Monaco, Races 1 and 2: Just outside the points
On Friday and Saturday DAMS competed in the 2 GP2 Championship events, part of the F1 Monaco Grand Prix supporting programme. They lived up to their reputation, and between yellow flags, safety car periods, tail enders and accidents the team did not manage to score any points.
Yesterday, Jérôme d’Ambrosio and Kamui Kobayashi started from 9th and 16th places on the grid. The Japanese driver’s race was a short one as he was hit on the first lap and had to retire. Jérôme crossed the line in 9th place and showed his speed by setting the 3rd-quickest time
Today, Kamui was unlucky again. He had pulled back 9 places and was running fourteenth when his gearbox let him down at half-distance. His Belgian team-mate also drove a solid race, which he finished in 7th place just outside the points for the second time. Once again he was among the quickest on the track but did not manage to overtake.
After 6 races DAMS is now in 9th place in the teams’ championship with 8 points. The French squad will be out to move up the ratings and forget the Monaco weekend at the next round on the Magny-Cours circuit between 20th and 22nd June.
Eric Boullier, team manager: “For the second time on the trot we did not manage to score points even though we were among the quickest cars on the circuit, and a rostrum finish was well within our grasp. Kamui’s weekend was compromised in qualifying as a bad grid position in Monaco is more penalising than anywhere else, because it’s very difficult to move up through the field. He had to retire twice but it was never his fault. Jérôme drove two solid races and deserved to open his score this weekend.”
Jérôme d’AmbrosioRace 1: 9th on the grid and 9th at the finishRace 2: 9th on the grid 7th at the finish
“Finishing just outside the points on two occasion is very frustrating, but looking on the bright side I’m satisfied with my pace this weekend. I felt at home behind the wheel; I was competitive and I finished both races for the first time this season. It’s very encouraging and I hope to consolidate my progress at Magny-Cours.”
Kamui KobayashiRace 1: 16th on the grid, rtd (collision)Race 2: 23rd on the grid, rtd (gearbox)
“I had a couple of pretty short races this weekend as I covered only fifteen laps between yesterday and today. I was hit on the first lap of the long race and then I retired in the short one, as it became impossible to change gear. I was hoping for better here, and I’ll do my best to quickly close the gap separating me from the front-runners in the championship. The season got off to a good start and I hope I’ll soon be back on the rostrum trail.”
