Carlin’s Julian Leal topped the GP2 Series free practice session this afternoon, ahead of Johnny Cecotto Jr and Raffaele Marciello.
The Colombian set a best time of 1:57.877 in his Mechachrome-Renault-powered Dallara to keep him two and four-tenths ahead of his rivals respectively.
Cecotto held the top spot at the halfway point, only Leal to better the experienced Trident man thereafter. As the clock ticked down, the session was delayed by red flags when Racing Engineering’s Stefano Coletti spun and ended in the middle of the road.
Venezuela GP Lazarus pairing Nathanaël Berthon and Conor Daly secured 4th and 5th; however the pairing have often dropped backward during qualifying. McLaren junior Stoffel Vandoorne took 6th with his ART Grand Prix machine. Championship leader Jolyon Palmer set the initial pace; however he fell down the order as the session progressed.
The session was delayed by red flags toward its conclusion when Racing Engineering’s Stefano Coletti spun and ended in the middle of the road.
2014 GP2 Series (Rd 7, Free practice, Spa-Francorchamps) Pos Driver Team Time Gap 1. Julian Leal Carlin 1m57.877s 2. Johnny Cecotto Jr Trident 1m58.030s +0.153s 3. Raffaele Marciello Racing Engineering 1m58.265s +0.388s 4. Nathanael Berthon Lazarus 1m58.291s +0.414s 5. Conor Daly Lazarus 1m58.302s +0.425s 6. Stoffel Vandoorne ART 1m58.339s +0.462s 7. Sergio Canamasas Trident 1m58.370s +0.493s 8. Stefano Coletti Racing Engineering 1m58.374s +0.497s 9. Stephane Richelmi DAMS 1m58.399s +0.522s 10. Mitch Evans Russian Time 1m58.439s +0.562s 11. Adrian Quaife-Hobbs Rapax 1m58.454s +0.577s 12. Jolyon Palmer DAMS 1m58.462s +0.585s 13. Marco Sorensen MP 1m58.487s +0.610s 14. Felipe Nasr Carlin 1m58.658s +0.781s 15. Simon Trummer Rapax 1m58.787s +0.910s 16. Rio Haryanto Caterham 1m58.800s +0.923s 17. Takuya Izawa ART 1m58.889s +1.012s 18. Tom Dillmann Caterham 1m58.923s +1.046s 19. Daniel Abt Hilmer 1m58.943s +1.066s 20. Arthur Pic Campos 1m59.020s +1.143s 21. Rene Binder Arden 1m59.167s +1.290s 22. Jon Lancaster Hilmer 1m59.179s +1.302s 23. Daniel de Jong MP 1m59.311s +1.434s 24. Andre Negrao Arden 1m59.463s +1.586s 25. Artem Markelov Russian Time 1m59.531s +1.654s 26. Kimiya Sato Campos 1m59.564s +1.687s
