27/05/2006
NEWS STORY
ART Grand Prix - Lewis Hamilton (1st) Alex Prémat (3rd)
It was another successful race weekend for the ART Grand Prix team when rookie driver Lewis Hamilton dominated the entire weekend with the fastest time in practice, securing a brilliant pole position and then taking the win around the tight and twisty streets of Monte Carlo.
Lewis was one of the first on track and set the early pace, a time that was never really challenged with Franck Perera’s best time of 1:20.717 for second on the grid was the closest anyone came to Hamilton’s stunning time of 1:21.044. Meanwhile teammate Alex Prémat qualified fourth after several red and yellow flags interrupted the session, making it extremely hard for the Frenchman to improve on his times, despite giving it every possible effort.
Lewis took to a perfect start and drove a strong race to take a very impressive victory, his third of the season, crossing the line 8.4 seconds ahead of Perera while teammate Alex Prémat joined him on the podium after some brilliant overtaking manoeuvres to make it a one three for the ART team.
Lewis is now in the lead of the driver’s championship on 49 points, ten ahead of Nelson Piquet while Alex is third on 33 points. ART Grand Prix leads the teams challenge with 82 points ahead of Arden International on 50 and Piquet Sports on 43 points.
Frédéric Vasseur: A weekend that we could describe as nearly perfect and it is a credit to the whole team. Our two drivers did not make the smallest mistake and had the perfect race, being aggressive when it was necessary and careful when the race conditions forced them to be cautious. According to our ideal plan, Lewis opened a gap from the very start of the race, and then drove with great maturity. After a chaotic start, Alex delivered a fantastic race, with two overtaking manoeuvres in one lap that should be shown in all the driving schools. The overall result is very positive since Lewis and Alex are now 1st and 3rd in the Drivers standings and ART Grand Prix has quite a nice gap in the Teams championship.
Alexandre Prémat: The weekend was overall positive, even if my ambition was to add Monaco to my prize list, as it is the only street race that I have not won yet. Qualifying was a little disappointing for me after free practice had given me an excellent basis. I could not get a clean lap and all the red and yellow flags certainly disrupted things, which caused some damage because the front row was within my range. At the beginning, of the race my car moved slightly when the lights were still red; so I jumped on the clutch a split second, which affected my take off a little. I allowed two competitors past while waiting for the best moment to attack but I had a lot of oversteer on my first set of tyres. With the second set the car was a lot better and I could attack and work my way through the field. With a flat spot on a front tyre, I preferred to ease off a little near the end to ensure a place on the podium, which now sees me in a good position in driver’s classification.
Lewis Hamilton: Securing the Pole Position was a great start of what turned out to be a great weekend. The atmosphere in Monaco is awesome and quite unique, as is the driving in these narrow streets where you can’t afford the smallest mistake. I took a good start and opened up a gap, then stay focused all the way long to the chequered flag. To win here in Monaco is quite an emotional experience, a one that I love! Monaco is historic and when you grow up you kind of dream to be on the top of the podium here. To come into GP2 in only my first year and win here, and from pole, I couldn't ask for more. The team worked so hard and so well that it deserved this success, and I want to thank each member of ART Grand Prix. Now it’s time to focus on Silverstone!
DPR Direxiv - Clivio Piccione (4th) Olivier Pla (DNF)
Monégasque driver, Clivio Piccione, finished a strong 4th place in today's GP2 race at Monaco, scoring his and the DPR Direxiv team's first points of the season. After the disappointment of Barcelona, which promised so much and ultimately delivered little, today's result was a great morale boost for the British team in the lead up to their home race at Silverstone – the GP2 Series' next port of call.
Piccione's French team mate, Olivier Pla, had a miserable Monaco weekend and, after running in 3rd place in the opening laps, ended up in the barriers at the exit of the Swimming Pool. He had hit the kerbs heavily on the entry to the corner, but didn't have the strength in his hand (due to an injured thumb sustained in an accident with Viso in qualifying yesterday) to hang onto the steering wheel and his race went no further.
David Price had a typically wry view on the day's events: "It was a good result for us and a relief to get some points at last. We finished where we qualified which is probably quite normal here and about all we could hope for. We now move forward to Silverstone and obviously hope to pick up where we left off there last year, winning again. As for Olivier, we are thinking of taping a horseshoe onto his overalls for the next race to give him a bit of luck…"
For Piccione, delight at scoring points was tempered with disappointment that he was not able to make it a podium finish on his home ground. "I'm happy, but would have been happier if I was on the podium. I made a great start and moved up to 4th by the first corner and then got past Olivier who was struggling and crashed at the same place I crashed last year. From there on I ran my own race and was running in 3rd , just trying to put in some consistent lap times. After my pit stop I held onto 4th but was starting to struggle with gear selection problems going down the box. I nearly crashed twice going into the first corner; it was really close."
