the worlds best young drivers fighting for a place in Formula 1

The insider
round 4 Spain, 12-13 may 2012
gp3 heroes Nigel melker van der garde the gallery supplier to gp2/gp3

back on top!
Van der Garde and Razia return to winning ways in Spain
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Good evans! New zealander takes win at season opener

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Gp3

Lotus and the art of success

Razia leads the charge in the Sprint race
Lotus, or ART as the team used to be known, is used to success in both the GP2 and GP3 Series, and the opening weekend of the European season was no exception. Saturday saw the black and gold cars sweep onto the podium in both the GP2 and GP3 races, and Sunday morning began in similar fashion as Conor Daly took the GP3 win for Lotus. The team was set up for making it four podiums in four races and team boss Fred Vasseur was naturally seen heading for the GP2 podium after Sundays race too. The problem was that Lotuss James Calado finished fourth, not third... and Freds journey had been wasted. Calado and Lotus still had much to celebrate, not only was James the highest scorer in GP2s Spanish weekend, but his Sunday result was his 55th consecutive race finish, a record stretching back three seasons.

the blog // by the water cooler

James was late to the press conference. We waited for a while, but in the end we had to start without him; its not the first time, and it wont be the last. So I introduced Giedo, who turned to the empty chair next to him and said loudly: Hello James, how are you? First question in and Giedo starts answering, only for James to sheepishly slink in. Hey! Giedo laughed. How are you doing? Dillmann denied Have you been Valsecchi up to much? a fourth win Its been a while!

Scored just one point fewer than the weekends top scorer James Calado, recording his first win in over a year to boost his title assault.

Van der Garde

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DRIVER STANDINGS
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Davide Valsecchi Luiz Razia James Calado Esteban Gutirrez Max Chilton Fabio Leimer Felipe Nasr Tom Dillmann Stefano Coletti Rio Haryanto 129 104 69 59 57 41 28 27 26 16 Giedo van der Garde 60

racecard // spain
race report spain // race 1 winner: Giedo Van der garde // race 2 winner: luiz razia
As the GP2 Series returned to Europe for Round 4, there were a new set of challenges as, like in F1, Pirelli brought hard and soft tyres to act as prime and option in Spain. The difference in compounds set up a unique set of variables which saw limited running in practice on the prime and the importance of timing and luck play its hand over the use of the option in qualifying. Championship leader Davide Valsecchi and Esteban Gutirrez both suffered with ill fortune as yellow flags hampered their best efforts, but James Calado got everything right to secure his first Feature race pole in GP2. With the majority of drivers opting for the prime-prime strategy in the Feature race, Calado appeared to have a grip on the event from the off. But, mistaking an early stopping Nathanal Berthon for Fabio Leimer, with whom Calado was battling, his team brought him in early for his compulsory stop. Calado still made the end of the race, but it was at this point that Caterham played their strategy masterstroke, bringing in Giedo van der Garde and changing his rear tyres. The Dutchman emerged from the pits in the lead, ahead of Calado and despite his best efforts, the British driver couldnt find a way past. Van der Garde took the victory by 0.878sec from Calado, with Stefano Coletti turning in Colonis first podium of the year after the team had finally got on top of its tyre wear issues. With championship leader Valsecchi back in fourth, Gutirrez down in tenth and Luiz Razia finishing eighth to take reverse grid pole for the Sprint Race, the result did wonders for Van der Garde and Calados championship hopes. From pole position, Razia drove a faultless race on Sunday to take his second victory of the year. The race was decided at the start as Berthon held off a charging Valsecchi to settle the other podium positions, although Calado came close to deposing the Italian in the final laps. Valsecchi still leads the title race from Razia, but Calado, the weekends top scorer with 30 points, now sits third ahead of Van der Garde and Gutirrez.

razia closes gap with win

0.951sec GAP SPLITTING THE

Calado was the weekends top points scorer

Spain // The stats

A breakout weekend for Berthon. On home soil in Spain for his Racing Engineering squad, the Frenchman amassed a huge 22-point return as his team-mate failed to score.

