2014 NewGP2 Season - Cancelled

[andrew]

Radical pitstops, tyre life and race pace please

[CaptainGetz12]

Scorpion will go for a Standard Race Pace and a Radical Pit Stop upgrade, saving our wildcard to see whether last test's run was just because of our race-fuel settings or if there is a more urgent issue.

[AustralianStig]

Radical pitstops, tyre life and race pace please

Sorry you can only choose pit stops + one other category, so please choose between tyre life and race pace as you can't have both.

[TomWazzleshaw]

Lelzarus will go for a very radical race pace upgrade and a very radical pitstop upgrade. We'll also use our joker card because why not

[Ataxia]

Rapax will take a standard quali pace thing and a radical pitstop upgrades.

[AustralianStig]

Also, please may we swap Sainz and Da Costa due to the impressive pre season from the spaniard.

António Félix da Costa has approached the management of the team and has begged to be released from his loan contract, unless he can be promised at least 3 starts this season. Otherwise he would like to return to Red Bull.

plus i will like to hire Pernice as my last reserve driver

Violeta Pernice has jumped at the opportunity, despite many suggesting she has been hired simply for eye candy for the Life team.

Just waiting on ART Grand Prix to post their intentions, plus Racing Engineering to fix their proposal.

[roblo97]

Also, please may we swap Sainz and Da Costa due to the impressive pre season from the spaniard.

António Félix da Costa has approached the management of the team and has begged to be released from his loan contract, unless he can be promised at least 3 starts this season. Otherwise he would like to return to Red Bull.

plus i will like to hire Pernice as my last reserve driver

Violeta Pernice has jumped at the opportunity, despite many suggesting she has been hired simply for eye candy for the Life team.

Just waiting on ART Grand Prix to post their intentions, plus Racing Engineering to fix their proposal.

Ok then, Da Costa can do the first three races of the season before being replaced by Sainz junior.

[Samster]

Trident will use our joker now and go for a very radical race pace upgrade. After our amazing test session we intend to wipe the floor with the opposition early on.

[mrfakeboullier]

Medium pit stops and very radical race pace for ART

[AustralianStig]

ART:
Very radical race pace - no effect
Standard pit stops - no effect

Trident: (Joker used)
Very radical race pace - mild success

Rapax:
Standard qual pace - no effect
Radical pit stops - mild success

Lazarus: (Joker used)
Very radical race pace - no effect
Very radical pit stops - fail (RNG hates you!)

Scorpion:
Standard race pace - no effect
Radical pit stops - mild success

Racing Engineering: (I let the RNG decide whether you were upgrading tyre life or race pace - in the end it made no difference as it had no effect anyway)
Radical tyre life - no effect
Radical pit stops - mild success

DAMS:
Conservative quali pace - mild success
Standard pit stops - mild success

Life: (Joker used)
Very radical race pace - mild success
Very radical pit stops - mild success

Arden:
Standard race pace - no effect
Conservative pit stops - no effect

Marussia:
Standard race pace - mild success
Standard pit stops - mild success

MP Motorsport: (Joker used)
Radical race pace - mild success
Radical pit stops - mild success

Hilmer:
Standard race pace - strong success

As I'm sick of farting around with the silly season I'm not going to bother doing a pre-season write up, and hope to have Australia quali posted shortly!

[AustralianStig]

Welcome to the first qualifying session in the NewGP2 series! We're down under in Melbourne for this historic day, as we see a new era of chassis, engine and driver development. Who will take the first pole? Will teams have technical difficulties today? How close will the laptimes be to F1? So many unanswered questions, so let's get some answers and head down to the track!

Q1:
For this very first session drivers will go out in numerical order, so it will be the newly relegated Marussias and Scorpions, followed by the Racing Engineering cars and then the DAMS and so on. Alex Lynn is the first man on track! His lap looks decent and the laptime is 1:28.498. To compare to F1 times last year that's about 5 seconds lower, but it will be interesting to see how the F1 quali session goes tomorrow for a more accurate comparison. Da Costa immediately beats his teammate with a 1:28.370. Turvey manages to then go quicker for DAMS with a 1:28.213.

The times are extremely tight so missing out on Q2 is a threat most drivers are facing, and small mistakes could see them drop many positions. Dillmann is the first to make an error, having a big lockup in the second sector - that could cost him Q2 as he goes slowest so far.

Turvey's time ends up being the second quickest, only beaten by Kevin Giovesi of Lazarus, who set a time very impressive considering his teammate Campana was 19th. The Scorpions are floundering, both missing out on Q2. Also out are both Ardens, the Life of Matthew Brabham who makes his semi-home debut today and the MP Motorsport car of Mitch Evans. Dillmann is lucky and just squeaks in, but the field is extremely tight with only 1.5 seconds separating all 24 cars!

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1.  Kevin Giovesi (Lazarus)           1:28.072
2.  Oliver Turvey (DAMS)              1:28.213 (+0.142)
3.  Davide Rigon (Trident)            1:28.254 (+0.183)
4.  Kimiya Sato (Hilmer)              1:28.315 (+0.243)
5.  Sam Bird (ART Grand Prix)         1:28.328 (+0.257)
6.  Johnny Cecotto (Trident)          1:28.329 (+0.258)
7.  Antonio Felix da Costa (Marussia) 1:28.370 (+0.298)
8.  Alex Lynn (Marussia)              1:28.498 (+0.426)
9.  Adrian Quaife-Hobbs (Hilmer)      1:28.546 (+0.475)
10. Fabio Leimer (ART Grand Prix)     1:28.557 (+0.485)
11. Sergio Canamasas (Rapax)          1:28.678 (+0.606)
12. Alexander Sims (DAMS)             1:28.681 (+0.609)
13. Davide Valsecchi (R. Engineering) 1:28.688 (+0.616)

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14. Daniel Abt (R. Engineering)       1:28.809 (+0.738)
15. Facu Regalia (Life)               1:28.818 (+0.747)
16. Tom Dillmann (Rapax)              1:28.989 (+0.917)
17. Kevin Korjus (MP Motorsport)      1:29.014 (+0.942)
------
18. Matthew Brabham (Life)            1:29.062 (+0.990)
19. Sergio Campana (Lazarus)          1:29.110 (+1.038)
20. Felipe Nasr (Scorpion)            1:29.203 (+1.132)
21. Robin Frijns (Scorpion)           1:29.218 (+1.146)
22. Stoffel Vandoorne (Arden)         1:29.281 (+1.209)
23. Mitch Evans (MP Motorsport)       1:29.454 (+1.382)
24. Rio Haryanto (Arden)              1:29.499 (+1.428)

107% time: 1:34.237

Q2:
So Q1 proved that no team are safe, with Lazarus going quickest yet still having a car eliminated. Who will fall under the cutoff this time and miss the top 10 shootout? Giovesi still can't break into the 27s with a 1:28.080, which proves to once again be the quickest time although Bird goes close in the ART. Rigon drops out, as do the Racing Engineering cars, the Rapaxes and the Life of Regalia and MP of Korjus. Great job from ART, Hilmer, DAMS and Marussia to get both cars into the top 10!

