the lead after wins in both Race 1 and Race 3 in Barcelona.

Meanwhile, Campos Racing’s Nerea Martí sat in P2, just under a tenth behind Al Qubaisi, with the Emirati driver making her first appearance at the track:

“Today was good and we were trying some different things” said Al Qubaisi. “The track is really nice, I had never been here but it’s really technical and there’s fast corners. It is good for us to work on pushing entry and gaining some speed in the corners – many of which you can find in other tracks. Tomorrow may be different weather, hopefully it rains so I can get some practice there too!”

2023 F1 ACADEMY – ARAGON TEST, DAY 1, MORNING SESSION

2023 F1 ACADEMY – ARAGON TEST, DAY 1, AFTERNOON SESSION