Nathanal Berthon

TOP 20 IN PRACTICE

race 2

Maldonado a real f1 hero on a day of drama

The 2010 GP2 Series champion Pastor Maldonado became the fifth driver to win a Formula 1 Grand Prix in 2012, the third GP2 champion to do so, and the first Williams driver to take the top step of the podium since 2004 at a thrilling Spanish Grand Prix. The Venezuelan had claimed his first F1 pole position on Saturday, when 2006 GP2 champion Lewis Hamilton was stripped of the position and thrown to the back of the grid after irregularities with his McLarens fuel levels. Maldonado was passed by Fernando Alonso on the run down to the first corner, but Williams strategy of stopping for tyres earlier than the two-time F1 champion worked perfectly, Maldonado opening up a cushion the Spaniard was never able to reverse. Maldonado duly swept to victory ahead of Alonso and Raikkonen with 2011 GP2 champion Romain Grosjean fourth. Completing a good day for GP2 graduates, the former GP2 Asia champion Kamui Kobayashi was fifth, 2005 GP2 champ Rosberg seventh, Hamilton eighth and 2009 champion Nico Hlkenberg 10th. But just 90 minutes after the chequered flag, Maldonado turned from race hero to real hero as a fire engulfed his teams garage. While members of the Williams, Force India and Caterham teams were trying to extinguish the blaze, Maldonado hoisted his 12-year-old cousin Miguel, who had a broken leg, onto his back and rushed him to safety.

The team finally got on top of their tyre wear issues and Coletti was rewarded with a podium in the Feature race. Promising starting positions for the Sprint race led to less reward however.

Coloni

Nathanal Berthon 23

The reigning champions have shown great pace, but ultimately seemed to be lacking consistency at their home race.

Addax

TEAM STANDINGS
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 DAMS Lotus GP Carlin Caterham Racing Scuderia Coloni Rapax 157 128 73 60 38 27 Arden International 105 Racing Engineering 64

race 1

Tyre strategy paid off for Van der Garde

Starting third on the grid for the Feature race was Richelmis second great qualifying result of the year. But for the fourth weekend in succession, he failed to score a single point.

Stephane Richelmi

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pirelli

Gp3

Q&A GIEDO VAN DER GARDE

caterhaM racing

I said lets go for two and see if it goes to the end of the race, and it did. You said you had plenty of life in the tyres, was it all just dictated by their stops? It was actually. Its always hard to judge which lap to come in, but it was always planned for between lap 13 and lap 18. They came in quite early, so we decided to come in one lap later because otherwise you can lose a place, you never know. And that lap was so good, the key to the win today. After that everyone was watching your front tyres to see how they lasted, how were they for you? There was a little understeer, but otherwise it was perfect: I could do the same lap times to the end of the race. Actually, between lap 20 and lap 30, I think I would have been able to go quicker, but I knew I had to save tyres for later. Thankfully, in the end it all worked out.

...my father. He has supported me not just financially but as a friend and a dad. He has helped me emotionally, psychologically. We sometime fight, but I think thats normal. We have our good periods and our bad periods, but hes always been there for me. It goes all the way back to karting, where he was my mechanic and we were always travelling together. He did a bit of karting himself just for fun, but his love of the sport is what got me interested in it, too. Hes not involved in motorsport. He owns houses and company buildings and rents them out, but in recent years hes been developing an online betting and poker website which we are working on. He has been a huge influence on my life, he made me the person I am today!

NIGEL MELKER I wouldnt be here without...

OCEAN RACING TECHNOLOGY

Giedo, congratulations on a great win today. You had a good start and the pit strategy worked, but how was it for you in the car? Quite good! It hasnt been easy during the year so far. I arrived at a team which was up and down last year, and they have just one years experience, so it has been quite a struggle, but we have been working flat out the last few weeks and months, and it paid off today! I had a very good start, and after that I could do the pace from the front. I didnt expect them to pit so early, and I still had good tyres when I decided to pit one lap later, so I pushed like hell. The pit entry was quite tricky I nearly missed the white line! But in the end it was all perfect: we changed the two tyres, and I came out in front. After that, it was just maintain the pace and control the tyres. You changed the rears, most of the others went for all four, was this pre-arranged, or a reaction to their stops? No, it was pre-arranged. Before the race we decided to do only two: after last year I learnt from my mistake, where I was leading quite comfortably, we changed four tyres and Charles Pic changed two, and he passed me after the pits. So

