Fabio Leimer resists Sam Bird to win GP2 feature race at Monza

Fabio Leimer has managed to resist the tremendous pace of Sam Bird to win a highly entertaining GP2 feature race around the legendary Autodromo di Monza, after a frenetic 30-lap race. The duo were followed by the other Russian Time machine of Tom Dillmann, after both Stefano Coletti and Felipe Nasr retired from proceedings.

At the start Fabio Leimer stormed into a comfortable lead into Turn 1, despite starting 2nd on the grid alongside Sam Bird. Amazingly the entire field managed to negotiate the first few corners relatively incident-free, despite some drivers skipping across the grass to avoid major contact. After the opening lap reigning GP3 Champion Mitch Evans collided with the Rapax of Simon Trummer, which subsequently forced both into retirement and also forced the majority of the field to take avoiding action through the retaining gravel trap.

The two stricken cars were cleared without a safety car interruption, despite partially blocking the track during the immediate aftermath. Daniel Abt returned to the pits after the second lap, after picking up a puncture which could well have been caused after running through the gravel to avoid colliding with either Simon Trummer or Mitch Evans. As Sam Bird continued to hunt down Fabio Leimer in the lead, Jake Rosenzweig became the next retirement after a minor collision with Tom Dillmann which broke the American’s front-left suspension.

As the race raged on, Alexander Rossi and Sergio Campana became the first drivers’ to complete scheduled pit-stops, before Championship leader Stefano Coletti did likewise. However, the Monegasque sensation locked-up heavily on the entry to the pit-lane, which saw him mistakingly speed in the pits and therefore incur a drive-thru penalty. Marcus Ericsson and Felipe Nasr became the next drivers to pit from the front of the pack, as Fabio Leimer continued to lead Sam Bird.

After exiting the pit-lane Felipe Nasr became locked in a grueling battle for 16th with Adrian Quaife-Hobbs, however the Brazilian ace managed to fend off the advancing Briton with some masterful defensive driving. Carlin’s Jolyon Palmer pitted a lap later, and seemingly enjoyed a decent pit-stop. However, during his first lap back on the track his left-rear tyre worked its way loose and fell off, forcing the Briton into an embarrassing retirement. Meanwhile Sergio Canamasas and Johnny Cecotto became locked in a battle for track position, with the two incident-prone drivers unreservedly colliding with each other through Turn 1. This subsequently saw the stewards elect to investigate the duo.

Whilst the marshals cleared the stricken Carlin of Jolyon Palmer and hunted down his rogue wheel, race leader Fabio Leimer pitted on Lap 12 thus allowing Sam Bird to assume the lead of the race. Several laps later Marcus Ericsson became the next retirement for DAMS, after a left-rear puncture struck his car and forced him to pull over at the side of the track. After Stefano Coletti’s uncompetitive display during the race, Felipe Nasr looked set to reap the rewards and potentially leapfrog the Monegasque ace in the Championship. However, a mechanical issue on his car saw him grind to a halt at Turn 1 and into retirement.

On Lap 19 Sam Bird stormed into the pits for his scheduled pit-stop, ceding the lead of the race to team-mate Tom Dillmann. Despite a frustratingly slow stop, the Briton rejoined only just behind Fabio Leimer on the softer rubber. As Tom Dillmann also pitted and handed the lead to Stephane Richelmi, the battle for the eventual lead of the race raged on between Fabio Leimer and Sam Bird. On Lap 23 Richelmi finally became the last driver to make his mandatory pit-stop, allowing Fabio Leimer to return to the lead with Sam Bird quick on his heels.

With Felipe Nasr now out of the race, it seemed Stefano Coletti’s immediate Championship threat had disappeared. However, disaster struck the Rapax driver as he was forced into retirement on Lap 24. This then switched the emphasis on the Championship to Fabio Leimer and Sam Bird, who sat 3rd and 4th respectively in the Drivers’ Championship.

Although Sam Bird managed to close the gap to Fabio Leimer to under a second, the Briton was unable to thwart to Swiss master, who stormed across the line to secure his 5th victory in the Series and the lead in the Drivers’ Championship. Tom Dillmann managed to follow the leading duo home in 3rd, with American sensation Alexander Rossi securing the reverse grid pole in 8th. He will start tomorrow’s sprint race alongside Adrian Quaife-Hobbs on the front row of the grid.

Picture Copyright © Charles Coates/GP2 Series Media Service