Arvid Lindblad Tops Day 1 Of Formula 2 Pre-Season Testing In Barcelona

The 2025 Formula 2 season kicked off with the first day of pre-season testing at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, and it was Campos Racing’s Arvid Lindblad who set the pace. The Red Bull Junior Team driver clocked a 1:24.415 in the afternoon session, securing the fastest time of the day ahead of PREMA Racing’s Gabriele Minì and Invicta Racing’s Leonardo Fornaroli.

Morning Session
After a 45-minute delay due to heavy fog, the morning session began with installation laps. However, it was quickly red-flagged as Rodin Motorsport’s Alex Dunne came to a halt at Turn 10. Once his car was recovered, the action resumed, with teams focusing on baseline setup tests and short run plans.

Max Esterson was the first driver to set a competitive laptime, posting a 1:29.252. Richard Verschoor (MP Motorsport) and Roman Stanek (Invicta Racing) took turns at the top of the timesheets before ART Grand Prix’s Victor Martins claimed the fastest time of the morning with a 1:25.790. PREMA Racing’s Sebastián Montoya and Gabriele Minì, along with MP’s Oliver Goethe, rounded out the top five.

Afternoon Session
As the afternoon session commenced, Verschoor set the early pace with a 1:27.710. The session was briefly interrupted by red flags due to Max Esterson (TRIDENT) and Dino Beganovic (Hitech TGR) finding trouble at Turns 5 and 6-7, respectively.

Campos Racing then took control of the timesheets, with Lindblad leading teammate Josep Maria Martí. Lindblad’s 1:24.415 remained unbeaten, despite challenges from PREMA’s Minì and Montoya, who secured second and third places. Invicta’s Fornaroli managed to split the PREMA duo, claiming third with a 1:24.592.

The session ended prematurely due to a red flag caused by Sami Meguetounif (BWT by Carlin), who found the gravel at Turn 4 with just two minutes remaining. This left Lindblad at the top, followed by Minì, Fornaroli, Montoya, and Martí in the top five. The Rodin duo of Dunne and Christian Mansell, along with Luke Browning (Hitech TGR), Roman Stanek (Invicta Racing), and Richard Verschoor (MP Motorsport), completed the top ten.

Lindblad’s Thoughts
Speaking after the session, a delighted Lindblad shared his thoughts on the day’s performance. “Overall a pretty decent day. I think I have made a step forward from Abu Dhabi. I’m already feeling a bit more confident and comfortable in the car,” he said.

The British driver stressed the significance of maintaining a strong work ethic and maximizing the learning opportunities during the remaining two days of testing. “Today’s gone reasonably well, but there’s still a lot of things I need to work on. It’s testing, so I cannot get any sense of complacency, so I am going to be working really hard over the next two days to try to maximise the learning,” Lindblad explained.

Lindblad revealed that his primary focus was on adapting to the F2 car and mastering its driving style. “I think quite a lot of it is getting used to the F2 car. So, driving the car, understanding the driving style and how to extract the most from it. Then there is all the new F2 things, compound changes, the pitstops, and then the warming up of the brakes. So just getting up to speed on the new F2 stuff but also working on the basics,” he elaborated.

Despite the limited time spent with Campos Racing due to his successful Formula Regional Oceania Championship campaign over the winter, Lindblad expressed satisfaction with the team’s progress. “It’s going well so far,” he said. “I think we are gelling quite well, but it’s still early days. There’s a lot more to come on that side, just from a communication point of view and gelling. We are all quite new with each other, but we are working hard on both sides, so I am happy and confident.”

Looking ahead to the remaining days of testing, Lindblad aims to capitalize on the dry running on Day 2, as the forecasted rain on Day 3 could impact their plans. “We don’t get many days of testing, so I am just trying to focus on doing as good a job as possible,” he stated. “But then there’s a bit of expected rain on Wednesday, so we put a Soft on at the end. Day three having a high chance of being wet is a positive and negative. Obviously, it gives me a chance to drive these tyres in the wet which is great preparation for the season, but then it’s one day less of proper testing. So, we need to be on top of it tomorrow, so we can get through our run plan, and then try to maximise day three on my side.”