Stphane Richelmi couldnt convert a good qualifying position into points

Fabio Crestani (Venezuela GP Lazarus) takes refuge from the Spanish sun

Ocean Racing Technologys Victor Guerin looks forward to his GP2 debut in Spain

A good weekends work for Nathanal Berthon with his first GP2 podium place

spain // The stats

POINTS SCORED

BY JAMES CALADO

30

IN SPAIN

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A Scuderia Coloni mechanic puts the finishing touches to Stefano Colettis car

Johnny Ceccotto keeps his head up, despite failing to score in Spain

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Gallery

preview // monte carlo // monaco // 24-26 may

Kiwi Mitch Evans dominated the seasonopener in Barcelona

former gp3 stars are on the rise

Mario isola // racing manager, pirelli

Learning tyre managemenT is the key to GP2

harder job to manage the degradation on the tyres that do the whole race. Van der Garde controlled the strategy to perfection, while Leimer faced a drive-through penalty for an unsafe release. Its hard to accept for both driver and team, but GP2 is all about learning every aspect of tyre and pit stop management. GP2 drivers have already proved they have Barcelona was particularly crucial for tyres a huge amount of talent but experience as for the first time there was an entire step of tyre management is still relatively new to between the two nominated compounds: them. The latest generation of Pirellis GP2 hard and soft. This meant that drivers saved tyres is designed to help them learn as much their sole set of soft tyres for qualifying and as possible about this vital skill. All drivers did not run on them in practice, in order to aspire to reach Formula One, where knowing keep them in pristine condition. With only the what to do with the tyres, and when, can make medium GP2 tyre used in pre-season testing, the difference between winning and losing. qualifying was a step into the unknown. For the first time this year, this is the case in Pirellis racing manager Mario Isola GP2 as well, especially during the Feature race commented: From the start, weve been very with one compulsory pit stop. In Barcelona, impressed by the way that the GP2 drivers Giedo van der Garde used a brilliant tyre have adapted to our latest tyres and found the strategy to get past the two drivers in front of way to get the best out of them. Barcelona him; James Calado and Fabio Leimer. Both had was the most extreme nomination that we started on the hard compound tyre and opted have made so far, but as we hoped, the drivers to change all four wheels during their pit stops all saw it as an opportunity to use strategy to (which took place on the same lap) while Van move themselves up the order. This ability der Garde changed just the rear tyres. will definitely stand them in good stead With only four mechanics allowed to work for the future. From a personal perspective, during a pit stop, a two-tyre change will it is a pleasure to work with such a talented always be quicker but the drivers then face a and dedicated group of young racers.

Soft and Super-soft (below) compounds for Monaco

TRACK length // 3.340KM 2011 track temp // 46C 2011 race weather // sunny 2011 SPrINT RACE WINNER // CHARLES PiC (BARWA ADDAX) 2011 FEATURE RACE WINNER // davide valsecchi (CATERHAM RACING)
ALEXANDER ROSSI
While GP2 graduates have been busy taking Formula 1 by storm in 2012, the pinnacle of global motorsport has also seen its fair share of GP3 graduates making an impact. The 2011 champion Valtteri Bottas (see next page) is the reserve driver at the WilliamsF1 Team, and in Barcelona was once again called upon by the team to conduct a crucial test programme in the weekends first practice session. But he was not alone. The 2010 GP3 Series driver Alexander Rossi joined him on track as the reserve driver for Caterham F1 in 2012. He became the first American to take part in an F1 session since another GP2 graduate Scott Speed in 2007.

Evans GETS off to a flying start

race report spain // race 1 winner: Mitch evans // race 2 winner: conor Daly
The GP3 Series got its third season underway in its traditional launch venue of the Circuit de Catalunya on the outskirts of Barcelona, and once again the opening weekend included much intrigue. One of the strongest fields ever assembled in GP3 history took to the track, amongst their numbers were returning second-year drivers, championship winning rookies and, for the first time, three female racers. Qualifying was a hugely close run thing, with sophomore Antonio Felix da Costa snatching P1 away from Conor Daly and Aaro Vainio, the three drivers separated by less than a tenth of a second. At the start of the race, Da Costa edged forward just before the lights went out. He stopped and got going again at the actual race start, but his fate had already been sealed a drive-through penalty. Reacting to Da Costa more than the lights, Daniel Abt was already up from P7 and into the lead by the time most of his rivals had dropped the clutch another drive-through was on its way. That left Mitch Evans in a commanding lead, ahead of Marlon Stockinger and Aaro Vainio. Patrick Neiderhauser took top rookie honours ahead of Matias Laine, Daly, Tio Ellinas, Robert Visoiu, David Fumanelli and Alex Brundle.

