Raffaele Marciello cruised to a podium finish for Trident in the Sprint Race for the GP2 Series weekend at Sochi. The Italian racer, who is part of both the Ferrari Driver Academy and the Aci Team Italia, ended up the second race of the weekend with a deserved third place by showing his pace and determination. Johnny Cecotto retired during the penultimate lap after holding a points-paying position for the whole day. Unfortunately, he paid the price of a small mistake that cost him the chance to take his car to the end.

RAFFAELE MARCIELLO

Making a bold start from third place, Marciello was involved in an early contact that cost him two positions down to P5. He promptly recovered in aggressive fashion, passing two cars and reclaiming the third position. Then he continued to hold the spot despite the final part of the race saw his car lose stability due to tire degradation and he had to defend himself. The Safety-Car that came out on the penultimate lap following to his team mate’s exit was  crucial for Raffaele to stay in control and cross the line in P3.  Relying on the good foundations laid in Russia, Marciello and the team are ready for the next round of the GP2 Series scheduled for the 20th and 21st of November.

Final Position: P3Position on Starting Grid: P3Tyres on grid start : White Medium Prime12 - JOHNNY CECOTTO

Johnny didn’t end the race as expected. Starting from the 13th place, he quickly moved up to 8th, keeping the spot throughout the distance. With good pace and balance, Cecotto showed good chemistry with the car. While the team was ready to celebrate his points finish, a small distraction brought him to lose control and crash into the barriers. Although the Johnny is OK, his car got heavily damaged and the race was over for him with two laps to go. di terminare il week-end con un 13esimo tempo assoluto.

Final Position: NCPosition on Starting Grid: P13Tyres on grid start : White Medium Prime