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1.  Kevin Giovesi (Lazarus)           1:28.080
2.  Sam Bird (ART Grand Prix)         1:28.155 (+0.074)
3.  Adrian Quaife-Hobbs (Hilmer)      1:28.179 (+0.099)
4.  Alexander Sims (DAMS)             1:28.394 (+0.314)
5.  Oliver Turvey (DAMS)              1:28.409 (+0.329)
6.  Antonio Felix da Costa (Marussia) 1:28.466 (+0.386)
7.  Kimiya Sato (Hilmer)              1:28.477 (+0.397)
8.  Fabio Leimer (ART Grand Prix)     1:28.534 (+0.453)
9.  Alex Lynn (Marussia)              1:28.534 (+0.453)
10. Johnny Cecotto (Trident)          1:28.588 (+0.508)
------
11. Sergio Canamasas (Rapax)          1:28.607 (+0.526)
12. Davide Rigon (Trident)            1:28.615 (+0.535)

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13. Davide Valsecchi (R. Engineering) 1:28.723 (+0.642)
14. Tom Dillmann (Rapax)              1:28.742 (+0.661)
15. Daniel Abt (R. Engineering)       1:28.782 (+0.701)
16. Facu Regalia (Life)               1:28.812 (+0.732)
17. Kevin Korjus (MP Motorsport)      1:29.014 (+1.420)

Q3:
Can anyone stop Giovesi take pole? He is first out and sets his fastest time yet with a 1:27.980! Bird has a terrible first sector but recovers with a brilliant final two sectors to set a 1:28.294. Quaife-Hobbs has a poor lap, only managing 1:28.732. The two DAMS drivers set mid 28s, da Costa has a mistake-filled lap and sets the slowest Q3 time so far with a 1:28.822. Sato also sets a mid 28, Leimer a 1:28.645, Lynn can only manage a 1:28.485 and Johnny Cecotto a 1:28.656. Kevin Giovesi has taken the first NewGP2 pole position ahead of ART Grand Prix's Sam Bird!

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1.  Kevin Giovesi (Lazarus)           1:27.980
2.  Sam Bird (ART Grand Prix)         1:28.294 (+0.314)
3.  Oliver Turvey (DAMS)              1:28.421 (+0.441)
4.  Alex Lynn (Marussia)              1:28.485 (+0.505)
5.  Kimiya Sato (Hilmer)              1:28.527 (+0.547)
6.  Alexander Sims (DAMS)             1:28.563 (+0.583)
7.  Fabio Leimer (ART Grand Prix)     1:28.645 (+0.665)
8.  Johnny Cecotto (Trident)          1:28.656 (+0.676)
9.  Adrian Quaife-Hobbs (Hilmer)      1:28.732 (+0.752)
10. Antonio Felix da Costa (Marussia) 1:28.822 (+0.842)

[Miguel98]

*Wizzie tries to create Lelzarus* *Lazarus grabs pole*

Great stuff from the Hilmer boys. Hopefully the race pace update will help us.

[Normal32]

1 strike out of 3 for Mathew.He reaches 3 and i will replace him with Rossi/Pernice for 2 race

[Bleu]

So disappointing. Probably I must use the joker as soon as possible.

[AustralianStig]

Marussia power ahead as rivals implode in Melbourne
Today was Davide Rigon and Trident's race to lose, and they lost it in spectacular fashion. After starting well and showing a huge pace advantage Rigon led from the 2nd lap onwards, and never was challenged on the track for the lead. Only a charging Johnny Cecotto may have challenged him, but Kimiya Sato soon put an end to that when he seemingly deliberately drove into the Venezuelan, a move which earnt him a holiday thanks to the stewards viewing the incident dimly.

However the turning point in the race came about thanks to the pit stops. Many drivers chose to pit twice, the safer, but possibly slower strategy that assured short, fast runs with minimal tyre conservation. The front-runners Rigon, Canamasas and Giovesi plus a few others decided to risk stopping just once, which was helped by an early safety car thanks to a steering failure on Leimer's ART Grand Prix that left his car stranded. By the latter stage of the race Rigon had built a 14 second lead over da Costa, but that all changed when he pushed his tyres one lap too many and suffered a puncture on the penultimate lap. That dropped him out of podium contention and then when he collected the slow-moving Kevin Giovesi on the final lap (who also had a puncture) he was demoted to 6th place. That enabled Marussia to claim an unlikely double-podium, with Lynn's two-stopper slower but safer, and da Costa was simply flawless to win from 10th place and stake a claim for a full-time seat for the entire season.

1st: da Costa - What a brilliant performance to completely out-drive his teammate, get choice of pit strategy and go on to claim victory. While the win was someone fortuitous it was no less deserved.

2nd: Canamasas - Simply followed da Costa through the field and kept his nose clean. Was barely seen throughout the race but popped up on the podium with a brilliant result for Rapax.

3rd: Lynn - Went for the safer option and reaped the dividends thanks to other drivers' misfortune. Brilliant result for Marussia to have both drivers on the podium and they look determined to bounce back to F1 for 2015.

4th: Giovesi - Lazarus unfortunately had none of their qualifying pace from yesterday, but Kevin still was on for a podium until his tyres gave up on the final lap. Still managed to limp it home, despite being crashed into by Rigon, to take 4th place.

5th: Dillmann - Two in the top 5 for Rapax is a brilliant start to their campaign. Dillmann was caught up in an early touch with Sam Bird but drove well to bring it home in 5th.

6th: Rigon - No driver could take the win away from Davide today, and even if he'd gone for the slower two-stop strategy he would have likely taken victory by a large margin. Trident aren't used to running at the front and will need to reassess their strategy.

7th: Korjus - The MP cars had little pace at the start of the race but the team made a bold strategy call by bringing Kevin in early and it made the two-stop strategy work perfectly. That was backed up by a strong drive and it was a good result for the team.

8th: Quaife-Hobbs - Hilmer didn't seem to have blistering pace today but benefited from the other teams' misfortune and took a deserved top 10 finish.

9th: Evans - Great result considering the Kiwi started in 23rd place. Mitch was one to force a one-stop and despite dropping places late in the race when his tyres dropped off the cliff was still able to hold off the charging Matt Brabham to take 9th.

10th: Brabham - The Life cars were extremely fast today but were unable to take advantage of their pace. Matthew spun early in the race and had to recover, but thanks to Facu's penalty still finished ahead of his teammate.

11th: Nasr - Scorpion haven't quite matched the lofty start of Marussia but at least look like they fit in this category, and while it may be a few more years before they can jump back to F1 drives like this from Nasr will solidify their position in GP2.

12th: Regalia - Finished 7th on the track but the stewards were unhappy with his running into the DAMS of Turvey, and as a result picked up a 20 second penalty. Life should have been running towards the front today given their fast laptimes but were not helped by a difficult qualifying session yesterday and Facu paid the price for being too forceful as he overtook the mid-field drivers.

13th: Bird - Put in a strong recovery after picking up a puncture when he and Dillmann touched in a racing incident, but the ART's lack of pace will be a little discouraging.

14th: Vandoorne - Arden were simply slow today and weren't willing to try a one-stop strategy...Stoffel was lucky to get any points at all.

15th: Abt - Racing Engineering were also extremely slow today - their early signs of strength in pre-season testing were all but a shadow today and Abt could only manage 15th.

16th: Valsecchi - No points for the Lotus loanee, he must be questioning this move but it's early days.

17th: Turvey - Extremely unlucky today, had Regalia take him out late in the race and as a result DAMS get no points today.

Ret: Haryanto - Another unlucky driver, when Frijns lost his brakes Rio was in the wrong place at the wrong time

Ret: Frijns - Spectacularly crashed out when his brakes failed.

Ret: Campana - Crashed all by himself with what was a bit of a rookie error.

Ret: Cecotto - Will be livid after looking strong for contesting for the podium. Johnny for once wasn't at fault and needs to bounce back strongly.

