In the past few days, Formula 2 has confirmed its 2012 season calendar.
Now approaching its fourth season its return, the revamped category is to visit five current Formula 1 venues, alongside three other highly rated circuit.
A trip to Silverstone opens the calendar in the middle of April, before the series ventures to the Algarve’s fabulous Portimao arena for the first time since 2010.
May and June will feature the Nurburgring and Spa-Francorchamps respectively, while July sees an Anglo-French double-header with events at Brands Hatch and Paul Ricard in Southern France.
Included in the schedule will be Formula 2’s first adventure to the Hungaroring come September – a circuit that had not come into existence when the original F2 category ceased operation in the mid-80’s. The season closes on the final weekend in September, with a visit to historic Monza.
Neither Austria’s Red Bull Ring nor the Circuit de Catalunya in Barcelona have not been renewed for the upcoming season. Paul Ricard replaces Magny Cours.
Series Director and former-Grand Prix driver Jonathan Palmer added his endorsement to the calendar.
“After three very successful seasons of the FIA Formula Two Championship, our 2012 calendar is based around Grand Prix circuits, which our F1 focused drivers favour.
F2 will continue to provide drivers with substantial track time and learning opportunity at each of these exceptional venues. No other championship offers such an enticing combination of outstanding value, vehicle performance and the chance to race on so many F1 circuits.”
As with this year, every round will consist of two races, with each race paying out a standard FIA points system. The races will continue to be shown on MotorsTV in Europe, with live streaming accessible from the Formula 2 website.
Meanwhile, tomorrow sees the commencement of Formula 2’s post-season test in Barcelona. Filling out the order will be 2011 F2 Series runner-up Christopher Zanella alongside numerous category race winners.
Several champions and notables will also be appearing. European F3 Open champion Alex Fontana, Formula Ford GB champion Scott Malvern and British F3 Cup holder Aaron Steele will make their débuts.
This year’s Formula 2 champion, Mirko Bortolotti will also be in action to evaluate future developments for the next year’s car.
FIA 2012 Formula 2 calendar 15/04 Silverstone 29/04 Algarve 27/05 Nurburgring 24/06 Spa-Francorchamps 15/07 Brands Hatch 22/07 Paul Ricard 09/09 Hungaroring* 30/09 Monza *Subject to the ASN's confirmation
Vettel and Newey get a lift through Milton Keynes. © Infiniti.
At many times in the past, Formula 1 has often been criticised for being far too distant from the general public.
Go to any Grand Prix meeting and you will discover paddocks centres shrouded in plush exclusivity, keeping drivers within the boundaries of corporate guests and sponsors, such is the reality of modern sport dipped in commercialism.
So, it was therefore rather nice of Red Bull to parade the title winning RB7 in Milton Keynes on Saturday afternoon in front of approximately 60,000 fans.
World Champion Sebastian Vettel was in attendance, as was teammate Mark Webber, Team Principal Christian Horner and the RB7’s Chief Technical Officer Adrian Newey.
Red Bull employee and BBC F1 presenter David Coulthard also made an appearance, as did BBC F1 lead Jake Humphrey and Red Bull stunt rider Chris Pfeiffer.
For all the criticism the team garnered from the BBC coverage – unfairly it must be added – Red Bull Racing have certainly much to embrace fans outside the competition window, as seen with recent demonstration runs in London, Austria, New York and Texas.
Also on parade in Milton Keynes were a pair of Infiniti G Convertibles, which carried the celebrated guests around the town. Infiniti also brought an M35h (the world’s fastest-accelerating hybrid) and a Red Bull branded FX30ds. There was even an appearance of Vettel’s Infiniti FX concept.
So let’s not fool ourselves here – this was an Infiniti party and the Japanese company were more than eager to display their wares, and why not? It is very easy at times to forget that Infiniti are one of Red Bull’s major partners and while a Renault engine sits in the rear of the RB7, the badge on the side of the car and rear wing proudly says “Infiniti.”
Commenting on the celebration, Infiniti’s European Communications Director, Wayne Bruce said:
“Today has been a truly fitting end to a remarkable first F1 season for Infiniti and we are delighted to have been able to support Red Bull Racing on the event.
It’s phenomenal to see so many fans of the sport attend the demonstration, and judging from the hero laps and our own car display, it appears Infiniti has come away with a lot of new fans of our own.”
Infiniti has come a long way in motorsport. Following seven difficult season in the Indy Racing League where they achieved rare success, the brand paired themselves with Red Bull Racing earlier this year to many a raised eyebrow.
Whether Infiniti’s involvement becomes more substantial in the future remains to be seen.
Regardless of Infiniti, Red Bull were powered to victory by a Renault RS27 engine – the same unit designed to propel Renault and Team Lotus this year and right now, “Renault” is still the name the general public note when they consider Red Bull.
Race One (April 30th)
Robert Wickens expertly controlled the opening Formula Renault 3.5 race at Spa-Francorchamps to claim his first win of the season.
The Carlin pilot led his rookie teammate Jean-Eric Vergne for the duration, while Albert Costa grabbed another podium for Epic Racing.
Having also claimed pole, Wickens led from the start, although Vergne was keen not to let the Canadian escape from his sights.
Track him was all Vergne could manage. The Frenchman at no point looked like passing Wickens for the win and while the gap between the pair largely remained under two seconds each lap around, the race leader seemed safe.
It could have been quite different had Costa pulled off his attempt on the opening tour. The Spaniard ran in 2nd place up Eau Rouge, dropping to 3rd when his lunge at Les Combes went awry.
Wickens held the advantage for the rest of the way, leading Vergne by 2.6 seconds come the chequered flag.
Once in 3rd, Costa endured somewhat more intense pressure from Nelson Panciatici and Brendon Hartley for the remaining laps.
The Epic Racing pilot was kept on his toes by his respective chasers; however while Panciatici was concerned about attacking, the Frenchman was also defending had from Hartley.
Panciatici would hold Hartley off until the final lap, when at last, the Kiwi surged passed for 4th on the approach into Les Combes. Now 5th, Panciatici had no time to reclaim his lost bounty, eventually finishing 1.1 seconds shy of Hartley.
Hartley, meanwhile, was a mere three-tenths off of Costa come the line.
Daniil Move and Alexander Rossi also showed their noses. Lingering just shy of the 3rd place battle for much of the running.
In another steady drive, Move held 6th for the duration, despite the presence of the aggressive Rossi, who had passed Red Bull reserve Daniel Ricciardo on the opening lap for 7th spot.
Rossi could not force an error from Move, settling for 7th, albeit 0.354 shy of the Russian at the flag.
For Ricciardo, a promising first weekend back for the Australian turned to disappointment, falling to 10th by race completion.
Struggling for speed, Ricciardo eventually dropped behind Sergio Canamasas (lap 13) and Jan Charouz (lap 19). Charouz would still find time to demote Canamasas, assuming 8th from the Spaniard on lap 20.
