The controversial Sergio Canamasas. © Sam Bloxham/GP2 Series Media Service.
One of the major talking points following last weekend’s GP2 Series round at Monza was the on track behaviour of Trident’s Sergio Canamasas.
While mixing erratic driving and occasional bouts of pace is nothing new for the Spaniard, Canamasas’ Monza record was impossible to ignore during Sunday’s Sprint Race.
As noted in last week’s GP2 race report, the 26-year-old skipped through the Ascari chicane by himself on the opening lap after seemingly being ‘distracted’ by a battle Johnny Cecotto Jr and Felipe Nasr, before emerging on the other side of the tarmac run-off ahead of traffic, but going much slower than those behind.
It caused a frightening moment for Adrian Quaife-Hobbs who was forced into a last moment swing-and-brake manoeuvre to prevent from being vaulted over the rear of his out of place rival; however Canamasas’ actions did start a chain reaction that ultimately caused Pierre Gasly and Artem Markelov to crash – a clash that, in the eyes of this writer led to a grossly unfair penalty for Gasly.
Several laps later, Canamasas struck again when he clattered the left rear of Rene Binder on the approach of the Roggia chicane, before bashing the side of Raffaele Marciello into Lesmo just a few short seconds later. Both Binder and Marciello had to retire as a result these incidents.
These series of clashes caused quite a reaction in the GP2 paddock with rival drivers demanding he be dropped from the next round at Sochi in four weeks time.
What was most startling about this was Canamasas’ own reactions later on. When speaking with him in the GP2 paddock on Sunday afternoon, Canamasas claimed that none of the clashes were his fault and he could not understand why there were such claims against him.
Marciello was less than kind in his reaction. If nothing else, it was a grand display from a driver who seems – at times – to struggle with spatial awareness when in close quarters with other competitors, while also proclaiming incidents in which he is involved to be the fault of his rivals.
It must also be remembered that Monza’s actions were not merely spur of the moment incidents that cast a black mark on a previously scrupulous record. At Singapore in 2012, Canamasas ignored a drive-through penalty and then also a black flag for nine laps earning much criticism.
During GP2 qualifying in Bahrain last year, Canamasas deliberately used his car to force Kevin Ceccon off track as the chequered flag emerged. It was a shocking move that followed in the steps of a similar actions by Johnny Cecotto Jr in the previous round in Malaysia.
Unfortunately, series stewards proved unduly lenient following those actions.
During a brief Q&A session during the Italian Grand Prix weekend, Formula One Race Director Charlie Whiting noted that “If a driver we driving erratically, this would be brought to the attention of the stewards who would probably impose a penalty would also attract points on his licence.”
It is understood that while Canamasas did not receive any penalty points prior to Monza, he certainly had come the end of Sunday. Whiting explains further: “If he accrues twelve points he would lose his licence for a race,” while also noting, “If a driver drives too slowly he won’t qualify for the race and will hence not start the race.”
As to how much accounts from other competitors play in a driver’s disciplinary action, the former Brabham mechanic was quick to point out these would only be used if “a driver is involved in an incident with another driver.”
Let’s be clear about this. Sergio Canamasas is not a rookie. He is coming to the end of his second full season of GP2 Series competition and prior to that he enjoyed two seasons of Formula Renault 3.5. He has also raced in Formula 3 in Spain for three years – first in Spanish F3, before it was renamed to the European F3 Open (now Euroformula Open).
Whiting confirms that status of championship can also play a part in how a driver may be disciplined. “We do always have the ‘fall back’ of [a driver] bringing the Championship into disrepute but I think with the above well-established systems in place this would be likely to be completely unnecessary.”
For a category that sits immediately below Formula One, it is dreadfully unfortunate that such low standards of driving took away from what was otherwise an excellent race that showcased some fantastic racing from those at the front of the field.
The nature of GP2 (and sister series GP3) means that a ruined Saturday also tends to nullify the potential for a result on Sunday as well and in a series like GP2, where the risks are high for drivers’ futures, crash happy competitors are an unnecessary hazard.
Some drivers are slow – that is something we live with in motorsport – but when competitors are reckless, that is a whole new kettle of fish and that should be dealt with in a prompt and proper manner.
© Renault Sport Media. (Photo Eric Vargiolu / DPPI)
Zeta Corse racer Roberto Merhi completely destroyed the Formula Renault 3.5 field in a stellar display at wet/dry Hungaroring this afternoon.
Pierre Gasly stole 2nd place from early leader Oliver Rowland as they exited the final corner, while championship leader Carlos Sainz Jr rose to 4th to keep his series charge in check.
Starting 7th, the Spaniard ramped his way up to 3rd by the opening corner, before sweeping into 2nd place around Pierre Gasly by the exit of turn two.
Thereafter the ultra aggressive Merhi hounded Rowland until forcing a mistake from the Briton on the seventh lap and taking the lead. Recovering from his momentary wobble, Rowland angled his Fortec machine to take a straighter exit from turn one, but Merhi had the inside line into the slow unwinding second bend, ensuring he stayed ahead as emerged into the quick turn 3 / 4 complex.
Up until that point, Merhi had also been sideways at several corners, most notably at the exit of turn two, although the much wider lines he took into the opening corner, also saw him fall slightly outside the track limits on occasion.
Once out in the open, Merhi ran away with the race and was at several points some three-to-four seconds per lap faster than the rest of the field. Come the halfway point on lap 11, the Zeta Corse driver was already over ten seconds ahead, but by the chequered flag that had extended to almost half a minute.
With his third win in four races, Merhi has pulled further away from the Gasly / Rowland duo, while also having taken a significant chunk out of Sainz Jr’s lead.
For Rowland, the second half of the race was always going to be something of a struggle. Having lost the best of his rear tyres battling Merhi, the Fortec racer began to drop toward Gasly, just as the Frenchman upped his pace.
In three of the last four tours, Gasly set the quickest lap overall and closed to less than one second of Rowland as they completed the final tour. While the Arden could not find a way past around the Hungaroring’s twisting turns, Rowland was losing more and more time as he struggled to get any speed exiting corners.
A sluggish last few turns allowed Gasly to close right in and when Rowland ran helplessly wide into the final corner, Gasly pounced and out-accelerated his British rival to the line to take the runner-up spot by 0.26s.
Sainz Jr’s early charged brought him up to 4th, but his progress stopped there as the track began to dry out. Starting 14th, the Spaniard claimed five positions by turn one and then scalped another three over the course of the opening lap.
Thereafter a brief battle with Marco Sørensen ensued, with the Dane retaking 6th on the second lap, before Sainz Jr eventually nailed the Dane on lap three. There would be a repeat performance with Matthieu Vaxivière over laps four and five, with Sainz Jr again winning out.
The next place would be less troublesome as a struggling Will Stevens – who had made a marvellous start – dropped back into the pack and behind Sainz Jr and Vaxivière.
As for Vaxivière, he had a quiet race and took home a solid 5th, some ten seconds up on Stevens (6th) and another seven ahead of Sørensen (7th).
