Esteban Gutierrez Wins Incident Filled GP2 Feature Race
Esteban Gutierrez has taken his first GP2 victory of the 2012 Season in a highly entertaining and incident filled feature race around the Valencia Street Circuit, which included a huge incident for Fabrizio Crestani who was tipped into a barrel-roll by Jolyon Palmer on lap 17. Marcus Ericsson came home 2nd, with Luiz Razia 3rd for Arden.
At the start pole-man James Calado stormed into the lead, whilst behind him carnage ensued when Jolyon Palmer spun and collected fellow countryman Max Chilton. Luckily for them both, they were able to continue albeit with slight damage to Palmer’s car. By the end of the first lap Calado was way out in front, whilst Palmer pitted for a new front wing. Nigel Melker became the first retirement of the race, when the Dutchman drove straight on at turn 12 and tapped the barriers.
By lap 7, the first pit stops were being made as Championship leader Davide Valsecchi was one of the first drivers to pit. Victor Guerin stalled in the pits, as Felipe Nasr, Tom Dillmann and Max Chilton all peeled into the pits a lap later. Action and excitement was in abundance on track, as Gutierrez tapped Giedo van der Garde offline, a move which greatly benefited Fabio Leimer who streamed past the duo.
By lap 11, the majority of the field had completed their compulsory pit-stops, when Tom Dillmann’s visibly askew rear-wing departed company with his Rapax car. This left the wing lying on the track, but not for too long as Rodolfo Gonzalez smashed through the wing leaving debris strewn across the track. This incident brought out the safety car, ruining James Calado’s race as the Brit had yet to pit.
After four laps under the safety car, the race returned to green flag conditions as James Calado continued to lead out on track. However, the race was quickly back under safety car control once again as Crestani was tipped into a frightening barrel-roll by Palmer, as Nasr slowed on the bridge section of the track causing a concertina-effect on track.
Felipe Nasr subsequently retired as the safety car returned to the track, however leader Calado remained out on track refusing to make his compulsory pit-stop. Once the track had been cleared of the stricken Venezuela GP Lazarus car, the race was resumed as a melee ensued as a gaggle of cars jostled for position into the final corner. Razia was able to sneak up to 2nd place, as Calado continued to lead at the front. However, Razia quickly lost several positions as Gutierrez then Ericsson found a way around the Brazilian.
The safety car was called upon yet again only moments later, when Gonzalez tipped the remaining Venezuela GP Lazarus driver of Giancarlo Serenelli into a spin and subsequent retirement. However, the safety car mistakingly picked up the wrong part of the pack, thus enabling Calado to make a lightning-quick pit stop and resume in 11th position. Eventually the safety car found the leaders, and after only three laps under safety car conditions, the race was once again resumed with a 10-minute time limit now in force.
The race ran relatively incident free for the remainder of laps, as Gutierrez shrugged off Ericsson’s pressure and took his first GP2 race victory since the sprint race at Valencia last year. Swedish ace Ericsson came home 2nd, ahead of Razia in a very important 3rd place. With Johnny Cecotto jr. enduring a penalty, Championship leader Davide Valsecchi will assume the reverse grid pole for tomorrows sprint race which has all the ingredients to be yet another scintillating race.
Picture Copyright © Alastair Staley/GP2 Series Media Service
Marcus Ericsson Fastest In GP2 Practice At Valencia
Swedish driver Marcus Ericsson has ended practice for this weekends GP2 races fastest for iSport International, only a tenth ahead of Championship leader Davide Valsecchi. After his team-mate Jolyon Palmer won last time out at Monaco, the Norwich-based outfit look to be continuing their competitiveness at the Valencia Street Circuit.
Felipe Nasr led out a long train of cars as the session got underway, with a strong wind blowing across the street circuit. Daniël de Jong made his first appearance for the Rapax team, standing in for the ill Ricardo Teixeira. Davide Valsecchi set the initial pace, with a 01:53.246 which was quickly beaten by his Championship rival Luiz Razia who stormed to the top with a 01:49.769.
