03/08/2008
NEWS STORY
iSport International - Bruno Senna (3rd) Karun Chandhok (DNF)
Bruno Senna secured another podium finish in this morning's GP2 Series sprint at the Hunaroring - and proved he had a mature head on his relatively inexperienced shoulders. While rivals committed a series of errors, he quietly picked his way through the field to rise from seventh - the result of an indifferent getaway - to third. There was no such luck for team-mate Karun Chandhok, who failed to start after being unable to select any gears.
Senna remains second in the championship but has reduced leader Giorgio Pantano's advantage to seven points. iSport has increased its lead to 16 points in the championship for teams.
Bruno Senna: "I passed Sakon Yamamoto on the opening lap and gained a couple more places because of various incidents. Overtaking on the road is never easy here - and actually staying on the road was quite difficult because Pastor Maldonado's car was spilling oil all over the place. After his engine finally blew, it took me a few laps to trust my car properly. It was handling very well, but I had become so used to driving on his oil that I wasn't quite sure where the limits were. With a bit more time I might have had the opportunity to challenge for second, but the main thing was to score a strong points finish for the sake of the championship."
Karun Chandhok: "I've no idea what happened. The car felt fine when I left the pits, but I couldn't select first at the start of the final formation lap. It's some kind of electronic problem - very frustrating, but that's life."
ART Grand Prix - Sakon Yamamoto (4th) Romain Grosjean (12th)
After securing his first pole position of the GP2 Europe series, things were looking strong for Romain Grosjean and the ART Grand Prix team, however lady bad luck struck again, and he was forced to leave the Hungaroring empty handed, but new teammate Sakon Yamamoto gave the team a reason to smile anyway by finishing fourth in only his second weekend with the team.
Romain had a bad start in race one due to a puncture that occurred due to debris on the circuit and as a result he dropped all the way back to fifth place by the second corner. Things went from bad to worse when he collided with Giorgio Pantano as the series leader attempted to pass. Romain was forced back to the pits for a new tyre, but it was too early for his mandatory pitstop and therefore he eventually finished fifteenth. Whilst securing the fastest lap, it was after his second stop and no points were awarded. However, race officials deemed him guilty of causing an avoidable collision and he was sent back ten places for race two, where he eventually finished 12th.
After starting twelfth in race one, teammate Yamamoto had an off track excursion after catching up to the action behind his teammate, who was slowly making his way back to the pits with a puncture, and was knocked off track by another driver, losing several positions before working his way back to tenth. The following day was more fruitful with a strong drive that saw him cross the line in fourth place.
Sakon Yamamoto: I must stay it was a good weekend in the end. Obviously I could not be satisfied with 12th spot on the grid and I knew I could do better, but I struggled a bit with the set-up of the car. I had a good start in race 1 but someone braked hard ahead of me when we caught up to Romain, who had a puncture, and I had no choice but to go off track. It was a shame really because I lost 5 positions and to get them back is not easy on the Hungaroring! But I managed to enter the top 10 which was my aim for the second race.
I had a very good start on Sunday. The car has improved a lot between Saturday and Sunday and I could push; I was behind Senna all the time and I was hoping he'd make a mistake, because I was losing too much downforce when I was closing up on him and I had no chance to attack. To finish fourth and score some points is definitively a good thing for me and for the team. But I know we can do much better and it will be my aim in Valencia.
Romain Grosjean: One says the luck is evenly distributed over the duration of a championship but I think I have had more than my share! Everything went very well in GP2 Asia, I guess it is a form of compensation… I have wanted to secure a pole position for awhile now and everything looked good after I secured it on a track where overtaking is not easy. I had a tough start really, maybe because the tyre was already deflated? I tried to attack Senna in turn 2 but I felt I had no grip and no stability. I tried to stay on track until the pit stop window opened but I was losing 12 seconds per lap and the tyre kept deflating. The day after I was on full attack mode with the aim of showing that we can overtake on the Hungaroring. I made a couple of mistake but I made it in the top 12. We were the fastest this weekend but mathematically wise it was extremely negative. It's tough because we still had a chance to catch up and fight for the championship. We need to keep up the good work and aim for pole positions and wins; I have only won one out of five that were within my grasp. This is frustrating, but we know what our potential is and there's nothing to be ashamed of. I have to set my sights on 3rd in the championship, which would not be that bad given the circumstances and the fact that this is my first year in the series.
