Rossi takes maiden GP2 victory as Leimer is crowned Champion

Alexander Rossi has made GP2 history around the Yas Marina Circuit by becoming the first driver from America to win a race in the Series, whilst Fabio Leimer made history of his own by becoming the first Swiss driver to clinch the coveted Drivers’ Championship. Fellow rival Sam Bird suffered a disastrous race, after stalling on the grid.

Initially the start of the race was delayed after both Gianmarco Raimondo, Nathaniel Berthon and Adrian Quaife-Hobbs stalled on the grid as the five red lights came on. This saw the rest of the field once again circulate the Yas Marina Circuit on a second formation lap, as the three cars in question where wheeled into the pit-lane to start the race. With tensions running high, the five red flights once again illuminated over the grid as pole man Alexander Rossi prepared to sprint into action.

At the start utter mayhem ensued as Championship contender Sam Bird stalled on the grid, with the rest of the field including his main Championship rival Fabio Leimer miraculously avoiding the stranded Russian Time machine. As Sam Bird was wheeled back into the pits to restart his car and take to the track, carnage ensued at Turns 5 and 6 as Jon Lancaster was perilously launched into the air and onto the top of Tom Dillmann’s car. Luckily the front of the Briton’s machine only just missed the head of Tom Dillmann, as the rest of the field strove to avoid the melee.

Sam Bird is disconsolately wheeled back into the pits after stalling at the start.

This incident understandably saw the safety car deployed, which greatly assisted Sam Bird who managed to return to the action after stalling on the grid and not fall a lap down. At the front Jolyon Palmer managed to take the lead ahead of the Caterham of Alexander Rossi, with Championship leader Fabio Leimer a strong 3rd. As the marshals cleared away the stricken cars’ of Jon Lancaster and Tom Dillmann, Stephane Richelmi became the next retirement in his DAMS after returning to the pits. A replay of the Turn 5 incident showed the Monegasque driver also bouncing over the sharp kerbs behind the Lancaster and Dillmann incident, which could well have been a factor in his retirement.

After only a short period of time behind the safety car, the race was resumed with Jolyon Palmer in a dominant lead ahead of Alexander Rossi and Fabio Leimer. Further down the order saw Sam Bird scything his way through the order in a bid to redeem himself after his torrid start. At Turns 8 and 9, the British sensation managed to pass both Nathaniel Berthon and Adrian Quaife-Hobbs, before the first few scheduled pit-stops ensued. After enduring a tough qualifying session in his Rapax, Stefano Coletti’s race failed to improve, as the Monegasque driver lightly collided with the ART Grand Prix of James Calado before pitting a lap later.

On Lap 7 yellow flags began appearing in the first few corners, after bollard was knocked loose and onto the circuit. Luckily it was residing off of the racing line, allowing it to be retrieved without the necessity for a safety car intervention. A lap later Sam Bird returned to the pits for a new set of tyres along with Indonesian star Rio Haryanto, whilst race leader Jolyon Palmer continued to produce fastest laps in the lead of the race. Several laps later the other Championship contender of Fabio Leimer pitted along with Felipe Nasr, Sergio Canamasas and Dani Clos, whilst James Calado’s miserable weekend continued as was heard complaining of no power. A replay indicated that the Briton’s bargeboard had worked its way loose and had become stuck in his air intake.

After making his mandatory pit-stop, Championship leader Fabio Leimer began scything his way through the field with half of the drivers ahead of him still yet to stop. This saw the Swiss sensation breeze around Gianmarco Raimondo, who strove to make his car as wide as possible in his defense. Meanwhile further freneticism ensued further back, as Simon Trummer and Jake Rosenzweig collided at Turns 8 and 9. This saw both drivers come under investigation, with Simon Trummer eventually struck with a drive-thru penalty.

As the final feature race of the season continued, Vittorio Ghirelli became the latest retirement after returning to the pits. Meanwhile out on track Stefano Coletti continued to make minor mistakes, as the 24-year-old lightly tapped the rear of Gianmarco Raimondo’s Trident Racing. After loosing the lead at the start to Jolyon Palmer, Alexander Rossi eventually made his stop on Lap 18. In a bid to overtake the Briton when he made his pit-stop, the Caterham mechanics elected to only change the rear tyres.

Alexander Rossi made GP2 history for America.

