MP Motorsport driver Oliver Goethe made an impressive statement on the opening day of the F2 Yas Marina post-season test, securing the fastest times in both the morning and afternoon sessions. The German driver’s commanding performance has left him optimistic about the team’s progress heading into the final two days of testing.
Morning dominance
Goethe set the tone early, topping the timesheets during the opening three-hour session with a benchmark time of 1:38.979. His performance demonstrated the speed and consistency MP Motorsport has developed, with Joshua Duerksen trailing in second place, just 0.177 seconds adrift.
The morning pace suggested that Goethe and his team had found a strong setup, but the German driver knew that the real test would come when teams began pushing harder in the afternoon.
Success with the Supersofts
As the afternoon of the F2 post-season test progressed, Goethe and several other competitors switched to the Supersoft compound tyres, and the results were immediate. The MP Motorsport driver returned to the top of the leaderboard with a blistering 1:37.203, edging out Rafael Câmara by just 0.066 seconds to secure the session win.
By the end of Day 1, Goethe and MP Motorsport held a commanding position at the top of the timesheets, setting the stage for what could be a promising post-season evaluation period.
Goethe’s perspective
Speaking in the paddock after the day’s running, Goethe expressed his satisfaction with the outcome while remaining grounded about what the test represents.
“It went really well today. Fastest in the morning and fastest in the afternoon. It’s a very good feeling, but of course it’s just testing,” he reflected. “It doesn’t mean anything, but it shows the progress that has been happening in the last few rounds. The pace is there, and of course we are going to try to keep improving, keep working hard, and make the gap even bigger hopefully.”
The 21-year-old acknowledged that MP’s decision to deploy fresh Supersoft tyres late in the afternoon was strategic, allowing the team to gauge their competitiveness against other top teams who made the same choice.
“We planned to run one set of Supersofts this afternoon. I think a few other teams did as well, Invicta, one of the Campos’ and PREMA, so some good teams,” Goethe explained. “So there were still some good references, and this morning I was quickest on equal terms, so I am really happy with the progress of the team and myself. I am looking forward to two more days of this.”
Eyes on the prize
With two more days of testing ahead, Goethe and MP Motorsport are shifting their focus beyond raw speed to the preparation that will prove crucial for their 2026 campaign. The team is utilising the limited testing time to work on elements that cannot be adequately addressed during race weekends.
“We don’t have so much testing, so we plan to make use of these days the most we can, to do the most running we can with the tyres allocated,” Goethe continued. “Things like practice starts are important, race runs, as well as performance runs, trying new setups, so it’s very interesting for the drivers and the engineers to work on these things because on the race weekends we do not have as much time.”
