08/10/2015
NEWS STORY
After a four week break, the action resumes this week as the GP2 paddock sets up camp at the Sochi Autodrom for the ninth round of the 2015 season.
All eyes will be on Series leader Stoffel Vandoorne and his closest rival Alexander Rossi: the American will have to stop the Belgian driver from scoring six points more than him on Saturday (including possible pole position) in order to keep his title hopes alive. It will be a difficult task as Vandoorne has always scored more points than Rossi in every round this season except for Silverstone.
However, fresh off his Formula One debut with Manor Marussia F1 Team the American should arrive in Russia with a confidence boost. Add to that, his feature race win ahead of Vandoorne in Monza last round which should put him in an optimistic mood. The title drama should not overshadow the rest of the pack starting with Mitch Evans whose pace and results in Italy prove he should fight at the front again in Russia.
It is the second time that the Series visits the Sochi Autodrom where we saw the smallest pole margin ever last season (+ 0.000 between Vandoorne and Arthur Pic) and where last year's title was won by Jolyon Palmer. The Russian track is the third longest on the calendar and contains a wide variety of mostly medium speed corners, providing many overtaking opportunities. Pirelli have selected Medium and Soft tyres for this round.
Mario Isola, Pirelli: "As Russia was a brand new circuit last year we didn't have much real circuit information. Now that we have some real data from the race last year, we've been able to fine-tune the nomination to match the specific demands of the track. Although it was brand new last year, the track surface has not evolved over the winter, so we're expecting low wear and degradation once more. Also, the circuit has not been used much since last year, and this is one of the main reasons why the surface is not very different. The weather is generally quite mild, which should help to reduce the effects of thermal degradation, but there is the possibility of unexpectedly hot weather too. While the surface is in no way abrasive, a number of drivers were surprised last year by the amount of grip available."
GP2 Media Office
Current Driver Standings
| Pos | Name | Nat | Team | Points |
| 1 | Vandoorne | BEL | ART Grand Prix | 261 |
| 2 | Rossi | USA | Racing Engineering | 153 |
| 3 | Sirotkin | RUS | Rapax | 115 |
| 4 | Haryanto | INA | Campos Racing | 109 |
| 5 | Lynn | GBR | DAMS | 88 |
| 6 | Evans | NZL | Russian Time | 87 |
| 7 | Gasly | FRA | DAMS | 65 |
| 8 | Marciello | ITA | Trident | 60 |
| 9 | Pic | FRA | Campos Racing | 57 |
| 10 | Matsushita | JPN | ART Grand Prix | 48 |
| 11 | Markelov | RUS | Russian Time | 47 |
| 12 | King | GBR | Racing Engineering | 46 |
| 13 | Stanaway | NZL | Status Grand Prix | 42 |
| 14 | Leal | COL | Carlin | 38 |
| 15 | Canamasas | ESP | Hilmer Motorsport | 27 |
| 16 | Berthon | FRA | Daiko Team Lazarus | 24 |
| 17 | Visoiu | ROU | Rapax | 20 |
| 18 | Nato | FRA | Arden International | 20 |
| 19 | Yelloly | GBR | Hilmer Motorsport | 19 |
| 20 | Rowland | GBR | MP Motorsport | 3 |
| 21 | Negrao | BRA | Arden International | 3 |
| 22 | Binder | AUT | Trident | 2 |
| 23 | De Jong | NED | MP Motorsport | 1 |
| 24 | Malja | SWE | Trident | 1 |
Current Team Standings
| Pos | Team | Points |
| 1 | ART Grand Prix | 309 |
| 2 | Racing Engineering | 199 |
| 3 | Campos Racing | 166 |
| 4 | DAMS | 153 |
| 5 | Rapax | 135 |
| 6 | Russian Time | 134 |
| 7 | Trident | 61 |
| 8 | Status Grand Prix | 42 |
| 9 | Carlin | 38 |
| 10 | MP Motorsport | 29 |
| 11 | Daiko Team Lazarus | 28 |
| 12 | Arden International | 23 |
| 13 | Hilmer motorsport | 19 |