This tactic proved sensational, as Jolyon Palmer pitted for his stop a lap later and returned to the track frustratingly behind the bright green Caterham of Alexander Rossi. However, the British driver had super-soft tyres bolted to his Carlin, which would give him a slight advantage for several laps before tyre wear intervened. Although Alexander Rossi was now in a net 1st place after rising ahead of Jolyon Palmer, Marcus Ericsson had in fact assumed the lead as he had yet to make his mandatory stop. Eventually the top three of Marcus Ericsson, Mitch Evans and James Calado all peeled off into the pits several laps later, thus allowing Daniel Abt to lead his first laps of the season.

Eventually the final two drivers of Daniel de Jong and Daniel Abt pitted on Lap 22, which released Alexander Rossi into the lead of the race ahead of the hard-charging Jolyon Palmer. With the race drawing to a climactic conclusion with Fabio Leimer on course to securing the Drivers’ Championship, the safety car was deployed for a second time after Mitch Evans collided with the Caterham of Sergio Canamasas at Turn 21. This saw the reigning GP3 Champion forced into retirement, as the field bunched up with Alexander Rossi still at the front.

As absolute confusion ensued in the Rapax pits as both Stefano Coletti and Simon Trummer pitted together without informing the team, Sam Bird had managed to rise up to 10th and a points-paying position. With Fabio Leimer running in 3rd position, all Bird required was a 7th place finish or higher to keep his Championship hopes alive. At the restart Alexander Rossi catapulted himself into a commanding lead, as Marcus Ericsson brought the Championship tension to breaking-point by overtaking Fabio Leimer for 3rd.

Now all Sam Bird required was a 9th place finish, as he lay in 10th position stuck behind the ART Grand Prix of Daniel Abt. As Nathaniel Berthon retired in a plume of smoke after his engine expired, Alexander Rossi crossed the line to take his and America’s maiden victory in the GP2 Series. Despite his jubilation, all eyes were focused on the Racing Engineering of Fabio Leimer and Russian Time of Sam Bird, whose positions remained unchanged as they crossed the line. This meant Fabio Leimer had secured the coveted GP2 title in nail-biting fashion, with Sam Bird 10th and only just unable to make the move for 9th.

On the last lap Stefano Coletti’s incident-filled race continued after he collided with the MP Motorsport of Daniel de Jong, which forced both drivers into retirement. Despite the Championship celebrations down in the Racing Engineering garages, tomorrow’s final sprint race still awaits the GP2 fraternity. Johnny Cecotto has managed to secure the reverse grid pole for Arden International, and will start the race alongside Felipe Nasr.

Results - 29 laps:

Pos  Driver              Team/Car                Time/Gap
 1. Alexander Rossi      Caterham            1h00m16.414s
 2. Jolyon Palmer        Carlin                   +2.130s
 3. Marcus Ericsson      DAMS                     +3.075s
 4. Fabio Leimer         Racing Engineering       +4.687s
 5. Dani Clos            MP                       +5.218s
 6. James Calado         ART                      +6.370s
 7. Felipe Nasr          Carlin                   +8.873s
 8. Johnny Cecotto Jr    Arden                   +12.142s
 9. Daniel Abt           ART                     +13.102s
10. Sam Bird             Russian Time            +13.568s
11. Adrian Quaife-Hobbs  Hilmer                  +14.852s
12. Sergio Canamasas     Caterham                +15.896s
13. Simon Trummer        Rapax                   +15.919s
14. Rio Haryanto         Addax                   +19.021s
15. Rene Binder          Lazarus                 +19.229s
16. Julian Leal          Racing Engineering      +21.039s
17. Gianmarco Raimondo   Trident                 +23.308s
18. Nathanael Berthon    Trident                   +1 lap*
19. Stefano Coletti      Rapax                     +1 lap*
20. Daniel de Jong       MP                        +1 lap*
21. Jake Rosenzweig      Addax                    +3 laps*

*Not running at finish

Retirements:                          

    Mitch Evans          Arden                    22 laps
    Vittorio Ghirelli    Lazarus                   9 laps
    Stephane Richelmi    DAMS                       1 lap
    Tom Dillmann         Russian Time              0 laps
    Jon Lancaster        Hilmer                    0 laps

Picture(s) Copyright © Sam Bloxham & Alastair Staley/GP2 Series Media Service

Marcus Ericsson pips Alexander Rossi to GP2 pole at Abu Dhabi

Marcus Ericsson has stormed to his third pole position in the GP2 Series, after a thrilling qualifying session for the final feature race of the season. The Swedish ace only just managed to deny Alexander Rossi the luxury of securing his maiden pole in the Series, with Championship rivals Sam Bird and Fabio Leimer 3rd and 5th respectively.