Norman Nato finished 8th after he lost a brief battle with Sørensen. The Monaco winner dropped back toward FR3.5 debutante Esteban Ocon toward the end; however Ocon had his eyes more on his mirrors for the most part, as attempted to keep Jazeman Jaafar at bay.
Jaafar did get by Ocon, but only for a moment into the turn six/seven chicane, when the Malaysian ran side-by-side with Ocon, the latter of who was forced to take to the run off area to avoid a clash.
The stewards are currently investigating the incident.
The FIA formally announced the calendar for the 2015 Formula One World Championship during the latest meeting of the World Motor Sport Council today.
The calendar, which will at twenty races, matches the busiest season in the history of the World Championship, with Mexico returning to the Grand Prix schedule for the first time since 1992.
Once again Australia will open the season (March 15), followed by Malaysia two weeks later. In April, the series takes in Bahrain and China, before beginning the European leg in May with Spain and Monaco. As per usual, June brings a brief sojourn to North America, when F1 visits Montreal, before returning to Europe for the Austrian Grand Prix in the third week of that month.
July will be a busy month for F1 with the British, German and Hungarian Grands Prix taking place before the a four-week summer break commences and ends with the Belgian Grand Prix at the end of August. The Italian Grand Prix holds its early-September date, concluding the European leg season.
The championship heads east with Singapore and Japan before the end of September and begins to return westway and to Russia in mid-October. Initially in the draft version of the calendar that did the rounds at Monza last week, the US Grand Prix slotted in after Mexico; however that has been reversed in this final version, with the Circuit of the Americas hosting its fourth US Grand Prix at the tail end of October, with the returning Mexican Grand Prix taking place a week later on November 1st.
Once again the Brazilian Grand Prix (November 15th) will lead into the finale in Abu Dhabi two weeks afterward. Unsurprisingly, the Grand Prix at New Jersey is missing and the Indian Grand Prix, which was originally pressing for a 2015 return, is also absent, which may most certainly to consign that race – and circuit – to history.
2015 FIA Formula One World Championship calendar Australia (March 15) Malaysia (March 29) Bahrain (April 5) China (April 19) Spain (May 10) Monaco (May 24) Canada (June 7) Austria (June 21) Britain (July 5) Germany (July 19) Hungary (July 26) Belgium (August 23) Italy (September 6) Singapore (September 20) Japan (September 27) Russia (October 11) USA (October 25) Mexico (November 1) Brazil (November 15) Abu Dhabi (November 29)
When Ferrari chairman Luca di Montezemolo arrived at Monza at last weekend’s Italian Grand Prix, it quickly became clear that the endgame was being played out and Montezemolo, omnipresent during the glory years, was being readied to be cut loose.
The Ferrari team – so successful less than a decade earlier – were struggling to not just to match their Mercedes-powered counterparts, but often could not even get close to them.
At one point humbled by a lacklustre Renault engine and power unit, even Red Bull has past Ferrari by, underlined by Daniel Ricciardo’s collection of three Grand Prix victories since June.
Ferrari, meanwhile, are facing their first winless season since the dire 1993 season – the early days of Montezemolo’s reign as Ferrari chairman.
The Scuderia’s naturally flamboyant and occasionally bombastic flair still make the team a feature, but it is unlikely that Ferrari envisaged trailing Williams for 3rd in the Constructors’ standings.
On the track, there is little doubt that Ferrari are underachieving – a mere 9th place finish for Kimi Raikkonen from Monza following on from Fernando Alonso mechanical failure was the nadir.
It mattered of course, as Fiat CEO Sergio Marchionne was all too keen to point out at the weekend. Marchionne’s comments cut Ferrari’s 2014 F1 efforts to ribbons, with the Fiat man calling it ‘unacceptable’.
Times change and with that, so do political, business, cultural and sporting factors and it is a factor that demands constant metamorphosis.
Within the greater Fiat organisation, Montezemolo became a Tyrannosaurus-Rex. After 23 years in charge, he had become a representative of a different time and with his influence waning, the 67-year-old did not only lost much of his battle on the results sheet.
More importantly, however, was his seeming inability – or unwillingness – to fall into line with the planned future of Fiat (and Ferrari), effectively making his position untenable.
Despite the on track crumbling, Ferrari – the car company – have enjoyed a bumper year, with a strategy of promoting exclusivity (and therefore upping the price and prestige of the brand) encouraging a very healthy income stream; however Fiat are looking beyond that – far beyond that.
If anything, the decision to finally cut ties with Montezemolo was promoted by the Bologna native’s dismay with Fiat Chrysler Automobiles desire to raise an IPO on the New York Stock Exchange next month.
While Montezemolo and Marchionne have not always seen eye-to-eye on a number of matters, Montezemolo’s objection to the floatation went some way to finishing him off.
And so with Montezemolo set to leave in mid-October, the door has opened for Marco Mattiacci to move into the position of chairman – a placement far more suited to his talents.
There were some rumblings too that Bob Bell, soon to be ex-Mercedes, is a consideration for the team principal seat at Maranello, should Mattiacci move onward and upward.
For Montezemolo, one supposes there could always be another stab at politics…
© Zak Mauger/GP2 Series Media Service.
For a time, it looked as if the Felipe Nasr of old had been pushed aside and that there would finally be a “real” championship fight between the quiet Brazilian and Britain’s Jolyon Palmer.
Come Sunday afternoon, a very different realisation swept through the paddock, where, if nothing else, Palmer had emerged very much on top of his title rival.
Over the course of fifty-one laps in two races, Nasr may have blown his best opportunity to make great strides, but on Friday evening, the story was very, very different indeed…
As qualifying closed, Palmer slotted into 4th place – three ahead of Nasr, until the stewards investigated and discovered the DAMS machine did not have the necessary amount of fuel for a sample, rendering his session null.
“It’s very disappointing to have to start last,” the Briton said as he reflected upon the decision on the stewards, adding, “the car wasn’t under weight, and we had enough fuel for a sample, but we didn’t have the mandatory one litre of fuel in the car at the end and that is the regulation. There was no performance advantage here and it was a mistake with the fuel calculations.”
Nasr, meanwhile, did not have the best of qualifying sessions either. Palmer’s disqualification promoted the Brazilian to 6th, but considering his fight, he needed to be higher.
What was initially a poor result turned to something more positive as the evening drew in and news of Palmer’s penalty spread. More than anything else, Nasr now needed to capitalise on his rival’s misfortune and decimate the points gap.
That Nasr could then only manage two 6th place finishes compared to Palmer’s 8th (Feature Race) and victory (Sprint Race) has almost typical of the Brazilian’s seeming inability to convert advantages this season.
Palmer, on the other hand, has taken his chances and when necessary has pulled some championship worthy drives out of the bag – Saturday at Monza was a case in point.
Palmer was understandably ecstatic. “Unbelievable! It’s a weekend I’ll remember for a long time,” he beamed. “Friday was obviously extremely disappointing, but we all did a really good job, put it behind us on Saturday, and planned how we were going to come back from it. The race [on Saturday] went nearly perfectly, really: the car was good, the strategy was good, and then [on Sunday] starting from the front it was a bit easier, and we just had to control the pace.”
