Rossi and Evans fight their way to the top in Monza.

Following young drivers on their way to the pinnacle of motorsport
90
ISSUE 8
2015, september 09
monza
ROUND 8
MEN OF STEEL
Rossi and Evans
fight their way to
the top in Monza.
90
CONTENT
ISSUE 8
2015, September 09
MONZA
ROUND 8
FOLLOWING YOUNG DRIVERS ON THEIR WAY TO THE PINNACLE OF MOTORSPORT
P4
GOOD WEEK
BAD WEEK
BEST BITS
Who shone and who had a weekend to
forget in Round 8?
MEN OF STEEL
Rossi and Evans fight their way to the top
in Monza.
P12
P10
STATS TO CHAT
P18
NEWSFLASH
P24
PIRELLI
How GP2 is linked with helping
underprivileged children in Romania.
P14
Hamilton dominates in Monza.
P28
You think you know GP2 better than anyone
else ? Prove it ! Enter the Zone and play.
An in-depth interview with Arden’s
Norman Nato.
P22
OUR GRADUATES
Round 8 events in Monza summed up in
the best tweets and instagram pictures!
GAME ZONE
DIALLING IN…
Short series of quick-fire questions with
Mitch Evans.
P20
P26
Julián Leal talks us through his busy
Saturday at the track.
LIGHTNING ROUND
FAN ZONE
We talked to Daniël de Jong who is
recovering from Spa.
A DAY IN THE LIFE
Some quick facts about Round 7 at
Spa-Francorchamps.
Some of the best stats of the past race
weekend.
P16
P8
P6
#HitMeWithYourBestShot
We had loads to choose from, but that’s our
favourite picture from Round 8. Agree?
EXTRA
Jordan King & Alexander Rossi.
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GOOD
WEEK
BAD
WEEK
MITCH EVANS
The previous round in Belgium had laid the foundations for a strong
comeback for Mitch and RUSSIAN TIME. The New Zealander arrived in Italy
with the firm intention of confirming their good form. Disqualified from the
results following a technical infringement, Mitch carved his way through the
field from P24 to third on the podium. The following day, he enjoyed his first
and well-deserved win of the season from sixth on the grid. With a total of
32 points added to his tally, the talented Kiwi has moved up to fifth in the
standings and will be a challenger for the win at the next round in Sochi.
ALEXANDER ROSSI
The American turned around a disappointing qualifying result in eighth
thanks to a flawless and mature drive to end up on the top step in the feature
race, ahead of title rival Stoffel Vandoorne. His efforts were ruined in the
sprint race after contact with Robert Visoiu sent him into a spin and an early
retirement. They say “it ain’t over till it’s over” and Alexander will surely fight
hard again next month in Russia for more glory.
STOFFEL VANDOORNE
This season’s man to beat told us that it was a bit of a luxury for him to be
disappointed with a second place finish in the feature race. The next day, he
added another trophy to his very large collection with a third place. Stoffel
scored 28 points in total in Italy – three points better than closest rival Rossi,
which means that he’s leading the American by 108 points ahead of the
penultimate round of the season. Stoffel also told us that he was not really
thinking about what it would take for him to take the GP2 crown in Sochi, but
we are…
SERGEY SIROTKIN
The best rookie of the season so far opened his Monza weekend in fine style
with a P4 result in qualifying. Once again, his pace and driving skills combined
with a great strategy saw him take the lead of the race from Vandoorne on
Lap 12. Unfortunately, a charging Alex Lynn made contact with the Russian
ending both their races. The next day, Sirotkin put his head down from P20
on the grid to take the flag in an impressive fifth place.
PIERRE GASLY
If we had to sum up the Frenchman’s weekend in one word, it would be
“heartbreak”. The young ace was unbeatable in free practice and again
in qualifying, grabbing a maiden GP2 pole with a laptime 2 tenths quicker
than Series leader and pole expert Vandoorne. The next day, Pierre made a
perfect start to lead the feature race. A mechanical issue spoiled all of his
hard work and what could have been Pierre’s best GP2 weekend to date.
