Louis shines in pre-season F2 test at Jerez

Louis Delétraz set a formidable pace as he completed the opening FIA Formula 2 Championship pre-season test of the new season at Jerez in Spain yesterday.

The 21-year-old has joined Carlin for the 2019 campaign and the three-day test in Andalusia marked his first on-track outing with the reigning Teams’ Champions.

Louis completed a total of 245 laps across the three days of running, notching up 1082 competitive kilometres and running inside the top-six during five of the six timed sessions.

Reflecting on his three days at the wheel of Carlin’s 2019 challenger, Louis said: “I’m really happy because everything went nice and smooth and I think we can be pleased with the pace we have shown so far.

“The main objective wasn’t going for pure performance on the track. Our plan was focused on putting lots of things together, trying different set-ups and discovering new things about the car. I was pleased with the progress we made and the feeling that we’ve taken from the running.”

The Swiss driver’s test programme consisted of qualifying runs, race simulations, practice starts and pit stop drills at Jerez. He was able to run on two different tyre compounds during the test – Pirelli’s soft and medium rubber.

As well as being buoyed by his times on the Jerez circuit, Louis was also pleased with the strength of the working relationship he has with his new engineers at Carlin. He feels that bodes well for the upcoming F2 season in which he’ll compete across 12 events and 24 races.

The ADSS-supported driver said: “There was a really good ambience in the team and I feel very comfortable already. We understand each other already. I want to win and they want to win.”

Louis will continue his pre-season testing programme at Barcelona in Spain on 5-7 March before heading to Bahrain for the opening F2 races of the season on 29-31 March.