Photo: Malcolm Griffiths / GP2 Series Media Service
DAMS driver Jolyon Palmer set the pace in the afternoon session of the first day of GP2 testing at Yas Marina.
The Brit, who figures among the title favorites for the upcoming season, posted his session-topping lap with an hour remaining on the clock and would not be matched throughout the rest of the day’s running.
Russian Time’s new recruit Mitch Evans was one tenth down in second despite his limited mileage in the afternoon session. Palmer’s teammate Stephane Richelmi took third, narrowly ahead of Hilmer’s Daniel Abt and ART’s Stoffel Vandoorne.
A chart-topping time from Johnny Cecotto with two hours to go allowed the Venezuelan to settle for sixth, with 2013 title challengers Felipe Nasr and Stefano Coletti in seventh and eighth respectively.
Caterham Racing’s Alexander Rossi and Campos’ Arthur Pic made it nine different teams in the top ten.
Session results
| Pos. | Driver | Team | Time | Gap | Laps |
| 1 | Jolyon Palmer | DAMS | 1:49.126 | 24 | |
| 2 | Mitch Evans | Russian Time | 1:49.292 | 0.166 | 13 |
| 3 | Stephane Richelmi | DAMS | 1:49.756 | 0.630 | 28 |
| 4 | Daniel Abt | Hilmer Motorsport | 1:49.777 | 0.651 | 22 |
| 5 | Stoffel Vandoorne | ART Grand Prix | 1:49.790 | 0.664 | 28 |
| 6 | Johnny Cecotto | Trident | 1:49.892 | 0.766 | 19 |
| 7 | Felipe Nasr | Carlin | 1:49.896 | 0.770 | 29 |
| 8 | Stefano Coletti | Racing Engineering | 1:49.963 | 0.837 | 23 |
| 9 | Alexander Rossi | EQ8 Caterham Racing | 1:50.018 | 0.892 | 25 |
| 10 | Arthur Pic | Campos Racing | 1:50.204 | 1.078 | 19 |
| 11 | Takuya Izawa | ART Grand Prix | 1:50.219 | 1.093 | 37 |
| 12 | Andre Negrao | Arden International | 1:50.241 | 1.115 | 22 |
| 13 | Rio Haryanto | EQ8 Caterham Racing | 1:50.256 | 1.130 | 24 |
| 14 | Raffaele Marciello | Racing Engineering | 1:50.261 | 1.135 | 24 |
| 15 | Daniel de Jong | MP Motorsport | 1:50.265 | 1.139 | 6 |
| 16 | Facu Regalia | Hilmer Motorsport | 1:50.289 | 1.163 | 17 |
| 17 | Jon Lancaster | MP Motorsport | 1:50.434 | 1.308 | 17 |
| 18 | Rene Binder | Arden International | 1:50.496 | 1.370 | 23 |
| 19 | Julian Leal | Carlin | 1:50.541 | 1.415 | 27 |
| 20 | Artem Markelov | Russian Time | 1:50.925 | 1.799 | 21 |
| 21 | Conor Daly | Venezuela GP Lazarus | 1:50.933 | 1.807 | 25 |
| 22 | Nathanael Berthon | Venezuela GP Lazarus | 1:51.026 | 1.900 | 20 |
| 23 | Simon Trummer | Rapax | 1:51.043 | 1.917 | 23 |
| 24 | Axcil Jefferies | Trident | 1:51.300 | 2.174 | 29 |
| 25 | Kimiya Sato | Campos Racing | 1:51.331 | 2.205 | 20 |
| 26 | Adrian Quaife-Hobbs | Rapax | 1:51.437 | 2.311 | 16 |