F O L LO W I N G Y O U N G D R I V E R S O N T H E I R W AY T O T H E P I N N A C L E O F M O T O R S P O R T

60

2013, APRIL 19-21

SAKHIR

ROUND 2

STATUS QUO
Leimer wins again, but Coletti keeps the lead

GP3 SERIES

2013 SEASON

FIVE SECONDS!
Fumanelli flies in final test session
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NEWS

ROUND 2 RACE 1 REPORTS // CLICK HERE

ROUND 2 RACE 2 REPORTS // CLICK HERE

BEST BITS
#BuzzLightyear
Fabio Leimer crushed the rest of the competition in Qualifying lapping the BIC 0.993s faster than his closest rival.

GOOD WEEK
RUSSIAN TIME
After just four races of existence, the Russian squad enjoyed an emotional first GP2 win in Sakhir Sprint Race thanks to Sam Birds mature drive.

#Nail-Biting
After a heart-stopping final lap, Sam Bird crossed the finish line 0.08s ahead of Felipe Nasr. In other words, almost nothing!

2013 CLASSIFICATIONS

#Strategy
Hard or Soft? That was the question before Saturdays race. Just like in Formula One tyre strategy plays an important part in the race outcome in GP2.

#First
On his GP2 debut, Alexander Rossi scored a first podium finish for Caterham Racing this season in the Feature Race.

STEFANO COLETTI

LETS PLAY PRETEND!

DRIVERS STANDINGS
1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14. 15. 16. 17. 18. 19. 20. 21. 22. 23. 24. 25. 26. 27. 28. Stefano Coletti 1M 64 Fabio Leimer 2M 54 Felipe Nasr 48 Sam Bird 1M 33 James Calado 24 Jolyon Palmer 22 Alexander Rossi Rookie 15 Tom Dillmann 12 Stphane Richelmi 12 Mitch Evans Rookie 11 Julin Leal 10 Johnny Cecotto Jr. 9 Simon Trummer 8 Adrian Quaife-Hobbs Rookie 7 Conor Daly Rookie 2 Daniel Abt Rookie 2 Rene Binder 1 Kevin Ceccon 0 Kevin Giovesi Rookie 0 Sergio Canamasas 0 Marcus Ericsson 0 Daniel De Jong 0 Rio Haryanto 0 Pl Varhaug 0 Jake Rosenzweig 0 Nathanal Berthon 0 Robin Frijns Rookie 0 Ma Qin Hua Rookie 0

ROOKIE STYLE
There are six of them this season although Alexander Rossi has some GP2 Asia experience, and they know how challenging being a rookie in GP2 is, a Series focused on finding the best young talents thanks to a very selective car. So, how does a rookie prepare before a race weekend, especially if they dont know the track? The biggest thing nowadays is to work on simulators Mitch Evans told us. But coming to BIC, I knew the lines and roughly where the braking zones are, but its always a bit different when you get on track for the first time. Robin Frijns agreed: You can watch clips from the F1 races and look at the on-board cameras too. But nothing replaces real life: you go into free practice, you do as many laps as you can and you push to find the limit. Thats why I spin. I always spin in free practice, just so you know! he laughed. Adrian Quaife-Hobbs noted: Were trying to race against people who know the track a lot better than we do. I want to win but I know its hard when youre a rookie. Im trying to get the most from the team, the car and myself. I put pressure on myself more than the environment puts pressure on me.

Last Saturday, at the Bahrain International circuit, Nathanal Berthon, Sam Bird, Kevin Ceccon, Stefano Coletti, Danil De Jong, Tom Dillmann, Kevin Giovesi, Rio Haryanto, Fabio Leimer, Julin Leal, Simon Trummer and Pl Varhaug were invited to race against each other on simulators at the F1 Game Zone! In front of the fans and media, they took each other on during an epic race with Will Buxton commentating. Just like he would a few hours later, Fabio started from pole position, but he completely messed up his start. Tom led for most of the race The brake assist is on, Im just flat the whole time he confessed with a smile, but a small mistake in the final laps sent him into

a spin. Rio was laughing his head off as he overtook the Frenchman. Behind the pair, Sam made an impressive comeback after a poor start, a couple of spins and a crash. At the chequered flag, Rio was all smiles and waving at the camera, but he was hit by a last minute 10s penalty. Tom was thus declared the winner, his teammate Sam finishing second whilst Rio had to settle for third.

