Invicta Racing is set to start from the second row of the F2 Austria Feature Race grid with Gabriel Bortoleto, while Kush Maini secured Sprint Race pole for the second successive round.
Rain lingered around the Styrian hills throughout Friday’s running in Austria, with Gabriel and Kush aiming to maximise everything on the track during the 45-minute practice session and 30 minutes of qualifying.
A short red flag halfway through practice aside, the session went by without issue and Gabriel finished sixth-fastest, with Kush in 21st in the close F2 field.
This trend continued into the start of qualifying. With lap times so short, drivers were able to complete several efforts on a set of tyres in what was a relatively clean session.
As the first runs came to an end Gabriel was fourth on a 1 minute 16.102 seconds with Kush in 20th with a time of 1m16.895, but the times remained incredibly close throughout the field.
The drivers returned to the track with around 10 minutes to go on a second set of tyres. Gabriel improved to a best effort of 1m15.601s to place third, while Kush improved to 10th after putting in a time of 1m15.911.
There were very few improvements on the final laps, which left the Invicta pair as they were with Gabriel a tenth off pole position and Kush under half a second off the top spot. The entire field was separated by under a second around the 4.3-kilometre Red Bull Ring.
Kush will line up from the front for Saturday's Sprint Race and Gabriel from eighth, which gets underway on Saturday at 13:30 CET.
FREE PRACTICE:
- Gabriel Bortoleto: P06, 1:16.887
- Kush Maini: P21, 1:17.525
QUALIFYING:
- Gabriel Bortoleto: P03, 1:15.601
- Kush Maini: P10, 1:15.911
GABRIEL BORTOLETO:
It is always tricky around here with the times so close, but we as a team did a good job to secure third place today. After missing out on a podium in Spain, it would be great if we can secure one here. We now look to move forward in tomorrow's Sprint Race.
KUSH MAINI:
We had a tricky day today, but we improved as the day went on to put us in the mix for the rest of the weekend. With Sprint Race pole and 10th for the Feature Race, there are opportunities for us to secure two good point scores as we did in Barcelona.