In traditional GP2 fashion, the times quickly got quicker as the session wore on. Stefano Coletti, Jolyon Palmer and Max Chilton all shared the top spot throughout the 30 minute practice session. However, it wasn’t long before the dominant Davide Valsecchi returned to the top with a 01:48.251.
The session was momentarily halted as the Caterham of Rodolfo Gonzalez lost the rear end of his car on the exit of turn 13. This resulted in the Venezuelan driver embedding his car in the wall, causing slight damage to the left-rear of his car. As the marshals set to retrieving the stricken car, the track fell silent as the GP2 field returned to the pits.
With the clock still ticking throughout the red flag delay, only several minutes remained once the session returned to green flag conditions. Fabio Onidi and Stefano Coletti were the first out to try and beat Valsecchi’s time. However, as the session came to a close only one driver was able to thwart the DAMS of Davide Valsecchi. Marcus Ericsson, who was victorious around the Valencia Street Circuit in 2008, flew to the top with a 01:48.088.
With the one and only practice session for the GP2 Series now over, all eyes now turn to qualifying later in the afternoon which will determine the starting order for tomorrow’s feature race. In traditional GP2 style, the grid for Sunday’s sprint race will be determined by a reversal of the top eight finishers of the feature race.
Picture Copyright © Daniel Kalisz/GP2 Series Media Service
Jolyon Palmer Wins First GP2 Race In Monaco
Jolyon Palmer has taken his maiden GP2 victory in Monaco, as the British driver dodged the carnage that ensued behind him. Fellow countryman Max Chilton came home 2nd, with Giedo van der Garde a consistent 3rd for Caterham.
There was total carnage on the opening lap, as two separate incidents were caused, one at turn 1 and another up the hill through turn 2 and towards turn 3. Local star Stephane Richelmi started on pole, however heading into turn 1 the Monegasque driver made contact with James Calado and unfortunately retired from the race. Championship leader Davide Valsecchi suffered a slow getaway at the start, and was subsequently involved in the second much bigger incident up the hill.
The incident was triggered by Johnny Cecotto jr., who spun his Barwa Addax car causing a concertina-effect as the majority of the field stamped on the brakes. Felipe Nasr was seen almost flying over the top of a car, as Davide Valsecchi, Tom Dillmann, Victor Guerin, Ricardo Teixeira and Fabio Onidi all retired in the mayhem. With the track blocked by the many stricken cars, the safety car was deployed for the first time this weekend as the marshals set to clearing up the mess.
The Monaco marshals once again completed a stunning job in clearing the track, as the safety car returned to the pits as the race resumed on lap 4. Across the line Jolyon Palmer lead from fellow countrymen James Calado and Max Chilton. The Lotus of Calado, however, was later shown the black and orange flag after sustaining front wing damage due to the incident with Stephane Richelmi. On lap 10, Calado succumbed to the damage on his car, and eventually pitted for a new front wing.
As the halfway point in the race approached, the number of cars still running in the race began to dwindle as Fabio Leimer and Julian Leal retired from the race. Leimer had made contact with the barrier through the swimming pool section, thus damaging his car whereas Leal had retired due to mechanical issues. James Calado also retired from the race on lap 22, as the British driver returned to the pits for a second time.
With Palmer dominating out in front, Max Chilton began to reel in the iSport International driver. However, it was all too late for Chilton to have a sniff at victory, as Palmer crossed the line to take his maiden GP2 victory around the streets of the Principality.
Picture Copyright © Andrew Ferraro/GP2 Media Service
Johnny Cecotto jr. Takes Victory In GP2 Feature Race Around Monaco
Johnny Cecotto jr. has taken his maiden GP2 victory around the streets of Monte-Carlo, after a dominating lights to flag drive in his Barwa Addax car. Marcus Ericsson came home 2nd, after a race long battle with Cecotto for the win. Giedo van der Garde finished 3rd roughly four seconds off the leading pair.
At the start, there was a melee of cars jostling for position through turn 1, with various pieces of bodywork flying around. Marcus Ericsson got the jump on Max Chilton, who dropped from 2nd to 4th on the opening lap. Josef Kral became the first retirement after only three laps, as Felipe Nasr and Julian Leal were issued drive-through penalties for jumping the start. A further penalty was issued to Rio Haryanto, after the Indonesian driver exceeded track limits at turn 1 on lap 1.
