Bruno Senna scored his first win in the GP2 Series, managing to keep his cool during a race that saw few drivers do the same. The Arden driver took advantage of some poor pit strategies (Sergio Jimenez' and Timo Glock's) and an unfortunate accident from teammate Adrian Zaugg to grab victory in the Spanish Grand Prix.
The race started out great for title favorite Timo Glock. The German stormed into the lead from pole and slowly started to build a comfortable margin in front of his opponents. His luck changed just one lap into the race, when many of the drivers in the back had to call it a day. Andreas Zuber and Jason Tahinci failed to even start it, while Mike Conway, Luca Filippi, Giorgio Pantano, Alexandre Negrao and Karun Chandhok went off into the gravel trap after a few corners.
As the safety car went in, most of the drivers decided to pit. And here was where Glock took the chance, as the German driver chose to stay on track and build a comfortable lead. Alongside the iSport driver, Jimenez and Zaugg also stayed on track. After a great start, Bruno Senna pitted and rejoined the race in 5th place.
As Glock started to build a comfortable lead up front (2.8 seconds after only 2 laps from the re-start), the action moved into the following pack. Bruno Senna had managed to overtake Andy Soucek into La Caixa (Lap 5) and was now trailing Jimenez for 3rd. The Brazilian had to wait until the first pit stop from his fellow countryman to advance into the race, and Adrian Zaugg was becoming his new target.
Less than half of race to go, Glock was holding an 18.5 seconds advantage over Zaugg and more than 20 seconds over Senna. But both the German and the South-African were yet to pit. As for the latter, visiting the pits was no more an option as early as Lap 22, since his car spun into the last corner and forced him out of the race. Senna was now in 2nd place, followed by Lucas Di Grassi and a phenomenal Roldan Rodriguez (who started the race from 13th place).
Glock's pit stop finally happened in Lap 27, when holding a 19.8-second lead over the Brazilian. The iSport driver went back in 3rd place, soon after Di Grassi. The Italian was to be a true piece of cake for Glock, as the latter stormed into 2nd place in Lap 31. The last few laps saw a much quicker Glock (as the German was on new tires) getting closer and closer to Senna. The Brazilian kept his cool and, despite losing more than 1.5 seconds/lap, managed to cross the finish line in 1st place. Glock and Di Grassi completed the Saturday podium, after a quite exciting race.
“Still a bit hard to believe it! It was a great gamble. I did a very good start and I was P3 after the start. Then there was a safety car and my engineer called me into the pits. I was a bit worried that it was the right thing to do because I would have to race the whole race with one set of tyres and I knew the tyres would be a bit hard here. But it was the right call and I have to thank them for doing a good job on that”, argued Senna after his win on Saturday.
Race 2 was all about Timo Glock. The German managed a good start and recovered 3 positions all the way up to 4th place, as Javier Villa, Lucas di Grassi and Bruno Senna formed the leading pack. Still, it didn't take long for Glock to storm into the lead, as he overtook Senna and Di Grassi in Lap 2 and 3 respectively. Javier Villa was the only driver standing between him and his 1st win of the season.
The German finally made his move on Villa in Lap 7, when he powered into the lead at the end of the main straight. Glock then put a comfortable 3-second lead over the Spaniard and it was very clear that nothing and no one will stop him from clinching the Sunday win. Both Villa and Di Grassi held on to their podium places, as Senna preferred not to take any chances and stick to his 4th place.
“It’s great – yesterday I think we had the pace to win the race, but we had a bit of bad luck with the safety car because it was out too long for us; three laps too long for our strategy. Today I said to the team that I want to win the race for the mechanics and the whole team, because they did a perfect job over the winter and this is the result of it. We’ve had a pretty good weekend – I think we made 100% out of the weekend”, said Glock after the Sunday race.
Despite losing the win in Race 1 to Bruno Senna, the German over-scored the Arden driver because of his pole & fastest lap bonuses. He is now leading the Point Standings by 13 points. Senna's performance this weekend climbed him all the way into 2nd place, only 2 points ahead of former leader Luca Filippi. Next stop in the GP2 Series calendar will be Monaco – on the 26th of May – as it will schedule only one race.