Four is the word! With four podium finishes in all four races, our Series leader has enjoyed a great start to the season. Next on the Monegasques list of ambitions: a feature race win.

FELIPE NASR
Talk about consistency! The Carlin ace has scored 12 points in all four races this season: he finished 4th in Sepang Race1 and 2nd in Race 2, and he scored the exact same results in Sakhir. He is still fighting for that elusive first GP2 win though

Were all here because were trying to be in F1. Youve seen in the past that if you do well in GP2 youll end up there. Pirelli tyres have changed things a bit: no matter how good anyone is in their first year, its a lot harder than in the past. This is more a case of showing who is the best driver because the best driver is still going to win with either half an hour or four hours of testing. Mitch concluded: GP2 has always been a stand-out feeder category to F1. Its the closest machines to the F1 cars, especially regarding the tyres. Its one of the biggest appeals of GP2. Nowadays you see the challenge of the Pirelli tyres and the science behind it and I think GP2 is the strongest category to be in. When I was younger I always said that I aimed to go to GP2. When GP3 first started that was my goal. To win was amazing and now to be in GP2 is fantastic.

JAMES CALADO
Not the greatest race weekend for last years best rookie in Bahrain: the Brit struggled in qualifying and in the feature race, but his fighting spirit showed in the sprint race to finish fifth.

WHOLE LOTTA LOVE

can be fierce between them, outside the car the two are good friends. In parc ferm after Saturdays race, the Caterham Racing driver rushed to the Swiss and gently patted him on his helmet to congratulate Fabio on another race win. The following day, things got a bit rough as the American was involved in a racing incident that sent him into contact with Fabios car. The front end plate of the Caterham car lodged itself into the Racing Engineering machine. Alexander had to return to the pits for a new wing, whilst Fabio managed to continue in spite of the damage sustained on his car. Before leaving the circuit though, Fabio signed Caterhams broken part and returned it to Alexander with a cheeky smile plastered on his face. Alexander has promised Fabio he wont try to make anymore aerodynamics upgrades again.

TEAMS STANDINGS
1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. Rapax 1M 72 Carlin 70 Racing Engineering 2M 64 RUSSIAN TIME 1M 45 ART Grand Prix 26 Arden International 20 Caterham Racing 15 DAMS 12 MP Motorsport 7 Hilmer Motorsport 2 Venezuela GP Lazarus 1 Trident Racing 0 Barwa Addax Team 0

You can also look at some data from other drivers from years before, added Daniel Abt, but the tyres are different this season so you know it will not be the same. Reality is always different than data. You only have a thirty minute practice, so you have to learn quickly. But thats what makes it interesting and a good challenge!

Its been a tough season for the Spanish team so far who have yet to score a point. Hopefully the start of the European campaign in Barcelona will be a new beginning for them.

BARWA ADDAX TEAM

CLICK HERE FOR COMPLETE RESULTS

Fabio Leimer and Alexander Rossi have been racing against each other for years and although the on-track competition

BAD
WEEK

A DAY IN THE LIFE

Andre e G nt Costa Data/pTh er formia ance engine (Caterha er m Racin g)

