This blog occasionally drifts from the subject of F1 and
focuses on other forms of motorsport. GP2 is world renowned as F1's feeder
series, where future F1 drivers learn their trade. It is highly competitive and
the races often contain drama and excitement.
2012 has been nothing less than this. We have seen some
stunning, and not so stunning, driving. There has been controversy, incidents,
overtakes and debut race winners as some new faces came onto the scene. With
just 1 weekend of racing left, I look back at the past races and look on to
Singapore.
The season, which travels with the F1 circus to most of the 2012 races, started off in March where we saw previous GP2 midfield runner Luiz Razia take the win. From the get go, Razia and Valsecchi looked to title contenders after strong starts. Valsecchi took second in the first Malaysian round, while Max Chilton claimed his debut podium. Numerous post-race penalties were added after the typical and inevitable collisions.
GP2 has a 2 race format, with a long feature race being held on Saturday. This race features 1 pit stop, where drivers must use both sets of Pirelli compound tyres. The Sunday race is a shorter sprint, with tyre management being key. James Calado, who made the step up from GP3 this season, took the Malaysia sprint race victory. He started on pole and held a controlled race, with his team mate Gutierrez finishing a distant second. Calado had taken a race victory in a non-championship round in late 2011, but no points were on offer there. After the usual frantic first few laps, the field calmed down until lap 14 when things started heating up. After nipping past early Valsecchi on, Razia came under attack from the Italian. After running side by side through turn 1, Davide attempted a move up the inside at turn 4. He overshot and fell back, but Marcus Ericson was also attacking. The two made contact, flipping Valsecchi onto his roll hoop. After sliding into the gravel, Davide exited the car uninjured.
After the excitement of the opening round, the field then moved followed F1 on to Bahrain. After qualifying on pole position, Valsecchi drove a clean race to take the win. He really cemented his title challenge and looked unchallenged throughout. After building up a 12 second gap, the safety car came out. DAMS team mate Nasr and Addax driver Cecotto had collided, slashing the Italian’s advantage. Not to worry though, as his restart was sublime and the gap to second place man Luiz Razia was extended. The Arden driver pulled off a stunning move on James Calado to take the runner up spot, as the British driver fell back with badly word tyres. Gutierrez ended the feature race in third, ahead of Chilton and Calado.
Not many drivers have taken double victories in the GP2 series, but that’s exactly what Davide Valsecchi did. After starting in eighth place, due to the top 8 finishers in race 1 being reversed for the race 2 grids, by consistently closing in and disposing of the leading pack. He had been running a quiet but quick race, moving up the order, before beautifully overtaking Gutierrez on the last lap to take the victory. Fabio Leimer had looked strong and was on for second place before a drive through for ignoring yellow flags dropped him out of the points. Calado, Razia and Chilton rounded out the top 5 behind Gutierrez in second.
As the F1 teams returned to their respective bases, GP2
stayed in Bahrain for another week. They had their own individual weekend with
a sprint and feature race as usual.
Valsecchi continued his Sakhir circuit winning streak and was in a class of his own. The DAMS driver ran second behind Van Der Garde initially, but pounced as the Caterham team driver struggled with tyre wear. Davide seemed to be tyre master, with the impressive ability to conserve his tyre life while still setting consistent lap times. Fabio Leimer made up for his penalty a week earlier to take second, with Van Der Garde finishing a distant third. Valsecchi continued to extend the gap in the championship hunt, as nearest rival Razia finished forth.
The sprint race was eventually won by Tom Dillmann, who scored his maiden GP2 victory. Yes, that’s right, Valsecchi didn’t win it. The first non-Valsecchi winner in Bahrain was in fact Rapax driver Dillmann, who started on pole after Felipe Nasr received a penalty. After cleanly getting through turn 1, Tom eked out the advantage until he had a clear lead. The closest challenge came from first Ericson, and after the iSport driver fell back the Arden of Razia. Dillmann had just enough advantage left to keep him clear, but second meant the Brazilian gained on Valsecchi’s championship lead.