Trident Racing - Andreas Zuber (5th) Gimmi Bruni (DNF)
Andreas Zuber today scored his first points crossing the prestigious Montecarlo finish line in fifth position. Andreas got four points for Trident Racing in the day when Gimmi Bruni, who started third, unfortunately had to stop during the first lap because of a contact with a barrier. The first to congratulate Andy has been the soccer superstar Clarence Seedorf who felt the emotion to attend the race from the pitwall.
Roberto Costa - engineer car 27: "Andreas drove very well and took his first points on the world most beautiful stage. I am sure that from now on he will give us plenty of satisfaction. He has always been fast and during the race he always demonstrated his value but without getting back what he was deserving. Today it went ell and from now on it will go even better"
Andreas Zuber:"I hope these four points could be the start of a positive sequence. I think both myself and the team deserved them. To get them here in Montecarlo is surely very special, this is why I strongly wanted to deliver a good performance. For sure I come back home with much more experience and with the satisfaction to know that I did a good job."
Arden International - - Michael Ammermueller (7th) Nicolas Lapierre (DNF)
Nicolas Lapierre spent Saturday night in hospital after he was the innocent victim of a first corner accident at Monaco. Nicolas complained of back pain after getting out of the car, and was detained for observation and tests. Initial reports suggest that he will have to miss the next race at Silverstone.
Meanwhile, Michael Ammermueller gave Arden some good news with a great drive to seventh place from 20th on the grid.
Having started 14th Nicolas could do nothing when Tristan Gommendy triggered a multi-car accident as the field headed into Ste Devote. He rode over the back of the car of Lucas di Grassi before landing, rear first, in the escape road. It's thought that the heavy landing caused Nicolas's problems.
Michael started 20th after a frustrating qualifying session. He did a great job to weave through the first corner chaos, and emerged in 11th place. He'd got up to eighth when he made his compulsory stop on lap 11, and went on to finish seventh. The next race is Arden's home event at Silverstone on June 10-11.
Nicolas Lapierre: 'I had a good start and I was looking to gain some places into Ste Devote, but I was hit from behind pretty hard and the car took off. It came down very heavily and to be honest I don't remember much after that. Crashing on your own is one thing but to be involved in someone else's accident is something you can't do anything about. The main thing is I recover as quickly as possible and get back into the championship.'
Michael Ammermueller: 'It wasn't too bad, and I didn't damage the car all weekend. At the first corner, I was on the inside, then I went to the outside and passed everybody. I don't know how many people I overtook, but it was quite a lot. After that it was difficult to overtake, and then in the last 15 laps my rear tyres were gone. We lost a little time in the pit stop, but we still made the points. I haven't raced at Silverstone before, but I've driven a road car there! It's a nice track.'
Christian Horner: 'It was a great shame for Nicolas, and we just hope that he will be fine and back in the car as soon as possible. From the grid position Michael was in, to get some points was a good result on his first visit to Monaco. If he had started further up I'm sure he would have scored some more points. It's now important that we don't lose too much ground on the leaders and come back strong at the next race. He was unlucky to get held up in qualifying, but I think he's learnt a lot this weekend, and it's been a good experience for him. Silverstone is a really important race for Arden. We won three times in F3000 and were second in GP2 last year.'
Durango - Sergio Hernandez (8th) Lucas Di Grassi (11th)
Durango gained the first two points of the season in Monaco. Di Grassi made the best lap and Hernandez ended the race 8th.
Di Grassi lost the chance to see the podium because one driver hit the back of his car at the start. His rear wing was broken in 2 parts. He pitted and changed the spare part. After few laps he signed the best lap of the race (lap 23rd). Nobody was able to improve his timing lap.
Hernandez made a very good start, like he is used to do, moving up from 23rd to position 14th. He kept on improving his timing laps and finishing in position 8th.
Lucas Di Grassi: Cause of the crash I had to enter the pit for a long stop, indeed my rear wing was broken in 2 parts. Immediately we changed our strategy focusing myself on making the best lap. And we got it on the lap 23rd. Neither Valles nor Piquet Jr, who put on new tyres on the last 5 laps, could manage to reach my timing lap.
Sergio Hernandez: We planned a good strategy that makes us gain the first point of the season. We decided not to risk because this is a particular track. The result shows we were right. I want to say that the pit stop was really fine. There is a good synergy with the team.
Super Nova International - Fairuz Fauzy (10th) Jose Maria Lopez (DNF)
Monaco's race here today lived up to it's reputation as one full of excitment! In a matter of seconds, unable to find a clear path within the narrow first corners, several cars were caught up an incident stopping their race there and then. Super Nova's Jose Maria Lopez involved in this, retired into the pit lane with a damaged nose, rear wing and tyres. The team dealt first with Fairuz Fauzy who came in for one of two pit stops, then worked on Jose's car & sent it out again. Unfortunately now 8 laps down even a fastest lap point (his fastest being an impressive1:23.288) was unobtainable as he would not be able to complete the neccessary 90% of the race to qualify for it.
Race leader Lewis Hamilton pulled away from the start & when he pitted mid race he was still ahead, where he remained until the end. Monfardini was penalised 10 seconds for driving dangerously, closing the gap a little between him and Super Nova's Fairuz Fauzy, who successfully completed Monaco's 45 lap GP2 race to finish 10th, 11 places up from his grid position.