5
BEST
BITS
BEST
BITS
#BarrenRunOver
#First
Richie Stanaway had been working to be back in the points since his
sprint race win in Monaco. The hard work has finally paid off in Monza
with 2 fourth places and a total of 20 points.
Rene Binder was back in the field with MP Motorsport in Monza, and
he’s fully recovered from his streptococcus infection: the Austrian driver
scored in both races – his first points this season.
#DNF
#GridDrop
Monza marked the first time both Alexander Rossi and Sergey Sirotkin
did not finish a race (sprint race for the American and the feature race
for the Russian). There are only two drivers on the grid who have taken
the chequered flag in all 16 races this season: Stoffel Vandoorne and
André Negrão.
Round 9 in Sochi will be a bit trickier for Robert Visoiu and Jordan King:
both men picked up a 5 place grid penalties in Monza Sprint race for
causing a collision with Alexander Rossi and Norman Nato respectively.
7
A
DAY
IN
THE
LIFE
JULIÁN LEAL
08:00 Wake up.
Driver #3
Carlin
09:30 I finish my breakfast.
08:30 I take a shower.
09:00 I have breakfast: fruit, some jam, yogurt
and cereal.
10:00 I head to the circuit.
10:30 Still on my way to the circuit: lots of traffic in Monza!
11:00 Arrive at the circuit.
11:30 I gather all of my kit together (helmet, gloves…): everything has to be under control.
12:00 I go for lunch. I always try to be in the catering as soon as they open it. It is better for the digestion before the race.
12:30 I finish my lunch.
13:00 I go into the truck and I sleep a bit (30 mins).
13:30 I wake up and I look at some videos from starts of past races to decide my strategy for the start of the race.
14:00 We do a meeting with the engineers, and we decide the strategy of the race (pitstop and tyre strategy).
14:30 I start my warm up: some exercises with 2kg just to warm up, and some other exercises for the reaction time.
15:00 I jump in the car.
15:30 The race is about to start.
16:00 I’m racing!
16:30 The race is nearly finished…
17:00 I am in the truck talking with my engineer about the car.
SATURDAY
05
SEPTEMBER
17:30 Still talking about the car, and looking at the telemetry.
18:00 Deciding with the team the changes that we will make for the next day.
18:30 I take my bag and I leave the circuit to go to the hotel and eat something.
19:00 On my way to the hotel.
19:30 I take a shower.
20:00 I go to dinner, and I eat some fish which is good protein.
21:00 I go to bed.
21:30 Ricardo my trainer comes to give me a massage.
22:00 I study some data and lines.
22:30 I go to sleep. Good night!
9
STATS TO CHAT
STATS FROM
MONZA
0.707
Win margin of
Mitch Evans on
Arthur Pic. It’s the
second smallest
win margin of the
2015 season after
Rio Haryanto’s
victory over Stoffel
Vandoorne in
Spielberg Sprint
race (0.450s).
22
The total number
of podium finishes
achieved by Stoffel
Vandoorne in 38
GP2 starts.
11
20
The number of
places made up by
Mitch Evans during
the feature race
(from P23 on the
grid to P3 at the
chequered flag).
12
The number of
points Alexander
Rossi needs to
score more than
Stoffel Vandoorne
in Sochi to keep his
title hopes alive.
LIGHTNING ROUND
MITCH EVANS
Do you have any nicknames?
Just Mitch, although some
people call me the world’s
fastest Maori. I think it’s my
brother who came up with
it because you can tell that I
look like it (Laughs).
Twitter or Facebook?
Twitter because it’s more
practical. I’m over Facebook
to be honest.
What song is the most played on
your iPod?
It’d probably a Flume song
or one of the Red Hot Chili
Peppers like Scar Tissue.
Do you have any bad habits?
I got a lot…! Keeping my
bedroom clean and tidy is
one…
Favourite film?
I watch a lot of movies, but
I just forget them. I really
enjoyed Rush but I like
anything to be honest.