Ret: Sato - Did a Johnny on Johnny and earns himself a 3 race ban as a result. It was a dangerous, deliberate move and the stewards had to send a message.

Ret: Sims - Crashed out on lap 8 - not what you want to do when you're on probation for a full-time seat.

Ret: Leimer - Lost steering after just 3 laps and triggered the safety car.

Results:

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1.   Antonio Felix da Costa (Marussia) 1:11:03.640 (25 pts)
2.   Sergio Canamasas (Rapax)               +7.235 (20 pts)
3.   Alex Lynn (Marussia)                  +11.223 (16 pts)
4.   Kevin Giovesi (Lazarus)               +23.812 (13 pts)
5.   Tom Dillmann (Rapax)                  +24.240 (11 pts)
6.   Davide Rigon (Trident)                +26.532 (10 pts)
7.   Kevin Korjus (MP Motorsport)          +31.575 (9 pts)
8.   Adrian Quaife-Hobbs (Hilmer)          +33.733 (8 pts)
9.   Mitch Evans (MP Motorsport)           +39.098 (7 pts)
10.  Matthew Brabham (Life)                +39.315 (6 pts)
11.  Felipe Nasr (Scorpion)                +41.702 (5 pts)
12.  Facu Regalia (Life)                   +26.764 (4 pts) (20 sec. penalty)
13.  Sam Bird (ART Grand Prix)             +46.991 (3 pts)

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14.  Stoffel Vandoorne (Arden)             +51.310 (2 pts)
15.  Daniel Abt (R. Engineering)           +54.911 (1 pt)
16.  Davide Valsecchi (R. Engineering)   +1:02.359
17.  Oliver Turvey (DAMS)                +1:03.422
Ret. Rio Haryanto (Arden)                Collision (14 laps)
Ret. Robin Frijns (Scorpion)             Collision (14 laps)
Ret. Sergio Campana (Lazarus)            Accident  (12 laps)
Ret. Johnny Cecotto (Trident)            Collision (10 laps)
Ret. Kimiya Sato (Hilmer)                Collision (10 laps)
Ret. Alexander Sims (DAMS)               Accident   (7 laps)
Ret. Fabio Leimer (ART Grand Prix)       Steering   (3 laps)

Fastest lap: Facu Regalia (Life) 1:30.175 (Lap 39)

Post race: Kimiya Sato has received a 3 race ban as a result of the collision with Johnny Cecotto on lap 11. The stewards felt that Sato deliberately caused the collision and dangerous moves such as these will not be tolerated. - Hilmer must now nominate the driver/s that will fill the seat of the #37 for the next three races (Malaysia, Bahrain & China).

Post race: Facu Regalia received a 20 second time penalty for the incident involving Oliver Turvey on lap 40.

Leaders:
Giovesi 1
Rigon 2-21
da Costa 22
Rigon 23-42
da Costa 43-44

Reject of the Race: For doing a Johnny on Johnny it has to be Kimiya Sato. Could have easily been won by Racing Engineering or Davide Rigon though.

Drivers' Championship:
1. da Costa 25
2. Canamasas 20
3. Lynn 16
4. Giovesi 13
5. Dillmann 11
6. Rigon 10
7. Korjus 9
8. Quaife-Hobbs 8
9. Evans 7
10. Brabdam 6
11. Nasr 5
12. Regalia 4
13. Bird 3
14. Vandoorne 2
15. Abt 1
16. Valsecchi 0
17. Turvey 0
NC. Haryanto 0
NC. Frijns 0
NC. Campana 0
NC. Cecotto 0
NC. Sato 0
NC. Sims 0
NC. Leimer 0

Constructors Championship:
1. Marussia 41
2. Rapax 31
3. MP Motorsport 16
4. Team Lazarus 13
5. Trident Racing 10
6. EQ8 Pic Life Racing 10
7. Hilmer Motorsport 8
8. Scorpion 5
9. ART Grand Prix 3
10. Arden International 2
11. Racing Engineering 1
12. DAMS 0

Full commentary:

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We've finally reached the first race of NewGP2, and following the shock result of Lazarus's Kevin Giovesi on pole, we're set for a massive race. We're once again in for a dry day, and drivers will contest the race over 75% distance of an F1 race, which in Melbourne is 44 laps. Drivers will be expected to pit once or twice, so there is still a chance for teams to try different strategies. Without any further ado let's get down and where the lights are about to go green on the 2014 NewGP2 season!

Start: It's a poor start from Turvey who bogs right down, but somehow manages to defend against Rigon and retains 2nd place into turn 1! Lynn gets the jump on teammate da Costa and is up to 7th place. In fact that proves to be the only move made, as drivers seem to be taking it carefully in the unknown that is turn 1 of a new formula.

1: Rigon manages to get past Turvey! The Trident is up to 2nd place and is already challenging Giovesi for the lead! Sam Bird seems to have hardly any pace and Cecotto is doing everything he can to get past, but to no avail. Quaife-Hobbs is trying to get past da Costa now but runs wide, which allows Leimer through and up to 9th place! Regalia is past Abt, so he's now 14th...make that 13th as he also passes Valsecchi! Great lap from Regalia! His teammate Brabham is also overtaking as he passes Korjus for 17th. Vandoorne qualified poorly yesterday but is trying to make amends as he overtakes Frijns for 21st. Haryanto demotes Evans to last place as he takes 23rd from him...then passes Frijns for 22nd...followed by teammate Vandoorne for 21st! What a lap from Haryanto!

2: Rigon takes the lead and disappears into the distance! His Trident seems to have stacks more pace than Giovesi's Lazarus and he's already pulled a 2 second gap by the end of the lap! Cecotto's got by Bird now and he's up to 5th. Canamasas is up to the top 10 for Rapax with a solid move on Quaife-Hobbs. Valsecchi hits back at Regalia with a move to take 14th back from the Life! Campana is now up to 18th as he passes Korjus. And Nasr is able to pass Korjus also, he's up to 19th...18th as he also passes Campana! Haryanto also is past Korjus - the MP Motorsport is dropping spots at a rapid rate! Fastest lap goes to our leader Rigon with a 1:33.229. So the order: Rigon, Giovesi, Turvey, Sato, Cecotto, Bird, Lynn, da Costa, Leimer, Canamasas in 10th, Quaife-Hobbs, Sims, Valsecchi, Regalia, Abt in 15th, Dillmann, Brabham, Nasr, Campana, Haryanto in 20th, Korjus, Vandoorne, Frijns and Evans.

3: Rigon's lead now 3 seconds - he's going to run away and no one will be able to catch him at this rate! Cecotto is pushing hard and tries to pass Sato...but runs wide and loses several seconds! Da Costa re-passes Lynn and he's now up to 7th. Dillmann puts his Rapax into 15th as he passes Abt...then goes on to pass Regalia for 14th! Nasr passes Brabham and has got his Scorpion up to 17th place. Frijns passes Vandoorne and he's back up to 22nd.

4: Problem for Fabio Leimer! He's had a total steering failure and has had to stop. Luckily those around him have managed to avoid his car, but with no steering he's been unable to get his car to a safe position and it's a safety car! The pace car is on the track! 

5-SC: No cars took advantage of the pace car to pit, it's still too early in their stints. These laps under the safety car may persuade some to switch to a one-stop strategy as they will be able to conserve now.

6-SC: So a reminder of the order: Rigon, Giovesi, Turvey, Sato, Cecotto, Bird, da Costa, Lynn, Canamasas, Quaife-Hobbs in 10th, Sims, Valsecchi, Dillmann, Regalia, Abt in 15th, Nasr, Brabham, Campana, Haryanto, Korjus in 20th, Frijns, Evans and Vandoorne.

