Formula 2 qualifying was to take place in Australia for the first time in wet conditions all year round. All the pilots went up in the rain, although the state of the track was not easy and it was already scary for Oliver Bearman and Jak Crawford, who lost the first wing, but were able to continue on the track.
As a result, the FIA decided to raise the red flag and wait for the rain to stop. After a few minutes of stopping and a couple of safety car crashes, the drivers are back on the track with not so difficult conditions. In the rains, the development is always much greater, so not stopping is the key.
We saw a few names on the top of the season sheet like Ayumu Iwasa, Jack Doohan and Isack Hadjar, but the one who was on the provisional pole with 10 minutes to go was Victor Martins. The Frenchman clocked a 1’45.736 in first place, but it was the second highest wet crown to decide the order of the rest of the weekend.
In this second game, two drivers improved Martins time. Pourchaire was one in four miles and second at that moment, because he was overtaken by Iwasa, who had the provisional pole. Newcomers like Hadjar, Bearman and Zane Maloney were also deep in that zone, while title contenders like Frederik Vesti and Doohan needed to improve at all costs.
The action stopped with three minutes left to complete the classification due to an accident by Martin himself. The Frenchman lost control of his Art in turn five and hit the wall hard. When this session ended, the FIA decided that this first Formula 2 classification would not be resumed in Australia.
Great joy for Iwasa, his first Polo 2023, and also for Martin, who could not go out on the track again, he took the third place very well. Pourchaire also kept his stuff in second place on the day to forget Doohan, who will start from the eighth row on his home weekend.
Fourth place went to Hadjar and fifth to Maloney. These two youngsters from the Red Bull have been overshadowed by the great work of Iwasa, but the positive for them is that he has qualified ahead and will have a great opportunity in the rest of the weekend. This may have been the stage until now and there will be two drivers to be reckoned with.
Bearman finished sixth ahead of Arthur Leclerc and Kush Maini seventh and eighth respectively. Dennis Hauger will start for the first time in tomorrow’s return race after finishing tenth today, while the ninth place – the second of this Saturday – goes to Jak Crawford in Hitech.
CLASSIFICATION RESULTS – AUSTRALIA 2023
