The opening round of the GP2 Series didn't end up as expected for Trident at Barcellona as both drivers Rene Binder and Raffaele Marciello were forced to deal with external circumstances.Rene was unguiltily hit by the car that was following him during the first lap, right when the Austrian, who had started well, was fighting to recover more positions. Despite didn't have any responsibility in the contact, Binder was forced to sit out of the rest of the race with lots of damage to his car. Rene's crash led the stewards to use, for the first time in the GP2 Series, the Virtual Safety Car.In the meantime Lello, who had started from the third place on the grid, had put together a quick getaway and was staying among the top-3.When the Virtual Safety Car situation was started though, Marciello lined-up behind the pack he had in front, but at the moment the VSC signal was removed, the Italian was in the middle of a corner and that prevented him from controlling his car. He was forced to deliver a recovery drive that ended up in P17.Today's unlucky strikes left the Trident stable bitter, although they are already looking forward to the next round. The team will be back in action in two weeks at Monte Carlo, a fascinating venue where Trident often collected great results in the past
GP2 TRIDENT - Barcelona Race 1 2015
Trident collected the team's first valuable points for the overall GP2 Series championship at Barcelonan, thanks to a sixth place captured by Raffaele in Race 1. Rene Binder ended up in 22nd: after a difficult qualifying session that forced him to the back of the pack, he couldn't find the right chemistry with his car at the tough Catalan venue.
11 - RAFFAELE MARCIELLO
After ending qualifying in seventh place, Lello agreed with his technical staff on an aggressive strategy. On the grid, he had hard Pirelli tires and chose a late pit-stop in the second half of the feature race. His start was good though and his race pace consistent. That enabled him to cross the line into the points zone.
Final Position: P6Startiing Position: P7Tyres compound on grid start: HardTeam's strategy: Prime/Option
DRIVER's QUOTE:
"My start hasn't been a great one, but the race strategy played out well and I managed to stay for most part of the race at the top of the charts. The mandatory pit-stop that was completed with 10 laps to go brought me back to the 8th place, but with the new set of soft rubber I managed to make it back up to the 6th position. I'm already focused on tomorrow's race 2. I will be starting from the second row".
12 - RENE BINDER
Young Austrian racer Rene Binder continued to struggle in round two of 2015 as he still can't find the expected pace and the chemistry with his car that he had experienced in preseason testing. The outcome of the qualifying session forced him to start from the back in Race 1 and attempt a recovery that unfortunately didn't happen. Binder was forced to settle for 22nd place.
Final Position: P22Starting Position: P24Tyres compound on grid start: SoftTeam's strategy: Option/Prime
DRIVER's QUOTE:"I'm quite saddened by today's race results. The team and I worked very hard but I still don't understand why we lost the pace we showed in preseason testing. Here at Barcelona last year I was pretty competitive on Race Day so I don't think I have an issue with the track. I'm confident that we'll find a way to improve our results."