7-SC: The car is cleared, and the lights are already out on the safety car. It will be green flag racing next lap and don't forget that Rigon's lead which was up to 3.5 seconds is now virtually nil.

8: We're back racing and Rigon immediately pulls out again to a 1 second lead. Cecotto passes Sate and is up to 4th place, he's doing everything he can to get his Trident up to the front to match his leading teammate. Da Costa passes the ART of Bird and he's up to 6th now. Sims has crashed! He was trying to pass Quaife-Hobbs but ended up with a tyre on the grass and then into the wall! He's out of the race with a broken rear wing. Luckily most of the debris has landed off the track and the car should be easily retrieved so no need for a safety car. Dillmann passes Valsecchi to take 11th. Haryanto runs wide and as a result is passed by Korjus. Frijns probably should have passed him too but fails to take the opportunity, so Mitch Evans simply drives around both Frijns and Haryanto to get up to 19th!

9: Sato is back ahead of Cecotto! He's taken advantage of Johnny being stuck behind Turvey's DAMS and stolen back 4th place! Lynn now passes Bird so the Marussias are running 6th and 7th. Abt is up to 13th after passing Regalia's Life. Vandoorne passes Frijns, demoting the Dutchman to last on track. New fastest lap for our race leader Rigon with a 1:32.946.

10: Rigon's lead now is up to 1.9 seconds, and unless a faster car like Cecotto's can get through the pack he's unlikely to be challenged before he pits. Speaking of Johnny, he's just passed Sato again and is back into 4th place. Canamasas now up to 8th as he passes Bird, and the ART really is dropping down the field at a rate of knots as Quaife-Hobbs also passes him! Oh no, Dillmann's just touched Bird's car and sliced open his tyre with his front wing. Luckily for Dillmann he seems to have no lasting damage, but Bird has a puncture and is dropping even further down the list! Valsecchi loses a lot of time as he gets stuck behind Bird's slow car, losing positions to Abt and Regalia in the process! Brabham passes Nasr and is now into the points in 15th! Campana also finds a way past Nasr, who is dropping places after making up plenty of spots earlier...with even Korjus now passing Nasr! Bird pits and rejoins over half a minute off the lead - his race is ruined unless he can somehow get to the end on those tyres. 

11: Sato has now hit Cecotto! Action everywhere at the moment! Cecotto has had a wheel ripped off and Sato's gone on to hit the wall and lose his rear wing. They're both out of the race! Well that was very poor driving from Sato, he had no chance of overtaking Cecotto and seemed to deliberately crash into the Trident! He will be in big trouble with the stewards... Good move by Dillmann who overtakes the Hilmer of Quaife-Hobbs to take what is now effectively 7th...but Adrian fights back and steals the place back off him! Campana overtakes Brabham...oh and both Brabham and Korjus have run wide! Both Ardens manage to get past Mitch Evans, who is having a very up and down race at the moment.

12: Rigon's lead is now back up to 3 seconds, with Giovesi another 2 ahead of Turvey's DAMS. New fastest lap for Matthew Brabham down in 13th with a 1:32.720 - the Life cars must have some pace but are both stuck in traffic after qualifying poorly. So we have just 20 cars left, and the order is Rigon, Giovesi, Turvey, da Costa, Lynn, Canamasas, Quaife-Hobbs, Dillmann, Abt, Regalia in 10th, Valsecchi, Campana, Brabham, Korjus, Nasr in 15th, Vandoorne, Haryanto, Evans, Frijns and Bird.

13: Marussia have made great gains this race, and that is continuing with da Costa overtaking Turvey to take 3rd place, with Lynn also following his teammate and taking 4th! Regalia moves ito 9th as he passes Abt's Racing Engineering. Campana's hit the wall! Wow, another car out, as he was trying to pass Valsecchi he's crashed and he's out of the race. Only 19 cars remain and we're not even at 1/3 race distance!

14: Rigon's lead now 4.2 seconds - he's not quite running away with it but he's certainly going to be hard to catch. Canamasas has got his Rapax up to 5th place as he overtakes the DAMS of Turvey. Mitch Evans is still fighting the Ardens and has passed Haryanto to take 16th.

15: Those two-stopping should be pitting shortly, and even with the earlier safety car it would be a brave team to try a one-stopper. Da Costa overtakes Giovesi and he's got the Marussia into 2nd place! New fastest lap for Rigon with a 1:32.562, his lead over da Costa is 6 seconds and it will be interesting to see if now that the Marussia driver has clear track whether he'll be able to match the Trident for pace. Regalia takes 8th place from Dillmann with a decent move from the Life man. Oh no there's been yet another incident! Frijns seems to have suffered some kind of brake failure and he's been a total passenger as he crashes into Haryanto! Both cars are out of the race!

16: And then there were 17, and this is really turning into a race of attrition. Rigon is still setting the pace and has pulled a lead of 6.7 seconds. Kevin Korjus is the first man to take a scheduled pit stop, pitting from 13th and rejoining in 17th.

17: No drivers are ready to join Korjus yet; perhaps the teams are waiting to see what his pace is like before they bring their drivers in. Regalia runs wide and has lost 8th place to Tom Dillmann, so Rapax running 5th and 8th now. Brabham overtakes Valsecchi to get his Life into the top 10. So the only teams with both drivers remaining are Marussia, Rapax, Life, Racing Engineering and MP Motorsport. No team has lost both drivers yet, so hopefully everyone gets at least one driver home.

18: Three more drivers pit, Dillmann, Abt and Brabham from 8th, 10th and 11th. They rejoin in 13th, 15th and 17th with Bird and Korjus the drivers splitting them.

19: da Costa has slightly gained on Rigon, but the lead is still 6.6 seconds. Mitch Evans is up to 11th as he passes Vandoorne's Arden. We finally have one of the front-runners pitting with Lynn stopping from 4th in his Marussia. He rejoins in 11th. Also stopping is Valsecchi from 9th, rejoining in 17th.

20: The top 6 again pass the pits, so they must be trying to make a one-stop work! They may need another safety car before the end to be safe, though. Brabham has just spun! That's not going to do himself any favours, although he manages to hold on to 16th place. The top 3 will be keeping a close eye on Alex Lynn in 11th, he's currently the highest runner who has pitted already and he's currently 30 seconds off the leader. Pitting this lap are Regalia and Vandoorne from 7th and 10th, rejoining in 12th and 17th.

21: New fastest lap for Matthew Brabham down in 15th with a 1:31.820. We are now seeing the pace of the new tyres on some cars, with several drivers setting quick laps. Canamasas pits from 4th, rejoining in 9th. So the order, Rigon, da Costa, Giovesi, Turvey, Quaife-Hobbs, Nasr, Evans, Lynn, Canamasas, Dillmann in 10th, Bird, Regalia, Abt, Korjus, Brabham in 15th, Valsecchi and Vandoorne. Only those in the top 7 are yet to pit with Lynn now 29.6 seconds off the lead. 

22: Lynn overtakes Evans to get up to 7th place! Our race leader now pits, with Giovesi, Quaife-Hobbs and Evans all following on. Da Costa inherits the lead, with Turvey behind him having not pitted yet. Rigon rejoins in 3rd, with Giovesi 7th, Quaife-Hobbs 13th and Evans 17th. 