Last person you received a text
from?
Richie Stanaway.
Last person you rang?
My father on Facetime this
morning.
Blondes, Redheads, or
Brunettes?
I’m not fussy! (Laughs)
Driver #9
RUSSIAN TIME
PS4 or Xbox?
PS4 but I have an Xbox! I
hardly play though.
What’s the most important
thing in life?
My family.
What word or phrase do you use
often?
I use “mate” a lot. I think it’s
a down-under thing. People
probably think I don’t know
their names, but it’s just
what we say! (Laughs)
Left handed or Right handed?
Right handed.
Main course or Dessert?
I prefer dessert, but I
normally have main course.
Do you have a guilty pleasure?
Probably ice cream…
Do you have any pets?
In New Zealand, I have a
dog. It’s a Labrador called
Max. I miss him a lot.
Soft drink or Bubbly?
Soft drink.
Wet race or Dry race?
Dry.
Grid girl or Girl next door?
Girl next door.
Tennis or football?
Tennis.
Indoor training or Outdoor
training?
Outdoor.
If you could have any
superpower what would it be?
Teleportation. It would make
my life a lot easier.
Describe your perfect Saturday
evening?
I would have had trained at
some point during the day
which would have made
me feel better about life. I
would go out for a nice meal
with my friends. We would
go see a film and we would
just hang out and relax. A
good life with the boys.
Best advice you’ve ever
received?
You’re only here once, so
make the most of everything
and enjoy your life. Time
goes by so quickly, it’s scary.
So make the most of the
opportunities and enjoy at
the same time. n
13
15
DIALLING IN…
NORMAN NATO
Driver #21
Arden International
IN THE BEGINNING…
I started to drive when I was nine because of
my dad. He had a rally team. So, from three
years old, I was going to the races with him.
I loved it! I was not interested in Formula 1
until I was nine because I wanted to be a rally
driver like Colin Mcrae, Richard Burns and
Tommi Mäkinen… I was a huge fan. But then,
I tried go-kart and I got good results straight
away. That’s how I started to watch F1 and I
realised that it was actually what I wanted
to do. I remember my first race: it was on a
small track close to where I live, in Gourdon.
It was in the middle of nowhere! I did good,
especially in quali: I started from P3. I had a
lot of fun.
HEROES…
Sébastien Loeb. He’s amazing.
TRAINING…
I like training even when I’m on holidays. I like
to run, play tennis… I don’t feel good when I
don’t train. I really need it. I have a personal
coach who is in Paris. We train at INSEP. Every
month, I go see him for a couple of weeks to
train. He gives me a programme to follow
when I’m at home. To be honest, if you’re
not fit, you cannot drive the car. It’s too hard.
I prefer to train alone, put my music on and
push hard.
RACE DAY ROUTINE…
Breakfast is very important. After that, I’m
pretty laid-back. I don’t need to be in my
bubble. Talking to people and interacting with
them is better for me because it makes me
relax. Then about one hour before I have to
jump into the car, I lie down for a bit and listen
to music. Then, thirty minutes before, I start
my warm-up routine with a skipping rope still
listening to music. If I don’t do this routine, I
don’t feel good in the car. I hate it when we’re
on the grid because you have to wait, just sat
in the car and sometimes it’s very hot like in
Bahrain or in Budapest… I cannot wait to start
the engine and warm up my tyres! I stop being
nervous as soon as the engine is on. The start
is like a game for me. I love it!
OFF TRACK…
I’m lucky because I live in the South of France:
I can enjoy the beach with friends. I like to
play tennis. I also like shopping a lot. It’s my
feminine side! (Laughs). I like food and going
to good restaurants to taste new things.
I also try and learn how to cook because
my grandmother is a really good cook. She
teaches me. I’m not very good for now, but I’m
working on it… n
NEWSFLASH
17
WE TALKED TO DANIËL
DE JONG WHO IS
RECOVERING FROM SPA
F
ollowing his accident in the feature race
at Spa-Francorchamps, the loveable
Daniël de Jong has been focused on
his recovery. The MP Motorsport driver
gives us the latest update.
