Nov 29

2024 FIA Formula 2 Qatar Qualifying report

All images ©: Dutch Photo Agency

Invicta Racing is set to start from second and seventh for Sunday’s Feature Race for the penultimate FIA Formula 2 round of the season at the Lusail International Circuit.

After a long break, action resumed in FIA F2 as the championship battle nears its conclusion with back-to-back rounds in Qatar and Abu Dhabi.

The action began for this weekend with the 45-minute Free Practice session. There was one red flag throughout, coming towards the end of the session but not affecting the running too much.

Championship leader Gabriel Bortoleto was in the mix from the off, finishing second. Kush Maini spent time in the pits with an issue but a late effort vaulted him up to 12th in the order.

In the 30-minute Qualifying session, both Invicta Racing entries featured towards the front of the order.

Following the early exchanges, Gabriel was sat towards the top of the pile with a 1 minute 36.586, with Kush mid-pack after posting a time of 1m37.622s.

The second set of tyres worked well for both drivers. Gabriel posted a 1m35.450s, just shy of the top spot, but pitted at the end and therefore finished up in second.

Kush meanwhile improved to a 1m36.100s, which was good enough for seventh. Both Invicta entries are set to start ahead of the Campos Racing entries in the Feature Race as the battle for the Teams’ Championship intensifies.

For the Sprint Race on Saturday, Championship leader Gabriel will roll off from eighth on the grid while Kush has picked up a pair of penalties between Baku and Lusail and will line up 12th.

GABRIEL BORTOLETO

“Second in Qualifying is a good result, but we did not have an answer for Paul [Aron] and Hitech GP today. It has been interesting to get up to speed with a new track but the entire team has done a great job in providing us with the best car possible. We know the big points are handed out in the Feature Race, not in Qualifying or the Sprint Race, and we are in a very good position to deliver a good result for both championships here after today.”

FREE PRACTICE RESULTS

Position: P2
Fastest lap: 1:38.666

QUALIFYING RESULTS

Position: P2
Fastest lap: 1:35.450

KUSH MAINI

“It was a decent result out there today. We did not have the cleanest practice session due to a small issue, but we made sure that it did not affect us ahead of Qualifying. The session itself went well, and we had decent speed on both sets of tyres. Of course, we would like to be a little further up the order but we should be able to fight in both races. The goal is to bring home as many points as we can for the Teams’ Championship."