Johnny Cecotto’s lead at the front began to ebb and flow as Marcus Ericsson gradually begun to reel in the Venezuelan driver. Fabrizio Crestani was issued a drive-through penalty for ignoring blue flags, as he and his team-mate, Giancarlo Serenelli, once again failed adhere to the blue flags.
On lap 21, the first of the front runners made their mandatory pit-stops, as Max Chilton and Esteban Gutierrez came in. A lap later Marcus Ericsson made his stop, before the race leader Cecotto did so on lap 22, thus handing the lead down to Championship leader Davide Valsecchi. However, his lead was short-lived as the Italian driver pitted a lap later, which returned Cecotto to the lead with Ericsson close behind.
Fabio Onidi became the second retirement of the race, as the Scuderia Coloni driver ground to a halt on track with what looked like a mechanical issue. The Monaco mechanics completed a superlative job of clearing the car, without the need for the safety car. Nigel Melker also retired several laps later, after making contact with the wall through the tunnel and damaging his left rear wheel.
Esteban Gutierrez’s frustrating weekend continued, as the Mexican tried to lap a car and made slight contact with the barrier though the Nouvelle chicane. This forced the Lotus driver to pit once again for a new nose, loosing vital positions in the process.
In typical Monaco style, Marcus Ericsson was frustratingly close to Cecotto, but was unable to find his way around the Venezuelan. This left Johnny Cecotto jr. to take his first ever GP2 victory, only weeks after his fellow countryman Pastor Maldonado did so in Formula 1 at Spain. Local star Stephane Richelmi finished 8th and will therefore start tomorrow’s sprint race from pole in traditional GP2 fashion.
Picture Copyright © Alastair Staley/GP2 Media Service
Johnny Cecotto jr. Claims GP2 Monaco Pole
Venezuelan driver Johnny Cecotto jr. has claimed his maiden GP2 pole position for tomorrow’s sprint race, after the first ever split qualifying session took place earlier today. With Cecotto the fastest driver of Group B, this means he’ll line-up alongside the fastest man from Group A Max Chilton. Their respective groups will line-up behind them after qualifying was run to a different format for the first time.
The first group consisted of the even numbered cars, and saw local stars Stephane Richelmi and Stefano Coletti swapping the top spot early on. Giedo van der Garde completed several scintillating laps, looking almost certain for provisional pole as the session drew to a close. With only seconds of the first session remaining, Max Chilton was able to string together a tremendous lap which propelled the Brit to provisional pole-position. This meant the Carlin driver would at least qualify on the front row of the grid for the feature race.
After a few minutes interlude, the second group consisting of the odd numbered cars began their 14 minute qualifying session. Initially it was Tom Dillmann, Rodolfo Gonzalez and Fabio Leimer who set the pace, before the iSport International of Marcus Ericsson shot to the top after completing some monumental laps that left him sitting comfortably in provisional pole-position.
With just under three minutes of the session remaining, Gonzalez spun his Caterham through the swimming pool section and lightly tapped the barrier. This left his car precariously in the centre of the track, and subsequently brought out the one and only red flag of the qualifying session. When the session returned to green flag conditions shortly after, the drivers only had one flying lap to try and beat Ericsson’s time. Championship leader Valsecchi ruined his chance at turn 1, as the Italian driver out-broke himself.
As the checkered flag flew, the Barwa Addax of Johnny Cecotto jr. crossed the line with an amazingly quick lap which handed him pole-position for the feature race. The Venezuelan driver will line-up alongside the fastest driver from Group A, Max Chilton, in tomorrow’s feature race which will inevitably feature some rather intense racing.