race 1

CIRCUIT DE CATALUNYA
The stats

0.090 sec gap BETWEEN THE TOP3 IN QUALIFYING

Visoiu was on pole for Sundays reverse grid, and as the Romanian tried to keep Daly at bay, the American kept his foot in as he bounced over the grass, emerging in P2 as Ellinas flew into the lead. But he, too, had jumped the start and took a drive-through penalty. Daly then controlled the pace, streaking away from Visoiu to win by more than three seconds, with Laine third. GP3s female racers showed genuine potential in their first weekend. Carmen Jorda took top honours with P20 on Saturday, Vicky Piria fought hard to take 16th on Sunday, while Alice Powell went from 25th to finish 11th.

race 2

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pirelli

Q+A: conor daly

My Hero...

DANIEL ABT
On Lewis Hamilton... I am a big fan of his as I like his style of driving and how he approaches everything. I think he is one of the most talented drivers racing right now, and I hope to be racing against him in the near future. I cant name a particular favourite race of his but whenever there is some action on the track it always seems to involve Hamilton. Last year he got criticised for crashing with Massa a few times, but I like it when drivers give it everything to try and be at the front.

AARO VAINIO
On Kimi Raikkonen... Of course being Finnish, I follow the Finnish drivers and it feels great to have Kimi back in F1. I like how he does things differently and also how he acts on the track. Hes amazing, hes the guy I follow and its great for Finnish motorsport to have him back. Driving with Lotus GP in GP3 and Kimi at Lotus in F1 there is also that connection. Heikki is also doing a great job in Catherham but, for me, Kimi has always been the one to watch on TV.

CONOR DALY
On Michael Schumacher... Growing up, I watched what Michael Schumacher was doing and thought, Thats who I want to be like. I respect a lot of Indy Car drivers in the US because they have been good enough to help me, but Michael is someone I would love to emulate. His dominance has been awesome. I like how much he can extract from the car and how he can build a team around him like he did at Ferrari. Thats what makes you successful, having a team moulded around you.

The first win of your GP3 career, you must be a happy man right now? Its really cool. I wanted it last season in Monza because I knew I had a chance. The Carlin team had worked really hard and I wanted to prove that I could run at the front, but unfortunately we couldnt. But ever since the end of that race, Ive been focused on doing the best I could. The Lotus GP guys have been fantastic, the way we have worked together during the winter testing has been awesome. I made a mistake yesterday in Race 1 and didnt put ourselves

in a good position, but I was lucky enough to redeem myself today at the start. It feels so nice to have my first podium and my first win, and it feels really good to be in this form heading into Monaco. To win a championship you have to score points as often as possible. I lost valuable ones yesterday, though the points I gained were still vital. It wasnt the best I could have done, unlike today! You said you made a mistake yesterday in Race 1, what happened? I didnt have the best start procedure, I just made a mistake. Fortunately today, I made a good start and I can see what I did differently. Now hopefully, I can be more consistent. Yesterday I made a mistake on the first lap also which took us out of the top five, but we made up for it in Race 2. Would you have beaten Tio Ellinas if he hadnt received the jump start penalty? I think so. The car was really good. As soon as they told me Ellinas had a penalty, I knew there was no need to push too hard. I saw what happened with Ellinas, it was exactly the same as what happened with Felix da Costa yesterday. I had confidence in the car and I believe we would have challenged Tio had he not had the penalty.

GP3 to me:

Valtteri Bottas

Winning the GP3 Series last year helped me to get the role I now have as reserve and test driver at the Williams F1 Team. Im taking part in 15 race weekends as a driver in Friday practice, Im running in numerous test days. Without winning the championship, which was really tough, I wouldnt be here.