UpdateF1 >> Formula 1 News > GP2: Round 6

Wins for Pantano and Chandhok

Round six took us to the Hockenheimring in Germany. After the Silverstone event Racing Engineering driver Giorgio Pantano still leads with 50 points. Eleven clear of Bruno Senna of iSport who is second with 39. Despite missing race two in Silverstone Sebastien Buemi is still third for Arden with twenty-five points.

There was just two driver changes between events, and it was the shocking news that Honda Formula One Test Driver, Luca Fillippi has left the ART team to be replaced by his Renault counter-part: Sakon Yamamoto. He soon found a new job though, when it was announced that he will drive for the Arden team, replaced Yelmer Buurman.

In practise Grosjean set the fastest time beating Kamui Kobayashi in the DAMS by 0.067. Championship leader Pantano was third with newcomer Yamamoto down in twenty-fifth place following a spin.

Grosjean could not repeat his pace in qualifying, allowing Pantano to take pole. Grosjean however started along side him setting a time 0.284 seconds off the pace. Andres Zuber qualified third for Piquet Sports. Yamamoto improved from practise and started twelve one place ahead of the man he replaced, with Fillippi starting thirteenth for new team: Arden.

The feature race was won in controversial circumstances. Grosjean crossed the line first but the race was won by Pantano, after Grosjean was handed a twenty-five second penalty for a yellow flag infringement.

A relatively dull race by GP2 standards was lit up by a late rain shower just five laps from home. Pantano lead from pole with Grosjean running second who were together. Further back Buemi was third with Senna closing in after passing Lucas Di Grassi of Campos, who was now fifth.

With the rain striking so late it was a gamble as to weather or not to come in and make a pit stop for wet tyres.

Senna had just passed Di Grassi and as he pressured Buemi for third place, the two cars made contact – appearing to damage Senna’s steering. He pitted at the end of the lap and took on wet tyres.

On his wet tyres he was ten second a lap faster than those on the dry tyres and quickly moved back into the points before coming up behind Zuber in fifth place who proved a harder driver to pass.

At the front Pantano and Grosjean were both still on dry tyres but Grosjean was making the best of it, and when Pantano ran wide in the Stadium Section Grosjean pounced and took the lead and would pull away. His victory was sealed when Pantano had a spin on the lap but rejoined in second place.

Javier Villa was another who kept dry tyres and had moved up into third place but he spun into the barriers in the Stadium Section on the last lap and retired.

This handed a podium place to Alvaro Parente of Super Nova. Senna, who had passed Zuber, finished fourth, Di Grassi was slowly moving backwards before the rain but was able to hold on to fifth.

Zuber should have finished next in sixth place, but he spun out on dry tyres at the same point as Villa. Team mate at Piquet Sports, Pastor Maldonado was the benefactor finishing sixth. Andy Soucek was seventh for Super Nova, with Karun Chandhok finishing eighth for iSport.

Grosjean was given his penalty for lapping FMS driver Marko Asmer under a yellow flag. His punishment was a twenty-five second penalty. This was enough to give Pantano the victory but because Parente was fifty-four seconds behind he kept second place.

Chandhok won the sprint race, to take his first win and even his first points on a Sunday this season.

He was beaten away from the line by Di Grassi who took an early lead. Chandhok held second ahead of Soucek.

At the back there was carnage. Fillippi made a good start after starting at the back but he did not leave enough room for the DPR of Michael Herek, the two touched and were out of the race before turn one.

Zuber made the best start of everybody. He started eleventh following his crash on Saturday, but was up to sixth by the end of the first lap.

On lap three Chandhok saw his opportunity to retake the lead. On the approach to the hairpin he out-braked Di Grassi perfectly to take the lead. Pantano also attempted to make same move on Soucek but misjudged it and broke his steering. Pantano kept going for a few laps before he retired but Soucek immediately returned to the pit lane.

The hairpin was causing problems for more people a few laps later. Zuber had passed Di Grassi to take second place and the Brazilian began to fall into the clutches of Maldonado. At the hairpin Maldonado attempted an out-breaking move on Di Grassi but got it very wrong and ploughed straight into the back of him taking both out of the race.

This incident promoted Senna up to third and Grosjean to fifth. Both needed to gain as many points as possible to close the gap in the championship to the retired Pantano. They were split by Parente who was fourth.

It was not long before Grosjean has passed Parente to take fourth place, sending Parente back to fifth and into a battle with Villa who was sixth. In a few laps Villa would also pass.

That completed the over taking moves in the points. In the remaining laps Zuber fell back from Chandhok allowing Senna to think about a pass, but Senna stayed behind to score four points.

Kobayashi had a good race, he started from dead last on the grid after his early retirement on Saturday but after a series of great passing moves and fastest laps he was able to drag himself into the top ten, to earn the bonus point for his fastest lap.

Despite his no score in the Sprint Race, Pantano is still comfortably ahead in the championship. His pole and feature race win have moved him on to sixty-three points. Senna has move further clear of the chasing pack in second place, now with forty-eight and Grosjean in now third with thirty-four.

Written: Sun, 20 Jul 2008 16:39:37