Chris van der Drift and Walter Grubmuller shadowed Ricciardo over the line; however neither had the strength in speed to take the Australian.
2011 Formula Renault 3.5 Rnd of Spa-Francorchamps (Rd 2, Race 1, 22 laps) Pos Driver Team Time / Gap 1. Robert Wickens Carlin 46:34.016 2. Jean-Eric Vergne Carlin +2.694 3. Albert Costa Epic Racing +19.544 4. Brendon Hartley Gravity-Charouz +19.867 5. Nelson Panciatici KMP Racing +20.958 6. Daniil Move P1 Motorsports +21.919 7. Alexander Rossi Fortec +22.273 8. Jan Charouz Gravity-Charouz +24.697 9. Sergio Canamasas Fortec +27.214 10. Daniel Ricciardo ISR +28.072 FL. Robert Wickens Carlin 2:06.295
Race Two (May 1st)
Jean-Eric Vergne took a hard-earned victory in the second Formula Renault 3.5 race at Spa-Francorchamps.
The former British Formula 3 Champion fell behind teammate Robert Wickens during the pitstop phase, only to force a way past the Canadian on the sixteenth lap.
Not far behind, Chris van der Drift completed the podium, keeping the Carlin pair honest following an impressive performance in his Mofaz Racing machine.
Initially, the lead belonged to Vergne, who kept Wickens, Daniel Zampieri and van der Drift at bay until he stopped for tyres on the eighth tour. Despite Vergne’s early dominance, Wickens kept a close watch, but it was the Canadian lap seven tyre change that changed the face of the race.
With an extra lap in clean air and on fresh rubber, Wickens edged ahead of Vergne as the Red Bull driver exited the pits one lap later.
Wickens extended the gap to 1.8 seconds, only for Vergne to draw back in, before driving around the outside of Wickens at Les Combes. As Vergne nosed ahead, Wickens locked his tyres heavily in defence, but the move was done.
Zampieri stayed out to garner time in free-air, only for the Italian to lose out when he finally stopped on lap ten.
Indeed, by the time Zampieri had completed his tyre change, not only had van der Drift jumped the BVM Target racer, but so had Albert Costa and Walter Grubmuller.
For van der Drift, the Kiwi surged away from Costa, quickly latching onto the rear of Wickens, although van der Drift would not find a way passed.
Costa, meanwhile, instantly found himself struggling as he overworked his Michelin’s, yet despite this Grubmuller could not find a gap.
Zampieri, on the other hand, was rather more forceful – first taking Grubmuller (lap 19), before taking 4th from Costa on the final tour at the top of Les Combes, while Grubmuller watched from the safety of 6th place.
Alexander Rossi kept close to Grubmuller in the final laps, but not enough to force the issue. The American assumed his second 7th place finish of the weekend, despite starting a lowly 15th. Rossi held Brendon Hartley over the line, although the Gravity-Charouz pilot rarely looked like forcing the issue.
Daniel Ricciardo suffered another disappointing race, coming home 9th after starting on the fourth row. The Australian pipped Nelson Panciatici to the flag, with the Frenchman losing out in the pitstops.
Former Indy Lights champion, Jean-Karl Vernay made his Formula Renault 3.5 début at Spa-Francorchamps, in what can only be described as a painfully late deal with Pons Racing.
The Frenchman did not score points, before showed impressive pace as he climbed up the field to finish 15th twice, despite starting both races on the final row.
2011 Formula Renault 3.5 Rnd of Spa-Francorchamps (Rd 2, Race 2, 22 laps) Pos Driver Team Time/Gap 1. Jean-Eric Vergne Carlin 46:56.662 2. Robert Wickens Carlin +1.468 3. Chris van der Drift Mofaz +2.173 4. Daniel Zampieri BVM Target +7.153 5. Albert Costa Epic Racing +8.434 6. Walter Grubmuller P1 Motorsport +8.784 7. Alexander Rossi Fortec +9.183 8. Brendon Hartley Gravity-Charouz +9.419 9. Daniel Ricciardo ISR +11.808 10. Nelson Panciatici KMP Racing +12.602 FL. Robert Wickens Carlin 2:05.774 2011 Formula Renault 3.5 Series (Round 2) Drivers’ Championship Pos Driver Points 1. Robert Wickens 71 2. Jean-Eric Vergne 57 3. Alexander Rossi 55 4. Albert Costa 52 5. Nelson Panciatici 26 Teams’ Championship Pos Team Points 1. Carlin 128 2. Fortec 67 3. Epic Racing 53 4. KMP Racing 34 5. P1 Motorsport 32
Race One (April 16th)
Fortec’s Alexander Rossi took victory in his début Formula Renault 3.5 race in the season opener at Motorland Aragon in Spain.
The American headed Carlin’s Robert Wickens by 8.5 seconds at the flag, with Nelson Panciatici a further second adrift in 3rd at the wheel of his KMP-run machine.
Rossi had to wait to get the front. A stellar start by Daniil Move propelled the Russian ahead of Rossi off the line, while an error from poleman Wickens dropped him to 3rd.
It would stay like this for the opening half of the race, as the increasingly wide Move kept the chasing pack at bay – so much so that after eleven laps, the top ten were covered by less than six seconds.
Rossi became more forceful at every turn, eventually storming passed the Russian bravely over the start / finish stretch in a cloud of dust, despite being shoved against the pitwall.
From here, Rossi disappeared from view, as Wickens, et al, struggled to break Move’s defensive barrier.
The position would eventually come for Wickens. Exiting the final corner on the fourteenth tour, the Canadian made the decisive pass, shoving Move wide onto the dusty off-line as the corner unfolded.
Robbed of traction and exit speed, Move fell to 5th Panciatici and Albert Costa grabbing 3rd and 4th respectively.
Costa had the better of Panciatici in the early stages thanks a good start by the former. Indeed Panciatici had also been passed by the equally quick starting Walter Grubmuller, although Panciatici would retake the German on the fifth lap.
The fighting trio received a minor bonus a lap later when Kevin Korjus suffered the first of several spins. Costa made a similar error on the fourteenth tour, gifting the advantage to Panciatici; however the weakening Grubmuller was not so well placed having fallen behind the erratic Move.
Under pressure from the feisty Sten Pentus, Chris van der Drift and Jean-Eric Vergne for 6th place, errors began to creep into Grubmuller’s run.
Grubmuller finally did crack on lap sixteen. On the approach to turn one, the German pilot ran wide, taking van der Drift with him and allowing Vergne take both for a top-six finish.
Van der Drift proved less decisive – while close, the Kiwi could not take 7th from Grubmuller in the final laps.
Mistakes were also coming from Pentus, who fell to 9th after an off trying to pressure Grubmuller. His confidence broken, Pentus would soon lose out to Daniel Zampieri on lap eighteen, dropping the Estonian to 10th.
