Adrian Quaife-Hobbs storms to maiden GP2 victory in sprint race at Monza

British sensation Adrian Quaife-Hobbs has stormed to his maiden victory in the GP2 Series around the Autodromo di Monza, after a 21-lap sprint race which featured a minor rain shower. The 22-year-old was followed by initial poleman Alexander Rossi, who endured a poor start off of the line. Julian Leal came home an impressive 3rd for Racing Engineering.

As the field pulled away for the start of the formation lap, Jake Rosenzweig’s unfortunate weekend continued as the American driver stalled on the grid. He was eventually wheeled into the pit-lane, where he was forced to start the race as the field line-up for the start. When the five red lights went out Adrian Quaife-Hobbs majestically stormed into a commanding lead, as poleman Alexander Rossi stuttered and became swamped by the immediate competition. James Calado also stalled at the back, before eventually getting away, albeit plum last.

Unlike the earlier GP3 race, the GP2 drivers managed to negotiate the opening chicane relatively incident-free, as Stephane Richelmi forced Sam Bird wide at Turn 1 and in the process damaged his front-wing. This forced the Monegasque driver to return to the pits, as team-mate Marcus Ericsson was struck with a race-ruining rear puncture which also forced him to return to the pits. As the opening laps of the race ticked away Nathaniel Berthon unsportingly edged rookie team-mate Sergio Campana onto the grass and into a spin. Luckily the Italian driver was able to continue circulating, as Berthon was struck with a drive-thru penalty for his actions.

As the race progressed Daniel de Jong spun at Turn 1 and lightly tapped the barrier, however the Dutchman was able to continue racing. Meanwhile Sam Bird and Julian Leal were battling hard for 2nd position further up the field, with the duo amazingly avoiding contact despite their exceedingly close proximity on the track. On Lap 6 Daniel Abt was struck with a hefty stop/go penalty, after his ART Grand Prix machine failed to have all of the tyres secured to his car before the three minute signal at the start.

With Adrian Quaife-Hobbs still leading the race ahead of Julian Leal on Lap 8, further entertainment was thrown into the mix when rain began to fall over the Autodromo di Monza. This saw James Calado immediately pit for wet weather tyres, with the Briton anticipating a deluge and therefore an opportunity to rise back through the order. Despite only a few minutes of intermittent rainfall, James Calado’s gamble failed to pay off and the Briton was forced to return to the pits for slick tyres. During the short period of rainfall both Julian Leal and Sam Bird rain wide at Turn 1, allowing Alexander Rossi to redeem himself and rise into 2nd position at the second chicane.

As the American ace strove to catch race leader Adrian Quaife-Hobbs, Jon Lancaster struggled to cleanly overtake Vittorio Ghirelli. The Briton clattered clumsily over the kerbs at Turn 1, and subsequently forced the duo into the retaining gravel trap. Despite Alexander Rossi’s late charge against Adrian Quaife-Hobbs, the Hilmer Motorsport driver managed to maintain his lead and cross the line to take his maiden GP2 victory. The duo were followed home by Julian Leal, who secured yet another podium finish.

The GP2 paddock will reconvene around the streets of Singapore next time out, for the penultimate race weekend of the season. Fabio Leimer heads to the street circuit leading the Drivers’ Championship, with an increased points advantage after securing the fastest lap of the race and a further two points.

Picture Copyright © Alastair Staley/GP2 Series Media Service

All change in GP2 ahead of the Hungarian Grand Prix

Several driver changes have occurred within the GP2 paddock ahead of this weekend’s Hungarian Grand Prix, with former race winner Robin Frijns being replaced by British sensation Adrian Quaife-Hobbs at Hilmer Motorsport after the Dutchman allegedly ran out of money to continue competing in the category.

The GP2 Series will also welcome two returnees for this weekend’s proceedings, with 30-year-old Angolan Ricardo Teixeira replacing Kevin Ceccon at Trident Racing and former HRT reserve driver Dani Clos replacing Adrian Quaife-Hobbs at MP Motorsport. Ricardo Teixeira last competed in the category last season with Rapax, and failed to score a single point. He initially made his debut in the Series with Trident Racing in 2008, before a season competing in Formula 2. In 2011 Teixeira tested for Team Lotus (now known as Caterham) at both Valencia and Barcelona.

Dani Clos will return to the GP2 Series with MP Motorsport.

With Adrian Quaife-Hobbs moving to Hilmer Motorsport to replace Robin Frijns, Dutch newcomers MP Motorsport have called upon the services of former Formula 1 reserve driver and GP2 driver Dani Clos. The 24-year-old Spaniard created history last season during practice one at the Spanish Grand Prix, creating the first all-Spanish line-up in a Spanish Formula 1 team at Barcelona alongside Pedro de la Rosa. Clos continued to enjoy six outings with HRT last season, before the team failed to find a new owner for 2013. Dani Clos last competed in the GP2 Series last season with Barwa Addax for four races, and was a race winner with Racing Engineering at Istanbul in 2010.

“We’re delighted to welcome Dani to the team,” enthused MP Motorsport team principal, Sander Dorsman. “The experience he brings to the team will be priceless. He’s won in GP2 and has tested in Formula 1. We’re all really looking forward to working with him for the first time in Hungary this weekend.”

Although Adrian Quaife-Hobs will understandably be eager to continue progressing during his debut season in the GP2 Series with Hilmer Motorsport, many are surprised to see a talent such as Robin Frijns run out of budget to continue competing in the category. The reigning Formula Renault 3.5 Series Champion made his debut in the Series in Bahrain with the German outfit, before winning the Spanish Grand Prix feature race and finishing 2nd in the sprint race.

“So that was it then. No money no drive,” explained Robin Frijns, on the social networking site Twitter. “Winning Championship [sic] is not enough these days! Good luck for all the GP2 boys!”

The 21-year-old Dutchman is currently Sauber’s reserve driver, and drove for the Swiss outfit during their Young Driver Test at Silverstone last week. He will unquestionably be striving to return to the Series, after a highly competitive start to the season. For the likes of Dani Clos, Ricardo Teixeira and Adrian Quaife-Hobbs, it is their time to shine behind the wheel of the Renault-powered Dallara GP2/11.

Picture Copyright © Malcolm Griffiths/GP2 Series Media Service & HRT F1 Team