23: Lynn overtakes Nasr to take 4th place, with Nasr quite slow thanks to worn tyres. Regalia passes Bird to take 9th place from the ART driver and Facu also sets the fastest lap with a 1:31.509. Korjus passes Abt for 11th place. Our leader da Costa pits, with Turvey and Nasr also stopping from 2nd and 5th! So as they return to the track the new order is Rigon, Lynn, da Costa, Canamasas, Giovesi, Dillmann, Regalia, Bird, Korjus, Abt in 10th, Quaife-Hobbs, Turvey, Brabham, Valsecchi, Vandoorne in 15th, Evans and Nasr. Lynn is now well placed but may have to pit one more time than those around him.

24: Lynn has cut Rigon's lead down to 5.9 seconds - can he rell in the Trident? Quaife-Hobbs is already back into the top 10, passing Abt's Racing Engineering, and Valsecchi has been passed by Vandoorne for 14th. The whole field is only separated by 31 seconds, so even the bottom teams aren't that far behind the top teams in terms of pace and it's unlikely drivers will be lapped.

25: The Trident may just be too quick, he's started pulling away again and his lead is back up to 6.4 seconds. Evans is back into the points as he passes Valsecchi for 15th.

26: Korjus makes a move on Sam Bird, who is starting to struggle on his tyres after having to pit early thanks to that puncture. Korjus up to 8th now. 

27: New fastest lap from Rigon with a 1:31.368 as he extends his lead to 6.3 seconds. Dillmann is up to 5th as he passes Giovesi, so Rapax in 4th and 5th now. Quaife-Hobbs is up to 9th after passing Bird, who is getting ready to pit. Bird pits and rejoins in last place, but can now push hard to the end and will be hoping to pick up some points when the other two-stoppers pit - this has been a wily drive from him.

28: It's another fastest lap from Rigon with a 1:31.163, and his lead is now 7.4 seconds! Brabham overtakes Turvey to take 11th. Both Valsecchi and Nasr took trips through the gravel that lap as they tried to push too hard down in 15th and 16th.

29: Rigon is really stretching his legs now as he sets another fastest lap, this time 1:30.585 and his lead grows to 8.7 seconds. Giovesi and Regalia have had scrappy laps, both making misatakes as Facu tries to steal 6th place from the Lazarus man. Meanwhile Brabham is back in the top 10, passing Abt, and Turvey follows him through to take 11th. Nasr pushes Valsecchi out of the points with a great move for 15th. 

31: Rigon sets another fastest lap with a 1:30.517, his lead now 10.8 seconds over Lynn. Korjus pits from 8th place, rejoining in 16th and he can now run to the end. The order now is Rigon, Lynn, da Costa, Canamasas, Dillmann, Giovesi, Regalia, Quaife-Hobbs, Brabham, Turvey in 10th, Abt, Vandoorne, Evans, Nasr, Valsecchi in 15th, Korjus and Bird. It will be interesting to see which drivers will make it to the end of those that pitted late, and who should have stuck with a two-stopper.

32: Yet another fastest lap for Rigon with a 1:30.355! His lead is now an incredible 12.5 seconds. Vandoorne overtakes Abt to take 11th, with Evans following him through to take 12th. Four drivers pitting now, with Dillmann, Brabham, Abt and Valsecchi stopping from 5th, 9th, 13th and 15th. Good job from Racing Engineering who managed a 3.3 second stop for Valsecchi.

33: Good teamwork from Marussia, da Costa has been let through by Lynn who is on a different strategy. Lynn now pits from 3rd place! Also pitting are Regalia, Quaife-Hobbs and Vandoorne. We believe that's everyone pitted for their last scheduled stop, and it's going to be a straight run to the finish now! The new order is Rigon, da Costa, Canamasas, Giovesi, Lynn, Turvey, Evans, Dillmann, Regalia, Nasr in 10th, Korjus, Quaife-Hobbs, Brabham, Bird, Vandoorne in 15th, Abt and Valsecchi, Somehow both Racing Engineering cars have ended up outside the points! It will be interesting to see where Lynn ends up, he's the highest running two-stopper but is currently 14 seconds behind the man ahead of him in 4th place, Kevin Giovesi.

34: Lynn is currently the fastest man on track, although the 4 drivers ahead of him aren't much slower at the moment. Don't forget Lynn is still on cold tyres though, and he'll be favourite for fastest lap today.

35: Big lockup for Rigon! He's trying to conserve his tyres and that might really hurt his chances of making it to the end! He's committed to a one-stop though - if he pits now he'll rejoin in 3rd place and throw away a lead of over 12 seconds.

36: Now it's Evans who locks up, and he's trying to conserve also. Will these lockups end up destroying Rigon and Evans' races? 

37: Evans is now at the mercy of the two-stoppers, with Dillmann stealing 7th from him and Regalia ready to pounce. 

38: Korjus is back in the top 10 as he passes Felipe Nasr - with MP's split strategy Korjus is now only 4 seconds behind Evans and looks guaranteed to overtake him. 

39: Rigon's lead is still 14 seconds, and it's all down to whether his tyres can last for the last 4 laps! Dillmann overtakes Turvey to take 6th for Rapax - his new tyres allowing him to carve through the top 10. Regalia easily overtakes Mitch Evans for 8th, and still posts a new fastest lap of 1:30.175! 

40: Regalia and Turvey have touched! The two were side by side and have made contact, with Turvey coming off worse with a broken front wing! Regalia has a damaged front wing but should be able to get to the end. That's rotten luck for Turvey, as it seemed Regalia was at fault and Oliver has rejoined from the pits in dead last. Quaife-Hobbs passes Nasr to take 10th, with Brabham then following through to take 11th! 

41: Korjus has now passed Evans! So he's made the two-stopper work quite well and is up to 8th. Rigon has just 3 laps left to survive but his tyres are visually suffering now - can he do it?

42: Evans may shortly find himself out of the top 10 with Quaife-Hobbs and Brabham right on his tail and lapping very quickly at the moment.

43: Evans is indeed falling back, as Quaife-Hobbs gets by and Brabham is shaping up to slot past him next lap. And it's a puncture for Rigon! Unbelieveable, he's pushed those tyres just too far and has lost the race win as a result! He is forced to pit from the lead, changes his tyres and rejoins down in 5th place!

44: And now it's Giovesi who suffers a tyre blowout! He's going to have to try and get to the end of the lap, but some drivers and teams in the unknown of a new formula have calculated poorly and paid the price! Oh and Rigon has collected Giovesi! Incredible, the two drivers that pushed too hard have come together, but have suffered minimal damage and will make it to the end. Rigon has lost yet more time though, and he's really made a hash of this race. 

But it's Marussia who take their first win with a brilliant race from Antonio Felix da Costa, making the one-stop run work beautifully! Sergio Canamasas was anonymous most of today but finds himself in 2nd place for Rapax. Alex Lynn was the best of the two-stoppers and completes the podium in 3rd. Kevin Giovesi only lost the one position despite his puncture and touch with Rigon on the last lap and comes home a decent 4th. Dillmann brings it home in 5th to secure both Rapaxes in the top 5. Rigon...eventually comes home 6th after taking a massive gamble and losing badly. Regalia 7th, Korjus did well to get up to 8th, Quaife-Hobbs was 9th, Mitch Evans somehow held off Matthew Brabham on the last lap to keep a top 10 after starting 23rd, brilliant effort. Nasr was 12th, Bird 13th, Vandoorne 14th, Abt 15th, Valsecchi out of the points in 16th and Turvey last and 17th.

For those that didn't finish, and it's a fair list! Haryanto and Frijns came together thanks to a brake failure on lap 15, Campana crashed all on his own on lap 13, Sato looked like he deliberately crashed into Cecotto on lap 11, forcing both out of the race, Sims crashed out on lap 8 and Leimer had a steering failure on lap 4.