The opening lap was marred by a large crash that brought out a three-lap safety car. Approaching turn fourteen, Vergne cut across Arthur Pic, opening the door for Anton Nebylitskiy.
A recovering Pic drifted back onto track, clipping Nebylitskiy’s KMP machine as he passed, sending Nebylitskiy into a violent roll. Neither suffered any injuries.
2011 Formula Renault 3.5 Rnd of Barcelona (Rd 1, Race 1, 25 laps) Pos Driver Team Time / Gap 1. Alexander Rossi Fortec 46:29.465 2. Robert Wickens Carlin +8.521 3. Nelson Panciatici KMP Racing +9.647 4. Albert Costa Epic Racing +15.130 5. Daniil Move P1 Motorsport +26.564 6. Jean-Eric Vergne Carlin +27.052 7. Walter Grubmuller P1 Motorsport +27.536 8. Chris van der Drift Mofaz Racing +27.869 9. Daniel Zampieri BVM Target +28.754 10. Sten Pentus Epic Racing +30.042 FL. Alexander Rossi Fortec 1:44.867
Race Two (April 17th)
Kevin Korjus made it a good week for débutante’s when he scored a well-judged victory ahead of Alexander Rossi in Motorland Aragon. Epic Racing’s Albert Costa came home several seconds adrift in 3rd spot.
The Estonian took an immediate lead at the start when poleman Cesar Ramos bogged down, allowing both Korjus and Costa ahead.
As Korjus headed the field, Costa drifted toward the pack containing the recovering Ramos (3rd), Nelson Panciatici (4th), Robert Wickens (5th) and Rossi (6th).
Rossi became the first of the front-runners to stop (lap 8), with Costa and Wickens following on lap 9 and race leader Korjus, on the lap 10 mark.
The extra lap on fresh rubber allowed Rossi to jump both Costa and Wickens; however Korjus had built enough of a lead to keep the American in arrears. Panciatici never made it to the pits – the Frenchman retired with a mechanical problem at the halfway point.
Ramos, meanwhile, stayed out to run in clear air, but for too long. By the time the Brazilian stopped on lap 15, his tyres had ceased to be effective, dropping Ramos behind Korjus, Rossi and Costa, but ahead of Wickens.
It would stay like this to the end, with Korjus nabbing the fastest lap as well, although Rossi would push the Estonian to the flag.
Costa, too, felt pressure until the final moments, with Ramos and Wickens sticking firmly to the rear of the Spaniard – the trio would only be split by 1.5 seconds.
After starting 17th, Anton Nebylitskiy took an admirable 6th thanks to a solid start, good pit work and notable pace. Indeed, Jean-Eric Vergne had a similar run, climbing from 15th to 7th thanks to a good combination of strategy and speed.
Nathanaël Berthon endured a most difficult race, due to constant rearward pressure. The Frenchman led a eight-car train across the finish line – all of whom were covered by a mere 2.8 seconds.
Behind Berthon, Andre Negrao (9th) and Sergio Canamasas (10th) took the final points, while Sten Pentus, Jake Rosenzweig, Chris van der Drift, Arthur Pic and Lewis Williamson just missed out.
Williamson was later penalised 20 seconds for taking his compulsory pitstop outside the designated lap window.
2011 Formula Renault 3.5 Rnd of Barcelona (Rd 1, Race 2, 26 laps) Pos Driver Team Time/Gap 1. Kevin Korjus Tech 1 46:11.799 2. Alexander Rossi Fortec +1.735 3. Albert Costa Epic +8.154 4. Cesar Ramos Fortec +8.777 5. Robert Wickens Carlin +9.679 6. Anton Nebylitskiy KMP +20.359 7. Jean-Eric Vergne Carlin +26.401 8. Nathanael Berthon ISR +34.925 9. Andre Negrao International Draco +35.099 10. Sergio Canamasas BVM Target +35.684 FL. Kevin Korjus Tech 1 1:44.325 2011 Formula 3.5 Series (Round 1) Drivers’ Championship Pos Driver Points 1. Alexander Rossi 43 2. Robert Wickens 28 3. Albert Costa 27 4. Kevin Korjus 25 5. Nelson Panciatici 15 Teams’ Championship Pos Team Points 1. Fortec 55 2. Carlin 42 3. Epic Racing 28 4. Tech 1 25 5. KMP Racing 23
Caterham's racing at Brands Hatch. © Caterham Cars.
Following on from the launch of Caterham Cars India over the weekend of the India Grand Prix, Caterham have added Malaysia to their ever increasing profile.
The Malaysian expansion focuses on upon the new-for-2012 Superlight R300 Championship, which was launched at Sepang International Circuit last week.
The series – which is being backed by AirAsia – will race exclusively at Sepang in 2012, was presented by Tony Fernandes (owner of Caterham Cars and Team Lotus Formula 1) alongside Ansar Ali, Chief Executive of Caterham Cars.
At the launch Ali said:
“We’re hugely excited to be officially launching the championship and demonstrating how fantastic Caterham Seven racing is, especially at such a renowned circuit which the Formula 1 drivers enjoy so much.
We already have plans to expand the grids to over 40 cars in the coming years; we know how much appetite there is for motorsport in the East and this is a terrific platform on which to continue expanding our motorsport and road car business in this part of the world.”
Powered by 175bhp Ford Duratec 2.0 litre engines, the R300 Championship is expecting at least sixteen entries for 2012 brief run, with a potential forty entries available for future seasons.
With similar Caterham championships on the horizon in India and China, the potential growth for motorsport audiences in these territories is significant.
The relatively inexpensive cost of machinery and series participation (compared to other forms of motorsport) may also go some way to encouraging local entrants. Raja Zaini’s Thunder Asia Racing Team will manage the series, as well as provide package deals and technical support.
While this may not seem immediately relevant to those interested in top level motorsport, it is important to understand the growth potential national and club championships offer audiences, once Formula 1 has visited a territory.
Rumours also exist of Caterham launching similar championships in the lower reaches of Asia and the Middle East at some stage in the coming years.
Feature Race (Nov 12th)
Fabio Leimer drove a faultless race to claim victory in the Feature Race of the 2011 GP2 Finale in Abu Dhabi.
Switching to Racing Engineering for the one-off non-championship event, the Swiss pilot also took pole position and fastest lap ahead of Luiz Razia and Jolyon Palmer.
In a field comprising of experienced GP2 runners, GP3 contenders and Formula Renault 3.5 racers amongst others, Leimer proved to be top of the class.
Even Leimer’s start was perfect. A clean launch off the line saw him lead easily into the first corner, while Razia fought for 2nd with Dani Clos and Josef Kral, with the latter pair clashing in turn one, taking Clos out of the race and rendering Kral wounded with a broken front wing.