SATURDAY (04) APRIL

20

Music - PDA by John Legend. 7:30 ........................................................................................................................................................................................... maybe a pancake or 2... or 3 with syrup :-) 8:00 ........................................................................................................................................................................................... Leave hotel to go to the circuit. 8:30 ........................................................................................................................................................................................... Arrive at the circuit - let the games begin! 9:00 ........................................................................................................................................................................................... Pit stop practice to really wake me up - the team have me push the car. It is already sooo hot! 9:30 ........................................................................................................................................................................................... Prepare the cars for firing up and run a gearbox check. 10:30 ...................................................................................................................................................................................... Check the cars and that both systems plus the engine and gearbox are ready for the race while singing to Carlins garage music Spice Girls Wannabe. 11:00 ...................................................................................................................................................................................... T ime for Set-up - This is the top secret part of my job and if I told you I would have to kill you! SORRY 11:30 ...................................................................................................................................................................................... A quick day dream about going back to the hotel and jumping in the pool - sadly not going to happen 12:00 ...................................................................................................................................................................................... LUNCH TIME! Trying to eat light, OOPS mission failed, why is the food so good? 12:30 ...................................................................................................................................................................................... Engineering meeting with Humphrey, James & Patrick. 13:30 ...................................................................................................................................................................................... Drivers briefing: we discuss start procedures, lap performance and more top secret information! 14:00 ...................................................................................................................................................................................... The cars and trollies prepare to go to the F1 pitlane. 14:30 ...................................................................................................................................................................................... Walk to the pitlane, it feels like it gets longer each time! 15:00 ...................................................................................................................................................................................... Pit lane opens, cars off to the grid and so am I. Check the data on Alexanders car who starts P7 (I also take a quick glance at the grid girls!). Data checked, umberella holding time - always looking after our drivers. 15:30 ...................................................................................................................................................................................... Red lights out. I hope the 1st lap is incident free. Next port of call - pit board duty for Alexander. 15:45 ...................................................................................................................................................................................... Race finished. GOOD JOB GUYS. Podium for Alexander! 16:50 ...................................................................................................................................................................................... Engineering Debrief while the cars are still in Parc Ferm. 18:00 ...................................................................................................................................................................................... Parc Ferm opens: its time to prepare the cars for tomorrows race (long night ahead). 19:00 ...................................................................................................................................................................................... A bit more singing - This time INXS Unbelieveable. 19:30 ...................................................................................................................................................................................... Post race checks and drivers briefing. 20:00 ...................................................................................................................................................................................... HUNGRY!! Dinner time and once again I fail miserably to eat light! 20:30 ...................................................................................................................................................................................... Setting up the cars and doing all the prerace checks - F.U.N We are Young. 21:00 ...................................................................................................................................................................................... We head back to the hotel. Damn the gym is closed! 22:00 ...................................................................................................................................................................................... Cool off at the pool bar before passing out with exhaustion. 22:30 ...................................................................................................................................................................................... Bedroom. I finally find time to text my family and relax in front of Star Wars EpisodeIV - Return of the Jedi. 23:30 ...................................................................................................................................................................................... Probably sleeping in the most uncomfortable position ever with the computer still rolling the credits. 00:00 ...................................................................................................................................................................................... Breakfast - Plenty of fruit and juice and

Wake up to the sound of my alarm - Soul

ROSBERG REIGNS IN SAKHIR

2005 saw the debut of the GP2 Series, opening in Imola as support for the San Marino Grand Prix where pre-season favourite Heikki Kovalainen claimed the very first win in the series. As the season progressed the Arden driver proved to be the man to beat, regularly claiming podiums and wins across Europe to top the standings as the teams broke for the mid-season test at Paul Ricard. race, but as the smoke cleared two laps later Rosberg rolled through the final few laps to championship glory. Sunday saw the pressure off, with Rosberg imperious as he sliced through the field from P8 for victory as Kovalainen spun into retirement at turn one, a disappointing finish to a strong championship run. The German topped off his title run with the series first ever double win, while teammate Prmat was just unable to get by Ernesto Viso for 2nd place, allowing Scott Speed to claim third in the championship despite starting from the pitlane with his points for fastest lap.