Frédéric Vasseur: First pole position for Romain in the European Series and first points for Sakon, those are the positive aspects of Hungarian weekend but in the end it was another disappointment. Both Romain and Sakon were very competitive on the Hungaroring. There's no need to ask ourselves too many questions about our level of performance, which was once again very high. We need to work and to try to go forward and the wheel will turn someday.
Racing Engineering - Giorgio Pantano (5th) Javier Villa (6th)
It was an excellent team result for Racing Engineering in the GP2 Series Sprint Race held today at the Hungaroring. Giorgio Pantano and Javier Villa recovered from their mid-grid positions to finish fifth and sixth and score three points for the team that is based in Sanlucar de Barrameda (Spain).
Starting from the 13th and 14th slots on the starting grid as a result of yesterday's Feature Race, both the Racing Engineering drivers made a good getaway, gaining places from the very first meters of the race. At the end of the first lap Javier was already eighth and right behind him was Giorgio, the two having passed a number of competitors during the first lap as well as taking advantage of the two ‘holes' in the first rows left by D'Ambrosio and Chandhok, who didn't do the warm up lap.
On the third lap contact between Di Grassi and Conway, fighting for third position, delayed the Briton, who spun and was passed by, amongst others, Villa and Pantano, so they were now up to seventh and eight. The two Repsol and Telefónica backed cars were running together and closing in on the Japanese driver Yamamoto. At the beginning of the fifth lap, Javi went a little wide on the entry to the main straight so Giorgio went by and Zuber tried to do the same, but the Spaniard resisted perfectly in a spectacular move that saw, for a moment, the cars Pantano, Villa and Zuber running three abreast.
This interesting dice ended up in favour of the two Racing Engineering drivers, Giorgio was now seventh, just a second and a half behind Yamamoto, and Javi was in his slipstream while both were pulling away from Zuber. On lap 12, the two drivers for the Spanish team won another position after Di Grassi was handed a drive through penalty as a result of his early race incident with Conway, so Pantano moved up to sixth and into the point scoring zone.
The race settled down over the next laps, with the two Telefónica and Repsol-liveried Dallaras running in formation, always close to Yamamoto, albeit not quite quick enough to catch him whilst keeping Zuber and Kobayashi, who followed them, at bay. With four laps to go, the retirement of Maldonado caused by mechanical problems, meant that Giorgio and Javi gained another place, so they were now both in the top six, keeping, without difficulty, their fifth and sixth positions until the end of the 28 laps of the race. Pantano took the chequered flag fifth, scoring two points that allow him to stay in the lead of the Drivers Championship, and Villa was sixth, adding a point to his score and that of Racing Engineering which, together with Giorgio's two points, consolidates their second position in the Team Championship.
Today's great result, with the two drivers in the top six of a race that proved itself as a real challenge, shows once again the excellent preparation of the Spanish team, the only one that scored points with both cars, which allows the team to continue with their extraordinary 100% reliability record they have had since the beginning of the season. Now the GP2 Series get a short summer break to return in three weeks time with the much anticipated pair of races at Valencia's street circuit, where Racing Engineering hopes again to be amongst the best with its two drivers.
Thomas Couyotopoulo (sporting director): "Having both drivers finishing in the points was the best result possible for today keeping in mind their starting positions. They both made a good start and kept a good enough pace to make it to the points. For Giorgio these points are important after the unlucky incident in race 1 and we hope that Javi can continue scoring during the upcoming races as well."
Javier Villa: "I had a good start and managed to fight around 8th. Then we had a very good race rythm which improved even more towards the second half of the race. I am sure I could have finished fourth, but stayed in sixth."
