SAKHIR, Bahrain – Emerging Barbadian race car driver Zane Maloney set the two fastest lap times during Formula 2 pre-season testing, which ended on Tuesday in Bahrain.
Zane Maloney finished Formula 2 pre-season testing in Bahrain on top ahead of the season opening race weekend. (F2)The 20-year-old Rodin Motorsport driver set a lap time of one minute, 41.501 seconds late in the afternoon session on the second day to top the timesheets for the three-day testing event, which started this past Sunday and marked the second time the F2 field were all able to drive the new generation of cars.
Race simulations were the order of the day on the final morning of testing, but Maloney pushed the envelope in the afternoon session, and he returned a time of 1 min, 42.468 secs, the second fast time overall.
Maloney also had the second fastest time of 1:53.351 after completing 15 laps on the first day that was dramatically limited because of rain.
“I think that’s a good sign,” the sophomore F2 driver said. “I mean, I was six-tenths off the whole three days of testing last year, so I can only take it as a good sign.”
Maloney was one of the reserve drivers for F1 world champions, Red Bull Racing last year, and the testing is part of his preparation for his second F2 campaign with Rodin.
It was recently announced that Maloney will become an official reserve driver at selected rounds of the new season for the Sauber F1 team, rebranded Stake F1 Team Kick, and he will race in the colours of the Sauber Academy after joining their driver development programme for the upcoming season.
He will share reserve driving duties with 2023 F2 champion, Théo Pourchaire of France after finishing his rookie season 10th in the drivers’ championship with four podium finishes during the season.
With the first day of testing a washout in the Bahrain desert, the remaining two days were vital for the F2 teams and drivers to get valuable data amid dry running.
They were all using the testing event to get better acquainted with the new F2 cars, which are largely like the previous iteration of the vehicles, retaining a similar chassis and the same engine and gearbox.
Unlike the previous versions, the new cars sport an updated aero package via a reprofiled floor, nose, front and rear wing, and their performance over the three days will be noted ahead of the season, which opens on February 29 at the same venue.
F2 is the second tier to F1 racing organized by the FIA, motor sport’s world governing body, and held on select circuits on the Grand Prix schedule.