Pos Driver Team Time Session 1. Johnny Cecotto Addax 1m21.195s Group 2 2. Max Chilton Carlin 1m21.320s Group 1 3. Marcus Ericsson iSport 1m21.249s Group 2 4. Giedo van der Garde Caterham 1m21.475s Group 1 5. Luiz Razia Arden 1m21.858s Group 2 6. Jolyon Palmer iSport 1m21.530s Group 1 7. Davide Valsecchi DAMS 1m21.912s Group 2 8. Josef Kral Addax 1m21.776s Group 1 9. Fabio Leimer Racing Engineering 1m22.053s Group 2 10. Esteban Gutierrez Lotus 1m21.796s Group 1 11. Tom Dillmann Rapax 1m22.288s Group 2 12. Stefano Coletti Coloni 1m22.174s Group 1 13. James Calado Lotus 1m22.598s Group 2 14. Stephane Richelmi Trident 1m22.326s Group 1 15. Julian Leal Trident 1m22.762s Group 2 16. Nathanael Berthon Racing Engineering 1m22.475s Group 1 17. Rodolfo Gonzalez Caterham 1m22.873s Group 2 18. Felipe Nasr DAMS 1m22.650s Group 1 19. Nigel Melker Ocean 1m22.996s Group 2 20. Simon Trummer Arden 1m22.997s Group 1 21. Fabio Onidi Coloni 1m23.020s Group 2 22. Fabrizio Crestani Lazarus 1m23.193s Group 1 23. Rio Haryanto Carlin 1m23.539s Group 2 24. Victor Guerin Ocean 1m23.792s Group 1 25. Giancarlo Serenelli Lazarus 1m25.907s Group 2 26. Ricardo Teixeira Rapax 1m25.661s Group 1
Picture Copyright © Alastair Staley/GP2 Media Service
Tom Dillmann Holds Off Razia For Maiden GP2 Victory
Tom Dillmann has secured his maiden GP2 victory after a nail-biting sprint race in Bahrain, crossing the line only +0.1 seconds ahead of Luiz Razia. Championship leader Davide Valsecchi finished 3rd, after taking victory in the feature race yesterday.
Heading down into turn 1 at the start, there was mayhem as Esteban Gutierrez and Giedo van der Garde made contact. This forced the Dutchman into a spin, which in turn forced the majority of the drivers’ to take avoiding action as the Caterham spun it’s wheels causing smoke to waft over the other drivers’.
By the end of lap 1, Luiz Razia was already in 3rd position and was hunting down the iSport International of Marcus Ericsson. The Brazilian driver eventually caught and passed Ericsson into turn 1 on the 4th lap. The first corner incident between Gutierrez and van der Garde was now under investigation by the race stewards, however it was later announced that no further action was to be taken. Johnny Cecotto jr. became the first retirement, with what looked like a mechanical failure on lap 1.
The Swedish driver of Marcus Ericsson made the race even more difficult for himself, as he collided with a polystyrene brake marker which was on the track. This caused slight damage to his front wing, and he began to slip down the order thereafter.
After dominating the feature race, Davide Valsecchi was not having the sprint race all his own way, and was passed by the Lotus of Esteban Gutierrez for 5th place. Gutierrez then charged on and passed GP3 graduate Rio Haryanto for 3rd, as Valsecchi finally made a move on Ericsson for 5th place.
Davide Valsecchi then began his race charge, passing Haryanto for 4th on lap 12 before reeling in the Mexican of Esteban Gutierrez. Heading down into the tight turn 8, Davide Valsecchi lunged up the inside of Gutierrez, snatching 3rd place away from the Lotus driver.
As the race entered it’s closing stages, GP3 graduate Tom Dillmann came under serious pressure from Luiz Razia. The Frenchman never won a race in GP3 in 2011, and looked set to take his maiden victory in Bahrain. However, as the laps faded away Razia closed right up on Dillmann, with the two crossing the line on the final lap only three tenths apart.
With the scenario similar to that of the 1992 Monaco Grand Prix where Nigel Mansell and Ayrton Senna jostled for the lead in the closing stages, Luiz Razia tried his hardest to find a way around the 23-year-old Rapax driver. However, it was not to be and Tom Dillmann crossed the line in sensational style to take his maiden GP2 victory only a tenth ahead of the Brazilian.