Meanwhile, over in the Williams F1 team hospitality on Sunday, the Didcot team – of which Nasr is the reserve driver – had announced the retention of their current line-up of Felipe Massa and Valtteri Bottas.
The GP2 title may not be the only thing Nasr lost grip last weekend.
Feature Race
McLaren junior driver Stoffel Vandoorne took his third GP2 Series win of the season, although the Belgian had to fend off Arthur Pic for the duration.
A poor start by Pic (Campos Racing) gave poleman Vandoorne an added advantage off the line, with Vandoorne drawing his ART Grand Prix machine just over two seconds clear by the third lap.
Thereafter Vandoorne conserved his tyres, allowing Pic to close to within one second of the leading man. Despite a concerted effort by the 22-year-old Pic, the Frenchman could not quite close enough to force and error from Vandoorne.
Vandoorne would eventually stop after twelve laps, temporarily demoting the Kortrijk-native to the outskirts of the top ten. Pic stopped one lap later, but the Campos man could not do enough to overhaul his rival. As others ahead pitted too, the pairing also drew back toward the front of the order, with road finally clearing when Marco Sørensen stopped after twenty-one laps.
Pic stayed in Vandoorne’s mirrors for the final stint, but as his tyres aged, the Frenchman’s efforts were hamstrung.
Where he would close on the long straights, Pic would inevitably lose ground through Curve Grande, the Lesmo bends and Parabolica, gifting Vandoorne a solid gap as they approached the hard breaking points. Vandoorne relaxed on the final lap to allow Pic to close to within 0.6 at the flag, but realistically, the Belgian was never going to let this slip.
Mitch Evans took the final podium position for RUSSIAN TIME. The Kiwi initially held sway with the slow-starting Pic, but fell back as the race – and his Pirelli tyres – aged. Indeed a radio failure meant Evans missed his first calls into the pits for new tyres, with the Mark Webber protégé not stopping until lap thirteen.
Emerging just ahead of an aggressive Stéphane Richelmi, Evans kept the DAMS man at bay for a few laps, before gingerly building a gap to his Monegasque rival, who – for a time – was fighting his own battle with Daniel Abt, Andre Negrão, Felipe Nasr and Julian Leal.
The quartet fell away as their own battle became more intensive and with Evans already in the distance, Richelmi had little choice but to accept a solid 4th.
Despite growing pressure late on from a pushy Nasr, Negrão secured 5th place – his highest in GP2. The key move for Negrão’s race came on the 19th lap, when the Brazilian passed a struggling Abt, only for Leal to run Abt off the road two corners later.
Abt retired on the spot, while Leal was hit with a drive through penalty, while the released Nasr chased after Negrão. Despite a series of quicker laps, Nasr could not make a move on Negrão and finished just 0.4s adrift as they crossed the finishing line.
Sørensen dropped back to 7th after his stop, but he had to work hard to stay ahead of the charging Palmer late on. Having started last, Palmer made a startling jump off the line and had claimed ten places in the opening two laps.
Palmer stayed out until lap 20, emerging 10th when strategies had played out. Following Leal’s drive through, he took Stefano Coletti for 8th and reverse grid pole for Sunday’s race.
Coletti seemed to wake up when Palmer slipped by, but would spend the final laps fending off Johnny Cecotto Jr who accepted 10th and the last point.
The race was marred by a ridiculous moment at the start of the second lap, when Kimiya Sato blasted his way through the Roggia chicane, removing the innocent Danïel de Jong from the action. As the field ricocheted lightly, Rene Binder spun Takuya Izawa around, while Raffaele Marciello went off track and retired while attempting to avoid the incident.
Sprint Race
Jolyon Palmer his third GP2 Series victory of the season at Monza on Sunday, bringing his lead over Felipe Nasr to 43 points with two rounds remaining. Palmer led from the beginning and initially held his DAMS teammate Stéphane Richelmi behind, before Stefano Coletti emerged as his chief rival.
Where Palmer made a solid start, Richelmi shot up the order jumping from 5th to 2nd by the first corner. Richelmi’s effort was helped by a sleepwalking Nasr, who dropped down the order like a rock from the second row, while Marco Sørensen lost positions by locking up into the Roggia chicane and Andre Negrão slipped to 4th.
Palmer’s lead was annulled when the safety car emerged on lap one, thanks to Sergio Canamasas. Skipping over the Ascari chicane, the Spaniard rejoined slowly amidst traffic, almost causing Adrian Quaife Hobbs to smash into him and forcing the field to bunch up. As a result Pierre Gasly and Andre Markelov collided heavily on the straight exiting Ascari, while Julian Leal picked up a puncture from debris.
Meanwhile as the field sorted itself into some order, Canamasas’ Trident teammate Johnny Cecotto Jr made an unrealistic move on Nathanaël Berthon into the Parabolica, which sidelined both.
It was a moment of unbelievable stupidity from the Trident pairing, but from Canamasas, the moment was particularly ‘special’.
From the lap seven restart, Palmer held a narrow lead over Richelmi, until Coletti slipped through four tours later. As fast as Coletti was, he could not pressure Palmer into an error, with the DAMS man earning a precious victory.
Richelmi stayed 3rd to collect his third podium of the season; however the Monaco native had to work to keep Sørensen behind in the second half of the race.
Negrão completed his best GP2 weekend by taking 5th just ahead of Jon Lancaster, while Nasr regained ground to claim 7th and just two points. The Brazilian was heading for 8th when Mitch Evans tried an unrealistic move on Negrão in the Retifilo four laps from the end, resulting in race ending damage for Evans.
Arthur Pic took 8th and the final point following a mid-race error that cost him two places to Nasr and Lancaster.
Following his brainless opening lap maneuver, Canamasas continued to cause havoc when he crashed into Rene Binder at the Roggia chicane on lap 11. While recovering from that mess, Canamasas clattered into the side of Raffaele Marciello in Lesmo, as the Italian was slipping past the sluggish Spaniard.
On a day when the series showcased some fabulous on track action, Canamasas did his best to cast a poor spell. When on lap fifteen the Spaniard was finally shown the black flag, it underlined that the series is still populated by some dreadfully undeserving talent toward the rear of the field.
Canamasas is not a child. He is not inexperienced. After two-and-half seasons of GP2 and two of Formula Renault 3.5, he is far from inexperienced and he should know far better.
It will be interesting to note whether Canamasas actually appears in Sochi in five weeks. Should he emerge with a slap on the wrist or no further sanction, then the series will suffer a dent in its reputation.
Lewis Hamilton recovered from a poor start to win his second Italian Grand Prix in stunning style today.
The 2008 world champion led a Mercedes 1-2, with championship leader – and rival – Nico Rosberg ending the day as runner-up.
Felipe Massa made it an all Mercedes-powered podium when he took 3rd in his Williams F1 machine.
For Hamilton however, it was all about the chase. An error with the race start mode of his W05 machine dropped the Briton to 4th off the line, as he explains: “The launch sequence didn’t engage properly for the formation lap and then again for the start. I tried to pull away as fast as possible; basically I just floored it and hoped for the best!” He continued, “There was a different sequence of lights that were on [the steering wheel] that weren’t on ever before. The RPM was all over the place and fortunately I managed to not lose too many places.”