Franck Perera finished 2nd today for the DAMs team in between the two ART cars who finished 1st and 3rd. Fastest lap went to the Durango driver Di Grassi with a time of 1:22.563.
Team Principal - David Sears: "Starting in 15th place at Monaco you normally get involved in an accident, which is exactly what happened to Jose. However the team repaired his car, but lost 8 laps in the pits. With a heavier fuel load than his rivals he managed to circulate behind the winner Lewis Hamilton for the 2nd half of the race. If Jose can sort out his qualifying dilemma then we'll be winning races! Fairuz Fauzy lapped much closer to the pace, than he had in qualifying & managed to finish the race in 10th place. If Fairuz can start pushing a bit earlier in the weekend he will be capable of scoring some points.
Jose Maria Lopez: "I started towards the back, so it was likely that I'd get caught in an incident. I'm not sure who it was that hit me, but the car suffered some damage, however the boys in the pit managed to repair the nose and rear wing to get me out again, and although 8 laps down, I am pleased with my lap times and am looking forward to Silverstone! "
Fairuz Fauzy: "I was starting at the back of the grid, & to finish 10th is a fantastic result. I managed to avoid any incidents and we did a good pit stop, so I am please with todays result and looking forward to the next round in Silverstone."
Nelson Piquet Jr (12th)
It has been a weekend to forget for Nelson Piquet Jr who was forced to retire on the last lap of today's 45-lap Monaco GP2 race. It was the end of a terrible afternoon, after Nelson had to come in on the first lap for repairs after his rear wing was torn off by flying debris from a first lap collision between several cars, a crash that also put out almost one third of the field.
He rejoined the race three laps down, and was pushing hard to try to secure the fastest lap towards the end of the race, but a disconnected battery put an end to the day.
With Lewis Hamilton winning today's race, he now moves ahead of Nelson in the championship, the first time he has lost the lead all season. Lewis now has 49 points, with Nelson on 39 points. Lewis' ART team-mate Alexandre Premat is third in the championship with 33 points.
"I didn't even see what happened at the start. I just looked in my mirror and the rear wing was gone. I looked a second time, and then a third time and it really wasn't there but I didn't feel a thing! I came into the pits and we replaced the rear wing but at the end of the race the car just went off and that was it. I lost the lead of the championship for the first time but I'm not too worried at the moment. It's only one race here and we still have
more than half the season to go. Lewis has shown what can happen if you have a great weekend and someone else has a bad weekend. Next we go to Silverstone, which is my favourite circuit and we will have a good car again and I will go there to win."
Racing Engineering - Adam Carroll (DNF) Javier Villa (DNF)
Monaco is the race everyone wants to win: it's the one that even non- race fans have heard about and watch. Unfortunately today's race in Monaco lasted exactly three corners for Racing Engineering after both drivers were taken out of the race for reasons not of their own making.
There is often mayhem at the start on the tight streets of the Principality, and this afternoon's race was no exception: with cars flying all over the front straight after the lights went out Javier Villa was hit from behind, and the resultant damage to his car put him out on the spot. Teammate Adam Carroll didn't last much longer: a loss of drive out of St. Devote meant he could do little other than crawl up the hill and retire at Casino Square.
The only race the team was going to win today was that to get out of the paddock first, and both drivers were back with the team before the first pitstops came in a race that was won today by Lewis Hamilton.
Team principal Alfonso de Orleans was phlegmatic afterwards, stating: It's a real pity for Javi, as he was doing really well but got hit from behind by Lopez: it wasn't his fault but they were both caught up in the muddle at St. Devote, as they say. As for Adam we don't know what happened yet, but there seemed to be a loss of oil pressure: when he was on the grid it was fine but in the race it just seized up, so what we're going to do is work hard and change everything to have it ready for Silverstone. As usual it was great work by all the guys, and there were no other problems to talk about, so we just have to grit our teeth and bear it. Everyone knows that, in Monaco, these things happen sometimes, and if both of our cars are going to go out, I guess I'd rather it happen in the first lap: at least then I can sit back and watch the race!"
Adam Carroll was philosophical about his shortened race, noting: I just stopped, basically. I'm not really too sure what happened: I got a pretty good start but I just couldn't go anywhere, and then I tried to cut back out of turn one and get a good drive up the hill, but when I got on the power it wouldn't go. I got passed by a few guys and then it went again and I thought maybe we're going to be okay, but when I got to Casino my foot was flat but it just wasn't going anywhere. I think it's something that shut off, and it's a shame because I think we would have had a good race today: the car was really quick. Oh well: on to the next one!"
Javier Villa shared his teammate's outlook on the race, stating: It's a bit of a shame because I was happy to start from thirteenth, and having seen all the accidents, and that only eight cars finished, I certainly would have got into the points today, and it would have been a great race. There were a lot of problems at the start, and obviously I got caught up in it, and that was it. Apart from that I think the team have done a great job, and I felt comfortable with the car: if we keep up like this I expect to be competing well very soon."