[Miguel98]

Sato pls

Hilmer will put Ricardo Teixeira in the car for the next round. We'll see if his performance his good enough to replace Sato in the other two races.

[Normal32]

since i give Rossi little chance,he will replace his fellow national mate.

[Samster]

Have Takuma Sato killed.

But Sir that's Kimiya...

Do as I say!

[AustralianStig]

Here we are at Sapang, where we will see the GP2 cars take to the track for the second round of the season! It's qualifying, and the rain is absolutely teeming down with some concerns we won't get to run at all today. We have three drivers making their NewGP2 debuts today: Ricardo Teixeira for Hilmer, Matias Rossi for Life and Antonio Spavone for Lazarus, replacing Sato, Regalia and Campana respectively. But the first man out on track will be Antonio Felix da Costa, winner of the Round of Australia and keen to continue impressing as he has been told he will only race three times this year for Marussia - will they change their mind if he's still leading the championship after Bahrain?

Q1:
And the safety car has been out on track and decided it is too wet for running at the moment. We will have to wait until the rain lessens and some of the standing water has cleared.

Da Costa has been given the all clear to leave pitlane, and this is one time where qualifying first is probably a disadvantage - he's going to have no reference points at all. He's left in full wets and records a time of 2:09.987 - quite pedestrian in dry F1 standards but only time will tell if that's a good time or not! Giovesi manages to just beat it with a 2:09.911! Oh but then that's been beaten by Quaife-Hobbs with a 2:09.893. Oh but Sam Bird has just put in an epic time for ART Grand Prix with a 2:09.130! That's much faster than anyone else has managed! But look out! Alexander Sims beats that and hits the 2:08s with a brilliant time of 2:08.849!

Sims time ends up quickest, ahead of Bird and Turvey with DAMS and ART both looking strong. Eliminated this round are the Scorpions, MP Motorsports, plus the Trident of Rigon, the Life of Brabham and a surprising exit from Canamasas in his Rapax.

Code: Select all

1.  Alexander Sims (DAMS)             2:08.849
2.  Sam Bird (ART Grand Prix)         2:09.130 (+0.281)
3.  Oliver Turvey (DAMS)              2:09.140 (+0.291)
4.  Fabio Leimer (ART Grand Prix)     2:09.215 (+0.366)
5.  Davide Valsecchi (R. Engineering) 2:09.676 (+0.827)
6.  Adrian Quaife-Hobbs (Hilmer)      2:09.893 (+1.044)
7.  Kevin Giovesi (Lazarus)           2:09.911 (+1.062)
8.  Antonio Felix da Costa (Marussia) 2:09.987 (+1.137)
9.  Daniel Abt (R. Engineering)       2:10.040 (+1.190)
10. Ricardo Teixeira (Hilmer)         2:10.126 (+1.276)
11. Johnny Cecotto (Trident)          2:10.240 (+1.391)
12. Alex Lynn (Marussia)              2:10.276 (+1.427)
13. Rio Haryanto (Arden)              2:10.357 (+1.508)

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14. Tom Dillmann (Rapax)              2:10.359 (+1.509)
15. Antonio Spavone (Lazarus)         2:10.472 (+1.623)
16. Matias Rossi (Life)               2:10.516 (+1.667)
17. Stoffel Vandoorne (Arden)         2:10.547 (+1.698)
------
18. Sergio Canamasas (Rapax)          2:10.558 (+1.708)
19. Kevin Korjus (MP Motorsport)      2:10.580 (+1.731)
20. Matthew Brabham (Life)            2:10.682 (+1.833)
21. Felipe Nasr (Scorpion)            2:10.887 (+2.038)
22. Davide Rigon (Trident)            2:10.964 (+2.114)
23. Mitch Evans (MP Motorsport)       2:11.097 (+2.247)
24. Robin Frijns (Scorpion)           2:11.143 (+2.293)

107% time: 2:17.869

Q2:
It's time for Q2, and the rain has stopped but the track is still moist. Drivers should be able to get away with slick tyres but certainly won't be at full speed. Sims is first out this time and sets a 1:49.837. Bird immediately beats that with a 1:49.208! Decent time from Leimer too, and ART are looking strong now with a 1:49.199. Incredibly both Racing Engineering cars suffer big lockups in the same spot, sending both out of qualifying. Great job from Spavone who makes Q3 on debut, with teammate Giovesi only managing 11th, and Teixeira also makes Q3 on debut.

Code: Select all

1.  Fabio Leimer (ART Grand Prix)     1:49.199
2.  Sam Bird (ART Grand Prix)         1:49.208 (+0.010)
3.  Alexander Sims (DAMS)             1:49.837 (+0.638)
4.  Adrian Quaife-Hobbs (Hilmer)      1:49.887 (+0.688)
5.  Antonio Spavone (Lazarus)         1:49.932 (+0.733)
6.  Oliver Turvey (DAMS)              1:49.955 (+0.757)
7.  Rio Haryanto (Arden)              1:50.108 (+0.909)
8.  Ricardo Teixeira (Hilmer)         1:50.173 (+0.974)
9.  Stoffel Vandoorne (Arden)         1:50.225 (+1.026)
10. Johnny Cecotto (Trident)          1:50.252 (+1.053)
------
11. Kevin Giovesi (Lazarus)           1:50.259 (+1.060)
12. Alex Lynn (Marussia)              1:50.338 (+1.139)

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13. Davide Valsecchi (R. Engineering) 1:50.372 (+1.174)
14. Antonio Felix da Costa (Marussia) 1:50.410 (+1.211)
15. Tom Dillmann (Rapax)              1:50.425 (+1.227)
16. Matias Rossi (Life)               1:50.483 (+1.285)
17. Daniel Abt (R. Engineering)       1:50.737 (+1.538)

Q3:
The rain is falling again, but drivers will only need intermediates for this session. It looks like it will be a straight shootout between ART and DAMS, but could someone else spring an upset? Leimer is first out and sets a 2:04.417. Bird is unable to match his teammate, only managing a 2:04.789! Sims has a decent lap, but can't beat Leimer with a 2:04.781. Quaife-Hobbs was looking strong but had a problem with his KERS and only set a 2:05.786. Decent effort from Spavone to go P2 with 2:04.657! But Turvey goes provisional pole with a brilliant 2:04.069! Haryanto sets a 2:04.959, Teixeira a 2:05.223, Vandoorne a pedestrian 2:05.829 and Johnny Cecotto can only manage a 2:05.723. Oliver Turvey has pole position for the 2014 NewGP2 Round of Malaysia!

Code: Select all

1.  Oliver Turvey (DAMS)              2:04.069
2.  Fabio Leimer (ART Grand Prix)     2:04.417 (+0.348)
3.  Antonio Spavone (Lazarus)         2:04.657 (+0.588)
4.  Alexander Sims (DAMS)             2:04.781 (+0.712)
5.  Sam Bird (ART Grand Prix)         2:04.789 (+0.720)
6.  Rio Haryanto (Arden)              2:04.959 (+0.890)
7.  Ricardo Teixeira (Hilmer)         2:05.223 (+1.154)
8.  Johnny Cecotto (Trident)          2:05.723 (+1.654)
9.  Adrian Quaife-Hobbs (Hilmer)      2:05.786 (+1.717)
10. Stoffel Vandoorne (Arden)         2:05.829 (+1.760)

[Miguel98]

Hilmer with both again in Q3.

