Formula 2: Logan Sargent wins pole at Le Castellet

Qualifying at the French circuit Paul Ricard took place in very hot weather on asphalt that warmed to almost 50 degrees, forcing the riders to look for the right approach to rubber to avoid increasing degradation, even during the half-hour qualifying session.

Championship leader Felipe Drugovic was the first to show a more or less representative time, but it was immediately blocked by many rivals, who improved the Brazilian’s result one by one, and in the early stages of qualifying Jack Doohan was the fastest, who drove a lap in 1:44.953.

Australian racer Virtuosi Racing managed to pass the last, third sector much faster than others – apparently this slow part of the circle was the key, and the final result depended on it.

But Duane didn’t last long on the front line. On his second attempt he was beaten by four riders, Logan Sargent being the best, his time was 1:44.599. In principle, Jack also had the opportunity to pass the lap faster, but on the second attempt he made a mistake that left him on the fifth line of protocol.

Also in timing, Ayumu Iwasa, Theo Purscher and Richard Vershore were above him.

The riders returned to the pits, got new tires and with about ten minutes left before the end of the session, they returned to the track. However, the session was immediately interrupted by red flags, as Dennis Hauger’s car stopped on the track at Turn 5. Incidentally, Norwegian racer Prema Racing also suffered technical problems during practice.

While his car was being evacuated, everyone returned to the pits, waiting for qualifying to continue. After about seven minutes the track was back to work and before the end of the session there was also just over seven minutes left, which was enough for two fast laps, but we had to hurry.

As soon as the traffic light at the exit of the pit lane turned the signal to green, everyone immediately left the track and Drugovich was the first to do so. But with the improvement of Sargent’s schedule, it was not him who drove, but Frederic Vesti and Theo Purscher. It was the Dane who managed to reach the front line, but his time was improved by about a tenth by Ayumu Iwasa, who has never won the qualifier.

This time he was close, but missed pole for a very specific reason: Ayumu simply didn’t have time to start the second fastest lap – the session time was up. In addition, there was hope that the Japanese DAMS racer’s time would continue to be the best, as many championship favorites couldn’t get their laps out faster than him.

However, Sargent, a 21-year-old American who plays for Carlin, orientated himself correctly in the situation, at the right time, at the very end of the session, he pulled himself together and showed a time of 1:43.871, which is only 0.006 seconds better than Iwasa’s result.

For Logan Sargent, who is second in the individual standings, this is the second pole position of the season, and the Williams Racing Academy student will start from first position on Sunday’s Paul Ricard race. And in Saturday’s sprint, Jehan Daruvala will start from pole, with a 10th result in qualifying. Note that a partially reversed starting order is used in the youth series.

Qualification Results