GP2 Series: Daniël, first of all and most
importantly, how are you today?
Daniël: Well, I feel really well! The scar I had
following the surgery is almost gone which
is really great. The pain and the stiffness in
my back are diminishing with every passing
day. I feel like my body is getting more and
more energised. I can do almost everything
but I have to be cautious: since I do not feel
too much pain now, I sometimes forget that
my bone is not completely healed! It needs
six weeks to be completely fixed and it’s only
been two weeks since Spa. I guess I have to
learn how to be patient…
GP2 Series: What are the next steps to your
recovery?
Daniël: I am currently in Italy for a little bit
of time off with my family. I didn’t want to go
to Monza at the track for the race weekend
because it was too far away from our holiday
house. It’s best that I take it easy and rest,
instead of travelling too much and spending
the day at the track watching my colleagues’
race! On Monday, I went to Formula Medicine
to see Doctor Ceccarelli. He will help me
recover and also to keep fit during this time.
To be honest, I’m happy I get to exercise. I
cannot stand to do nothing!
GP2 Series: Are you keeping an eye on the
GP2 races?
Daniël: Yes I do although, you know, it’s really
difficult to see someone else driving your car.
But it is how it is… The feature race looked
like it was a fun one! I would also like to take
this opportunity to thank everyone who has
sent me messages. I also want to thank the
doctors and the marshals who took care of
me after my accident. I’ve received a lot of
support from around the world and it’s helped
me recover faster. See you at the track soon! n
FAN
#YourSay
ZONE
The best of Twitter
and Instagram
from the paddock
and the fans
19
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gp2_official
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OUR
GRADUATES
INFORMULA 1
THEY
RAN IN
FP1
CURRENT STANDINGS
#12
ITALY
Monza
Lewis
Hamilton
1st
Nico
Rosberg
2nd
Mercedes #44
252 PTS
Mercedes #6
199 PTS
RACE:
1st M
RACE:
NC
Nico
Hülkenberg
Force India #27
RACE:
11th
30 PTS
7th
Sergio
Pérez
Force India #11
RACE:
10th
33 PTS
6th
Romain
Grosjean
Lotus #8
RACE:
9th
38 PTS
NC
Pastor
Maldonado
Lotus #13
RACE:
14th
Felipe
Nasr
13th
12 PTS
Sauber #9
16 PTS
NC
RACE:
13th
Marcus
Ericsson
Sauber #12
RACE:
17th
9 PTS
9th
Jolyon Palmer
Lotus #30
ITALY - 28 LAPS
HAMILTON DOMINATES
IN MONZA
L
ewis Hamilton was untouchable in
Monza with yet another drive from the
top draw: the Briton set the pace all
weekend, easily claimed yet another
pole position before escaping from his rivals
when the lights went out, and even a request
late in the race from his team to increase his
already substantial lead was answered easily.
Against this teammate Nico Rosberg was
always going to appear to struggle, but the
German had big problems to deal with: using
an engine at the end of its life was always
going to be a challenge so P4 on the grid
probably reflected a solid performance, and a
demand from the team to use more power in
the race didn’t help, causing the engine to let
go late in the race for a dramatic retirement.
Over at Force India Sergio Pérez was having a
great time at the Italian circuit: good pace all
weekend led to an impressive P7 on the grid,
and the Mexican battled well with Rosberg
for much of the race before finishing in 6th
for a solid haul of points. On the other side
of the garage teammate Nico Hülkenberg was
21
unhappy with his car for most of the weekend:
the German lined up in P9 when his qualy
session was finished early after running out
of fuel, but he pushed forward during the race
to finish one spot behind Perez, in P7.
were taken out at the start of the race when
Marcus Ericsson hit Grosjean (breaking his
suspension), with Maldonado being caught up
in the chain reaction after the collision, putting
both men into retirement almost immediately.
