GP2 Austria 2014
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The fourth round of the GP2 Championship will be held this week, at the Red Bull Ring in Austria.
No driver changes have yet been confirmed, however the tyres have been announced, they’ll us the soft and medium compound for their races. Now I’m not sure if this is the first time that GP2 are using harder compounds than F1, but normally it’s the other way round, isn’t it?
Perhaps the FIA has said they’re not allowed to use the fastest compounds for the race because they might be faster than the F1 cars. ;)
True, although perhaps only in race conditions. Hamilton could set a blistering pole time that’s for sure.
Coming to a new track highlights the talents in the field – Nasr, Marciello, Vandoorne, Pic, Evans, Rossi all in the top 10. At the back, Venezuela GP Lazarus always seem to be there, while DAMS’ lead car has been solid since Grosjean set it up to take the title in 2011. At the front, multi-year drivers Cecotto, Palmer and Coletti.
Cecotto has always been a handy driver, one of the outright fastest out there. Yes, he’s had red-misted moments, but he seems to have calmed down this year and has begun to realise his full potential.
His career as a whole suggests otherwise (leaving aside the questionable on-track conduct). This is his fifth season in GP2, anyway.
@jb001 Well, Valsecchi’s pre-GP2 career is even less inspiring, no one would surely say that he’s a bad driver.
More to the point, that race today was phenomenal. Nasr has finally come into his own before it’s too late, and Vandoorne and Marciello had stunning drives to the podium.
@wsrgo neither of them are F1 material.
As far as Nasr, Cecotto, Coletti and Valsecchi go, I think anyone who takes four years to win the championship, never mind a race, is always going to fall under the banner of monkeys, typewriters and Shakespeare – give them long enough, and it’ll happen. Cecotto also hasn’t helped himself with his antics in the past. Palmer will surely also be in this category even if he wins it this year, and not progress to F1 for that reason, although considering who his Dad is he might get in on a Chilton clause.
Does nobody else think Vandoorne and Marciello’s performance is at least somewhat aided by coming to this track with FR3.5? Sure the tyres are a lot different, but given how little time these drivers get on-track before it starts to count, and apart from Vandoorne in Malaysia how neither have shone in qualifying up until now, there’s a marked difference. Marciello could well have had pole had his last lap not been impeded, and he’s not looked like doing that until now.
Nasr’s only in his third seasons though and had way more championships than any of the other three you mentioned before hitting GP2. I thought all of last year that he should already be in F1 – and he came awfully close with the likes of Toro Rosso, Williams, Lotus, and (where I thought he should be already) Marussia. He was the second-to-last British F3 champion when that title actually meant something, beating Kevin Magnussen along the way in doing so. It would be an injustice to lump him in with the other 4+ year drivers.
Nasr’s only in his third seasons though and had way more championships than any of the other three you mentioned before hitting GP2. I thought all of last year that he should already be in F1 – and he came awfully close with the likes of Toro Rosso, Williams, Lotus, and (where I thought he should be already) Marussia. He was the second-to-last British F3 champion when that title actually meant something, beating Kevin Magnussen along the way in doing so. It would be an injustice to lump him in with the other 4+ year drivers.
Fair point, I wasn’t 100% sure on Nasr being fourth-year, and if 2012 was his rookie year then he compared pretty favourably to Valsecchi in that regard. If he continues to score victories then the period without a win will be quickly forgotten, and clearly Williams has faith in him, but I still think that as far as F1 teams are concerned you generally need to show good improvement in your first year, and challenge for if not win the championship in the second to be seriously considered.
Nasr’s money will get him into F1 even if his results don’t, so he can probably get away with less than the title this year. Though it won’t look good if he loses to Vandoorne or Marciello in the points…
It’s interesting how Cecotto seems to be doing a Maldonado, and gradually calming down to go with that blistering pace. Also, I wrote that Hamilton could (not would) set a blistering pole time…. he was on for pole by at least 3 tenths before going wide at T8. Rosberg was behind both Williams at that point, half a second off…. that would have been an easy win for Lewis on Sunday.
Nasr has the pace, he’s looked a bit rocky in GP2 but given time to prepare to replace Massa (and keep the Brazilian sponsors at Williams), perhaps with FP1s in Massa’s retirement year, 2015 or 2016, Nasr should be a good F1 driver, as pointed out by beating Magnussen in F3 at a similar stage for both drivers.
Marciello definitely had the pace to win at Austria… the lack of track time in GP2 must have hindered him so far. If anything he would have been better off in FR3.5 to get that track time to adapt to a more powerful car. But the experience of RBR definitely helped him and Vandoorne get over their car adaptations to show their talent.
I can see Palmer in at Marussia next year with a sponsorship deal to be honest. There was a rumour about Leimer being offered the reserve seat if he can get sponsorship together, from the Silverstone test onwards, but his backer Rainer Gantenbein has decided to sack it in, after 15m Euros or such an amount spent for the GP2 and junior ladder seasons they’ve gone through to get to this point.
Valsecchi missed years in the other junior formulae to keep doing GP2, so it took him time to adapt and develop his driving. But Coletti has been around for so long… but him and Richelmi are from Monaco, so they must have the cash to be able to afford to splash ten million plus quid on a racing career….
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