HAMILTON AND GROSJEAN ON F1 PODIUMS

The Chinese Grand Prix saw Lewis Hamilton emulate teammate Nico Rosbergs efforts from last year in Shanghai. While Rosberg was able to translate pole into his first F1 victory in 2012, this year the Briton had to make do with another podium finish behind Alonso and Rikknen, albeit well ahead of his teammate who was forced into retirement with a car problem. Romain Grosjean suffered from a reappearance of the set-up problem last seen in Malaysia, but nevertheless salvaged P9 at the end of the race, finishing one spot ahead of Nico Hlkenberg, who looked comfortable leading the race midway through before struggling in his final stint. Both drivers had a much better weekend than Sergio Prez, who moved from P12 to P11 after probably the worst [qualifying] I ever had and a number of on-track incidents during the race. Esteban Gutirrez went one worse, however: an error while battling Prez saw him take Sutil and himself out at the hairpin. In comparison Pastor Maldonado didnt put a foot wrong all weekend, but the pace just wasnt there: he finished one spot behind teammate Valtteri Bottas in P14. In the Caterham/Marussia battle Jules Bianchi came out on top once again, although it was a close run thing: the Frenchman flat-spotted his first set of tyres and fell behind Charles Pic, but quick work in the pits saw his team push him up to a P15 finish. Max Chilton was unable to do anything about the pair, but managed to relegate Giedo van der Garde to last on track in P18. Rosberg also claimed pole in Bahrain, but battles throughout the race took their toll on his tyres, forcing the German to stop four times for P9 at the finish. Hamilton played the long game for a stop less, and had enough tyres to push up to P5 on the last lap. Grosjean was untouchable in the race after an unlucky qualifying: clean and precise, he turned P11 into a podium for third to repeat his performance from last year at the circuit. An aggressive drive saw Prez move up six places from the grid to P6. Hlkenberg didnt have the car to achieve much: moving up two spots to P12 was probably a decent job (one spot behind Maldonado, with whom he fought for much of the race), while Gutirrez started from the back because of a penalty picked up in China, got caught up in a first corner skirmish, and limped home in P18. Pic was able to make use of a major upgrade to easily dispatch his rivals at Marussia: he was fighting with the Toro Rossos instead of his usual competition with a great drive to P14, while van der Garde picked up damage at the start to slump home in P21, just behind Bianchi and Chilton, with the Briton closing the gap to his more fancied teammate in the desert.

RIO HARYANTO
Foster the people
Pumped up Kicks

Until that time ARTs Nico Rosberg had been ticking over with points finishes, but there had been nothing to suggest that the German would be a championship contender. First race back, however, and his French team were quietly confident that they had turned a corner, and Rosberg duly claimed his first victory on Sunday with a strong drive in Magny Cours. The win opened the floodgates and, although Kovalainen also claimed a couple more victories, the German arrived in Bahrain three points to the good after a more consistent scoring run. Rosberg increased his lead with pole position, with his rival next to him on the grid when the lights went out. A safety car for a number of stopped cars gave the Finn a risky possibility for glory when he followed it back in for an early stop next time round, pushing him back to P20 but, crucially, in clear air. ART brought Rosberg in when Kovalainen had stormed to P8, and a conservative stop saw the German emerge just ahead of his rival. Luckily teammate Alex Prmat was in unstoppable form: the Frenchman soon squeezed between the pair to protect Rosberg and also took the fastest lap, meaning that the title was going to be over if the race finished with the Finn in P3. He had a moment of hope when Prmats car started smoking towards the end of the

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#yoursay

Sam Bird @sambirdracing @stefanocoletti oi !!!!!! Stop hogging the @GP2_Official podium !!!:)

@rina_bey

The Swiss driver conquers the desert, Thats win number 2 for @fabioleimer ! #GP2 #WhoWantsDesert

PREVIEW
@stef6489 @carlosainz

@AleexJonson 0.08 difference after 23 laps Only in @GP2_Official

BARCELONA SPAIN
Sector 2

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Caterham Racing @MyCaterhamGP2 Were on our way to the @GP2_Official podium with @AlexanderRossi P3 #WhoWantsDesert @MissRelin

STRATEGY DURING GP2 RACES

Speed Trap

Sector 3 Start/Finish offset 0.126 km

I dont think @sambirdracing has ever been THIS relieved to see the finishflag. Huge congrats. Exciting final few laps! #WhoWantsDesert #GP2

@felipenasr

@erikssonjimmy

Tyre performance is a crucial part of the overall performance of the car. But its not just the performance of the tyre itself that is critical to a race outcome: also the strategy employed. The task for the teams each weekend is to match the characteristics of the nominated tyres and the set-up properly, and use the right tyre at the right time. What the right time is will depend not only on the meteorological and track conditions but also on what everybody else is doing. Although all the GP2 cars are identical, the individual set-up favoured by each driver means that every car has different characteristics.