It was inevitable that he would though. With Hamilton momentarily stricken, Rosberg sailed through into an early lead followed by Kevin Magnussen (McLaren) and Massa (Williams). Admittedly, the error did not immediately correct itself, with Hamilton briefly settling into a pace in the mid-1’30s, before the Mercedes began to fully come alive again.
Raising his pace – and the pressure – both Massa and Hamilton were able to pick off the less nimble McLaren of Magnussen on lap five before Hamilton dispatched Massa four tours later.
Now in 2nd, the 29-year-old began to zero in on his target. The fight was on. “When I closed up to Nico, I didn’t want to hold back as the car felt good.” He added: “I knew from experience that the only chance would be at the start of the stint when the tyres were fresh so I went for it.”
Having lost four seconds behind the Williams and McLaren, Hamilton pulled just under three seconds out of Rosberg’s advantage by the time his German rival stopped for the harder compound Pirelli tyres on lap 25.
Rosberg retook the front of the order when Hamilton stopped on the following lap; however the Englishman continued to press for the lead. “I was pushing to overtake him. That meant it opens up the doors for everything,” noted Hamilton.
It worked. For all intents and purposes, Rosberg appeared to crack under the intense scrutiny from behind. Having already made a mistake by running off at the Retifilo chicane on lap nine, Rosberg did it again on lap 29, only this time Hamilton was close enough to slip into the lead.
To his credit, Rosberg held his hands up for the error. “Lewis was quick, coming in from behind. I needed to up my pace and then as a result just went into the mistake. That was very bad and lost me the lead in the end.”
Thereafter Hamilton never looked back, as he extended the gap to the 2nd placed man to over four-and-a-half seconds as the race entered its final third. In taking the chequered flag, Hamilton secured his sixth victory of the season, cutting the gap to Rosberg to just 22 points. “I’m really pleased with the win, it’s feels like I have some momentum back as we go into the final races.”
Meanwhile Rosberg conceded the race, knowing that – on this occasion – Hamilton simply had the upper hand. “Lewis was quicker this weekend, so he deserved the win. That for sure is very disappointing for me.” Continuing, the championship leader added, “I need to see the positive things from today. Second place is still good and I lost only seven points to Lewis, so this could have been much worse…”
For Felipe Mass, the race could not have gone much better as he secured his first podium finish since last year’s Spanish Grand Prix. Slotting into 3rd for a time at the start, the Brazilian lost nearly four seconds to the lead, before pulling past Magnussen in the opening half dozen tours. “I had a good start and passed Magnussen at just the right time.”
Once in clear air, Massa claimed nearly two seconds out of the gap to Rosberg, but holding the resurgent Hamilton at bay was always going to be a struggle. From the moment the Silver Arrow crept into Massa’s mirror, the Brazilian knew a tough time was ahead. “I had to work hard to establish that position, sadly the Mercedes were still a bit quick, so we did the best we could.”
As soon as the position was lost to Hamilton, Massa settled into a solid pace that solidified his place between the Mercedes and Magnussen, the latter of whom was in the midst of a six-way battle for 4th.
With the McLaren man preoccupied, Massa built a thirteen second gap to the Dane, before the Woking-based team pulled Magnussen in for his one and only stop after twenty-one laps.
Massa pitted for new hard Pirelli’s two laps later and emerged into a small pool of clear air, which quickly soon cleared as strategies played out around the Williams man, bring Massa back into a podium position. “I think a one-stop was the strategy for everybody. The tyres worked pretty well. It was really pretty much OK to one-stop, at least for us.”
It marks a remarkable turn for the man who was revealed to be staying with the Didcot team for 2015.
Bottas, in the other Williams, endured a shocking opening lap that dropped the Finn to 11th. Amidst the collection, Bottas began to move up the order taking both Force India’s and both Ferrari’s prior to his stop on the 24th lap.
Thereafter Bottas had to work hard again, taking Sergio Perez, Magnussen (and in stellar wheel-to-wheel fight), and Sebastian Vettel, which promoted the hard working Finn into 4th place.
“Once the tyres were up to temperature I had a lot of work to do. It was good fun to overtake so many people and we had some good pace as well,” as Bottas revealed.
It would prove to be a critical run for Bottas as it lifted him to 4th in the Drivers’ Championship ahead of Fernando Alonso, while Williams also jumped Ferrari in the Constructor’s Championship.
Daniel Ricciardo made the best of a long first stint to finish 5th. The Australian made an error with his starting procedure, dropping him to 12th; however Ricciardo stayed out until lap 26. “I saw the cars in front of me pit and the pace was still good enough, so seeing that we didn’t have great pace when we were out of position then we thought we would try something different.”
Despite the long running stint, Ricciardo still pushed his way through a gaggle of cars, including Nico Hulkenberg, Kimi Raikkonen, Jenson Button, Perez, Magnussen and Vettel along the way. “I was more comfortable with the prime tyre and was able to do some good moves, which kept me smiling,” beamed the Red Bull man.
Vettel held 6th, but following an aggressive strategy, the German lost nearly ten seconds on Ricciardo in the closing tours as his Pirelli’s began to age rapidly. The reigning world champion made a fantastic start, but was clearly suffering for power along Monza’s lengthy straights; however the desire to pull the German out of traffic forced the Red Bull squad to pull Vettel in at the one-third point in the event.
Magnussen was originally next across the finishing line; however the McLaren youngster was found guilty to have not given Bottas enough room and forcing him off track on lap 31, as the Finn charged up the order. With his stop already completed, Magnussen was hit with a five-second post-race penalty, which dropped the McLaren racer to 10th overall, promoting Perez, Button and Raikkonen to 7th, 8th and the respectively.
Perez assumed another points score for the Force India team; however it was quite clear that of the Mercedes-powered team’s, the Silverstone-based squad were struggling the most. With Hulkenberg well out of contention for points, it was left to the Mexican to rescue scores for the team, as they continue their battle with McLaren in the Constructors’ Championship.
Both Button and Raikkonen followed Perez over the line – indeed such was the close racing in the group, Magnussen’s penalty was multiplied more than would normally be the case. Although Button accepted the result, it is less than likely that Ferrari will be as pleased with a mere 9th at their home race.
The high speed nature of the circuit began to take its toll late on, with the Force India’s blowing clouds of black smoke from their brake ducts in the latter stages of the vent; however it was Toro Rosso’s Daniil Kvyat who suffered the biggest scare when a failing brake pitched him into a frightening off at the Retifilo.
Behind the Russian, Hulkenberg (12th) and Jean-Eric Vergne (13th) were the last of those on the lead lap, while Pastor Maldonado (14th) led the Lotus charge, albeit a lap down. Adrian Sutil assumed another lowly 15th for Sauber ahead of Romain Grosjean in the other Lotus.
In the distance, Kamui Kobayashi took 16th for Caterham, some 13s up on his Marussia rival Jules Bianchi (17th). Esteban Gutierrez (Sauber) and Marcus Ericsson (Caterham) rounded out the finishers, although both were lapped twice; however Gutierrez was later penalised 20s for clashing with Grosjean with two laps remaining, dropping the Mexican behind Ericsson in the classifications.