Thereafter the gap between Leimer and Razia grew slowly, rising to three seconds by the ninth lap, at which point tyre wear began to steady the gap.
Leimer would not lead every lap around the Yas Marina circuit – Palmer broke the sequence for a single tour when the poleman changed tyres at the halfway point.
From there, the Racing Engineering man remained calm, bringing his red-and-yellow Dallara-Renault to the flag intact for full honours.
Razia’s race was almost as uneventful. The Brazilian enjoyed a significant head of pace over Palmer, but never quite had the legs of Leimer. Falling nearly seven seconds shy of the winner by the finish summed up the day for the Caterham AirAsia man.
Abu Dhabi proved to be tougher for Palmer. The Briton scored, not only his first points in GP2, but also his first podium, although iSport’s Marcus Ericsson ensured it was not an easy task.
Starting 14th, Ericsson was 9th after the first lap, taking three more spots by the fifth tour. A tenth lap pass on new teammate Tom Dillmann gave Ericsson another position, before the Swede jumped Kevin Ceccon in the pits for 4th.
Ericsson pressed Palmer in the final eight tours, but the Englishman absorbed the attack with maturity, making certain of 3rd.
Kevin Ceccon claimed a lonely 5th place ahead of Dillmann and Antonio Felix da Costa, both of whom fought tooth and nail for 6th in the final laps, with Dillmann winning out.
James Calado took 8th position and pole position for the Sprint Race after fending off Nathanaël Berthon, Stefano Coletti, Giacomo Ricci and Alexander Rossi in the middle section of the race.
Neither Simon Trummer nor Fabio Onidi had much to smile about after the race. While defending from Onidi, Trummer slammed into the sidepod of Jake Rosenzweig, while Onidi garnered a post-race penalty for speeding through the yellow flag zone on the following lap. Trummer was dropped to last for the Sprint Race.
2011 GP2 Round of Abu Dhabi (Non-Championship, Feature Race, 31 laps) Pos Driver Team Time / Gap 1. Fabio Leimer Racing Engineering 58:53.563 2. Luiz Razia Caterham AirAsia +6.911 3. Jolyon Palmer Barwa Addax +28.708 4. Marcus Ericsson iSport +29.812 5. Kevin Ceccon Scuderia Coloni +36.619 6. Tom Dillmann iSport +41.518 7. Antonio Felix da Costa Ocean Racing Tech. +42.496 8. James Calado Lotus-ART +45.669 9. Nathanaël Berthon Racing Engineering +51.345 10. Stefano Coletti Scuderia Coloni +1:02.481 FL. Fabio Leimer Racing Engineering 1:51.493
Sprint Race (Nov 13th)
James Calado stole a convincing Sprint Race victory in the non-championship event at Abu Dhabi and with it the Pirelli-GP3 prize of €15,000.
The Englishman led from the lights, but found pressure all the way from Antonio Felix da Costa and later Marcus Ericsson. Calado – who finished runner-up in this year’s GP3 Series – maintained a steady head throughout the twenty-six laps, beating Ericsson to the chequered flag by only 1.7 seconds.
Ericsson initially ran close to da Costa in the early stages, with Luiz Razia intently trailing the pair. Da Costa’s defence finally collapsed on the ninth lap, as Ericsson took advantage, while Razia continued to press. The more Razia pushed, the more the Portuguese driver made mistakes – the final of which would cost da Costa any possibility of points.
As Razia took advantage through the turn 11 / 12 chicane, da Costa drove off-track to keep 3rd place, garnering a drive through penalty in the process.
From here, it should have been an easy 3rd place for Razia, only for the Brazilian to drop the ball two tours later. On lap 11, Mihai Marinescu crashed at the exit of turn three, bringing out the yellow flags just as Razia set his fastest sector split, earning a drive through penalty for ignoring yellow flags.
Razia wasn’t the only driver punished – Julián Leal and Giacomo Ricci (twice), earning a drive through and a stop / go respectively for speeding through the danger point.
It gave Tom Dillmann an unchallenged 3rd place, just over five seconds ahead of the equally unchallenged Jolyon Palmer in 4th.
Esteban Gutierrez enjoyed a far more thrilling drive to 5th place. Having started 21st, the Mexican made a startling getaway to reach 14th by the sixth tour.
As the race aged, Gutierrez gained several spots through penalties and through on track manoeuvre, bringing the Lotus-ART driver into a six-way battle for 5th alongside Fabio Leimer, Alexander Rossi, Stefano Coletti, Kevin Ceccon and Dani Clos.
Entering the final lap, Leimer took Rossi in the first turn, only for Coletti to try and take both two corners later. The inevitable clash delayed Rossi and Ceccon, while also sending Coletti into the barriers, leaving enough of a gap for Gutierrez to jump to 6th behind Leimer.
Leimer, now with a sliced tyre, ran wide under the hotel allowing Gutierrez through for 5th, with Ceccon accepting 6th. Rossi recovered for a point-less 7th, just ahead of an opportunistic Razia with Clos and Leimer closing the top ten.
2011 GP2 Round of Abu Dhabi (Non-Championship, Sprint Race, 22 laps) Pos Driver Team Time/Gap 1. James Calado Lotus-ART 41:26.194 2. Marcus Ericsson iSport +1.770 3. Tom Dillmann iSport +7.695 4. Joylon Palmer Barwa Addax +13.040 5. Esteban Gutierrez Lotus-ART +27.012 6. Kevin Ceccon Scuderia Coloni +28.025 7. Alexander Rossi Caterham AirAsia +29.909 8. Luiz Razia Caterham AirAsia +30.022 9. Dani Clos Rapax +30.139 10. Fabio Leimer Racing Engineering +30.570 FL. Luiz Razia Caterham AirAsia 1:51.551 2011 GP2 Series (Non-Championship Round) Drivers’ Championship Pos Driver Points 1. Fabio Leimer 13 2. Marcus Ericsson 10 3. Luiz Razia 9 4. Jolyon Palmer 9 5. James Calado 7* 6. Tom Dillmann 7 *James Calado wins Pirelli-GP3 prize of €15,000. Teams’ Championship Pos Team Points 1. iSport 17 2. Racing Engineering 13 3. Lotus-ART 9 4. Caterham AirAsia 9 5. Barwa Addax 9
Feature Race (September 10th)
Luca Filippi once again displayed his new found GP2 form at Monza in Saturday’s Feature Race ahead of Charles Pic and new champion Romain Grosjean.
The Italian took the lead off the line ahead of the sluggish Pic, only giving up the top spot when he stopped for tyres at the halfway point of the race.
Unflustered, Filippi maintained his cool in the pack allowing the lead to eventually fall back into his hands, assuming a convincing victory soon thereafter.
The Scuderia Coloni man even claimed the fastest lap not long prior to the chequered flag, although with a gap of over five seconds back to Pic, Filippi had little reason to worry.
