Nerea Martí Tops Free Practice in Valencia

Driving at their home track for Round 2 of the 2023 F1 Academy in Valencia, Spaniard Nerea Martí and Marta García topped FP1 and FP2 respectively ahead of qualifying.

All the drivers got more valuable time on track as they completed a combined 397 laps, as they made final adjustments in the hope to secure the best positions in this afternoon’s qualifying sessions.

Free Practice 1

Martí continued to show her confidence at the Circuit Ricardo Tormo as she set the fastest time across the two sessions with a 1:34.416 at the wheel of her Campos Racing car.

Rodin Carlin’s Abbi Pulling looked strong as she posted a 1:34.684, with Lena Buhler close behind in P3 for ART Grand Prix, in a 1:34.833.

Despite topping the timesheets, Martí’s time was 0.3s off her quickest time from yesterday’s testing session as it seems that there is the potential to bring the time down even further in qualifying.

Free Practice 2

Series leader Garcia was largely unopposed in FP2, leading the way with a 1:34.549, over seven tenths quicker than her PREMA Racing teammate Bianca Bustamante in P2.

MP Motorsport's Hamda Al Qubaisi rounded out the top 3 in a 1:35.333, after having topped yesterday's test session. She will be chasing after a maiden pole position in F1 Academy later today.

In the dying minutes, the proceedings were halted by a Red Flag after Chloe Grant went into the gravel. She was able to get the car going again and returned to the pits, but the session was not restarted.

What’s next

Qualifying 1 will begin at 16:25 and will set the grid for Saturday’s Race 1 and Race 2, before Qualifying 2, starting at 16:45, will set the grid for Sunday’s Race 3.