The Lotus pair of Romain Grosjean and Pastor
Maldonado had high hopes of some strong
results after running well in qualifying: putting
a tyre warmer issue behind them they finished
qualifying in P8 and P10 respectively and were
looking for a good points haul, but both men
Over at Sauber Ericsson was leading the way
over his fancied teammate, despite the incident
above: the Swede made it to Q3 but lined up
P12 due to a penalty for blocking Hülkenberg
during the session, and although he was
probably lucky to continue after his collision
with Grosjean, Ericsson drove well thereafter
to finish in the points for P9. Against that,
Felipe Nasr lined up in P11, but the Brazilian
was unlucky to pick up a puncture on the first
lap: but for that he was likely to bring home
some more points, and instead had to put in a
recovery drive to finish P13. n
EXTRA
The GP2 Series was born ten years ago. How time flies! We wanted to celebrate this
anniversary of course. Therefore, we decided to see what this season’s drivers looked
like in 2005. We will reveal new drivers’ in each issue this year. This week, we present
you Racing Engineering’s duo Jordan King and Alexander Rossi. How cute were they?
23
PREVIEW
RUSSIA
SOCHI
Sochi Autodrom
17
11
16
10
9
14
1
3
8
2
7
6
15
13
12
SECTOR 2
SPEED
TRAP
4
8
5
SECTOR 1
CIRCUIT LENGTH 5.848 KM
START/FINISH OFFSET 0.199 KM
GP3 SERIES
GP2 SERIES
FEATURE RACE
30 LAPS >> 175.241 KM
SPRINT RACE
21 LAPS >> 122.609 KM
W
ith Monza being next to Milan,
the home of Pirelli, it’s a good
opportunity to find out a bit more
about GP2’s tyre supplier since
2011 – including one or two facts about the
Italian firm that are maybe slightly less well
known; such as its social projects.
Pirelli has been based around half an hour
away from Monza before the circuit even
existed, ever since Giovanni Battista Pirelli
founded the company in 1872 – but the Italian
tyre maker’s head office moved to its present
site, in the Bicocca district of Milan, in 1907.
But Pirelli’s most famous non-motorsport
involvement is with the world of football, a
relationship that dates back to 1877. In that
year, Pirelli first produced rubber goods
for sport, and it evolved further in 1922 with
patent rubber treatments for footballs.
In 1926, Piero Pirelli – the son of the company’s
founder – pushed for the construction of the
San Siro stadium in Milan, which is one of
Milan’s major landmarks to this day. And in
1995, Pirelli’s ties to football became even
stronger thanks to a link with Inter: one of the
most important and well-known clubs in the
world.
RACE 1
19 LAPS >> 110.913 KM
RACE 2
15 LAPS >> 87.521 KM
TYRES 2015
PRIME: MEDIUM
OPTION: SOFT
MEDIUM
LAP RECORD
1:45.402
By the end of the 1930s, the factory had
reached its peak in size and by 1950 there were
more than 12,000 employees. It was a real
village, which even had its own railway line to
transport products between the warehouses.
These days, Pirelli has 19 factories in
13 countries: including Turkey and Slatina in
Romania, where the GP2 tyres are made.
Pirelli’s passion for sport actually began
with cycling in 1895, a relationship which
intensified with the 1909 Giro d’Italia when
30 of the 40 riders used Pirelli tyres. By that
point, the Italian firm was already heavily
involved in motorized competition.
9
ROUND 7
ROUND 9
The company’s buildings were housed within
the ‘Pirelli Citadel’ off Viale Sarca, shaped like
an ancient fortress. That fortress is still there
now, looking somewhat incongruous among
the modern office buildings that typify the
district.
18
TOR
3
Since 2008, Pirelli has supported the Inter Campus social project
in Slatina: the home of one of the production facilities for GP2
tyres. Recreational and sporting activities are organized all year
round for over 80 children from different social backgrounds and
who have learned – through football – the values of teamwork and
friendship. n
October, 09-10-11
SEC
HOW GP2 IS LINKED WITH
HELPING UNDERPRIVILEGED
CHILDREN IN ROMANIA
This 20-year association resulted in Pirelli’s support for the Inter
Campus project, which got underway in Italy and was then exported
to other countries around the world, with the goal of helping
underprivileged children receive education as well as sports
training.