Pic’s run to the flag was less certain. Despite having started slowly, Pic kept both Álvaro Parente and Grosjean at bay, with the trio maintaining a close fight until the pitstops.
Unfortunately for Parente, an unsafe pit release into the path of Rodolfo Gonzalez would see the Portuguese runner receive a drive through penalty, dropping him down the order, leaving Grosjean to take the fight to Pic.
Where Parente failed, Grosjean could not improve. During the initial laps following their stops, Pic proved too strong for his DAMS challenger, while in the later laps, Grosjean struggled to make the difference on degrading Pirelli’s.
Sam Bird enjoyed a solid drive to take 4th. After a good start, the iSport racer won an early battle with Racing Engineering’s Christian Vietoris and Dani Clos, before jumping Adam Carroll (Super Nova) in the pits.
Carroll, too, benefited from a good drive to 5th, just two seconds up on Vietoris at the flag, while Fabio Leimer served a disappointing Saturday race to come 7th, despite qualifying on the second row.
Jules Bianchi garnered the final points scoring position and the pole slot for the Sunday race by coming home 8th. It served as one of the notable performances of the day with Bianchi drafting his way into the top ten by the halfway mark.
The Frenchman helped himself to further positions in the closing tours as Esteban Gutierrez and Luiz Razia fell behind. Bianchi claimed another spot when Clos gained a drive through for pitlane speeding.
Driver of the day was surely Stéphane Richelmi – a late fill-in for the injured Stefano Coletti. After qualifying 24th, Richelmi led briefly after staying out long on his Pirelli’s, finishing 15th when he finally did take his stop.
Michael Herck received a ten-place grid penalty for the Sprint Race after he rammed Max Chilton, Jolyon Palmer and Josef Kral off the road on the second lap; however Herck would not take the start after he injured his hand in the accident.
2011 GP2 Round of Monza (Rd 9, Feature Race, 30 laps) Pos Driver Team Time / Gap 1. Luca Filippi Scuderia Coloni 47:47.704 2. Charles Pic Barwa Addax +5.627 3. Romain Grosjean DAMS +6.214 4. Sam Bird iSport +9.992 5. Adam Carroll Super Nova +14.904 6. Christian Vietoris Racing Engineering +16.710 7. Fabio Leimer Rapax +18.058 8. Jules Bianchi Lotus-ART +22.787 9. Esteban Gutierrez Lotus-ART +28.444 10. Luiz Razia Racing Engineering +31.661 FL. Luca Filippi Scuderia Coloni 1:33.367
Sprint Race (September 11th)
Christian Vietoris won the final GP2 race of the season at Monza, although Fabio Leimer made sure it was not easy win.
Vietoris made a stunning start from 3rd on the grid to lead before the first corner, swapping with polesitter, Jules Bianchi, whose poor getaway left him scrambling in 3rd spot by turn one.
Leimer momentarily dropped to 3rd when Bianchi locked up and took a short cut over the Variante del Rettifilo; however the Lotus-ART man was quick to give the spot back to Leimer.
While Bianchi’s challenge would fade, Leimer stayed to Vietoris’ rear wing, with the pair rarely separated by more than a second. Through every turn and down each straight the Swiss racer pressed Vietoris to no avail – in every instance, the Racing Engineering driver was too strong.
Bianchi, too, had his work cut out. The Frenchman finished his day trailed by iSport’s Sam Bird and Luca Filippi (Scuderia Coloni). Indeed, Bianchi’s fight extended beyond this simple race – he was also battling with Filippi for runner-up in the champion. A fight Bianchi lost.
Like the leaders, Bianchi could not pull away from the Bird / Filippi duo, nor could the chasers make the decisive move. Each lap, Bianchi noted first Bird and then Filippi in his mirrors, hoping the latter might encounter some problem.
Alas, Filippi sealed the deal by grabbing the point for fastest lap three laps from the end – Bianchi would have to settle for a solemn podium.
Charles Pic – who held the runner-up spot going into the final race – crashed into champion Romain Grosjean at the first corner, ending any chance of taking the honours.
Realistically, the only person on the move was Adam Carroll, except he was going backward. Starting 4th, an ill-conceived set-up helped Carroll tear his tyres apart in the early laps, as first Bird and Filippi took advantage to demote the Northern Irish man.
For a time, Carroll withstood immense pressure from a seven car pack, led by Esteban Gutierrez, who would not pass until the thirteenth lap, garnering the final points spot. Carroll continued to drop backwards, finishing 11th once Dani Clos, Marcus Ericsson, Luiz Razia and Pål Varhaug had passed.
After nine rounds and eighteen races, the 2011 GP2 season had come to a close with Romain Grosjean a clear an emphatic champion ahead of Luca Filippi.
For their pleasure, Grosjean has now secured himself a drive with Renault, while Pic is to be seated with Virgin, but for Luca Filippi, Jules Bianchi, et al, their time will have to wait – if it ever comes at…
2011 GP2 Round of Monza (Rd 9, Sprint Race, 21 laps) Pos Driver Team Time/Gap 1. Christian Vietoris Racing Engineering 32:51.770 2. Fabio Leimer Rapax +0.730 3. Jules Bianchi Lotus-ART +2.851 4. Sam Bird iSport +3.556 5. Luca Filippi Scuderia Coloni +4.010 6. Esteban Gutierrez Lotus-ART +10.957 7. Dani Clos Racing Engineering +11.584 8. Marcus Ericsson iSport +16.079 9. Luiz Razia Caterham AirAsia +17.619 10. Pål Varhaug DAMS +19.814 FL. Luca Filippi Scuderia Coloni 1:32.567 2011 GP2 Series (Rd 9.) Drivers’ Championship Pos Driver Points 1. Romain Grosjean 89 2. Luca Filippi 54 3. Jules Bianchi 53 4. Charles Pic 52 5. Giedo van der Garde 49 Teams’ Championship Pos Team Points 1. Barwa Addax 101 2. DAMS 89 3. Racing Engineering 75 3. iSport 70 4. Lotus-ART 68
Feature Race (Aug 27th)
Christian Vietoris took an utterly chaotic race win at Spa-Francorchamps ahead of Jules Bianchi, but it was Romain Grosjean who claimed the title with his 3rd place.
Having also secured pole position, Vietoris led from the off, building a three-second gap to Bianchi by the halfway point.
However, as rain began to fall over La Source and the old pitlane, Julián Leal spun his Rapax machine at the top of Eau Rouge, stalling as he stopped. With the track partially blocked, the safety car was called and chaos ensued.
Having completely missed the leaders, the safety car drew to a halt exiting the pitlane, whereby cars refused to pass it. The confusion became grew deeper still as the rain suddenly picked up, dousing the field in large plumes of spray, even at slow speed.
Amidst the disorder, Stefano Coletti crashed hard into the rear of Michael Aleshin, with the former flying high, sustaining compressed fractures of two vertebrae as he landed.
