Oliver Goethe delivered an impressive performance to cap off the opening day of the F2 post-season test at Yas Marina, sweeping both sessions for MP Motorsport. The German driver’s dominance was evident from his early pace setting through to the final laps, with a morning benchmark of 1:38.979 followed by an even quicker afternoon effort that sealed his position atop the leaderboard.
Morning Session
The morning began with teams completing their initial installation laps, with Rodin Motorsport establishing early momentum. Alexander Dunne led the way with a 1:39.502, setting the pace ahead of his teammate Martinius Stenshorne, who trailed by just 0.052 seconds. The battle for supremacy intensified as Tasanapol Inthraphuvasak in his ART Grand Prix car closed the gap to within a mere 0.013 seconds of Dunne as the first hour drew to a close.
Goethe soon made his statement of intent, slicing through the field to take control with a 1:38.979 that moved him clear of the competition. Joshua Duerksen came closest to challenging him, posting a 1:39.311 for Invicta Racing, though he remained 0.332 seconds adrift at the halfway point. Nikola Tsolov claimed third position for Campos Racing with a 1:39.337, positioning himself 0.358 seconds behind the leader.
As the session progressed toward its conclusion, Duerksen managed to improve his earlier time but couldn’t quite crack the gap to Goethe, ultimately settling for second place with a 0.177-second deficit. Alexander Dunne also carved out an improvement late in the session, jumping to third with another strong effort that brought him to within 0.177 seconds of the leader.
The morning session concluded with Goethe’s dominance confirmed, followed by Duerksen, Dunne, Tsolov, and Noel León completing the top five positions.
Afternoon Session
The afternoon session of the F2 post-season test brought more of the same from Goethe, who continued to set the pace. Rodin Motorsport initially led the way as the session commenced, with Dunne posting a 1:39.005 to lead the early running. Stenshorne maintained his team’s presence near the top with a 0.234-second gap to his teammate in second place.
However, the session was interrupted during the first hour when Ritomo Miyata stopped his Hitech TGR machine on track at Turn 5, bringing out the red flags and halting running temporarily.
Goethe seized the opportunity once track activity resumed, pushing even harder and posting an impressive 1:37.303 that extended his advantage significantly. The time proved decisive, as no other driver could match his pace for the remainder of the afternoon session. Rafael Câmara came closest for Invicta Racing, securing second place on the day’s combined leaderboard, though he remained unable to challenge Goethe’s commanding performance.