Results - 23 laps:
Pos Driver Team Time/Gap
1. Tom Dillmann Rapax 41m16.276s
2. Luiz Razia Arden + 0.198s
3. Davide Valsecchi DAMS + 3.958s
4. Esteban Gutierrez Lotus + 16.488s
5. Felipe Nasr DAMS + 18.602s
6. Rio Haryanto Carlin + 20.425s
7. Marcus Ericsson iSport + 26.294s
8. Fabio Leimer Racing Engineering + 29.605s
9. Fabio Onidi Coloni + 33.490s
10. Nathanael Berthon Racing Engineering + 34.078s
11. Nigel Melker Ocean + 43.463s
12. James Calado Lotus + 44.371s
13. Max Chilton Carlin + 46.743s
14. Julian Leal Trident + 47.439s
15. Rodolfo Gonzalez Caterham + 54.991s
16. Brendon Hartley Ocean + 59.764s
17. Stephane Richelmi Trident + 1m00.655s
18. Stefano Coletti Coloni + 1m02.090s
19. Giedo van der Garde Caterham + 1m02.632s
20. Ricardo Teixeira Rapax + 1m07.468s
21. Giancarlo Serenelli Lazarus + 1m08.293s
22. Jolyon Palmer iSport + 1m18.688s
23. Fabrizio Crestani Lazarus + 1m26.049s
Retirements:
Simon Trummer Arden 21 laps
Dani Clos Addax 19 laps
Johnny Cecotto Addax 0 laps
Picture Copyright © Glenn Dunbar/GP2 Series Media Service
Davide Valsecchi Secures Pole For Opening GP2 Race
After a only a 30 minute practice session for the GP2 drivers’, they were thrown into the deep end with the all important qualifying session for race 1 of the Malaysian Grand Prix weekend. After a quick firing practice session, Jolyon Palmer was the one to watch after setting the fastest time in practice.
As the session turned green Johnny Cecotto jr. led out the majority of the field as they all seemed eager to getting times on the leader-board. With rain threatening the second practice session in Formula 1, the same threat was hovering over GP2 during qualifying.
The times instantly began to tumble as the drivers’ began setting timed laps, as Jon Lancaster, Esteban Gutierrez, Johnny Cecotto jr., and Davide Valsecchi all fired in fast lap times in quick succession. Rodolfo Gonzalez ran wide at turn 11 as the Venezuelan driver struggled to get a quick time set.
After a frenetic opening few minutes of qualifying, the track action died down slightly as the majority of the field returned to the pits to refuel, change tyres and prepare for further qualifying laps.
The Arden International driver of Luiz Razia went 2nd, almost getting blocked by the Venezuela GP Lazarus driver of Fabrizio Crestani, who was also pushing hard on a flying lap. With 26 cars on the track, blocking was inevitable, however the race stewards have confirmed they will investigate suspected blocking between Rodolfo Gonzalez and Stefano Coletti after the session.
As the session came to an end, Fabrizio Crestani ended a rigorous qualifying session stopping on track. This in turn brought out the yellow flags which ended anyone’s hopes of beating Valsecchi’s time.
Tomorrow sees race 1 take place, with the grid for race 2 on Sunday decided with the results of race 1. The top eight will then be reversed in traditional GP2 fashion for race 2.
Picture Copyright © Alastair Staley/GP2 Series Media Service
Davide Valsecchi Continues Jerez Dominance
After posting the overall fastest lap during Day 1 of the GP2 Jerez test, Italian Davide Valsecchi continued his dominance throughout Day 2. The 25-year-old posted a 01:24.783, which was set during the morning session, and was unbeaten as the day wore on.
The morning session began with a red flag after rookie, Felipe Nasr, embedded himself in the gravel after spinning his DAMS car on cold tyres. However, as the session continued, Esteban Gutierrez went quickest with a 01:26.625. The session was brought to a halt once again as Nigel Melker, who lost control of his Ocean Racing Technology car, hit the barrier causing extensive damage to his car. This forced the Dutchman to end his days running, with the car unable to be fixed in time for another run.
The session then saw the times begin to tumble as various drivers’ went quickest, all in a relatively short space of time. Max Chilton was the first to go fastest for iSport International, followed by his team-mate Marcus Ericsson. It was then time for another pair of team-mates to go fastest, firstly in James Calado who was quickly followed by Esteban Gutierrez for Lotus GP.