Unsure of the order, drivers slowed severely under the safety car, causing several machines to fall into “stand-by mode”, with some units switching off altogether. The race did eventually restart with one lap left, albeit with a far different leaderboard.
Amidst the panic, Vietoris kept his cool and the lead on the final tour, claiming the bonus point for fastest lap as well. Neither Bianchi nor Grosjean had enough time to challenge Vietoris, ensuring the German picked up maximum points. Neither Barwa Addax car finished with both Charles Pic and Giedo van der Garde crashing out, essentially gifting Grosjean the title.
Luca Filippi collected 4th spot. The Italian started on the front row, only drop down to 5th by the opening turn, passing Marcus Ericsson for 4th just before the safety car emerged. There would be no top-five for the Swede – Ericsson’s iSport machine was of those that died under the safety car.
Brendon Hartley took advantage with a fantastic start from the sixth row, assuming 6th on lap one, until Hartley’s demise gave him 5th.
Dani Clos finished on Hartley’s tail after starting alongside him in the grid. Clos’ opening tour was less dramatic, climbing to 11th on the opening tour. Passes on Johnny Cecotto Jr., Josef Kral and Fairuz Fauzy left Clos 8th, while the falling Ericsson and Adam Carroll promoted the Spaniard further.
Kral finished ahead of Fauzy on track, but they had their positions swapped post-race, when it was determined Fauzy had unnecessarily let Kral passed under the safety car.
2011 GP2 Round of Spa-Francorchamps (Rd 8, Feature Race, 24 laps) Pos Driver Team Time / Gap 1. Christian Vietoris Racing Engineering 1:00:55.099 2. Jules Bianchi Lotus-ART +2.862 3. Romain Grosjean DAMS +4.571 4. Luca Filippi Scuderia Coloni +6.441 5. Brendon Hartley Ocean Racing Tech. +11.614 6. Dani Clos Racing Engineering +12.471 7. Fairuz Fauzy Super Nova +18.906 8. Josef Kral Arden +17.391 9. Adam Carroll Super Nova +19.364 10. Davide Valsecchi Caterham AirAsia +20.228 FL. Julián Leal Rapax 2:00.536
Sprint Race (Aug 28th)
A stunning drive from Luca Filippi garnered a second GP2 win of the season for the Italian, ahead of Jules Bianchi and Josef Kral.
Lining up 5th on the grid, the Scuderia Coloni pilot grabbed positions from Dani Clos and Fairuz Fauzy on the third lap, before taking the fast starting Johnny Cecotto Jr in a wheel-to-wheel tussle in Le Combes three laps later.
A mid-race safety car period to clear up the remains of Fabio Leimer’s utterly destroyed Rapax machine on Eau Rouge closed the field together for a seven lap burst to he flag, although Filippi would not need it.
Approaching the slow La Source hairpin at the beginning of lap twelve, Filippi drew alongside Kral, throwing his Renault-powered Coloni into the lead. From there Filippi was rarely seen, building a gap of 4.4 seconds at the chequered flag.
Bianchi had a more trying time in his charge to 2nd place. Starting 7th, the Frenchman made progress amongst a pack that had been backed up by Cecotto Jr., but it was not until after the safety car period that Bianchi moved.
One obstacle was removed when Fauzy damaged his front wing on Cecotto Jr’s rear, packing up the battle for 3rd to 6th further still. The foursome, bookended by Cecotto Jr and Bianchi, with Romain Grosjean and Clos sitting 4th and 5th, bunched together into the daunting Eau Rouge.
It was a daring move that saw Bianchi pass both Grosjean and Clos, while the new GP2 Champion dropped Clos to 6th on the approach to Le Combes. Bianchi made short work of Cecotto Jr, taking 3rd in the Bus Stop chicane.
Bianchi chased after Kral, catching and passing the Czech pilot on the penultimate lap, finalising the podium positions in an emphatic manner.
Sadly for Cecotto Jr., his tyres cried enough in the closing laps, dropping the Venezuelan to 8th as the race drew to a close. It gave an easy 4th to Grosjean, although the DAMS driver could not force a way passed the determined Kral.
Sam Bird made a late charge for the points, jumping from 11th to 5th following the safety car period, while Clos held onto6th in spite of ageing tyres.
Barwa Addax’s late season slide continued, with neither car coming close to the points, as Charles Pic and Giedo van der Garde finishing a distant 19th and 20th respectively.
Meanwhile Julián Leal completed a miserable weekend for Rapax, by spinning out at La Source on lap fourteen.
Filippi’s win and Feature Race points score suddenly opened up the battle for runner-up in the GP2 Championship. With now only a single round remaining, van der Garde was being faced down by Bianchi, Pic and the resurgent Filippi.
2011 GP2 Round of Spa-Francorchamps (Rd 8, Sprint Race, 18 laps) Pos Driver Team Time/Gap 1. Luca Filippi Scuderia Coloni 39:34.834 2. Jules Bianchi Lotus-ART +4.476 3. Josef Kral Arden +6.857 4. Romain Grosjean DAMS +7.685 5. Sam Bird iSport +8.993 6. Dani Clos Racing Engineering +12.952 7. Esteban Gutierrez Lotus-ART +14.364 8. Johnny Cecotto Jr. Ocean Racing Tech. +19.360 9. Brendon Hartley Ocean Racing Tech. +19.634 10. Davide Valsecchi Caterham AirAsia +20.192 FL. Marcus Ericsson iSport 2:00.493 2011 GP2 Series (Rd 8.) Drivers’ Championship Pos Driver Points 1. Romain Grosjean 83 2. Giedo van der Garde 49 3. Jules Bianchi 48 4. Charles Pic 42 5. Luca Filippi 40 Teams’ Championship Pos Team Points 1. Barwa Addax 91 2. DAMS 83 3. Racing Engineering 64 3. iSport 62 4. Lotus-ART 62
Dear Mr Boullier,
Congratulations on this morning’s announcement of Romain Grosjean at the Lotus-Renault Formula 1 team for the 2012 World Championship season.
Of course, I am sure Romain will do very well in his renewed role with the team and may help your squad get closer to that illustrious 4th in the Constructors’ Championship.
There is also precious little doubt that both Romain and lead driver, Kimi Raikkonen, will get on quite well together.
While I’m here, it would be very good if you could ignore everything I wrote about the Lotus / Gravity situation last week.
Thanks again and all the best.
Yours sincerely,
Leigh O’Gorman
Feature Race (July 23rd)
Luca Filippi charged to a fantastic Feature Race victory in his 100th GP2 event at the Nurburgring.
A mixture of perfect strategy and race craft delivered maximum points for the Italian, beating polesitter Charles Pic to the flag by 5.55 seconds. Championship leader Romain Grosjean completed the podium in 3rd.
The victory also marked Filippi’s return to the Scuderia Coloni team in place of the departed Kevin Ceccon.