understand the car. That information, normally collected in free practice, can then be used to calculate a strategy that will hopefully boost track position. Any strategy also has to be flexible. Not only do drivers lose time when stuck in traffic, but this also increases tyre wear as the cars lose downforce and slide more. So adjusting the strategy at the last minute to bring a car out of a situation where it is stuck in traffic or there is a safety car is often a good idea. In Bahrain, there were a number of different strategies at work during the feature race. In particular the frontrunners mostly chose to start on the soft tyre, with some drivers further down the grid electing to start on the hard tyre. This is so that they could drive a longer first stint and get in front of the drivers running on the soft tyres during the first pit stops. As always when it comes to tyre management, its a question of striking the best balance between speed and durability. Luckily the team engineers benefit from cutting-edge computer programmes that allow them to simulate and predict what the best strategies would theoretically be. As weve often seen in the past though, theory and practice can be two completely different things

MAY, 10-11-12
Circuit de Catalunya
4.655 km

Sam Brabham @SBrabhamracing

At Silverstone to watch a bit of @GP3_Official testing, cars are looking and sounding amazing!

TYRES CHOICE

Prime Option

Hard Soft

David Fumanelli @DavidFumanelli

New @GP3_Official car is incredibly fast! Already 5 sec quicker than the old one! Never felt so alive as in the Becketts complex! #fast

Rachael Furn @rachaelfurn

@caterhamgp2

@koiranengp

Far too windy to go out for a bike ride, but on the plus side, I can clearly hear the @GP3_Official cars from my house! Awesome. #nyooooowm

One example is downforce. The less downforce applied, the more a car will slide through corners and the faster the tyres will wear out although it will be faster on the straights. Suspension set-up is another crucial parameter. Putting an aggressive camber on the car can improve performance through high-speed corners, but can equally cause localised heat build-up that damages the tyres and could affect braking. All these factors govern how long a tyre can usefully stay on a car, so the first step when formulating a strategy is to

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GP2 SERIES
Race 1 Van der Garde (Caterham Racing) Race 2 Razia (Arden International)

Carmen Jord @CarmenJorda

Last #test before the season starts done. Looking forward for the first @GP3_Official race in Barcelona!! #cantwait

GP3 SERIES
Race 1 Evans (MW Arden) Race 2 Daly (Lotus GP)

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@daniel_abt

@gp3_official

When April, 18 _ 15:42 Where Bahrain International Circuit, Sakhir Who Stefano Coletti . Rapax, Fabio Leimer . Racing Engineering

What Canon EOS-1D X EF16-35mm f/2.8L II USM 100 ISO 16mm 1/200 @ F5.0

CLICK HERE FOR MORE GP2 SERIES PHOTOS

When April, 04 _ 13:42 Where Silverstone Circuit, England Who Facu Regalia . ART Grand Prix

What Canon EOS-1D X EF50mm f/1.4 USM 1000 ISO 50mm 1/160 @ F4.0

CLICK HERE FOR MORE GP3 SERIES PHOTOS

PRE-SEASON TEST REPORTS CLICK HERE

#HOLDING OUT FOR A HERO

On the edge: Ellinas topped two sessions in Silverstone

NOTHING BUT THE BITS

#SNOW-JOKE
Light snow fell upon Silverstone during testing: Max temp: 3 degrees. The drivers sat by heaters in their thermals...Brrrrr!
ee es in the top two in thr Tio Ellinas posted tim g cin Ra Marussia Manor of the four sessions for test. during the Silverstone

#MR CONSISTENT

On Randy Orton

GIOVANNI VENTURINI
WWE Wrestler. Since I was a child I have always liked him and I like his tattoos, hes very cool. I also like Rey Misteryo.

#CHEESE
t at testing: The official driver-portraits were sho les. Does smi all e som some mean n moody, s)! boy the by id my hair look ok? (Sa

#TICK-TOCK
Its just two weeks now until GP3 Series kicks off in Barcelona for Round 1 of the season: Excited much? We are!

WHATS UP! Fumanelli 4.9 seconds

On Goku

DAVID FUMANELLI

faster in new GP3 car

Cartoon character. Hes a superhero from another planet with special powers. He never loses his mind, he can kill enemies but he will choose to save lives instead. Hes a good person.