Giorgio Pantano: "First of all I want to say thanks to Javi as he let me gain my place as he was quicker than me today. After what had happened yesterday we scored the maximum starting from 14th and scored two points."
DAMS - Kamui Kobayashi (8th) Jerome d’Ambrosio (DNF)
In this morning’s short race counting for the 2008 GP2 Series Championship, a supporting event for the Hungarian F1 Grand Prix, DAMS came away empty-handed. After a difficult course yesterday, Jerome d’Ambrosio started from 9th on the grid while his team-mate Kamui Kobayashi was 2 places further back.
At the start of the formation lap the car in front of Jerome stalled and the Belgian driver was blocked and unable to start. He was pushed to the pit lane from which he joined the race. This meant he had no chance of scoring any points. Nonetheless, he showed his speed and held the quickest lap until a few minutes from the end being beaten by just 01.s. A mechanical problem led to his retirement near the finish.
Kamui, had a trouble-free race but was unable to score any points on a circuit where overtaking is well nigh impossible. He finished eighth.
Eric Boullier, team manager: “At present, we seem to have attracted more than our fair share of bad luck. After a blocked wheel nut yesterday, another car’s problems at the start of the formation lap ruined Jerome’s race. It’s a great shame as he had the speed to really shine this weekend. Kamui did his best but he was unable to finish in the top six. This weekend’s overall result has been disappointing, but we mustn’t give up. Once again we had the potential to fight at the front. That shows the team’s professionalism, and I’d like to thank them all for their unceasing effort.”
Jerome d’Ambrosio: It was a frustrating race as I wasn’t able to fight my corner. But I prefer to concentrate on the positive aspects of the weekend. I’ve been very quick on the Hungaroring and I was on the pace of the leaders. It’s encouraging for the rest of the season, and I’m determined to be as fast in Valencia in three weeks time.
Kamui Kobayashi: I ran into brake and tyre problems this weekend and that didn’t make life easy. I’m going to put Budapest’s poor showing behind me, and my aim will be to finish on the rostrum in Spain in the next round of the championship.
Trident Racing - Mike Conway (11th) Ho Pin Tung (14th)
After the positive result scored on Race 1, Trident Racing experienced a pretty disappointing Sunday, with a rough GP2 Main Series Race 2 at the Hungaroring. Mike Conway had a good start, retaining third spot and preparing an assault to a possible podium finish, but saw his chances evaporate when Lucas Di Grassi outbraked himself on lap 3 and hit him from behind. The Brit rejoined the pack in 15th, and climbed four more spots back: while a drive-through penalty was assessed to Di Grassi, nothing could repay Conway for the missed opportunity. Ho Pin Tung had a regular race, recovering from the 21st starting spot all the way up to 14th place. The teams and the drivers of the GP2 Main Series will be back on-track on August 24 after a 3-week break. The eight round of the 2008 season is set to be held on the brand-new Valencia Street Circuit.
Alessandro Alunni Bravi, Managing Director: "Mike's run was heavily conditioned by Di Grassi, who hit him from behind on Lap 3 and basically ended his bid for podium. As a result, he found himself demoted to 15th, and the drive-through assessed to Di Grassi really didn't make up with the probable points finish lost. Ho Pin Tung had a positive day, recovering from 21st to 14th. He was quite impressive, especially in the first half of the race, completing several successful passes, while he lost momentum in the second part and ended up without further improvements. In the end, our weekend was marred by two episodes, with Ho Pin involved on Race 1 and Mike on Race 2, that axed what would have been a nice trim to our gaps in standings. Nevertheless, we had a positive feedback in terms of pure performance, but we hope such episodes will be sanctioned in a more firm way from now on, since we had two different ways to apply rules at Budapest".
Ho Pin Tung: "Unfortunately I wasn't strong as usual at the start. I stalled my engine after having been forced to brake by a similar problem occurred to the car I had in front. I kept a good speed in the first half of the race, passing some cars and getting some positions back. Then I encountered some problems with tire wear, and I had to reduce my pace".