Pic opened a two-second lead over his veteran challenger during the opening stint; however the pitstops proved a game changer. Stopping on the fourteenth lap, Pic struggled to garner tyre temperature while Filippi set a blistering pace in clear air.
Pitting the following lap, Filippi emerged ahead, but despite his best efforts, Pic was unable to wrestle the advantage away from the Italian, leaving Filippi to take the honours.
Pic’s pace was enough to hold Grosjean at bay in the final tours, to see the pair come home 2nd and 3rd; however with many of his title rivals behind him, Grosjean appeared to drive a more relaxed race.
One of those rivals was Jules Bianchi who took 4th, nearly half-a-minute adrift of the podium. The Lotus-ART man had initially taken Grosjean on the opening lap to run 3rd briefly, but lost this – and more positions – during a sluggish pitstop. A pass on Giedo van der Garde brought Bianchi 4th, but his pace proved too weak to keep with the leaders.
Marcus Ericsson secured a good run to 5th. Passes on Esteban Gutierrez and Dani Clos brought the Swede into points contention. Although an early stop dropped Ericsson into the pack, it did offer enough mid-race speed to jump Álvaro Parente and Fabio Leimer.
Ericsson enjoyed a fantastic late race battle with van der Garde, breaking the Dutch pilot on the penultimate lap, as Ericsson forcefully assume 5th at the chicane. Van der Garde, who had pitted on lap eight laps, lost four-seconds on the final tour on his way to 6th.
Clos led a close six-way battle for 7th onwards, beating Sam Bird, Fabio Leimer and Rodolfo Gonzalez to the flag, although the battle was tainted somewhat by Leimer’s actions.
The Swiss pilot clumsily collided with both Luiz Razia and Adam Carroll in the final laps, taking the pair out and earning Leimer disqualification for poor driving standards.
Parente held the pack of six off for several laps in a clean and expertly judged manner, only to fall foul of a penalty from the steward prior to the finish.
An early safety car period slowed proceedings when Pål Varhaug clashed with Kevin Mirocha, while at the same time Davide Valsecchi ran over the rear wing of Christian Vietoris.
2011 GP2 Round of Nurburgring (Rd 6, Feature Race, 34 laps) Pos Driver Team Time / Gap 1. Luca Filippi Scuderia Coloni 1:01:06.975 2. Charles Pic Barwa Addax +5.558 3. Romain Grosjean DAMS +6.877 4. Jules Bianchi Lotus-ART +33.491 5. Marcus Ericsson iSport +37.716 6. Giedo van der Garde Barwa Addax +41.146 7. Dani Clos Racing Engineering +45.977 8. Sam Bird iSport +46.461 9. Rodolfo Gonzalez Trident +48.452 10. Johnny Cecotto Jr. Ocean Racing Tech. +1:12.166 FL. Luca Filippi 1:42.696
Sprint Race (July 24th)
A late race push for the lead gave Romain Grosjean his fourth GP2 victory of the season.
In damp conditions, the French / Swiss national wriggled by a struggling Jules Bianchi to claim the six points on offer for the Sprint Race, after seeing off a late challenge from Luca Filippi.
As the circuit dried, the race proved to be a goldmine of overtaking with Bianchi and Grosjean rising from the third row to be 2nd and 3rd respectively at the end of the first lap.
That became the race lead for Bianchi, as Sam Bird fell off at Bit-Kurve, before a clumsy attempt on Esteban Gutierrez would soon see him lose part of his front wing, dropping him to 10th, later recovering to 7th.
Grosjean fended off the advances of Gutierrez, with the Mexican emerging on top as they pitted for dry tyres on lap 14. Unfortunately an ill-fitting right rear tyre ended Gutierrez’ run near the front, gifting Grosjean an easy 2nd.
Towards the end, Bianchi struggled in the drying conditions, allowing Grosjean to close up. The pair swapped positions with three laps remaining, but a mistake by Bianchi at Veedol on the penultimate lap opened the door for Grosjean to assume the lead and the victory.
Luca Filippi made it close. Starting 8th, the Italian rose to 6th by the end of the first lap, before engaging in a thrilling battle with Gutierrez, Charles Pic and Max Chilton for 3rd. Once dispatched, Filippi chased after the lead, suffering a couple of half spins as he attacked the vulnerable Bianchi.
Christian Vietoris turned in a star drive for 4th. The Racing Engineering driver started 23rd, taking ten spots in the damp. Vietoris’ car stayed good in the dry, allowing him to take the wet set-ups machines with ease.
Also impressive was Adam Carroll. The Portadown man started from the eighth row, reaching the points at half way as others fell off. Chilton, who raced well in the wet, lost out as the circuit dried, dropping to 6th at the chequered flag.
AirAsia’s kept their drivers out on wets in the hope rain would return, allowing Davide Valsecchi to lead for a time with Luiz Razia in tow. Both fell backward as the race aged, with Razia eventually finishing 14th. Valsecchi retired after colliding with Jolyon Palmer.
Pic was disqualified post-race. The Frenchman received a penalty for a pitlane infringement, only to ignore the order for a drive through.
With the dust settled, Grosjean pulled a large lead in the title hunt with three rounds remaining – so much so, the DAMS pilot could almost take a weekend off. An 18-point gap to van der Garde left Grosjean with one hand on the crown.
2011 GP2 Round of Nurburgring (Rd 6, Sprint Race, 21 laps) Pos Driver Team Time/Gap 1. Romain Grosjean DAMS 45:09.296 2. Jules Bianchi Lotus-ART +1.569 3. Luca Filippi Scuderia Coloni +7.768 4. Christian Vietoris Racing Engineering +14.388 5. Adam Carroll Super Nova +24.962 6. Max Chilton Carlin +42.102 7. Sam Bird iSport +42.428 8. Fabio Leimer Rapax +45.561 9. Julián Leal Rapax +59.610 10. Michael Herck Scuderia Coloni +1:04.044 FL. Christian Vietoris 1:46.494 2011 GP2 Series (Rd 6) Drivers’ Championship Pos Driver Points 1. Romain Grosjean 59 2. Giedo van der Garde 41 3. Charles Pic 34 4. Sam Bird 33 5. Jules Bianchi 32 Teams’ Championship Pos Team Points 1. Barwa Addax 75 2. DAMS 59 3. iSport 54 4. Racing Engineering 46 5. AirAsia 41
One-time Grand Prix victor, Peter Gethin, has sadly passed away at the age of 71 following a lengthy illness.
Born in Surrey in early 1940, Gethin is most famous for winning the 1971 Italian Grand Prix 0.01 of-a-second ahead of Ronnie Peterson and his Cosworth-powered March.
The result was made even more spectacular by the top-five being separated by a mere six-tenths at the line, with François Cevert, Mike Hailwood and Howden Ganley completing the close-knit quintet.