The final qualifying session of the season began under the floodlights around the Yas Marina Circuit, as Simon Trummer lead out a long queue of drivers once the session finally got underway. During the opening minutes of the session almost the entire field immediately took to the track, with only the ART Grand Prix duo of James Calado and Daniel Abt remaining in the pit-lane. As the many drivers out on track jostled for a clean lap, Championship contender Stefano Coletti produced the first timed lap of the session with a 01:59.714.

Alexander Rossi narrowly missed out on what would’ve been his maiden GP2 pole.

Naturally the times quickly began to tumble as the qualifying session continued, as the likes of Simon Trummer, Jolyon Palmer and Alexander Rossi each contributed in lowering the benchmark with the latter producing a 01:49.675. As the battle for pole raged on at the sharp-end of the order, Felipe Nasr and Alexander Rossi came perilously close to colliding at Turns 8 and 9 but somehow managed to avoid each other. Jolyon Palmer soon managed to return to the top with a 01:49.376 for Carlin, before Alexander Rossi produced a sensational final sector to storm to the top with a 01:49.276 which included narrowly avoiding the slow moving ART Grand Prix of Daniel Abt.

Meanwhile the private battle between the main two Championship contenders raged on behind the fight for provisional pole, as Fabio Leimer managed to rise ahead of rival Sam Bird into 3rd position. However, the Championship leader then suffered a major lock-up at Turns 8 and 9 which scuppered his next flying lap. As the session ensued many drivers came under investigation by the race stewards for varying misdemeanors centralized around potential blocking maneuvers, including Gianmarco Raimondo, James Calado, Daniel Abt and Alexander Rossi.

After enjoying an highly competitive start to the season for Rapax, Stefano Coletti has only just managed to cling on to the Championship fight at the front as the season draws to a conclusion. The Monegasque driver was visibly pushing his car through the first sector in a bid to rise up the order, however this ended in a string of errors which ultimately ruined his lap. After running perilously wide at the high-speed Turn 4, Coletti then completely cut Turn 6 after carrying way too much speed.

As many of the drivers up and down the gird prepared to return to the Yas Marina Circuit on fresh tyres in a bid to improve their position, Daniel Abt’s qualifying session simply failed to improve as the German’s left-rear wheel worked it’s way loose and fell off. This caused a momentary red flag delay as the car and wheel was removed by the marshals, therefore forcing everyone who had returned to the track on new tyres to frustratingly return to the pits.

After a delay of several minutes as Daniel Abt’s stricken ART Grand Prix car was removed along with it’s rogue wheel, the session was resumed in a flurry of freneticism as Rio Haryanto led out almost the entire field at once. Such was the urge to return to the track that Julian Leal almost collected Marcus Ericsson on his way out of the pits, which unsurprisingly saw him come under investigation by the stewards for an unsafe release. Despite relatively fresh tyres, neither Sam Bird or Fabio Leimer were able to challenge for pole position, as Marcus Ericsson asserted his authority over proceedings with a 01:48.924. This time enabled the Swedish sensation to secure pole position for DAMS, and will see him start the all-important feature alongside the Caterham of Alexander Rossi.

With Stefano Coletti qualifying way down in 18th position for Rapax, the Championship is now realistically only between the Racing Engineering of Fabio Leimer and the Russian Time of Sam Bird. Both drivers will start tomorrow’s race in the same vicinity of the grid, creating what will surely be a mouth-watering final feature race of what has been a superlative GP2 season.