Alonso was running on the outskirts of the top ten when the ERS failed on his Ferrari on lap 28 – which was a far better effort than Max Chilton, who pummelled his Marussia by sending into the Roggia barrier on the fifth lap.
With the European season over, Hamilton now heads to Singapore with a swing in his step, both it would be ill-advised to assume that there will be another Mercedes sweep at one of the toughest street circuit on the calendar.
© Zak Mauger/GP3 Series Media Service.
Koiranen GP racer Jimmy Eriksson set a stunning lap late on to take his second GP3 Series pole position of the season.
The Swede placed ahead of Dino Zamparelli (ART Grand Prix) and Nick Yelloly (Status Grand Prix) – both of whom lapped three tenths shy of the former German F3 champion.
There was some luck for Eriksson however – championship leader Alex Lynn (Carlin) was on his way to displacing Eriksson, only to have to slow down when Alex Fontana crashed just prior to the chequered flag.
As a result, Eriksson was well clear of the pack, allowing the Koiranen man to collect four points.
Zamparelli crossed the line just seconds shy of Eriksson, having potentially lost time sitting under Eriksson’s rear wing. Yelloly, meanwhile, set his quickest lap some two minutes earlier, but lost his final fast lap due to heavy traffic.
Emil Bernstorff continued his positive run with a lap to 4th, while championship challengers Richie Stanaway and Lynn assumed the third row.
Kevin Ceccon set the pace in yesterday evening’s free practice session; however the Jenzer racer could not repeat this in qualifying and he will line up 14th as a consequence.
© Leigh O’GormanStoffel Vandoorne secured his second pole position in a row at Monza this afternoon, displaying once again ART Grand Prix’s return to form.
The Belgian, who topped the official times in Spa-Francorchamps two weeks ago, beat Arthur Pic’s best lap by two-tenths following a spectacular late run.
Pic had topped the opening practice session in his Campos machine, but couldn’t replicate the feat when it came to the grid setting session. Whereas Vandoorne made hay late on, Pic could not improve on his first run and was demoted to the outside of the front row for his troubles.
Mitch Evans secured 3rd on the grid, while championship leader Jolyon Palmer took 4th, only for the Briton to be disqualified after the session when it was discovered his DAMS machine was short of the fuel necessary for sampling.
The error promotes Racing Engineering’s Raffaele Marciello up to the second row, with Stéphane Richelmi alongside. Palmer’s championship rival Felipe Nasr (Carlin) will start from the 7th position and is partnered on the fourth row by teammate Julian Leal.
Series debutante Pierre Gasly could do no better than 19th in the green liveried, but Red Bull-backed Caterham entry, while the returning Sergio Campana took last on the grid for Venezuela GP Lazarus.
Nico Rosberg topped the second free practice session of the Italian Grand Prix at Monza today.
The German set a quickest tour of 1:26.225s – some six-hundredths up on Mercedes teammate and championship rival Lewis Hamilton; however the latter lost a significant portion of the session when sidelined by an electronic failure.
Rosberg initially set the quick form on the harder Pirelli tyre – ahead of the persistent Fernando Alonso (Ferrari) and continued to show his pace later on the mediums.
Kimi Raikkonen and Alonso made the best of a solid day for Ferrari, with the pair accepting 3rd and 4th, while Valtteri Bottas (Williams) and Jenson Button (McLaren) and Sebastian Vettel (Red Bull) all set times just over half-a-second slower than Rosberg,
There were a few minor offs during the session, continuing the example set during the opening session, although little significant damage was suffered.
Lewis Hamilton headed the opening free practice session at an overcast Monza this morning.
The Briton responded to made the best of the morning with a quickest tour at 1:26.187s – some eight-tenths faster than his Mercedes teammate Nico Rosberg.
McLaren’s Jenson Button split the two silver machines. He registered a quickest tour some two-tenths up on Rosberg, but still well adrift of the top-spot.
Such is Hamilton’s pace, the field will be hoping the former world champion set his time on low fuel; however it was not all clear sailing for the Mercedes man. The Briton had a brief lock-up into Ascari, as did teammate Rosberg, but was able to continue without any issues.
Despite this, Hamilton managed a healthy twenty-five laps, with Button and Rosberg completing twenty-seven and twenty-six without issue.
It was brief session for Red Bull’s Daniel Ricciardo who suffered a mechanical failure near the halfway point of the session, ensuring the Australian completed only twelve laps.
Kevin Magnussen touched the thirty-lap marker, but did lose a small chunk of time when his headrest came loose mid-run.
The Toro Rosso’s were the busiest of the day with Daniil Kvyat and Jean-Éric Vergne clocking up sixty-three laps between them.
Force India discovered the trouble with running two drivers in one car for FP1. Daniel Juncadella ran the first thirty minutes, before handing over to Sergio Perez for the final hour. It was a fruitless endeavor that only served to lose the Silverstone team plenty of time, as Perez’ engineers lost nearly a half-hour switching the seats, pedals and settings from Juncadella to Perez.
On the other hand, the money probably tasted good.
© Leigh O’Gorman.
One does not have to look too far into history to understand that British Formula 3 has seen better days.
That only seven drivers turned out for the sixth round of the 2014 season is indicative of the struggles the famed championship has faced in recent years.
British F3 is not alone by any stretch of the imagination. Other national series’, such as German and Australian F3, are also struggling to keep driver numbers up, while the Euroformula Open (previously the European F3 Open) is experiencing a severe dip in numbers this year.
As Peter Briggs, chairman of the Formula Three Association, commented on Sunday, “The teams are here, the cars are here, there are plenty of spares and extras – all that’s missing are the drivers.” A former F3 team boss, Briggs has been involved in motorsport for almost forty years and is determined to keep British F3 afloat.
While a merger with the German championship may not be permissible, Briggs has been in discussion with his German counterparts as they explore the possibility of sharing rounds.
Recent developments have dealt a blow to that plan; however it is not dead yet. “Ideally,” says Briggs, “there would still be British and German championships, but we would share races. I would like a situation where we shared grids for four UK and four German events, but that could be a five-to-three split if needs be.”
It’s a daunting task for both categories as they attempt to soak up drivers from the European market. “Drivers don’t come to the UK anymore from entry-level, they go to Europe and Formula Renault, where they can race of international tracks,” Briggs notes, before adding finally, “We have to capture that.”
The series has a huge job ahead if it is stay afloat and Briggs is determined to help steer the ship in the right direction.
It is not the most enviable of tasks.
Hong Kong based British racer Dan Wells is to make his début in the beleaguered British Formula 3 Series at Brands Hatch this weekend with Double R Racing.
The 23-year-old has spent much of the last three seasons in the Far East, competing in the likes of Formula Masters China and its predecessor the Formula Pilota China Series; however budget issues cut his 2013 season short.
