Pin leads the way on opening day of Qatar in-season testing

Doriane Pin put together a strong performance on Day 1 of in-season testing around the Lusail International Circuit in Qatar.

The Mercedes driver closed out the afternoon session in style, topping the timing sheets with a 1:56.848 to outpace the field by almost three tenths.

MORNING

It was a quiet affair first thing, with only installation laps being completed inside the opening hour. Abbi Pulling then got running underway, setting the early benchmark time of a 2:04.431. Piloting the #9 Rodin Motorsport car, she rapidly improved to a 2:00.793.

However, she was soon demoted to P2 by two tenths after Red Bull Racing’s Hamda Al Qubaisi put in a 1:59.753. Only seven drivers had a time on the board when the Red Flags were waved with an hour and a half of running remaining, with Emely De Heus stopping at Turn 11.

Once running resumed, the action ramped up as Maya Weug leapt to the top of the timing sheets. The Ferrari driver then became the first to break into the 1:58s, completing a lap of 1:58.907 to go two tenths clear.

Steadily racking up more laps on the board, Hamda Al Qubaisi found more pace behind the wheel, setting a 1:58.826 on her penultimate attempt. The Emirati driver was joined in the top three by Weug, who finished 0.137s adrift.

Pulling had to settle for the fourth-fastest effort ahead of title rival Pin. Aston Martin’s Tina Hausmann was another late improver in sixth, followed by Aurelia Nobels, Jessica Edgar, Amna Al Qubaisi and Lia Block, who rounded out the top 10 for Williams.

AFTERNOON

Weug was the initial pacesetter, getting off the mark with a 2:00.177. The Ferrari driver was soon pushed down the order when PREMA Racing teammate Pin posted a 1:59.493, whilst Pulling closed to within eight thousands of the French racer.

However, Pulling wasn’t done there, leapfrogging Pin on a 1:59.480 and strengthening her hold on the top spot by almost two tenths.

After a short break in running, Hamda Al Qubaisi posted the first sub-1:59s time of the afternoon to go top, eclipsing Pulling’s time by over five tenths before a brief Red Flag interruption.

It was ART Grand Prix who immediately responded once Green Flag conditions resumed. Block went fastest on a 1:58.634, improving by a further 0.359s to go over half a second clear of second-place Hamda Al Qubaisi. Yet she wouldn’t go unchallenged, with PUMA’s Nobels leapfrogging the Williams driver on a 1:58.242.

Pin kicked it up a gear in the final hour, breaking four tenths clear of Nobels. The #28 car continued to lay claim to the P1 spot, with two further fastest laps dropping the time to beat down to a 1:57.051. One final flurry of action saw Pin push once more, setting a 1:56.848 to finish quickest by 0.286s.

Meanwhile, a second Red Flag inside the final five minutes after Bianca Bustamante stopped on track at Turn 15 denied the field any further improvements.

Weug made two consecutive top three appearances, finishing ahead of Pulling and Hausmann. Hamda Al Qubaisi took the sixth-fastest time ahead of Carrie Schreiner, Chambers, Nerea Martí and Block.

With Day 1 in the books, the field will be back in action at 09:00 local time (GMT+3) for the second of three days of testing in Qatar.