1:51.715
(199.738 KPH)
(188.450 KPH)
S. Vandoorne
(ART Grand Prix) in 2014
D. Stoneman
(Koiranen GP) in 2014
2014 GP2 SERIES - FEATURE RACE (28 LAPS)
WINNER’S STRATEGY
J. Palmer (DAMS)
8 LAPS
SOFT
20 LAPS
MEDIUM
Rene Binder (MP Motorsport)
Speed Trap Maximum Speed
GP2 SERIES ROUND 8 - MONZA
FEATURE RACE TYRE STRATEGY
2015 MONZA
From Option: Medium
to Prime: Hard
From Prime: Hard
to Option: Medium
Rossi Medium (used) 9 laps • Hard (used) 21 laps
Vandoorne Medium (used) 6 laps • Hard (used) 24 laps
Evans Medium (used) 11 laps • Hard (used) 19 laps
Pic Medium (used) 7 laps • Hard (used) 23 laps
King Medium (used) 11 laps • Hard (used) 19 laps
Visoiu Medium (used) 8 laps • Hard (new) 22 laps
Leal Medium (used) 9 laps • Hard (new) 21 laps
Haryanto Medium (used) 8 laps • Hard (used) 22 laps
Marciello Medium (used) 8 laps • Hard (new) 22 laps
Trummer Medium (used) 6 laps • Hard (new) 24 laps
Mardenborough Medium (used) 10 laps • Hard (new) 20 laps
Markelov Hard (used) 21 laps • Medium (used) 9 laps
Nato Hard (new) 22 laps • Medium (used) 8 laps
Binder Hard (new) 22 laps • Medium (used) 8 laps
Canamasas Hard (new) 18 laps • Medium (used) 12 laps
Negrão Hard (used) 23 laps • Medium (used) 7 laps
Niederhauser Hard (new) 23 laps • Medium (used) 7 laps
Cecotto Jr. Hard (new) 20 laps • Medium (used) 10 laps
DRIVER NOT CLASSIFIED (DNF)
Sirotkin Medium (used) 9 laps • Hard (new) 6 laps
Lynn Medium (used) 9 laps • Hard (new) 4 laps
Gasly Medium (used) 8 laps • Hard (new) 2 laps
Stöckinger Medium (used) 8 laps • Hard (used) 1 laps
DRIVER NOT CLASSIFIED (DNF)
Matsushita Hard (used) 9 laps
Van Buuren Hard (used) 2 laps
FACTS
2015 GP2 SERIES - FEATURE RACE (30 LAPS)
WINNER’S STRATEGY
A. Rossi (Racing Engineering)
9 LAPS
MEDIUM
21 LAPS
HARD
FASTEST PIT STOP
(PIT LANE TRAVEL TIME)
J. King (Racing Engineering)
32.768 LAP 11
SPEED TRAP MAXIMUM SPEED
(Sprint Race)
R. Binder (MP Motorsport)
331.5 KM/H
25
GP2 GAME ZONE
ENTER THE ZONE TO ACCEPT THE CHALLENGE!
GP2 TRIVIA
Answer our trivia question, work out which 3 drivers’ helmet
designs we’ve mixed up and name that race from the photo. Got it?
NAME THAT RACE
#GP2TRIVIA
#NTRGP2
MIND BOGGLE
#GP2MINDBOGGLE
Recognise these helmet designs? Name the drivers.
27
29
#HitMeWithYourBestShot
When Saturday September, 05 _ 16:05
Where Autodromo Nazionale di Monza, Monza, Italy.
Who Alex Lynn (DAMS) and Sergey Sirotkin (Rapax).
Whom Sam Bloxham
With CANON EOS-1D X • EF70-200mm f/2.8L IS USM
50 ISO • 140mm • 1/160 @ F8