Gethin, who started the final in 4th place, surged through at the Parabolica, to grab a fondly remembered victory.
In a Formula 1 career that ran sporadically for five years, Gethin qualified for thirty Grand Prix, driving for the likes of McLaren, BRM and Embassy Hill Racing, Gethin found himself finishing mostly outside the points.
The angles of Gethin’s Formula 1 career were sadly all too often turned by tragedy. His debut came about due to Bruce McLaren’s fatal accident while testing a Can-Am car at Goodwood in June 1970.
The tragic circumstances offered the 30-year-old an opportunity to establish himself as a marker in motor racing, although his first outing at Zandvoort would go unnoticed due to the death of Piers Courage on the twenty-second lap.
In his fifth Grand Prix at Canada’s Mont-Tremblant, Gethin scored his first World Championship point, coming home 6th and two laps adrift of race winner Jacky Ickx.
Gethin stayed with McLaren until the middle of the 1971 season, moving to BRM to replace the recently killed Pedro Rodriguez, grabbing victory in only his second race with the squad.
He stayed for the entire 1972 season, scoring a point at Monza before dropping out of the limelight completely, after a single Formula 1 appearance in 1973.
He would return to the top flight for the 1974’s British Grand Prix with Embassy Hill Racing to replace the injured Guy Edwards – it would prove to be his last Grand Prix.
Outside of World Championship competition, Gethin achieved a number of other good results, including a memorable victory at the 1973 Race of Champions at Brands Hatch, when he became the only driver to ever beat F1 driver with F5000 in a combined event.
Brands also proved a difficult venue for the Briton. Gethin claimed victory there at the shortened World Victory race in October 1971 – a race sadly brought to an early halt by Jo Siffert’s fatal accident on lap fifteen.
As a racer, Gethin proved himself a worthy contender in various types of machinery. Initially a competitor in Lotus 7’s and 23’s in the early ‘60’s, he took his first title, assuming the Guards Championship in 1963, moving to British Formula 3 two years later.
Several class victories followed, earning Gethin much praise, although a jump to Formula 2 in 1968 proved to be a less than fruitful charger.
He did manage a popular victor at Pau, before the Surrey man would find his niche in Formula 5000, where he reigned as British Champion in 1969 and 1970.
Amidst his Formula 1 and 5000 duties, he took over from Dan Gurney to compete in the Can-Am Challenge Cup for Team McLaren, winning at Road America and taking 3rd in the Drivers’ Championship.
Four years later, Gethin picked up the Tasman title thanks to his trademark consistency, beating the likes of Malcolm Stewart and eventual Australian Drivers’ Champion Johnnie Walker to the crown.
Although he claimed no further titles, Gethin went on a rather unusual run of form by finishing 2nd over in the European Formula 5000 championship (1975) and the Rothmans International Series (1977). He also finished runner-up in the Can-Am Cup during 1975 and ’77 as well.
Victory at Road America in 1977 was his final hurrah as a racing driver, before moving into management during the 1980’s.
While Gethin presided over Ayrton Senna’s first season in Formula 1 as Toleman’s Team Manager, he would soon leave to se up Peter Gethin Racing, managing Beppe Gabbiani and running the likes of Adrian Campos in Formula 3000 in 1986.
Several years later, Gethin ran a driver school at Goodwood.
Peter Gethin passed away yesterday following a long illness. He was 71 years old.
Now that the racing season has finally drawn to a close, I’ll be spending the next few weeks checking up on a few championships that missed the “TV Notes” boat first time around.
It starts this week with GP2, before moving on to GP2 next week and Formula Renault 3.5 the week after that, at which point it’ll be Christmas, leaving me with a beer in one hand and a piece of chocolate in the other.
All good stuff of course.
When Kimi Raikkonen was announced as the lead driver for Group Lotus’ 2012 F1 push on Tuesday, Team Principal Eric Boullier was conspicuously absent.
Quotes from team chairman Gerard Lopez, along with a neatly directed Q&A session from Raikkonen himself filed the pages of magazines and blogs everywhere, but Boullier remained quiet.
Considering Boullier’s position within the team, his non-appearance is highly unusual, especially when one takes into account the breadth of Raikkonen’s profile. However, potential cracks may go somewhat deeper than that.
The Frenchman made some belated comments during the week and again on Friday, first stating that the injured Robert Kubica has still not been ruled out for a drive in 2012 – presumably to lay some pressure on Vitaly Petrov – while later speaking of Raikkonen’s renewed motivation.
With the experienced Finn leading the squad and Petrov almost certain to sit alongside (unless his current option flounders), the deal looks to have drawn a line under Romain Grosjean’s F1 hopes for now.
The Swiss / French runner has been a mainstay of Boullier’s Gravity Sport Management for some time, despite a failed attempt at Formula 1 back in 2009. It is unfortunate for Grosjean who has shown encouraging maturity on screen this year, although questions about his ultimate speed persist.
This week Grosjean has been making noises about a move to DTM with the BMW squad and is due to test with Marco Wittmann and Martin Tomczyk next week at the Monteblanco Circuit in southern Spain.
Boullier isn’t the only man at the forefront of Gravity Management. Lopez, too, backs the company, while Czech racing driver and gentleman racer Antonín Charouz – the founder of Charouz Racing Systems (CHRS) – has deep ties with Gravity.
Gravity is paired with CHRS right up the World Series by Renault Championship in a campaign that saw the team field Antonín’s son, Jan and former Red Bull junior pilot, Brendon Hartley.
Whether that helped Antonín’s son, Jan, into the reserve driver role at Renault, I can only guess, so it was something of a surprise when Jan turned up at HRT for the Young Driver Test in Abu Dhabi a couple of weeks ago.
Gravity Sport have been in the unusual position of battling their brethren on track in GP2 and this is where it gets slightly complicated on the surface.
On his way to taking the GP2 crown, Grosjean raced for Gravity Sport’s junior squad DAMS, while Group Lotus ran Lotus-ART Grand Prix.
Interestingly (and probably irrelevant), ART Grand Prix applied for the 13th spot on the Formula 1 grid in May 2010, only for that application to be withdrawn on July 7th.
It was rumoured that Michelin’s inability to secure the tyre supply contract for series torpedoed ART’s attempt to join the field, leaving the French squad short of funds. Not long after ART’s withdrawl from the Formula 1 process, Group Lotus signed on to back their GP2 and GP3 projects.
Of course, none of this may be relevant, but the signs point to a shift in Group Lotus F1’s management structure and potentially realignment the squad’s feeder system.
One wonders if a split could have greater ramifications beyond Boullier, possibly affecting Gravity Sport, DAMS and Charouz Racing Systems?
In the meantime, here’s a completely nonsensical long shot to consider – should a seat become available at Group Lotus F1 in 2013, it will be filled by young Italian Jules Bianchi.
Call back in fourteen months to see how I did – OK?
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