The Briton finished as runner-up in the Formula Pilota China Series in 2012, and currently lies 3rd in Formula Masters. Wells has set his sights on a season in Japanese F3 for the 2015 season, although his Brands outing will also qualify the Salisbury man for an F3 outing at Macau. Of the upcoming contest, he commented, “I’m looking forward to my first F3 race and it’s great for it to be on the Brands Hatch Grand Prix Circuit too.”
While he has never raced with Double R previously, it will not be the first time Wells has had a contact with the Surrey-based team. “I went to the 2009 British F3 races at the circuit as a guest of Double R before I had started my racing career, so it’s a happy coincidence that I will make my F3 debut with the team now. I anticipate a productive weekend and would like to thank Double R and DWI for this opportunity.”
Of the addition, Double R team principal Anthony ‘Boyo’ Hieatt said, “We’re delighted to be able to give Dan his Formula 3 debut at Brands, he’s a driver we’ve known since he started out in racing and has had a lot of success in Asia since he moved there three years ago. It’s going to be a big step up into the F3 car for the first time in a racing environment, but we’re confident he’ll do a very good job.”
Wells will join F4 regular Camren Kaminsky, while Max Marshall returns for a second round as he prepares for a future Formula Ford GB round at the Kent circuit.
Away from Double R Racing, it was also revealed that FIA European F3 regular Santino Ferrucci will championship challengers Matt Rao and Martin Cao at Fortec. The addition of Ferrucci, Wells and Marshall brings the entry list up to seven for the series’ penultimate round.
Unnecessary. That is one of the only words that can describe the incident between Nico Rosberg and Lewis Hamilton early during Sunday’s Belgian Grand Prix.
But it was not unexpected.
Such is the growing intensity of this championship battle between the former junior category rivals, it was always likely that something of this nature would eventually feed onto the circuit.
After all, these are two young men at the height of the competitive powers and energies and there is a world championship at stake. Those who hold back only serve to get left behind.
Unlike the unsubtle ribbing the pair exchanged at the Grand Prix in Bahrain in April, the heat has been turned up and pointed barbs and accusations now host the language of choice.
Rosberg’s on track actions – and his unwillingness to back out of an uncertain passing move – cast additional light upon his “mistake” during qualifying at Monaco, as well as his missing of the final chicane while under pressure from Hamilton in Canada.
On the other hand, Hamilton’s unwillingness to allow Rosberg through in Hungary while on fresh signposted stages of this burgeoning aggression. Neither Rosberg nor Hamilton are under any illusions the title fight is on.
Where a clearly quicker Rosberg clipped the left rear of Hamilton on the 2nd lap at Spa-Francorchamps, the German was determined to not back down.
In Bahrain, Rosberg was beaten on track by his teammate – he was keen to not let that happen again; however in doing so, he merely punctured Hamilton’s tyre, while also damaging his front wing, conceivable costing Mercedes a race win.
There are those who believe the collision was an entirely deliberate one and that Rosberg was attempting to forcefully remove his main challenger from competition, but that is nonsense – Rosberg had too much to lose to be so clinical.
One, however, must be take some care as to how this is being played out though. Hamilton, conveniently, informing the British press of comments by Rosberg from the post-race debrief was a nicely played tactic.
Although his shock at Rosberg’s revelation that he had ‘prove a point’ was genuine, there was no doubt the Briton knew exactly what he was doing when he let such details slip.
Rosberg and the team have distanced themselves from those comments, but Lewis is not an idiot, he knows the score and he is playing his game. If Hamilton’s tale about Rosberg’s comments in the debrief are true, then the German may already be losing the psychological battle.
Alas, after forty-four laps, Red Bull’s Daniel Ricciardo emerged as the victor of the Ardennes and while some will point to Ricciardo as a potential title contender, it unlikely that it will come his way when considering just how strong the Mercedes package is.
A Ricciardo victory in the title battle would be nice, but Daniel can wait – his time will come, eventually.
For now, this title fight is a Mercedes driver versus Mercedes driver and that seriously complicates matters for the German marque, who would – behind closed doors – have been hoping for a clear an easy victory in the Constructor’s Championship, while their pairing collected 1-2 finishes.
But that is not how competitive animals operate. There is precious little chance of either driver dutifully accepting team orders and risk dropping out of the title fight as a result and it is here a catastrophic explosion in the driver tensions may occur.
In the end, Rosberg may have taken the advantage in points scored, the chance of victory was lost and his relationship with the Mercedes management may have taken considerable damage. Those bonds, once strained, can be difficult, if not impossible to repair.
The first of the two Mercedes drivers who believes they have nothing left to lose will either take this title with fists flying or just collapse altogether.
Red Bull Racing’s Daniel Ricciardo won his third Grand Prix of the season at Spa-Francorchamps today.
The Australian took the 44-lap Belgian event ahead of world championship leader Nico Rosberg and Williams’ rising star Valtteri Bottas.
Starting 5th, Ricciardo was 4th by lap two and made that 3rd when he passed Ferrari’s Fernando Alonso on lap four. One tour later that became 2nd when Sebastian Vettel (Red Bull) fell to the Australian’s prowess and when Rosberg pitted after eight tours, the lead was Ricciardo’s.
Thereafter the Red Bull racer only lost the lead for one lap and even then only because he had moved to change tyres, but for much of the event, Ricciardo drove a canny, calm race.
Following a stop ten laps from the end, Rosberg drew back toward Ricciardo as he took advantage of his much fresher tyres, but the Australian was too far ahead for Rosberg to affect a realistic challenge.
That Incident
But the race was in no way that straight forward. Indeed, it could be argued that – like the Canadian Grand Prix – Ricciardo had this one handed to him by an overly forceful Rosberg.
From pole, the Mercedes man bogged down, allowing teammate and rival Lewis Hamilton to take the lead, with Vettel following through. Whereas Vettel was quickly dispatched, Hamilton proved a far more trying opposition for Rosberg.
At just over half-a-second shy of the lead at the beginning of the second lap, Rosberg clung to the rear of Hamilton through Eau Rouge, Radillon and along the Kemmel Straight.
Holding the lead into Les Combes, Hamilton took his line, only for Rosberg to slice Hamilton’s left rear tyre on his front wing endplate, puncturing the Pirelli tyre instantly and dropping him to the rear of the field.
Unable to escape the clutches of Ricciardo, Rosberg continued with a slightly damaged front wing until lap eight, eventually stopping for fresh medium tyres and a new nose.
Meanwhile the 2008 World Champion also damaged the floor on the way back to the pits and emerged from the stop in 19th…
As far as Hamilton was concerned, the blame lay with his opposite man. “I gave him plenty of space, took the corner like I usually do and suddenly felt a big hit from behind.”
Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff had some choice words. “To see that kind of contact, so early in the race, is an unacceptable level of risk to be taking out on track. It cannot – and will not – happen again.”
Ricciardo Out Front
For all the claims regarding the Rosberg / Hamilton clash, Ricciardo still needed to drive the car and drive it hard. Using a two-stop strategy, Ricciardo pitted on lap eleven, taking on a new set of softs – and it is here that the 25-year-old made his mark in the race.