Davide Valsecchi then silenced the opposition with a scintillating lap of 01:24.967, which he capitalized on a few laps later by several tenths with a 01:24.783. This time was not beaten all day, and was even around a second faster than his fastest time set yesterday.
As the afternoon session got underway, it was evident the majority of the grid were set to complete long race simulations rather than quicker flying laps. Only 10 minutes into the session, and the third red flag period was caused when Tom Dillmann’s Ocean Racing Technology car suffered a gearbox failure. This ended the Frenchman’s day, as the car was unable to be fixed in time for another run.
As the session resumed, Caterham’s Luiz Razia set the quickest time of the afternoon, followed by Simon Trummer and Felipe Nasr. This was before the fourth red flag period, this time caused by Nethaniël Berthon, who spun his Racing Engineering car into the gravel.
The session continued with the majority of the field only focusing on heavy fuel runs, with Caterham’s Giedo van der Garde setting the fastest lap of the afternoon session. The session ended under red flag conditions as Julian Leal’s Trident Racing car stopped on the track, bringing Day 2 of the Jerez test to a close.
The test session concludes tomorrow, with the third and final days running set to get underway at 9am local time.
Morning times Pos Driver Team Time Laps 1. Davide Valsecchi DAMS 1:24.783 32 2. Esteban Gutierrez Lotus GP 1:25.193 30 3. Max Chilton Carlin 1:25.294 26 4. Stefano Coletti Scuderia Coloni 1:25.358 29 5. Jolyon Palmer iSport International 1:25.359 24 6. Marcus Ericsson iSport International 1:25.374 27 7. Dani Clos Rapax 1:25.467 18 8. Fabio Onidi Scuderia Coloni 1:25.505 27 9. James Calado Lotus GP 1:25.569 25 10. Fabio Leimer Racing Engineering 1:25.845 29 11. Giedo van der Garde Caterham Racing 1:25.893 20 12. Stephane Richelmi Trident Racing 1:25.903 39 13. Felipe Nasr DAMS 1:26.006 33 14. Simon Trummer Arden International 1:26.017 35 15. Luiz Razia Arden International 1:26.049 38 16. Julian Leal Trident Racing 1:26.128 27 17. Tom Dillmann Ocean Racing Technology 1:26.177 29 18. Josef Kral Barwa Addax Team 1:26.351 28 19. Vittorio Ghirelli Venezuela GP Lazarus 1:26.477 23 20. Rio Haryanto Carlin 1:26.545 30 21. Fabrizio Crestani Venezuela GP Lazarus 1:26.551 16 22. Nathanael Berthon Racing Engineering 1:26.648 23 23. Johnny Cecotto Barwa Addax Team 1:26.665 18 24. Rodolfo Gonzalez Catheram Racing 1:26.707 32 25. Daniel de Jong Rapax 1:26.712 31 26. Nigel Melker Ocean Racing Technology 1:41.035 2 Afternoon timesPos Driver Team Time Laps 1. Giedo van der Garde Caterham Racing 1:26.270 32 2. Davide Valsecchi DAMS 1:26.648 28 3. Julian Leal Trident Racing 1:26.656 21 4. Dani Clos Rapax 1:26.838 18 5. Luiz Razia Arden International 1:26.931 28 6. Josef Kral Barwa Addax Team 1:27.002 28 7. Fabrizio Crestani Venezuela GP Lazarus 1:27.097 23 8. Simon Trummer Arden International 1:27.320 28 9. Stefano Coletti Scuderia Coloni 1:27.349 27 10. Stephane Richelmi Trident Racing 1:27.451 21 11. Felipe Nasr DAMS 1:27.496 33 12. Johnny Cecotto Barwa Addax Team 1:27.537 10 13. Fabio Onidi Scuderia Coloni 1:27.561 19 14. Rodolfo Gonzalez Caterham Racing 1:27.680 29 15. Daniel De Jong Rapax 1:27.801 18 16. Marcus Ericsson iSport International 1:28.398 36 17. Vittorio Ghirelli Venezuela GP Lazarus 1:28.639 24 18. Tom Dillmann Ocean Racing Technology 1:28.656 3 19. Max Chilton Carlin 1:28.999 35 20. Jolyon Palmer iSport International 1:29.146 41 21. Fabio Leimer Racing Engineering 1:29.449 22 22. Rio Haryanto Carlin 1:29.629 25 23. James Calado Lotus GP 1:29.847 47 24. Esteban Gutierrez Lotus GP 1:29.866 35 25. Nathanael Berthon Racing Engineering 1:30.547 26
Picture Copyright © Daniel Kalisz/GP2 Series Media Service
Caterham Sign Giedo Van Der Garde As Reserve Driver
Dutch driver Giedo Van Der Garde has been confirmed as the reserve and test driver at Caterham, ending weeks of speculation that Vitaly Petrov was set to drive for them in 2012. Van Der Garde is the most recent driver to graduate from GP2 to Formula 1.
