30/06/2016
NEWS STORY
The Baku City Circuit delivered more than expected: the new venue saw rookie Antonio Giovinazzi not only grab pole position, but also triumph in both eventful races and pocket his first GP2 points in the process. With this remarkable achievement, the Italian ace currently lies in third in the drivers' standings. It was also the first time this season that Norman Nato did not score points during a race weekend which meant that Artem Markelov (who added five points to his tally in Round 3) edged the Frenchman out of the lead of the standings.
Behind the top three, Pierre Gasly, Raffaele Marciello and Alex Lynn remain close with the Red Bull protégé back on the podium in Baku, after a pointless and disappointing round at Monte Carlo. As for the Italian from RUSSIAN TIME, he achieved another strong performance to add another rostrum to his season. Lynn, however, left Baku frustrated and without points, but with the goal to bounce back quickly, starting this week which marks the beginning of the busiest month on the calendar with four race weekends in a matter of five weeks.
The fourth round of the 2016 season takes place this weekend at the Red Bull Ring in Spielberg, Austria. The fast and flowing circuit features many elevation changes. Tyre degradation is relatively low, but this year, the track has fresh, new asphalt which may have an effect on grip levels. Pirelli has selected Soft and Supersoft compounds for this event.
There will be one driver change this weekend as Nobuharu Matsushita has been suspended for this round. He will be replaced by Austrian driver and GP2 returnee Rene Binder in car #1.
Mario Isola, Pirelli racing manager: "After Monaco and Baku, GP2 moves back to a more conventional circuit in Austria, although the demands on the tyres at the Red Bull Ring are still fairly low. That has allowed us to nominate the two softest tyres in the GP2 range, selecting the soft instead of the medium as the harder tyre this year. This should mean that, as is usually the case in GP2, strategy and tyre management plays a key role in both races."
Notes
Following a penalty picked up at Baku Sprint Race, Jimmy Eriksson (Arden International) has received a three place grid penalty for Spielberg
Feature Race.
Antonio Giovinazzi is the fourth rookie who has achieved two wins in a row (the three before him were: Nico Rosberg, Lewis Hamilton and Nico
Hülkenberg).
PREMA Racing are the only team to have achieved 2 wins this season.
Five different drivers have won in the first six races.
Twelve different drivers have scored a podium this season. Pierre Gasly has achieved the most podium finishes so far (3).
Drivers Standings after Baku (Round 3)
| Pos | Name | Nat | Team | Points |
| 1 | Markelov | RUS | Russian Time | 54 |
| 2 | Nato | FRA | Racing Engineering | 49 |
| 3 | Giovinazzi | ITA | Prema Racing | 46 |
| 4 | Gasly | FRA | Prema Racing | 45 |
| 5 | Marciello | ITA | Russian Time | 43 |
| 6 | Lynn | GBR | DAMS | 41 |
| 7 | Rowland | GBR | MP Motorsport | 34 |
| 8 | Matsushita | JPN | ART Grand Prix | 32 |
| 9 | Sirotkin | RUS | ART Grand Prix | 32 |
| 10 | Evans | NZL | Pertamina Campos Racing | 28 |
| 11 | King | GBR | Racing Engineering | 24 |
| 12 | Latifi | CAN | DAMS | 20 |
| 13 | Kirchhofer | GER | Carlin | 18 |
| 14 | Canamasas | GBR | Carlin | 14 |
| 15 | de Jong | NED | MP Motorsport | 6 |
| 16 | Gelael | INO | Pertamina Campos Racing | 6 |
| 17 | Malja | SWE | Rapax | 3 |
| 18 | Pic | FRA | Rapax | 2 |
| 19 | Ghiotto | ITA | Trident | 2 |
| 20 | Jeffri | MAS | Arden International | 2 |
Team standings after Baku (Round 3)
| Pos | Team | Points |
| 1 | Russian Time | 97 |
| 2 | Prema Racing | 91 |
| 3 | Racing Engineering | 73 |
| 4 | ART Grand Prix | 64 |
| 5 | DAMS | 61 |
| 6 | MP Motorsport | 40 |
| 7 | Pertamina Campos Racing | 34 |
| 8 | Carlin | 32 |
| 9 | Rapax | 5 |
| 10 | Trident | 2 |
| 11 | Arden International | 2 |