Warm Up -Stoffel Vandoorne (ART Grand Prix)“Abu Dhabi is a track that everybody knows pretty well because we test there at the start of the season. I especially like it because we have qualifying and the feature race at night time which elevates the track grip: you get a really good feeling with the car. And then, the conditions change again as the sprint race is driven in very warm temperatures in the middle of the day. It makes it quite challenging for the car set up and the drivers.
“During the night, the tyre degradation is more manageable because the temperatures are not so hot: we can push almost every lap – although you still have to be careful. During the day time when it’s really warm, you have to be much more careful with the tyres. It’s quite interesting.“Qualifying might be tricky because free practice will take place in much warmer temperatures and on a harder compound. We then go to qualifying at night time and on softer tyres. Because of the temperature difference, we usually gain about three seconds per lap. I think you can make the difference as a driver with the way you adapt to the grip you get.“Last year, overtaking was manageable, but this year with DRS, there will some more opportunities: we have two very long straights with a big braking zone before Turn 8 and Turn 11. It will be an interesting race to see how overtaking will be, but there are definitely some opportunities out there.”
The StakesThe final round of the 2015 season takes place this week at the Yas Marina Circuit. Just a few days ago, newly crowned Champion Stoffel Vandoorne proved that his motivation was still running high: the Belgian ace qualified on the front row and then dominated the feature race from lights to flag. He crossed the finish line 13 seconds ahead of his rookie teammate Nobuharu Matsushita. With that stellar result, the pair delivered ART Grand Prix their fourth GP2 crown in the Series’ history.
The following day, it was Mitch Evans’ time to shine: the driver from Russian Time who had finished third in the feature race was able to avoid a turn 1 collision to zoom past Vandoorne and then Alex Lynn in the sprint. Evans controlled the rest of the pack until the chequered flag adding a second win to his season tally. As a consequence, the Kiwi moved up to fifth in the drivers’ standings edging out Lynn.But this week, all eyes will be focused on Alexander Rossi, Sergey Sirotkin and Rio Haryanto with the three men fighting for second and third places in the standings. The American had a challenging weekend in Bahrain, failing to score whereas the Russian recovered from a poor qualifying result to pocket fourth and fifth places in the races. He passed the Indonesian in the drivers’ standings and is now lying third, seven points ahead of Haryanto.
It will be an exciting last round in Abu Dhabi where Pirelli have selected the Medium and Supersoft tyres. The drivers will have to adapt quickly to an elevated grip in the evening qualifying session. The feature race will also take place at night time meaning that the temperatures will be cooler compared to the free practice whereas the sprint race will take place in the middle of the day on Sunday. Everything is set for a thrilling finale!
Season Stats
7 Points difference between Sergey Sirotkin and Rio Haryanto in the drivers’ standings.30.5 Points difference between Alexander Rossi and Sirotkin in the drivers’ standings.19 Points difference between Sirotkin and Mitch Evans in the drivers’ standings.6 The total number of race wins pocketed by Vandoorne so far. He equals Pastor Maldonado’s record for the most wins in one season.Noteworthy- There will be no driver change for this race week,- This is the fourth time Pirelli have selected the Supersoft this season.- ART Grand Prix have claimed their fourth GP2 crown (2005, 2006, 2009, 2015).- Post season testing will take place next week from December 2nd to December 4th at Yas Marina Circuit.- Newcomers Prema will run for the first time in GP2 during the post-season tests at Yas Marina Circuit.Fun with figures8 The number of race winners this season: Vandoorne (6), Rossi and Haryanto (3), Evans, Stanaway and Lynn (2), Sirotkin and Matsushita (1).15 The number of podium finishers this season: Vandoorne (15), Rossi (7), Evans (6), Sirotkin and Haryanto (5), Gasly and Lynn (4), Matsushita and Marciello (3), Pic and Stanaway (2), King, Markelov, Berthon and Canamasas (10).5 The number of drivers who have achieved a pole position this season: Vandoorne (4), Gasly and Lynn (2), Rossi and Sirotkin (1).15 The number of race leaders this season: Vandoorne (95 laps), Lynn (68 laps), Haryanto (67 laps), Stanaway (61 laps), Rossi (59 laps), Sirotkin (29 laps), Matsushita (28 laps), Evans (23 laps), Pic (22 laps), Gasly (20 laps), Nato (11 laps), Marciello and Leal (7 laps), Visoiu (2 laps), Negrao (1)