[Bleu]

Wow, good result. Hopefully it's more common thing about the team and not just because it was wet.

[AustralianStig]

Apologies for the delay on this - have been on a business trip so consistent internet access isn't always possible!

Quaife-Hobbs holds off Spavone to win for Hilmer
Adrian Quaife-Hobbs today displayed impeccable race craft on his way to winning the NewGP2 Round of Malaysia, promoting himself from 8th on the grid to winning the race with barely an incident. Antonio Spavone led much of the race, but a spin on lap 26 dropped him back to 2nd place and Quaife-Hobbs simply outdrove him after that, despite not having the pace of the Lazarus. Hilmer had two drivers on the podium today, with debutant Teixeira taking 3rd while subbing in for the suspended Sato, with da Costa 4th and the MP Motorsport of Korjus rounding out the top 5.

The race began with only 23 cars after Haryanto's Arden was found to have a suspension problem prior to the warm up lap, with the team unable to repair in time. Turvey may have been it he box seat after securing pole, but his DAMS was a little uncompetitive and he soon dropped back to battle with Leimer after Spavone powered into the lead, stretching out a 15 second lead at one point. However when the Arden of Vandoorne had a hydraulics failure on lap 15, meaning both Ardens had mechanical issues leading to not finishing the race, the safety car was called to assist in the marshalls retrieving the car and his lead was cut to naught.

Most drivers pitted at that point, confirming a two-stop race, however Sergio Canamasas decided to roll the dice and stay on track, promoting himself to 2nd but leaving him with worn tyres for the restart. That meant he had to pit soon after, however it was late enough to mean he was the only man able to one-stop. Spavone spun soon after the restart, with Quaife-Hobbs taking the lead and able to dictate exactly when he wanted to make his second stop. Canamasas' one-stop race meant he was very slow on the track, and in the end he only just made it into the points. From there Spavone had the fastest car out there, but Quaife-Hobbs did just enough to stay out of reach until the final lap, and then hold off the challenges to take Hilmer's first victory of the season.

1st: Quaife-Hobbs - Performances like this could see Adrian challenge for the title this year - brilliant driving.

2nd: Spavone - Could have easily had a victory on debut, but a rookie spin put paid to that. Definitely a driver to watch for the future.

3rd: Teixeira - A podium for the Angolan driver will be very encouraging for his prospects at a full time seat next year, especially given the fact he has several races for Hilmer and Lazarus this season to continue to impress.

4th: da Costa - Another strong showing from the championship leader, is making it hard for Marussia to replace him at the moment.

5th: Korjus - MP Motorsport had a very quick race car today and Korjus managed to make several key overtakes against strong drivers to get into the top 5.

6th: Turvey - DAMS need to work on their race setup - Turvey didn't have the car he needed to turn his pole into anything strong, but at least the team have some points on the board now.

7th: Rossi - Was quite anonymous but considering the number of places he made up today that's probably a good thing. Good showing on debut from the Argentinian.

8th: Giovesi - What happened to Kevin? While his teammate was in the box seat to win Giovesi was battling with the mid-pack for most of the race, despite obviously having a quick car seeing as he posted the fastest lap of the race.

9th: Bird - ART Grand Prix looked a little slow on race day, but their main issue runs deeper than that. Both their drivers were constantly at each other most of the race, and would have lost many seconds battling each other instead of working together. Bird and Leimer need to sort themselves out quickly.

10th: Brabham - Suffered from a high degree of tyre wear meaning he had to pit earlier than everyone else during both pit phases, and as such was out of touch with the rest of the field.

11th: Leimer - Would have suffered a psychological blow today with Bird finishing ahead despite the two teammates battling all race. Needs to consolidate himself as number one driver or he'll be second fiddle all year.

12th: Abt - Racing Engineering are starting to sort out their pace issues, but still have a long way to go.

13th: Rigon - Trident have had a tough start to the season after a very encouraging set of pre-season tests, Davide looked okay but never really did anything special.

14th: Cecotto - Similar to Rigon, Johnny just couldn't extract what he needed to out of the car.

15th: Canamasas - Great to see Rapax take a punt on one-stopping Sergio, and to outpace teammate Dillmann on an arguably slower strategy is pretty impressive.

16th: Dillmann - Just couldn't pass his teammate late in the race to take the last point.

17th: Frijns - Tough race for Robin, with a broken front wing early in the race and then a brake failure in the last few laps. At least he saved the car and got it back to the pits safely.

Ret: Evans - Takes a one race holiday after having a reckless accident with Alexander Sims. Mitch is unfortunately being completely overshadowed by his teammate Korjus.

Ret: Sims - Poor Alexander loses out in his 2nd race of his three race temporary contract through no fault of his own, after being taken out by Mitch Evans.

Ret: Vandoorne - Brought out the safety car when his Arden expired with a hydraulic failure on lap 15.

Ret: Lynn - An unforced error saw him spin into the gravel on lap 10.

Ret: Valsecchi - Racing Engineering might be struggling for pace, but it doesn't help when Davide drops it into the gravel on lap 8.

Ret: Nasr - Completely panicked at the first corner when Korjus got a little out of shape, sending his Scorpion into the grass then the wall.

DNS: Haryanto - Tough day for Arden, with Rio not even making the warm-up lap when the team discovered a major suspension issue moments before the race.

Results:

Code: Select all

1.   Adrian Quaife-Hobbs (Hilmer)  1:18:00.838 (25 pts)
2.   Antonio Spavone (Lazarus)          +0.242 (20 pts)
3.   Ricardo Teixeira (Hilmer)          +8.587 (16 pts)
4.   Antonio Felix da Costa (Marussia) +10.250 (13 pts)
5.   Kevin Korjus (MP Motorsport)      +11.455 (11 pts)
6.   Oliver Turvey (DAMS)              +15.376 (10 pts)
7.   Matias Rossi (Life)               +17.119 (9 pts)
8.   Kevin Giovesi (Lazarus)           +17.367 (8 pts)
9.   Sam Bird (ART Grand Prix)         +23.296 (7 pts)
10.  Matthew Brabham (Life)            +28.526 (6 pts)
11.  Fabio Leimer (ART Grand Prix)     +28.782 (5 pts)
12.  Daniel Abt (R. Engineering)       +29.047 (4 pts)
13.  Davide Rigon (Trident)            +29.250 (3 pts)

Code: Select all

14.  Johnny Cecotto (Trident)          +30.016 (2 pts)
15.  Sergio Canamasas (Rapax)          +38.145 (1 pt)
16.  Tom Dillmann (Rapax)              +38.364
17.  Robin Frijns (Scorpion)           +2 LAPS (Brakes)
Ret. Mitch Evans (MP Motorsport)       Collision  (24 laps)
Ret. Alexander Sims (DAMS)             Collision  (24 laps)
Ret. Stoffel Vandoorne (Arden)         Hydraulics (14 laps)
Ret. Alex Lynn (Marussia)              Spun off   (9 laps)
Ret. Davide Valsecchi (R. Engineering) Spun off   (7 laps)
Ret. Felipe Nasr (Scorpion)            Accident   (0 laps)
DNS. Rio Haryanto (Arden)              Suspension

Fastest lap: Kevin Giovesi (Lazarus) 1:41.168 (Lap 38)

Post race: Mitch Evans received a one race ban for what the stewards deemed a reckless move while defending his position against Alexander Sims. - MP Motorsport must now nominate the driver that will fill the seat of the #44 for the next race (Bahrain).

