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Friday, 20 July 2012 20:45 |
 GP2 Series report and result of the qualifying session in Germany - Giedo van der Garde sails to Hockenheim pole in wet qualifying.
The Dutchman held his nerve in heavy weather to take his second pole position of the season this afternoon in Hockenheim, clinging on as his rivals slid all over the circuit in the wet conditions to take the top spot ahead of James Calado and Fabio Leimer.
The Dutchman's best time of 1'44.022 pipped his British rival by just 0.012 just as conditions worsened, giving the rest of the field no chance to improve their position as the clock wound down to zero. The session started with steady rain falling, and worsened slowly but surely as time went on.
Accordingly all drivers (apart from Giancarlo Serenelli, who was unable to take part due to the damage picked up this morning) were straight on track to set some banker times, although most were unable to stop sliding in the treacherous conditions.
Calado, van der Garde and Davide Valsecchi were soon swapping best times, but with no dry line forming on the circuit the improvements were incremental with van der Garde setting his best time eight minutes into the session, just as the radar screens noted there was no chance of any improvement until the end, and so it proved.
Most of the field came back in halfway through to regroup and talk with their engineers to see where any improvement could be found, but with the rain carrying on no one was able to pick up any time savings in the second half of the session, and it was soon all over.
Behind the top three Nigel Melker, Fabio Onidi, Valsecchi, Felipe Nasr, Victor Guerin, Esteban Gutiérrez and Luiz Razia were all hoping for more from the session, although both Lotus GP drivers will be dropped ten positions on tomorrow’s Starting Grid following penalties picked up two weeks ago in Silverstone.
The results mean a slightly shaken up grid for tomorrow's feature race, which promises fights galore as everyone looks to put one over their rivals when it counts.
Giedo van der Garde
“When we went out the track was wet but nothing too bad. The team told me to push from the start so I did just that and from the first lap I was P1! I kept pushing and improving before the heavy rain began and we went back into the pits. At that stage I didn’t really want to go out again but the team wanted to make sure pole was secure, which I completely understand, so we went out again and I was still fast! I like this track in the rain, it’s a bit like a go kart track so I really enjoyed myself today. Pole here is good news for the team, especially after such a tough time in Silverstone, so today is for the whole Caterham Racing team, and for me. Everyone is happy so let’s try and keep this momentum going and get on the podium tomorrow!”
Rodolfo Gonzalez
“It was a difficult session for me today and we will make some set-up changes ahead of the feature race tomorrow. After I spun off this afternoon we made some changes and we were able to match our times from earlier on in the session when the track was much drier, but by then the track was about 4 seconds slower, so that’s obviously a bit frustrating, but that was the call we made. It will be a tough race tomorrow from the back of the grid but I will do the best job I can, stay out of any trouble and have a positive race.”
Fabio Leimer
"It wasn't a bad qualifying. Looking at it afterwards I could have pushed a bit more, but free practice was in the dry, so I wanted to adapt to the conditions. When I felt better and better, the rain increased and there was no way to set a faster time anymore. A front row start is good and I think regardless of the conditions we are well prepared."
Nathanael Berthon
"Basically we went on track at the beginning because we expected the rain to become stronger. I managed to improve my time during the first three laps, but I was a bit too careful in a few corners as I wanted to be sure to set a time when the track was at its best. And it was maybe a bit too much as I missed the top 10 by three tenths."
Luiz Razia
“I was really happy with everything in practice. I felt confident and the car was really strong, so I was in a very positive frame of mind for qualifying. In the wet, though, the balance was not so good and I was unable to match my earlier pace. Wet or dry, though, I’m sure we’ll have a good race. I’ve obtained good results from worse grid positions than this, so I’m looking forward to tomorrow and hope to pick up more useful championship points.”
Simon Trummer
“We had about 10 minutes of dry running at the start of practice, but then it began drizzling and we reached a point where it was too damp for slicks but too dry for wets. It was a bit of a struggle finding the best braking points and all in all it was an inconclusive session. We ran intermediates in qualifying, but I was unable to combine my fastest sector times in a single lap, partly because of yellow flags and partly because I made a mistake. Generally, though, my pace has been better than it was in the wet at Silverstone, so whatever the weather I’m optimistic that I’ll have a strong race tomorrow.”
2012 GP2 Germany - Hockenheim Qualifying session results
| Pos. |
Driver |
Team |
Time |
Laps |
| 1 |
Giedo van der Garde |
Caterham Racing |
1'44.022 |
11 |
| 2 |
James Calado |
Lotus GP |
1'44.034 |
10 |
| 3 |
Fabio Leimer |
Racing Engineering |
1'44.944 |
11 |
| 4 |
Nigel Melker |
Ocean Racing Technology |
1'45.063 |
14 |
| 5 |
Fabio Onidi |
Scuderia Coloni |
1'45.129 |
12 |
| 6 |
Davide Valsecchi |
DAMS |
1'45.152 |
15 |
| 7 |
Felipe Nasr |
DAMS |
1'45.420 |
13 |
| 8 |
Victor Guerin |
Ocean Racing Technology |
1'45.516 |
11 |
| 9 |
Esteban Gutiérrez |
Lotus GP |
1'45.613 |
14 |
| 10 |
Luiz Razia |
Arden International |
1'45.636 |
12 |
| 11 |
Max Chilton |
Carlin |
1'45.760 |
9 |
| 12 |
Tom Dillmann |
Rapax |
1'45.763 |
15 |
| 13 |
Sergio Canamasas |
Venezuela GP Lazarus |
1'45.821 |
13 |
| 14 |
Marcus Ericsson |
iSport International |
1'45.870 |
14 |
| 15 |
Stefano Coletti |
Scuderia Coloni |
1'45.907 |
13 |
| 16 |
Nathanaël Berthon |
Racing Engineering |
1'45.917 |
12 |
| 17 |
Simon Trummer |
Arden International |
1'45.939 |
13 |
| 18 |
Johnny Cecotto |
Barwa Addax Team |
1'46.103 |
13 |
| 19 |
Rio Haryanto |
Carlin |
1'46.394 |
11 |
| 20 |
Josef Kral |
Barwa Addax Team |
1'46.637 |
12 |
| 21 |
Jolyon Palmer |
iSport International |
1'46.651 |
14 |
| 22 |
Stéphane Richelmi |
Trident Racing |
1'46.849 |
13 |
| 23 |
Julian Leal |
Trident Racing |
1'47.332 |
13 |
| 24 |
Rodolfo Gonzalez |
Caterham Racing |
1'49.546 |
10 |
| 25 |
Ricardo Teixeira |
Rapax |
1'52.356 |
14 |
| 26 |
Giancarlo Serenelli |
Venezuela GP Lazarus |
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