Last season Giedo Van Der Garde finished 5th in the GP2 Championship, driving for the Barwa Addax team. He finished as high as 2nd on several occasions, and has won three races in his GP2 career, back in 2009 when he raced for iSport International.
Recently Giedo Van Der Garde has been rumored at potentially joining HRT, bringing with him the huge amount of funds the team were demanding. However with HRT re-signing Indian driver Narain Karthikeyan, this left Van Der Garde without a Formula 1 drive with only days until pre-season testing starts at Jerez.
“We are delighted to welcome Giedo into the family as Reserve Driver.” Said team principal, Tony Fernandes, “He is a very exciting prospect that we have been monitoring since the early days of our team, and we are all looking forward to seeing how he can help us develop throughout the season as we take our next steps towards the established midfield teams ahead.”
“I’m very happy to become a part of the Caterham F1 Team family today and I’m very excited about the next step in my career within Formula 1.” Said Giedo Van Der Garde, “The team is fresh, with some fantastic people here. Tony Fernandes is extremely ambitious and he has brought in a lot of very good people in to help grow this team for future success. I’m looking forward to learning and moving forward with the team in and out of the car.
“It’s great for Holland that we again have a Dutch driver who is connected to Formula 1. Being the only Dutch driver now is very good for the sport in Holland, as the interest was perhaps on the decline since the Verstappen years, however I hope to generate the same excitement for my country and really bring Formula 1 to them.”
Caterham have also confirmed that Van Der Garde will take part in pre-season testing, as well numerous Friday practice sessions throughout the looming Grand Prix season.
Chandhok Aims For World Endurance Championship Drive In 2012
Formula 1 reserve driver Karun Chandhok has announced new ambitions for 2012, stating he’d like to keep his third driver role within Formula 1 and that he’d also like to try and find a drive in the new Sports Car World Endurance Championship.
The Indian driver made his debut in Formula 1 during the 2010 season with HRT after a moderately successful career in GP2, winning two races in three seasons racing for both Durango, iSport International and Ocean Racing Technology. In his first season in Formula 1 he retired twice before being replaced at HRT by Sakon Yamamoto, resulting in Chandhok being left out for the remainder of 2010. In 2011, he was signed as the reserve driver for Team Lotus, and took part in nine Friday Practice Sessions for the team throughout the season, also racing at the German Grand Prix coming home 20th.
However, with the likelihood that he’ll be unable to secure a full time drive for 2012, Chandhok has now set his sights on a different form of motor sport, with his aim now to not only retain his current third driver role with Caterham (formerly Team Lotus) but to also try and secure a drive for the World Endurance Championship, a new Sports Car series for 2012. Chandhok has announced that he’d be willing to accept a drive for a privateer team in the series, knowing that he’ll need to gain experience in this particular form of motor sport after spending the majority of his career in open-wheel, single-seater racing.
Karun Chandhok also hinted that he’d one day like to be able to race at the Le Mans 24 Hours, stating that he’s raced on many other legendary circuits such as Monaco, Spa and Macau and that Le Mans is another box he’d like to be able to tick.
Even though he’s stressed that F1 is still his main goal, it is undeniable that the urge to race full time in a series in becoming overwhelming.
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