The final official pre-season test was held at a bitterly cold Silverstone. The temperatures may have been below zero at times but the action on track was red-hot with Tridents David Fumanelli posting a laptime almost five seconds quicker than the previous GP3

lap record set in 2012 with the GP3/10 car. Over 8,394 laps were completed with the second generation car. Now we count down the days until we rock up in Barcelona for Round 1 baby!

Bottas has kept Maldonado on his toes. Silverware for Coletti and Rossi.

Mitch: GP3/13 car is mega

Reigning GP3 Series Champion Mitch Evans was an eagle eyed visitor the Silverstone paddock for pre-season testing, The Kiwi fresh from his fantastic debut in GP2 enjoyed the sight (and sound) of 27 GP3 cars and admits he will be keeping a close on the Series. The noise is mega! It was a great opportunity to drive the GP3 car in Estoril last year and I must say a big thanks to Pirelli for that. The new car is really good for the championship and already making a positive impression. I am excited to see what happens and develops in GP3 this season and I cant wait for both GP2 and GP3 to finish the year in style at Abu Dhabi.

WHERE ARE THEY NOW?

Rossi roars to podium on GP2 debut

Valtteri Bottas finished a strong 13th in front of his Williams F1 teammate Pastor Maldonado at Round 3 in China. It was a nightmare weekend for Esteban Gutirrez, the Mexican failed to make it to Q2 and in the race he crashed into the back of Adrian Sutil, retired and was issued with a grid penalty. Bahrain saw Gutirrez start last, suffer a damaged front wing after contact on the opening lap, the Sauber F1 driver eventually finishing 18th. It was a smoother weekend for Bottas, he made it through to Q2, outperforming Maldonado to qualify 15th and finishing 14th on race day. It was a great weekend in GP2 for our GP3 graduates. The Feature Race saw five graduates place in the top ten with Stefano Coletti second and Alexander Rossi pocketing an impressive podium on his maiden GP2 weekend. Six graduates made the top ten in the Sprint Race, with Coletti collecting his fourth rostrum in four races and taking the GP2 Series lead. Happy men were Adrian Quaife-Hobbs and Daniel Abt both scoring their first points of their GP2 career.

EMANUELE ZONZINI
On Bart Simpson
I like the fact he is always happy and cheeky. Hes very clever and always finds the solution to whatever trouble he is in.

MOMENT 4 LIFE
Celebration time for the Champions!

Finnish Delight
2011 saw the second season of the GP3 Series come down to the wire with a pitched battle between ART teammates Valtteri Bottas and James Calado: the Briton scored more consistently throughout the year, but the Finn roared into contention with wins in Germany, Hungary and Spa to head the championship when the grid arrived in Monza. A dramatic qualifying session saw the top ten split by less than half a second, with the title rivals forming up on the grid side by side in 5th and 6th position after a torrid battle for the top spot. The Finn made a great start when the lights went out to move up two places to third at the first chicane, with Calado stuck looking for a way out of the traffic just behind. Bottas inevitable rise continued with a dramatic, three-wide move for second before finally claiming the lead two laps later. Calado was equally resolute, forcing his way through the field and claiming P2 just as a safety car period provided the quiet before the storm. With three laps to go the field was released once again, and Calado analysed his teammate for two laps before striking: Bottas defended robustly at the first chicane before the pair ran side by side up to the second, where Bottas held Calado just wide enough that the Briton had to concede the fight. The pair ran nose to tail to the flag: the win was Bottas and, with it, the title.

DINO ZAMPARELLI
Goo Goo Dolls
Iris

SHAKE YO HELMET

PATRIC NIEDERHAUSER
I have Let there be Rock written on because of my love of rock music which is quite personal to me. The lines at the top/front I think are quite different and make it easier to recognise me.

NICK YELLOLY
Its yellow because of my surname of course! I let the designer be creative and I was a big fan of having graffiti as I think that looks very cool. I like to have an unusual design.

ALEX FONTANA
My helmet is in memory of Welsh driver Tom Pryce who was killed racing; my father had the same helmet. One half of the helmet represents my Greek nationality and one half Swiss. The Welsh dragon is also tribute to Tom and matches my dragon tattoo on my chest.