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GP2: Sochi preview

NEWS STORY
08/10/2015

After a four week break, the action resumes this week as the GP2 paddock sets up camp at the Sochi Autodrom for the ninth round of the 2015 season.

All eyes will be on Series leader Stoffel Vandoorne and his closest rival Alexander Rossi: the American will have to stop the Belgian driver from scoring six points more than him on Saturday (including possible pole position) in order to keep his title hopes alive. It will be a difficult task as Vandoorne has always scored more points than Rossi in every round this season except for Silverstone.

However, fresh off his Formula One debut with Manor Marussia F1 Team the American should arrive in Russia with a confidence boost. Add to that, his feature race win ahead of Vandoorne in Monza last round which should put him in an optimistic mood. The title drama should not overshadow the rest of the pack starting with Mitch Evans whose pace and results in Italy prove he should fight at the front again in Russia.

It is the second time that the Series visits the Sochi Autodrom where we saw the smallest pole margin ever last season (+ 0.000 between Vandoorne and Arthur Pic) and where last year's title was won by Jolyon Palmer. The Russian track is the third longest on the calendar and contains a wide variety of mostly medium speed corners, providing many overtaking opportunities. Pirelli have selected Medium and Soft tyres for this round.

Mario Isola, Pirelli: "As Russia was a brand new circuit last year we didn't have much real circuit information. Now that we have some real data from the race last year, we've been able to fine-tune the nomination to match the specific demands of the track. Although it was brand new last year, the track surface has not evolved over the winter, so we're expecting low wear and degradation once more. Also, the circuit has not been used much since last year, and this is one of the main reasons why the surface is not very different. The weather is generally quite mild, which should help to reduce the effects of thermal degradation, but there is the possibility of unexpectedly hot weather too. While the surface is in no way abrasive, a number of drivers were surprised last year by the amount of grip available."

GP2 Media Office

Current Driver Standings

Pos Name Nat Team Points
1 Vandoorne BEL ART Grand Prix 261
2 Rossi USA Racing Engineering 153
3 Sirotkin RUS Rapax 115
4 Haryanto INA Campos Racing 109
5 Lynn GBR DAMS 88
6 Evans NZL Russian Time 87
7 Gasly FRA DAMS 65
8 Marciello ITA Trident 60
9 Pic FRA Campos Racing 57
10 Matsushita JPN ART Grand Prix 48
11 Markelov RUS Russian Time 47
12 King GBR Racing Engineering 46
13 Stanaway NZL Status Grand Prix 42
14 Leal COL Carlin 38
15 Canamasas ESP Hilmer Motorsport 27
16 Berthon FRA Daiko Team Lazarus 24
17 Visoiu ROU Rapax 20
18 Nato FRA Arden International 20
19 Yelloly GBR Hilmer Motorsport 19
20 Rowland GBR MP Motorsport 3
21 Negrao BRA Arden International 3
22 Binder AUT Trident 2
23 De Jong NED MP Motorsport 1
24 Malja SWE Trident 1

Current Team Standings

Pos Team Points
1 ART Grand Prix 309
2 Racing Engineering 199
3 Campos Racing 166
4 DAMS 153
5 Rapax 135
6 Russian Time 134
7 Trident 61
8 Status Grand Prix 42
9 Carlin 38
10 MP Motorsport 29
11 Daiko Team Lazarus 28
12 Arden International 23
13 Hilmer motorsport 19

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