Emerging some 2.5s ahead of Ferrari’s Kimi Raikkonen, Ricciardo recorded set eleven laps in the 1’54” range, while Raikkonen – having already stopped on lap eight – pushed hard, ripping the best from his rubber early on.
While Ricciardo’s pace was quick, one could argue that the steady nature of his run in the gentle nature of the RB10 helped extend the life of his second set of soft Pirelli’s for sixteen laps.
As the stint aged, the leader drew a 7.7s gap over the Finn, before Ferrari called him in for his third set on lap 21, momentarily promoting Vettel to 2nd, before his pitstop allowed Bottas to take the mantle of chasing the leader on lap 22.
Any thoughts of Bottas catching the lead were pipe dreams though. From (a brief sojourn in) the lead, the Williams man was brought in for new runner on lap 12, only to emerge behind Rosberg, who in turn was losing pace behind a sluggish Vettel.
Until Vettel and Rosberg made their second stops, Bottas dropped 7.8s over the course of the next nine laps – effectively neutering his challenge to Ricciardo. As the field ahead cleared itself, Ricciardo’s lead was now over fourteen seconds. This race was a done deal…
Rosberg Charges Back
Except it wasn’t. Well, not quite.
Forced onto a three-stop strategy following his lap two mishap, Rosberg sidestepped for new tyres on laps 19 (mediums) and 34 (softs). Add to that a wet qualifying session, which – like the rest of the field – ensured the championship leader had a full compliment of new tyres for the race.
So Rosberg pushed. On the mediums, the German effectively matched Ricciardo’s pace over his longer run; however when Mercedes bolted a set of softs onto Rosberg’s car eleven laps from the end, the 29-year-old charged.
When the Finn returned to the track after his final Pirelli switch, he immediately launched into a barrage of laps in the 1’51” range and even set three tours in the 1’50s.
There was further fortune and force. Emerging just ahead of Bottas, Rosberg escaped the Finn, while also powering past Raikkonen. Tellingly Rosberg was over four seconds per lap quicker than the Ferrari man, as Raikkonen’s two-stop race theory (with a 23 lap stint on mediums) hung by a thread.
From 22.57s, the gap to Ricciardo began to shrink at an incredible rate, but this is where the leader made his consistency really count. Despite the threat, the Red Bull man maintained a pace in the low-1’53s, refusing to be drawn into a dogfight that would only destroy his tyres in the closing laps.
A Calculated Win
As the immediate effectiveness of Rosberg’s rubber deteriorated toward the end of the race, Ricciardo was rewarded with victory – and deservedly so following a superbly executed race, yet there were still some lingering worries. “I think we had some really good pace today and surprised ourselves. […] It was difficult staying out at the end of the race,” said Ricciardo.
Considering the length of Ricciardo’s final stint, there were naturally some concerns as to whether the Pirelli’s would last, but Australian was keen to reassure his engineer Simon Rennie.
“I said I think I can keep more or less this pace, and we were able to, then on the last lap I found a couple more tenths. Today was more calculated and it was nice to win under different circumstances.”
Rosberg was 3.3s shy of the top step come the flag and for all of his valiant efforts late on, the race was lost in that second lap contact. “We had the pace to win today but the incident cost us a top result, so I’m really disappointed because for the team.”
There was further controversy following the race when Hamilton told crash.net that Rosberg admitted to not lifting off on the approach to Les Combes, initiating the incident. “We just had a meeting about it and […] he said he did it on purpose, he said he could have avoided it. He said ‘I did it to prove a point’…”
Hamilton continued on until the 38th lap, but with his floor heavily damaged following the clash, Mercedes told the Briton to retire his car; however this too has raised eyebrows as the order came following several requests by Hamilton to retire his car to ‘save the engine’. The no-score for Hamilton means Rosberg’s championship lead increases to 29 points.
Another Bottas Podium
Bottas may have led for a lap, but it was never an honest lead once strategies played out and as they did Bottas settled into a top four position, which became 3rd as Raikkonen’s tyres cried foul late on.
Indeed Raikkonen’s tyres were so destroyed in the later tours that he dropped 9.4s to Bottas in the final five laps alone and while the Finn has not yet reached the podium this season, 4th place was easily Raikkonen’s best finish of the season.
Behind Raikkonen, an epic last dash battle for 5th was playing out between McLaren pairing Kevin Magnussen and Jenson Button, Alonso and Vettel. Through the final three laps, the quartet swapped places repeatedly as gripless tyres dealt their final hands.
Wheel spinning across the track through the middle sector, Magnussen ran wheel-to-wheel with Button, allowing Alonso and Vettel opportunities to take places, until they too slipped back behind the McLaren’s in an enthralling battle.
It all came to a head on the final tour when Magnussen – having momentarily shaken off Button – squeezed Alonso off the road at Stavelot, allowing Vettel to feed through the gap and take 5th.
Magnussen would recover to take 6th ahead of Button and Alonso, only for Magnussen to be punished with a 20-second post-race penalty for not leaving enough room for Alonso, forcing him off the track. The sanction promoted Button to 6th, while Alonso was classified in 7th – Magnussen, meanwhile, had to make do with 12th overall.
Solid Finishes
Sergio Perez (Sauber) drove a solid race to 8th, finishing just ahead of Toro Rosso’s Daniil Kvyat (9th), after the latter closed upon the Mexican late on. After initially finishing outside the points, Nico Hulkenberg was promoted to 10th following Magnussen’s penalty – small reward for the Force India driver, who remains stuck in midfield peril.
Jean-Éric Vergne needed a big performance, but could no better than 11th, while Felipe Massa took 13th. Adrian Sutil (Sauber) led teammate Esteban Gutierrez to unspectacular 14th and 15th place finishes.
Max Chilton (Marussia, 16th) and Marcus Ericsson (Caterham, 17th) were the only other finishers, as Jules Bianchi (Marussia) was classified 18th, but had retired on lap 40.
Neither Lotus finished and André Lotterer retired on the first lap of his Formula One debut with Caterham. Whether the impressive Lotterer gets another opportunity in the future remains to be seen.
Monza
If nothing else, the Mercedes situation is becoming more and more intense as the second half of the season gets under way. Whether this intensifies once Mercedes wrap up the Constructor’s Championship will make the close of the title even more intriguing.
And then in the background was a smiling Australian, who is also getting closer to the silver machines.
2014 Belgian Grand Prix (Rd 12, Spa-Francorchamps)
Pos Driver Team Time/Gap
1. Daniel Ricciardo Red Bull-Renault 1h24m36.556s (44 laps)
2. Nico Rosberg Mercedes +3.383s
3. Valtteri Bottas Williams-Mercedes +28.032s
4. Kimi Raikkonen Ferrari +36.815s
5. Sebastian Vettel Red Bull-Renault +52.196s
6. Jenson Button McLaren-Mercedes +54.580s
7. Fernando Alonso Ferrari +1m01.162s
8. Sergio Perez Force India-Mercedes +1m04.293s
9. Daniil Kvyat Toro Rosso-Renault +1m05.347s
10. Nico Hulkenberg Force India-Mercedes +1m05.697s
11. Jean-Eric Vergne Toro Rosso-Renault +1m11.920s
12. Kevin Magnussen McLaren-Mercedes +1m14.262s*
13. Felipe Massa Williams-Mercedes +1m15.975s
14. Adrian Sutil Sauber-Ferrari +1m22.447s
15. Esteban Gutierrez Sauber-Ferrari +1m30.825s
16. Max Chilton Marussia-Ferrari -1 lap
17. Marcus Ericsson Caterham-Renault -1 lap
18. Jules Bianchi Marussia-Ferrari -5 laps
Retirements:
Lewis Hamilton Mercedes +6 laps
Romain Grosjean Lotus-Renault +11 laps
Pastor Maldonado Lotus-Renault +43 laps
Andre Lotterer Caterham-Renault +43 laps
Notes:
Penalties
Kevin Magnussen (McLaren) received 20-second post-race penalty for pushing Alonso off track on final lap.