Leaders:
Turvey 1-2
Spavone 3-25
Quaife-Hobbs 26-30
Spavone 31-33
Leimer 34-36
Quaife-Hobbs 37-42

Reject of the Race: Felipe Nasr - No one really stood out but the best way to react when a driver gets out of shape ahead of you is not to stick your car kamikaze-style in the wall, which is exactly what Nasr did.

Drivers:
1. da Costa 38
2. Quaife-Hobbs 33
3. Canamasas 21
4. Giovesi 21
5. Spavone 20
6. Korjus 20
7. Lynn 16
8. Teixeira 16
9. Rigon 13
10. Brabham 12
11. Dillmann 11
12. Turvey 11
13. Bird 10
14. Rossi 9
15. Evans 7
16. Nasr 5
17. Leimer 5
18. Abt 5
19. Regalia 4
20. Vandoorne 2
21. Cecotto 2
22. Valsecchi 0
23. Frijns 0
NC. Sims 0
NC. Haryanto 0
NC. Campana 0
NC. Sato 0

Constructors:
1. Marussia 54
2. Hilmer Motorsport 49
3. Team Lazarus 41
4. Rapax 32
5. MP Motorsport 27
6. EQ8 Pic Life Racing 25
7. Trident Racing 15
8. ART Grand Prix 15
9. DAMS 10
10. Scorpion 5
11. Racing Engineering 5
12. Arden International 2

[Samster]

Spavone and Teixeira on the podium!! World's gone mad!

[Normal32]

We will like to look for someone to replace brabham in all but the US GP.

these 3 are our candidates:
D.Kvyat
A.Lotterer
G.Van der Garde

[Miguel98]

[Hermann95]

Is it possible for Red Bull to get Da Costa back after the 3rd race? It is a shame that Marrusia will swap the current championship leader and it is not in Da Costas interest to have no race seat at all. If it's possible to get him back we would also like to offer him to other NewGP2 teams in order to get a race seat for him. I think he really deservs a race seat after his strong showings in the first 2 races.

[andrew]

Well this is going well.

[Normal32]

Is it possible for Red Bull to get Da Costa back after the 3rd race? It is a shame that Marrusia will swap the current championship leader and it is not in Da Costas interest to have no race seat at all. If it's possible to get him back we would also like to offer him to other NewGP2 teams in order to get a race seat for him. I think he really deservs a race seat after his strong showings in the first 2 races.

we will like to sign him should you want too.

[roblo97]

Is it possible for Red Bull to get Da Costa back after the 3rd race? It is a shame that Marrusia will swap the current championship leader and it is not in Da Costas interest to have no race seat at all. If it's possible to get him back we would also like to offer him to other NewGP2 teams in order to get a race seat for him. I think he really deservs a race seat after his strong showings in the first 2 races.

we will like to sign him should you want too.

Normal32: No!
Hermann95: you can have the Alex Lynn bloke if you like!

[TomWazzleshaw]

Lelzarus are doing a thing. What is this madness?

[Hermann95]

Is it possible for Red Bull to get Da Costa back after the 3rd race? It is a shame that Marrusia will swap the current championship leader and it is not in Da Costas interest to have no race seat at all. If it's possible to get him back we would also like to offer him to other NewGP2 teams in order to get a race seat for him. I think he really deservs a race seat after his strong showings in the first 2 races.

we will like to sign him should you want too.

Normal32: No!
Hermann95: you can have the Alex Lynn bloke if you like!

@ roblomas: Da Costa is still signed to Red Bull Racing, he's only loaned by Marussia so i won't take Lynn!
@ Normal32: I'm waiting for an answer from the governing body. But should it be ok to get da Costa back we can of course discuss a loan to your team.

[roblo97]

Red bull aren't having Da Costa, if they do take him, I will take legal action. If they take him and then give him to another team, I will take legal action and possibly question my involvement in the series.

[RedEyes504]

After two good pre season tests, I will nominate Pal Varhaug to take Mitch's place during his ban

[AustralianStig]

We will like to look for someone to replace brabham in all but the US GP.

these 3 are our candidates:
D.Kvyat
A.Lotterer
G.Van der Garde

All three drivers are interested in driving for Life, however Kvyat is currently contracted to Russian Time and van der Garde to Lotus (both as test drivers) so must have permission from their parent teams. It's up to you to negotiate with the teams. (Recommend you post in the NewF1 thread or PM the owners)
Lotterer of course would be available straight away.

Is it possible for Red Bull to get Da Costa back after the 3rd race? It is a shame that Marrusia will swap the current championship leader and it is not in Da Costas interest to have no race seat at all. If it's possible to get him back we would also like to offer him to other NewGP2 teams in order to get a race seat for him. I think he really deservs a race seat after his strong showings in the first 2 races.

As per the rules, loan contracts may be cancelled at any time by either party:

Code: Select all

- Drivers can be loaned out to other teams. THE LOAN PERIOD CAN BE CANCELLED BY EITHER TEAM WITHOUT NOTICE, and a driver may only race for one team per weekend. This will allow test/reserve drivers contracted to F1 teams to race for GP2 teams to gain race experience.

Red bull aren't having Da Costa, if they do take him, I will take legal action. If they take him and then give him to another team, I will take legal action and possibly question my involvement in the series.

The FIA have clarified that da Costa is not your driver, his loan contract is completely at the discretion of Red Bull as there was no clause stating a certain number of races or that da Costa could not drive for other teams that season. Therefore your argument is with Red Bull, not the FIA. Marussia's idle threats of withdrawal from NewGP2 if they do not get their way (which, the FIA adds, are completely outside the rules) will not influence the FIA's decision, as there are 11 other teams perfectly happy with the rules right now, plus plenty of NewGP3 teams ready to make up the numbers if required.

Finally, the FIA encourages both Red Bull Racing and Marussia to negotiate a diplomatic solution rather than a messy legal battle.

After two good pre season tests, I will nominate Pal Varhaug to take Mitch's place during his ban

Done.

[Collieafc]

As Sims has suffered in races due to factors outwith his control, we are extending his trial for an additional 2 races.

When is the next test session? I have a feeling its soon, but after looking I couldnt find where (Though I suspect I am not looking hard enough!)

[AustralianStig]

As Sims has suffered in races due to factors outwith his control, we are extending his trial for an additional 2 races.

When is the next test session? I have a feeling its soon, but after looking I couldnt find where (Though I suspect I am not looking hard enough!)

There's actually no more in-season testing, aside from the Young Driver's Test although that is for F1 teams only - though they may approach GP2 drivers.

[Ataxia]

If we can get our qualifying sorted, then points will follow. Sergio's doing a good job, we just need Tom to find a bit of pace.

That said, if Da Costa's free he'd make a welcome addition to Rapax...

[roblo97]

If we can get our qualifying sorted, then points will follow. Sergio's doing a good job, we just need Tom to find a bit of pace.

That said, if Da Costa's free he'd make a welcome addition to Rapax...

Da Costa isn't free.

[Hermann95]

So, after the answer of the FIA, Rer Bull will give Marussia 2 options:
A: give Da Costa a garanteed race drive for the rest of the season.
B: let him free after the 3rd race.
If you choose none of these options Red Bull will cancel the contract with imediat effect.

@ rapax, life:
If you take da costa would it be a garanteed race seat?

[roblo97]

So, after the answer of the FIA, Rer Bull will give Marussia 2 options:
A: give Da Costa a garanteed race drive for the rest of the season.
B: let him free after the 3rd race.
If you choose none of these options Red Bull will cancel the contract with imediat effect.

@ rapax, life:
If you take da costa would it be a garanteed race seat?

We will take option A please