After 4 consecutive races in Bahrain, GP2 re-joined the F1 field for the Spanish Grand Prix weekend. The Circuit de Catalunya is known for its lack of overtaking in F1, but this was GP2. They find places to overtake. I do recall a certain “shut up” moment from Will Buxton after Romain Grosjean passed 4 cars in 1 corner at the previous year’s round. Look it up on YouTube if you haven’t. James Calado took pole position for the feature race, but was beaten to the win by Giedo Van Der Garde. The Dutch driver benefited from Calado and Leimer’s traffic to leap frog them both, helped by a bold tyre strategy where only 2 tyres were changed at the stop. The sprint race was slightly more exciting, with Arden’s Razia eventually winning the race. After starting on pole position, he led from start to finish. However eventual runner up Nathanael Berthon was the Arden driver’s surprise company for much of the race, the Racing Engineering driver dropping back before the chequered flag. Valsecchi took the final podium position, while Britons Calado and Chilton rounded out the top 5 after the former overtook the latter in a clean more into the hairpin.
There had already been maiden GP2 winners in 2012, but Cecotto joined that group after a stunning drive around the streets of Monaco. The most glamorous event on the GP2 series calendar saw Addax driver Cecotto resist pressure from iSport’s Marcus Ericson. The two were never more than 2 seconds apart, with the margin by the flag decreasing to just half a second. Despite a few looks and peaks, Ericson could not pass through the tight and twisty Monaco streets. Van Der Garde finished a rather lonely third, with Valsecchi ending up forth. The Italian’s title rival Razia had to pit for repairs and had to settle for fifteenth. The sprint race was one marred with incidents, the most notable being at the start. On the run up to Casino, the previous day’s hero Cecotto spun and was collected by the trailing pack. Felipe Nasr was launched over the back of Guerin’s Ocean Racing. Championship leader Valsecchi was also caught up in the mayhem. After the safety car, Jolyon Palmer held the lead after making the jump from third to first at turn 1. Behind, Calado was nursing a broken front wing and was given the black and orange flag. As the train of cars behind was released, it was Britons Max Chilton charging towards Palmer. However the 9 second gap when Calado pitted was more than enough to fend off the Carlin driver’s challenge. Razia finished the race in sixth after starting down in fifteenth.
After F1 headed to Canada, GP2 joined them on returning to Valencia. The feature race was chaotic, with numerous incidents occurring. The most dramatic one was for Crestani’s Lazarus which was flipped over by Jolyon Palmer in a concertina. There were 3 safety cars which effectively ruined James Calado’s race, as he would of taken the win had the safety car not been scrambled so many times. After his pit stop, the Brit dropped to tenth after dominating the whole race. The win was snatched away from him by team mate Gutierrez, who managed to fend of Ericson. Razia ended up third, 5 places ahead of title rival Valsecchi.
In the sprint race, Luiz Razia took a stunning win after
overtaking long-time leader Calado with 7 corners left to go. It was a dramatic
win for the Brazilian, who benefited from the Lotus driver damaging his car
after a failed move by Haryanto turned soar. It was a brilliant defensive drive
by Calado, but he could not hold on in the closing laps. Razia had disposed of
Van Der Garde and Chilton late in the race, and swept past Leimer and Calado to
take the victory. Valsecchi pitted twice but finished strongly in tenth
after getting caught up in earlier incidents.
The GP2 season was hotting up as it headed to the not so hot Silverstone circuit. The historic track saw Gutierrez take the victory in the feature race, after early leader Leimer lost out by not pitting during the safety car period. It was the second win Esteban had picked up all season. The race started behind the safety car due to the wet conditions but the racing started soon after. Due to Leimer’s strategy problems, Cecotto finished second and Palmer ended up third. Razia and Valsecchi finished fifth and seventh respectively. In the sprint race, the drivers who finished the previous days race in fifth and seventh made up the first 2 steps of the podium. Razia took the championship lead from Davide because of his victory, with Felipe Nasr finishing third behind the two title contenders.
The field then moved on to Hockenheim, where a slick tyre gamble amazingly paid off for Johnny Cecotto on a damp to dry track. The decisions were an inspired choice and saw him, along with fellow slick tyre gambler Richelmi, move up the field. Fabio Leimer finished between the two after Richelmi pitted late in the race. The sprint race saw James Calado win for Lotus, ahead of Van Der Garde. Nasr and Leimer were next up, the latter holding off a challenge from Gutierrez. A late shunt for Serenelli meant yellow flags were out and those passing could not pass, neutralising the race slightly.
