Arvid Lindblad made headlines during the first day of pre-season testing for Formula 2, clocking the fastest time for Campos Racing with a remarkable lap of 1:24.415. The Red Bull Junior Team driver led the session following strong performances throughout the day, edging out Gabriele Minì of PREMA Racing and Leonardo Fornaroli from Invicta Racing, who secured second and third places respectively.
The first day of testing kicked off with ART Grand Prix's Victor Martins setting the pace during the morning session, recording 1:25.760 after the initial disruptions caused by fog. After overcoming these conditions, the testing began with drivers completing installation laps, only to be halted shortly by a red flag triggered when Rodin Motorsport's Alex Dunne stalled at Turn 10. The session resumed, allowing teams to finalize their baseline setups without clocking any official lap times for most of the morning.
Max Esterson broke through this early stagnation, setting the first benchmark of the day with 1:29.252. Following his lead, Richard Verschoor from MP Motorsport quickly improved to 1:27.340, which was succeeded by Invicta Racing’s Roman Stanek who lowered the benchmark to 1:26.734. Martins then took the lead for ART Grand Prix, clocking 1:26.303, but his time was soon surpassed by PREMA's Minì, whose 1:26.227 put him just above Martins by 0.076s.
Towards the end of the morning session, Martins managed to secure the top spot again with a strong 1:25.790, finishing just 0.050s ahead of Minì. By the end of the morning, the quickest drivers included Martins, Minì, and Goethe, who all demonstrated competitive laps—setting the stage for an exciting afternoon session.
Upon return for the afternoon, Verschoor took control with the fastest overall time of 1:27.710 within the first 20 minutes. Yet another red flag halted the action when Esterson found himself stranded in the gravel at Turn 5. This was swiftly followed by Dino Beganovic stopping his Hitech TGR car between Turns 6 and 7, resulting in another session interruption. Despite the setbacks, teams were determined to follow their run plans.
With time ticking down, Lindblad emerged as the star of the day. Campos Racing's driver clocked 1:24.415, ensuring his team seized both the top slots when teammate Marti finished second with 1:24.764, showcasing their promising form. The session was again interrupted, this time by Sami Meguetounif of TRIDENT, who halted at Turn 2, compressing what little time was left for other drivers to improve their times. The session concluded with Lindblad firmly at the top, followed by Minì and Fornaroli, who clocked remarkable times of 1:24.503 and 1:24.592 respectively.
Meanwhile, away from the testing track, Nico Hulkenberg is gearing up for his return to the F1 scene with Kick Sauber for the 2025 season. Speaking during the F1 75 Live season launch event held in London, Hulkenberg expressed optimism about the team's potential, describing the upcoming season as “a building year” aimed at developing the squad after the challenges they faced the previous year.
Reflecting on his return to Sauber, where he raced previously back in 2013, Hulkenberg acknowledged the transformation of the team. “The race team has changed quite a bit. But yeah, it revives old memories,” he remarked, noting the upbeat atmosphere within the team.
With Sauber transitioning to become Audi's factory team by 2026, Hulkenberg emphasized the importance of building a solid foundation this year. “Our target is to be competitive and to obviously score as many points as possible,” he stated, underscoring the challenges faced following last season's struggles. “For us the motto is head down, push hard, work hard,” he added, noting the excitement surrounding the future of the team.
Hulkenberg's return to Sauber is especially poignant as he aims to deliver results and contribute positively toward the team's ambitions. Even as he reflects on why he has remained on the grid, he credits his success over the past couple of years, which has led to this new opportunity within Sauber.
“I think for me, things went very positive and successful… probably more than ever before in Formula 1, even more than my first stint,” Hülkenberg noted warmly, reinforcing the exhilaration he feels heading back to competitive racing.
The 2025 F1 season is shaping up to be filled with potential for new talents like Lindblad as well as seasoned drivers like Hulkenberg, as teams look toward their preparations and strategies.
This year’s pre-season testing goals show promise for the future of these racers and their respective teams as excitement builds toward the upcoming races.