Posted on 6th July 2013
It was very exciting for the home crowd as both of the GP2 races were won by a British driver!
Free Practice session and the qualifying:
The weekend started with challenging, wet conditions in Friday's Free Practice session. It was a busy session as the drivers didn't have much time to prepare before the qualifying session. There was a risk of rain for qualifying too, which meant it was good to get some feedback from wet track conditions. Fabio Leimer was the fastest man in the practice session.
The qualifying session started with dry conditions but there was a risk of some rain falling during the session. All drivers headed out knowing they needed to do their best straight away as it was going to be impossible to make a better lap time on a wet track. Weather forecast was spot on this time: with around 15 minutes left on the clock, the rain started to fall which was basically the end of the qualifying: the clock was still running, but everybody knew there was no chance of making a better lap times on the wet track. DAMS driver Marcus Ericsson was fastest and took the pole position for the feature race with Sam Bird in 2nd place. The title contenders Nasr and Coletti crabbed the 3rd and 4th slots on the grid.
Race 1:
The British weather didn't play any tricks on Saturday and the feature race was all dry. Ericsson had a good start and led the field coming into the first corner. Nasr also had a good start: he managed to get second place behind Ericsson and was really challenging him. Nasr tried to find a place to pass on the inside line and Ericsson closed the door, forcing Nasr off the track. The Brazilian came back onto the track and fought past the Swede although they touched. Sam Bird gained full advantage from the battle and took the lead, Ericsson followed on in 2nd and Coletti went to 3rd and Nasr was dropped to 4th. Coletti was able to pass Ericsson for second place later in the lap
Meanwhile Kevin Ceccon had to retire from the race as he had spun, caused by Caterham driver Alexander Rossi. Stewards investigated the Ericsson – Nasr battle and gave Ericsson a drive through penalty and also gave Daniel De Jong a stop-and-go penalty for speeding in the pitlane. The Ceccon – Rossi situation was going to be investigated after the race.
Many drivers seemed to have a similar strategy for the race as most of the drivers in the top positions made their stops early. Richelmi and Evans stayed out for a bit longer though and went for first and second. Carlin's Jolyon Palmer was making a great job through the field as he started from 20th place and was already in 4th before making his pitstop. Evans was having a great race too, but he was speeding in the pitlane during his pitstop and gained a 10 second stop-and-go penalty which made his day more difficult. James Calado and John Lancaster meanwhile had a moment as Lancaster forced Calado to go off the track yet another situation for the stewards to investigate.
Felipe Nasr started to lose some pace after his pitstop and lost positions on the track from lap to lap. The car did take some damage from the touch with Ericsson and it was now affecting Nasr's pace and in the end the damage forced him to retire from the race. It was a big disappointment after a strong start, and knowing his main rival Coletti would most probably finish in a strong points position increasing the points gap.
Coletti was running in 3rd place but he had a lot of pressure behind from Stephane Richelmi who was running in 4th. Richelmi soon make the move and as Evans came to the pits for his penalty, Richelmi was running 2nd and Coletti 3rd. Leimer was running in 4th and Tom Dillmann was 5th. Dillmann had good pace and passed Leimer and next up he was going to hunt down the championship leader Coletti. Coletti was struggling and Dillmann was soon able to make the move for 3rd. Leimer was next but the move ended dramatically: Leimer's car touched Coletti's car and Coletti went off the track. That was the end of the race for Coletti, which meant the championship leaders Coletti and Nasr were both out of the race!
Sam Bird went on for the victory in front of the home crowd. Stephane Richelmi finished in 2nd place which also is his best result of the GP2 series so far. The day was great for Russian Time as Tom Dillmann completed the podium in 3rd place. Leimer finished 4th, but was given a grid penalty for race 2 for causing the collision with Coletti.
Race 2:
Race 2 was going to be very interesting as both Coletti and Nasr had to start from the back of the field. Leal was going to start from pole as the grid was reversed from the Race 1 results. Hariyanto started 2nd, Palmer 3rd, Lancaster 4th and Dillman 5th.
Lancaster had a good start and went into the lead passing both Hairyanto and Leal. Palmer got hit from behind by Richelmi and both lost positions. James Calado was able to take 3rd place and gained the advantage from the Palmer – Richelmi contact. It wasn't a good start of the race for Daniel Abt as his tyres locked up and he spun. His car stopped on the track in a dangerous place which meant the Safety Car was needed. Both Coletti and Nasr gained a lot after the start as Coletti was already 10th and Nasr 12th behind the Safety Car.
The Safety Car came in quickly and the drivers started racing again. Nasr was running behind Coletti and got past his main championship rival. Soon Nasr was behind Rossi and Rosenzweig who were fighting for position. Rosenzweig went wide and Nasr got past him and soon the Brazilian passed Rossi, too. Coletti was next up.
Palmer was fighting for position with Canamasas and Canamasas' front wing got a touch. Marshals had to collect some debris from Canamasas front wing and the Caterham driver had to come into the pits for a front wing change and dropped to the back of the field.
Several laps later something strange happened to Rosenzweig: his rear left tyre exploded all of a sudden. It was the race over for Johnny Cecotto too as he parked his Arden car off the track, seemingly with a technical issue.
After his front wing change, Canamasas was dropped to the back and he was going to be lapped by Jolyon Palmer. Even though Canamasas was one lap behind, he didn't give way to Palmer who started to get very frustrated by Canamasas' moves. Palmer was going to overtake Canamasas but the Caterham driver didn't give him any space which led to both of the cars running off the track. Canamasas continued the race and Palmer was able to move the car back to the pits, but it was the race over for him.
Felipe Nasr was chasing Marcus Ericsson's 7th place after a very good recovery starting from 25th after the retirement on the first race. Nasr passed him cleanly and next up he was going to chase Tom Dillmann in front – was it going to be enough before the finish line? Coming to the last lap these two were very close and Nasr was just right behind Dillmann but it wasn't enough. It was quite similar looking finish which Nasr had with Sam Bird at Bahrain earlier this season.
Lancaster won the race and it was an amazing weekend for the British people who came to watch the races at Silverstone as both GP2 races were won by a British driver! Hariyanto scored his first podium of the season by finishing second. Calado climbed to 3rd place on the podium. Leal was 4th and Bird had another strong result by finishing 5th. Dillmann was 6th, Nasr 7th and Ericsson 8th. Rossi was 9th, and the championship leader Coletti finished without points on 10th.
The title fight will continue in Germany this week as the GP2 series goes to Nürburgring after a one year break as the German GP was at Hockenheim last season.
Pirelli will bring the Medium and Super Soft compounds. The weather forecast shows possible rain showers for Friday, but right now it seems like the rest of the weekend should be dry. Stefano Coletti and Felipe Nasr really need to watch out for Sam Bird from now on as the Brit really pushed himself into the title fight after a successful weekend at Silverstone with two strong results. There is no room for error for these three even though the championship is long – one non point finish might cost a lot, as the first race at Silverstone showed. Be there as the championship continues, GP2 never fails to give a weekend packed with action!