Hungary saw a new GP2 race winner, after Max Chilton converted pole position into a victory. The Brit had scored a number of podiums in 2012 up until that point, but that illusive win was what he wanted. The Carlin driver just managed to hold of Valsecchi to win, ahead of Razia and Calado. Gutierrez dominated the sprint race and scored his third win of the season. He always had control of the race, with pace in reserve for any late charges. Berthon tried to close the gap a few times but had to settle for second. Razia beat Valsecchi to the final podium, ahead of Palmer and Calado.
The cars raced around the legendary Spa circuit for rounds 19 and 20 of the GP2 series. Marcus Ericson took a dominant win in the feature race, but it was a heavy shunt at Eau Rouge which turned heads. Nigel Melker brought out the red flag after crashing heavily into the barrier on the exit to Eau Rouge. After a delay, the racing got underway again. Calado led Vasecchi home for second and third, with Josef Kral impressing in forth. The Addax driver impressed even more by winning the sprint race. It was a mature drive, almost a cruise, for Kral who took his first GP2 win. The Czech benefited from a great start and led the way home. A first lap incident for Razia and Valsecchi dropped them down the field.
The penultimate round in Monza passed by a week or so ago, with the feature race win coming from series returnee Luca Filippi. He took a dominant win in front of his home crowd, after replacing Coletti at Coloni. The Italian passed pole sitter Chilton after the Brits pit stop, and never looked back. Cecotto and Ericson passed Chilton for the remaining podium positions, while the Carlin driver dropped to forth. Valsecchi finished sixth and reclaimed his championship lead after Razia retired from the race.
The sprint race saw Valsecchi storm to victory and extend his lead in the championship. It was his first win since Bahrain and drove a commanding race to become the second Italian GP2 winner of the weekend. Leimer finished a close second, ahead of Palmer in third. Coletti finished an eventual forth ahead of Cecotto and Chilton. The two had benefited from Ericson running wide on the final lap.
The results now mean Valsecchi leads the championship, setting the season finale in Singapore up to be a great weekend. GP2 never disappoint in the racing steaks and will put on a fantastic show for the fans.
Razia is still in with a shot of the title, but Valsecchi has a 25 point advantage. Singapore is a tricky track to overtake on, but the playing field is levelled as GP2 has never raced in Singapore. Whoever wins will be a deserving champion, as both have shown some impressive pace. Calado has also performed well, as has Chilton and Gutierrez.
Marina bay is a challenge. Like Monaco, mistakes do not go without being punished and mistakes often happen in GP2. Expect a few expensive repair bills and some hot on track action as GP2 builds up for the season finale.
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| (c) GP2 Media |
The season, which travels with the F1 circus to most of the 2012 races, started off in March where we saw previous GP2 midfield runner Luiz Razia take the win. From the get go, Razia and Valsecchi looked to title contenders after strong starts. Valsecchi took second in the first Malaysian round, while Max Chilton claimed his debut podium. Numerous post-race penalties were added after the typical and inevitable collisions.
GP2 has a 2 race format, with a long feature race being held on Saturday. This race features 1 pit stop, where drivers must use both sets of Pirelli compound tyres. The Sunday race is a shorter sprint, with tyre management being key. James Calado, who made the step up from GP3 this season, took the Malaysia sprint race victory. He started on pole and held a controlled race, with his team mate Gutierrez finishing a distant second. Calado had taken a race victory in a non-championship round in late 2011, but no points were on offer there. After the usual frantic first few laps, the field calmed down until lap 14 when things started heating up. After nipping past early Valsecchi on, Razia came under attack from the Italian. After running side by side through turn 1, Davide attempted a move up the inside at turn 4. He overshot and fell back, but Marcus Ericson was also attacking. The two made contact, flipping Valsecchi onto his roll hoop. After sliding into the gravel, Davide exited the car uninjured.
After the excitement of the opening round, the field then moved followed F1 on to Bahrain. After qualifying on pole position, Valsecchi drove a clean race to take the win. He really cemented his title challenge and looked unchallenged throughout. After building up a 12 second gap, the safety car came out. DAMS team mate Nasr and Addax driver Cecotto had collided, slashing the Italian’s advantage. Not to worry though, as his restart was sublime and the gap to second place man Luiz Razia was extended. The Arden driver pulled off a stunning move on James Calado to take the runner up spot, as the British driver fell back with badly word tyres. Gutierrez ended the feature race in third, ahead of Chilton and Calado.