Vandoorne on pole in Spa. © Sam Bloxham/GP2 Series Media Service.
Stoffel Vandoorne took his first GP2 Series pole position at Spa-Francorchamps today.
On relatively cool afternoon, the Belgian pipped championship leader Jolyon Palmer by just 0.016s in the last moments.
It could be a significant pole in the championship, for Vandoorne’s flyer denied Palmer the four points that the top man receives.
The session marks further progress by the ART Grand Prix, who have at times endured a topsy-turvy season.
Mitch Evans took 3rd with a late run in his RUSSIAN TIME entry, while rookie driver Raffaele Marciello qualified alongside in his Racing Engineering machine.
Johnny Cecotto Jr leads the third row with Carlin’s Julian Leal assuming 6th spot; however Nathanaël Berthon surprised by placing his Venezuela GP Lazarus car in 7th.
Palmer’s championship challenger, Felipe Nasr, qualified a disappointing 11th, leaving him much to do come Saturday afternoon.
Artem Markelov finished 25th, but was penalised for blocking during the session – he will start from the pitlane. Takuya Izawa could not complete a competitive lap, but has been allowed to start from 25th spot.
2014 2014 GP2 Series of Belgium (Rd 8, Qualifying) Pos Driver Team Time Gap Laps 1. Stoffel Vandoorne ART 1m56.839s 10 2. Jolyon Palmer DAMS 1m56.857s +0.018s 8 3. Mitch Evans Russian Time 1m57.057s +0.218s 11 4. Raffaele Marciello Racing Engineering 1m57.237s +0.398s 13 5. Johnny Cecotto Jr Trident 1m57.244s +0.405s 12 6. Julian Leal Carlin 1m57.271s +0.432s 13 7. Nathanael Berthon Lazarus 1m57.272s +0.433s 12 8. Simon Trummer Rapax 1m57.284s +0.445s 10 9. Marco Sorensen MP 1m57.389s +0.550s 11 10. Stephane Richelmi DAMS 1m57.448s +0.609s 10 11. Felipe Nasr Carlin 1m57.475s +0.636s 11 12. Arthur Pic Campos 1m57.516s +0.677s 10 13. Daniel de Jong MP 1m57.706s +0.867s 11 14. Tom Dillmann Caterham 1m57.770s +0.931s 11 15. Conor Daly Lazarus 1m57.788s +0.949s 12 16. Stefano Coletti Racing Engineering 1m57.844s +1.005s 11 17. Rene Binder Arden 1m57.851s +1.012s 12 18. Daniel Abt Hilmer 1m57.875s +1.036s 13 19. Rio Haryanto Caterham 1m57.974s +1.135s 12 20. Andre Negrao Arden 1m58.002s +1.163s 12 21. Adrian Quaife-Hobbs Rapax 1m58.005s +1.166s 12 22. Kimiya Sato Campos 1m58.185s +1.346s 10 23. Jon Lancaster Hilmer 1m58.218s +1.379s 13 24. Sergio Canamasas Trident 1m58.295s +1.456s 12 25. Artem Markelov Russian Time 1m58.470s +1.631s 10 26. Takuya Izawa ART 2m40.364s +43.525s 2
Dino Zamparelli headed the opening GP3 Series practice session at Spa-Francorchamps this evening.
The Briton led an ART Grand Prix 1-2-3, proving quicker than teammates Marvin Kirchhöfer and Alex Fontana.
The top spot was initially a contest between Zamparelli and Red Bull junior Alex Lynn; however the points leader Lynn was soon jumped in the timings by Kirchhöfer and Fontana.
Lynn would eventually take 4th ahead of Carlin teammate Emil Bernstorff, while Jenzer’s Matheo Tuscher rounded out the top-six.
Trident arrived at the session with a completely new line-up, consisting of Konstantin Tereschenko, John Bryant-Meisner and Luca Ghiotto.
Tereschenko did cause some notoriety on his GP3 debut when he crashed spectacularly at the Bus Stop chicane. The Russian lost control of his Trident machine on the approach into the final corner, sending him toward the crash before clumping the kerb which pitched the 20-year-old into a violent series of barrel-rolls and then a final collision with the tyre barrier.
Despite a brief fire when the oil line split, Tereschenko emerged from the wreck with no injuries.
There was also red flags for offs for Santiago Urrutia and Ryan Cullen, the latter of which ended the session prematurely.
2014 GP3 Series of Round of Belgium (Rd 6, Free Practice) Pos Driver Team Time Gap 1. Dino Zamparelli ART 2m07.021s 2. Marvin Kirchhofer ART 2m07.372s +0.351s 3. Alex Fontana ART 2m07.392s +0.371s 4. Alex Lynn Carlin 2m07.437s +0.416s 5. Emil Bernstorff Carlin 2m07.696s +0.675s 6. Matheo Tuscher Jenzer 2m08.035s +1.014s 7. Nick Yelloly Status 2m08.232s +1.211s 8. Jimmy Eriksson Koiranen 2m08.271s +1.250s 9. Richie Stanaway Status 2m08.341s +1.320s 10. Patrick Kujala Marussia 2m08.374s +1.353s 11. Pal Varhaug Jenzer 2m08.495s +1.474s 12. Riccardo Agostini Hilmer 2m08.648s +1.627s 13. Luca Ghiotto Trident 2m08.674s +1.653s 14. Luis sa Silva Carlin 2m08.791s +1.770s 15. Santiago Urrutia Koiranen 2m08.826s +1.805s 16. Nelson Mason Hilmer 2m08.861s +1.840s 17. Jann Mardenborough Arden 2m08.918s +1.897s 18. Patric Niederhauser Arden 2m09.627s +2.606s 19. Ryan Cullen Marussia 2m09.843s +2.822s 20. Kevin Ceccon Jenzer 2m10.228s +3.207s 21. John Bryan-Meisner Trident 2m11.488s +4.467s 22. Konstantin Tereschenko Trident 2m12.027s +5.006s 23. Alfonso Celis Status 2m12.213s +5.192s 24. Robert Visoiu Arden 2m12.241s +5.220s 25. Sebastian Balthasar Hilmer 2m12.754s +5.733s 26. Carmen Jorda Koiranen 2m14.456s +7.435s 27. Dean Stoneman Marussia 2m18.487s +11.466s
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