Mike Conway: "I had a cool start, keeping third place without problems. When I came to turn one, on the third lap of the race, I saw Di Grassi really far away, and I never though he would have attempted a move there. Suddenly, I realized he did, I felt a bump in the back and my car started spinning. I rejoined after losing many positions, and with a damaged wing, but the pace wasn't extremely fast. Today's global performance was not at the level of Friday's qualifying session."
Durango - Davide Valsecchi (13th) Alberto Valerio (17th)
Considering the bad luck of the last two days this morning, at the end of race 2, both Durango drivers crossed the finish line at least. Not to deny the bewitched aura featured during this event the boys took two cabala positions: P13 for Davide Valsecchi and P17 for Alberto Valerio. This time one must be satisfied with this but Enrico Magro, Durango team principal together with Ivone Pinton, said: "The Hungarian results are not telling the truth about the real and nowadays value of our team. We set up two fast cars and our efforts should deserve really something more. We paid an expensive price for the wrong things occurred during qualifying, these not being our fault, but we are doing a good job anyway. And if one works well the results will be good in the end. Even despite the bad luck".
DPR - Diego Nunes (15th) Michael Herck (16th)
The second race of the weekend in Hungary for GP2 team David Price Racing (DPR), although quieter, lacked the results that drivers Diego Nunes and Michael Herck had hoped for. Nunes, starting 12th, finished 16th, while Herck, in his fourth race weekend of GP2, completed the race distance in 17th place.
The cars lined up on the grid for the start of the 28 lap race and as the lights went out they pulled away, with Nunes off his marks well, but in the first two corners he lost ground in the scrabble for places, dropping him back to 16th. Herck was away from his starting spot of 19th, but engulfed by more experienced drivers in the first corner, he dropped to 24th place.
The Hungaroring, bathed in bright sunshine with extremely hot conditions today, is renowned for offering limited overtaking opportunities and today's race reflected this. Aside from the typical GP2 first lap jostling, the Formula One supporting event, the race quickly settled down. The two young DPR drivers coped well with the physical demands of the conditions and the twisty, bumpy, dusty circuit, as the laps counted down. At half distance Nunes was lying in 15th place with Herck in 18th position.
The second half of the race produced little more action, and both DPR cars lapped on a good pace, but unable to make inroads into the field. After 28 laps of the Budapest circuit Nunes crossed the line to take 16th place, with Herck just behind in 17th position.
David Price, Team Principal, summed up the day saying, "Both cars reached the chequered flag, but they weren't as high up the order as we expected. It was the start which shaped our race, particularly for Diego. Once he'd slipped back it was always going to be difficult for him to make up ground at this track. Michael put another race distance under his belt, and that's valuable mileage. We'll just put this weekend behind us and focus on the new challenge of Valencia."
Fisichella Motor Sport - Marko Asmer (DNF) Roldan Rodriguez (DNF)
Fisichella Motor Sport International's latest stop was at the Hungaroring, near Budapest in Hungary, for rounds of the GP2 Series. After Monaco, the technical Hungarian track has the lowest average speed of the season and features many tight and twisty corners.
It was a disappointing weekend, with FMSI coming away from the weekend having not scored any points. Roldan and Marko qualified for Saturday's feature race in 20th and 24th positions respectively and crossed the line after 42 laps with Marko in 18th position and Roldan in 19th. For Sunday's shorter 28-lap race, Marko began 16th with Roldan on the row behind in 17th. Hydraulic problems caused Marko to retire from the race, while a problem with the anti-roll bar ended in retirement for Roldan.
The next challenge for FMSI will be rounds 14 and 15 of the GP2 Series at the brand new Valencia street circuit in Spain on 23 and 24 August.
Paolo Coloni, Team Principal: It's not been an easy weekend, but we've also been very unlucky. It is good that we have finally found the problem with Roldan's car, and Marko is improving and getting used to the car, so we are looking forward to the next race.