The race started out great for title favorite Timo Glock. The German stormed into the lead from pole and slowly started to build a comfortable margin in front of his opponents. His luck changed just one lap into the race, when many of the drivers in the back had to call it a day. Andreas Zuber and Jason Tahinci failed to even start it, while Mike Conway, Luca Filippi, Giorgio Pantano, Alexandre Negrao and Karun Chandhok went off into the gravel trap after a few corners.
As the safety car went in, most of the drivers decided to pit. And here was where Glock took the chance, as the German driver chose to stay on track and build a comfortable lead. Alongside the iSport driver, Jimenez and Zaugg also stayed on track. After a great start, Bruno Senna pitted and rejoined the race in 5th place.
As Glock started to build a comfortable lead up front (2.8 seconds after only 2 laps from the re-start), the action moved into the following pack. Bruno Senna had managed to overtake Andy Soucek into La Caixa (Lap 5) and was now trailing Jimenez for 3rd. The Brazilian had to wait until the first pit stop from his fellow countryman to advance into the race, and Adrian Zaugg was becoming his new target.
Less than half of race to go, Glock was holding an 18.5 seconds advantage over Zaugg and more than 20 seconds over Senna. But both the German and the South-African were yet to pit. As for the latter, visiting the pits was no more an option as early as Lap 22, since his car spun into the last corner and forced him out of the race. Senna was now in 2nd place, followed by Lucas Di Grassi and a phenomenal Roldan Rodriguez (who started the race from 13th place).
Glock's pit stop finally happened in Lap 27, when holding a 19.8-second lead over the Brazilian. The iSport driver went back in 3rd place, soon after Di Grassi. The Italian was to be a true piece of cake for Glock, as the latter stormed into 2nd place in Lap 31. The last few laps saw a much quicker Glock (as the German was on new tires) getting closer and closer to Senna. The Brazilian kept his cool and, despite losing more than 1.5 seconds/lap, managed to cross the finish line in 1st place. Glock and Di Grassi completed the Saturday podium, after a quite exciting race.
“Still a bit hard to believe it! It was a great gamble. I did a very good start and I was P3 after the start. Then there was a safety car and my engineer called me into the pits. I was a bit worried that it was the right thing to do because I would have to race the whole race with one set of tyres and I knew the tyres would be a bit hard here. But it was the right call and I have to thank them for doing a good job on that”, argued Senna after his win on Saturday.
Race 2 was all about Timo Glock. The German managed a good start and recovered 3 positions all the way up to 4th place, as Javier Villa, Lucas di Grassi and Bruno Senna formed the leading pack. Still, it didn't take long for Glock to storm into the lead, as he overtook Senna and Di Grassi in Lap 2 and 3 respectively. Javier Villa was the only driver standing between him and his 1st win of the season.
The German finally made his move on Villa in Lap 7, when he powered into the lead at the end of the main straight. Glock then put a comfortable 3-second lead over the Spaniard and it was very clear that nothing and no one will stop him from clinching the Sunday win. Both Villa and Di Grassi held on to their podium places, as Senna preferred not to take any chances and stick to his 4th place.
“It’s great – yesterday I think we had the pace to win the race, but we had a bit of bad luck with the safety car because it was out too long for us; three laps too long for our strategy. Today I said to the team that I want to win the race for the mechanics and the whole team, because they did a perfect job over the winter and this is the result of it. We’ve had a pretty good weekend – I think we made 100% out of the weekend”, said Glock after the Sunday race.
Despite losing the win in Race 1 to Bruno Senna, the German over-scored the Arden driver because of his pole & fastest lap bonuses. He is now leading the Point Standings by 13 points. Senna's performance this weekend climbed him all the way into 2nd place, only 2 points ahead of former leader Luca Filippi. Next stop in the GP2 Series calendar will be Monaco – on the 26th of May – as it will schedule only one race.
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