Pos  Driver               Team                Time       Gap
 1.  Marcus Ericsson      DAMS                1m48.924s
 2.  Alexander Rossi      Caterham            1m48.931s  +0.007s
 3.  Sam Bird             Russian Time        1m49.241s  +0.317s
 4.  Jolyon Palmer        Carlin              1m49.376s  +0.452s
 5.  Fabio Leimer         Racing Engineering  1m49.485s  +0.561s
 6.  Tom Dillmann         Russian Time        1m49.672s  +0.748s
 7.  Johnny Cecotto Jr    Arden               1m49.680s  +0.756s
 8.  Jon Lancaster        Hilmer              1m49.827s  +0.903s
 9.  Felipe Nasr          Carlin              1m49.829s  +0.905s
10.  Stephane Richelmi    DAMS                1m49.835s  +0.911s
11.  Dani Clos            MP                  1m49.846s  +0.922s
12.  Mitch Evans          Arden               1m49.864s  +0.940s
13.  Sergio Canamasas     Caterham            1m49.951s  +1.027s
14.  James Calado         ART                 1m50.002s  +1.078s
15.  Rio Haryanto         Addax               1m50.334s  +1.410s
16.  Nathanael Berthon    Trident             1m50.446s  +1.522s
17.  Adrian Quaife-Hobbs  Hilmer              1m50.510s  +1.586s
18.  Stefano Coletti      Rapax               1m50.534s  +1.610s
19.  Julian Leal          Racing Engineering  1m50.553s  +1.629s
20.  Simon Trummer        Rapax               1m50.634s  +1.710s
21.  Jake Rosenzweig      Addax               1m50.809s  +1.885s
22.  Rene Binder          Lazarus             1m50.884s  +1.960s
23.  Daniel de Jong       MP                  1m50.906s  +1.982s
24.  Daniel Abt           ART                 1m50.907s  +1.983s
25.  Vittorio Ghirelli    Lazarus             1m51.493s  +2.569s
26.  Gianmarco Raimondo   Trident             1m52.311s  +3.387s

Picture(s) Copyright © Alastair Staley/GP2 Series Media Service

Alexander Rossi Ends GP2 Winter Test Fastest At Barcelona

Alexander Rossi has ended the two-day GP2 winter test at Barcelona’s Circuit de Catalunya fastest, in conditions starkly contrasting to yesterday with rain persistently lashing down during the morning period. This presented the drivers with extremely treacherous track conditions, as Facu Regalia set the pace in the morning.

The morning session began with heavy rain pounding the Circuit de Catalunya, initially preventing anyone from setting a timed lap once proceedings began. Eventually drivers began to brave the elements and leave the confines of the pit lane, before the Lotus GP of Sergio Canamasas set the first timed lap of the day, albeit woefully off of the pace from yesterday.

As the morning session slowly progressed, Jolyon Palmer rose to the top as still the rain persistently fell upon the circuit. Halfway through the session, Nigel Melker went fastest for Racing Engineering, before Argentine team-mate Facu Regalia asserted his authority over proceedings. Rene Binder caused the first red flag delay of the day, as the Venezuela GP Lazarus driver spun at turn five.

Facu Regalia ended the morning session fastest in treacherous conditions.

The rain cleared for the final hour of the morning session, allowing times to quickly tumble as the track began to dry out. Alexander Rossi rose to the top for Caterham, before further red flag delays from rookie Sergei Sirotkin and Rene Binder hindered proceedings. As the morning session drew to a conclusion, Facu Regalia was fastest ahead of Sergio Canamasas and Alexander Rossi.

Once track action was resumed after the one hour break, Stefano Coletti, Daniel de Jong and Eddie Cheever jr. were the first to return to a less damp Circuit de Catalunya. Sergio Canamasas once again set the early pace, but with the track conditions greatly improving, Pau Varhaug quickly improved ahead of team-mate Jolyon Palmer at iSport International. However, the Norwegian driver joined Frenchman Arthur Pic in the gravel only moments later to bring out another red flag delay.

Once the session was resumed, the sun began to shine down on the Circuit de Catalunya, igniting fresh hope that slick tyres might make an appearance before the end of the days running. As the afternoon session wore on, Nigel Melker and Stefano Coletti momentarily went fastest, before Rene Binder once again brought proceedings to a halt by spinning off at turn seven. Once normality was resumed, Alexander Rossi went fastest ahead of rookie Daniel Abt.

Further red flag delays plagued proceedings as the day drew to a conclusion, with Daniel Juncadella and then Lucas Foresti both running off the track on separate occasions. However, no-one could match the earlier pace set by Alexander Rossi, as the day ended under red flag conditions courtesy of Pau Varhaug who made contact with the barrier at turn four. The GP2 paddock will reconvene for the final post-season winter test in three weeks time at Jerez.

Picture(s) Copyright © Alastair Staley/GP2 Series Media Service