GP2: Austria preview

30/06/2016
NEWS STORY

The Baku City Circuit delivered more than expected: the new venue saw rookie Antonio Giovinazzi not only grab pole position, but also triumph in both eventful races and pocket his first GP2 points in the process. With this remarkable achievement, the Italian ace currently lies in third in the drivers' standings. It was also the first time this season that Norman Nato did not score points during a race weekend which meant that Artem Markelov (who added five points to his tally in Round 3) edged the Frenchman out of the lead of the standings.

Behind the top three, Pierre Gasly, Raffaele Marciello and Alex Lynn remain close with the Red Bull protégé back on the podium in Baku, after a pointless and disappointing round at Monte Carlo. As for the Italian from RUSSIAN TIME, he achieved another strong performance to add another rostrum to his season. Lynn, however, left Baku frustrated and without points, but with the goal to bounce back quickly, starting this week which marks the beginning of the busiest month on the calendar with four race weekends in a matter of five weeks.

The fourth round of the 2016 season takes place this weekend at the Red Bull Ring in Spielberg, Austria. The fast and flowing circuit features many elevation changes. Tyre degradation is relatively low, but this year, the track has fresh, new asphalt which may have an effect on grip levels. Pirelli has selected Soft and Supersoft compounds for this event.

There will be one driver change this weekend as Nobuharu Matsushita has been suspended for this round. He will be replaced by Austrian driver and GP2 returnee Rene Binder in car #1.

Mario Isola, Pirelli racing manager: "After Monaco and Baku, GP2 moves back to a more conventional circuit in Austria, although the demands on the tyres at the Red Bull Ring are still fairly low. That has allowed us to nominate the two softest tyres in the GP2 range, selecting the soft instead of the medium as the harder tyre this year. This should mean that, as is usually the case in GP2, strategy and tyre management plays a key role in both races."

Notes

Following a penalty picked up at Baku Sprint Race, Jimmy Eriksson (Arden International) has received a three place grid penalty for Spielberg
Feature Race.

Antonio Giovinazzi is the fourth rookie who has achieved two wins in a row (the three before him were: Nico Rosberg, Lewis Hamilton and Nico
Hülkenberg).

PREMA Racing are the only team to have achieved 2 wins this season.

Five different drivers have won in the first six races.

Twelve different drivers have scored a podium this season. Pierre Gasly has achieved the most podium finishes so far (3).

Drivers Standings after Baku (Round 3)

Pos Name Nat Team Points
1 Markelov RUS Russian Time 54
2 Nato FRA Racing Engineering 49
3 Giovinazzi ITA Prema Racing 46
4 Gasly FRA Prema Racing 45
5 Marciello ITA Russian Time 43
6 Lynn GBR DAMS 41
7 Rowland GBR MP Motorsport 34
8 Matsushita JPN ART Grand Prix 32
9 Sirotkin RUS ART Grand Prix 32
10 Evans NZL Pertamina Campos Racing 28
11 King GBR Racing Engineering 24
12 Latifi CAN DAMS 20
13 Kirchhofer GER Carlin 18
14 Canamasas GBR Carlin 14
15 de Jong NED MP Motorsport 6
16 Gelael INO Pertamina Campos Racing 6
17 Malja SWE Rapax 3
18 Pic FRA Rapax 2
19 Ghiotto ITA Trident 2
20 Jeffri MAS Arden International 2

Team standings after Baku (Round 3)

Pos Team Points
1 Russian Time 97
2 Prema Racing 91
3 Racing Engineering 73
4 ART Grand Prix 64
5 DAMS 61
6 MP Motorsport 40
7 Pertamina Campos Racing 34
8 Carlin 32
9 Rapax 5
10 Trident 2
11 Arden International 2

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Published: 30/06/2016
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