Not many drivers have taken double victories in the GP2 series, but that’s exactly what Davide Valsecchi did. After starting in eighth place, due to the top 8 finishers in race 1 being reversed for the race 2 grids, by consistently closing in and disposing of the leading pack. He had been running a quiet but quick race, moving up the order, before beautifully overtaking Gutierrez on the last lap to take the victory. Fabio Leimer had looked strong and was on for second place before a drive through for ignoring yellow flags dropped him out of the points. Calado, Razia and Chilton rounded out the top 5 behind Gutierrez in second.
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| (c) GP2 Media |
Valsecchi continued his Sakhir circuit winning streak and was in a class of his own. The DAMS driver ran second behind Van Der Garde initially, but pounced as the Caterham team driver struggled with tyre wear. Davide seemed to be tyre master, with the impressive ability to conserve his tyre life while still setting consistent lap times. Fabio Leimer made up for his penalty a week earlier to take second, with Van Der Garde finishing a distant third. Valsecchi continued to extend the gap in the championship hunt, as nearest rival Razia finished forth.
The sprint race was eventually won by Tom Dillmann, who scored his maiden GP2 victory. Yes, that’s right, Valsecchi didn’t win it. The first non-Valsecchi winner in Bahrain was in fact Rapax driver Dillmann, who started on pole after Felipe Nasr received a penalty. After cleanly getting through turn 1, Tom eked out the advantage until he had a clear lead. The closest challenge came from first Ericson, and after the iSport driver fell back the Arden of Razia. Dillmann had just enough advantage left to keep him clear, but second meant the Brazilian gained on Valsecchi’s championship lead.
After 4 consecutive races in Bahrain, GP2 re-joined the F1 field for the Spanish Grand Prix weekend. The Circuit de Catalunya is known for its lack of overtaking in F1, but this was GP2. They find places to overtake. I do recall a certain “shut up” moment from Will Buxton after Romain Grosjean passed 4 cars in 1 corner at the previous year’s round. Look it up on YouTube if you haven’t. James Calado took pole position for the feature race, but was beaten to the win by Giedo Van Der Garde. The Dutch driver benefited from Calado and Leimer’s traffic to leap frog them both, helped by a bold tyre strategy where only 2 tyres were changed at the stop. The sprint race was slightly more exciting, with Arden’s Razia eventually winning the race. After starting on pole position, he led from start to finish. However eventual runner up Nathanael Berthon was the Arden driver’s surprise company for much of the race, the Racing Engineering driver dropping back before the chequered flag. Valsecchi took the final podium position, while Britons Calado and Chilton rounded out the top 5 after the former overtook the latter in a clean more into the hairpin.
There had already been maiden GP2 winners in 2012, but Cecotto joined that group after a stunning drive around the streets of Monaco. The most glamorous event on the GP2 series calendar saw Addax driver Cecotto resist pressure from iSport’s Marcus Ericson. The two were never more than 2 seconds apart, with the margin by the flag decreasing to just half a second. Despite a few looks and peaks, Ericson could not pass through the tight and twisty Monaco streets. Van Der Garde finished a rather lonely third, with Valsecchi ending up forth. The Italian’s title rival Razia had to pit for repairs and had to settle for fifteenth. The sprint race was one marred with incidents, the most notable being at the start. On the run up to Casino, the previous day’s hero Cecotto spun and was collected by the trailing pack. Felipe Nasr was launched over the back of Guerin’s Ocean Racing. Championship leader Valsecchi was also caught up in the mayhem. After the safety car, Jolyon Palmer held the lead after making the jump from third to first at turn 1. Behind, Calado was nursing a broken front wing and was given the black and orange flag. As the train of cars behind was released, it was Britons Max Chilton charging towards Palmer. However the 9 second gap when Calado pitted was more than enough to fend off the Carlin driver’s challenge. Razia finished the race in sixth after starting down in fifteenth.
After F1 headed to Canada, GP2 joined them on returning to Valencia. The feature race was chaotic, with numerous incidents occurring. The most dramatic one was for Crestani’s Lazarus which was flipped over by Jolyon Palmer in a concertina. There were 3 safety cars which effectively ruined James Calado’s race, as he would of taken the win had the safety car not been scrambled so many times. After his pit stop, the Brit dropped to tenth after dominating the whole race. The win was snatched away from him by team mate Gutierrez, who managed to fend of Ericson. Razia ended up third, 5 places ahead of title rival Valsecchi.
 |
| (c) GP2 Media |
The GP2 season was hotting up as it headed to the not so hot Silverstone circuit. The historic track saw Gutierrez take the victory in the feature race, after early leader Leimer lost out by not pitting during the safety car period. It was the second win Esteban had picked up all season. The race started behind the safety car due to the wet conditions but the racing started soon after. Due to Leimer’s strategy problems, Cecotto finished second and Palmer ended up third. Razia and Valsecchi finished fifth and seventh respectively. In the sprint race, the drivers who finished the previous days race in fifth and seventh made up the first 2 steps of the podium. Razia took the championship lead from Davide because of his victory, with Felipe Nasr finishing third behind the two title contenders.
The field then moved on to Hockenheim, where a slick tyre gamble amazingly paid off for Johnny Cecotto on a damp to dry track. The decisions were an inspired choice and saw him, along with fellow slick tyre gambler Richelmi, move up the field. Fabio Leimer finished between the two after Richelmi pitted late in the race. The sprint race saw James Calado win for Lotus, ahead of Van Der Garde. Nasr and Leimer were next up, the latter holding off a challenge from Gutierrez. A late shunt for Serenelli meant yellow flags were out and those passing could not pass, neutralising the race slightly.
Hungary saw a new GP2 race winner, after Max Chilton converted pole position into a victory. The Brit had scored a number of podiums in 2012 up until that point, but that illusive win was what he wanted. The Carlin driver just managed to hold of Valsecchi to win, ahead of Razia and Calado. Gutierrez dominated the sprint race and scored his third win of the season. He always had control of the race, with pace in reserve for any late charges. Berthon tried to close the gap a few times but had to settle for second. Razia beat Valsecchi to the final podium, ahead of Palmer and Calado.
The cars raced around the legendary Spa circuit for rounds 19 and 20 of the GP2 series. Marcus Ericson took a dominant win in the feature race, but it was a heavy shunt at Eau Rouge which turned heads. Nigel Melker brought out the red flag after crashing heavily into the barrier on the exit to Eau Rouge. After a delay, the racing got underway again. Calado led Vasecchi home for second and third, with Josef Kral impressing in forth. The Addax driver impressed even more by winning the sprint race. It was a mature drive, almost a cruise, for Kral who took his first GP2 win. The Czech benefited from a great start and led the way home. A first lap incident for Razia and Valsecchi dropped them down the field.
The penultimate round in Monza passed by a week or so ago, with the feature race win coming from series returnee Luca Filippi. He took a dominant win in front of his home crowd, after replacing Coletti at Coloni. The Italian passed pole sitter Chilton after the Brits pit stop, and never looked back. Cecotto and Ericson passed Chilton for the remaining podium positions, while the Carlin driver dropped to forth. Valsecchi finished sixth and reclaimed his championship lead after Razia retired from the race.
The sprint race saw Valsecchi storm to victory and extend his lead in the championship. It was his first win since Bahrain and drove a commanding race to become the second Italian GP2 winner of the weekend. Leimer finished a close second, ahead of Palmer in third. Coletti finished an eventual forth ahead of Cecotto and Chilton. The two had benefited from Ericson running wide on the final lap.
The results now mean Valsecchi leads the championship, setting the season finale in Singapore up to be a great weekend. GP2 never disappoint in the racing steaks and will put on a fantastic show for the fans.
Razia is still in with a shot of the title, but Valsecchi has a 25 point advantage. Singapore is a tricky track to overtake on, but the playing field is levelled as GP2 has never raced in Singapore. Whoever wins will be a deserving champion, as both have shown some impressive pace. Calado has also performed well, as has Chilton and Gutierrez.
Marina bay is a challenge. Like Monaco, mistakes do not go without being punished and mistakes often happen in GP2. Expect a few expensive repair bills and some hot on track action as GP2 builds up for the season finale.
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