Abu Dhabi GP2: Alexander Rossi gets pole as Marcus Ericsson demoted
Marcus Ericsson has been stripped of his Abu Dhabi GP2 pole position after stewards ruled that he exceeded track limits on his best qualifying lap
The decision to penalise the DAMS driver promotes Caterham's Alexander Rossi to his first pole position in the category.
It also moves title contender Sam Bird to a front row starting position as he bids to overhaul Fabio Leimer's seven-point series lead.
Leimer will now start fourth, behind Jolyon Palmer, with Tom Dillmann and Johnny Cecotto Jr rounding out the new top six.
Ericsson falls to 12th place with his second-best time.
His drop moves outside title contender Felipe Nasr up to eighth.
Stefano Coletti, the other man still in the championship fight, was only 18th quickest.
James Calado was ruled out of contention when he was given a five-place grid penalty for an incident with Dillmann in practice.
That meant he could not get the pole bonus points required to keep his title bid alive. Calado was only 14th in qualifying in any case.
Further back on the grid, Daniel Abt and Gianmarco Raimondo have both been penalised three places each for blocking Rossi and Calado respectively. The will start from the final row, with Abt starting ahead of Raimondo (who had qualified last anyway).
Pos Driver Team Time Gap 1. Alexander Rossi Caterham 1m48.931s 2. Sam Bird Russian Time 1m49.241s +0.310s 3. Jolyon Palmer Carlin 1m49.376s +0.445s 4. Fabio Leimer Racing Engineering 1m49.485s +0.554s 5. Tom Dillmann Russian Time 1m49.672s +0.741s 6. Johnny Cecotto Jr Arden 1m49.680s +0.749s 7. Jon Lancaster Hilmer 1m49.827s +0.896s 8. Felipe Nasr Carlin 1m49.829s +0.898s 9. Stephane Richelmi DAMS 1m49.835s +0.904s 10. Dani Clos MP 1m49.846s +0.915s 11. Mitch Evans Arden 1m49.864s +0.933s 12. Marcus Ericsson DAMS 1m49.910s +0.979s 13. Sergio Canamasas Caterham 1m49.951s +1.020s 14. James Calado* ART 1m50.002s +1.071s 15. Rio Haryanto Addax 1m50.334s +1.403s 16. Nathanael Berthon Trident 1m50.446s +1.515s 17. Adrian Quaife-Hobbs Hilmer 1m50.510s +1.579s 18. Stefano Coletti Rapax 1m50.534s +1.603s 19. Julian Leal Racing Engineering 1m50.553s +1.622s 20. Simon Trummer Rapax 1m50.634s +1.703s 21. Jake Rosenzweig Addax 1m50.809s +1.878s 22. Rene Binder Lazarus 1m50.884s +1.953s 23. Daniel de Jong MP 1m50.906s +1.975s 24. Daniel Abt** ART 1m50.907s +1.976s 25. Vittorio Ghirelli Lazarus 1m51.493s +2.562s 26. Gianmarco Raimondo Trident 1m52.311s +3.380s
*Will drop to 19th with grid penalty
**Will drop to 25th with grid penalty
Abu Dhabi GP2: Marcus Ericsson on pole, Sam Bird leads title rivals
Abu Dhabi GP2: Leimer champion as Bird stalls and Rossi wins
What racing in Australia means for the future of F1's junior series
The announcement that FIA Formula 2 and 3 would race alongside the Australian Grand Prix from 2023 came as a surprise, not only to fans but to the series’ teams too. But with Formula 1’s boom in popularity bringing more fans to the championships, team principals are relishing the opportunity
The other Doohan charting his way to motorsport success
Heading into FIA Formula 2 this season, there was a lot of pressure on Jack Doohan. The 2021 F3 runner-up joined a new team for his next challenge, as well as signing up to the Alpine Academy. He told Autosport how he’s tackling the step up - with some help from his motorcycle legend father
The Brazilian F2 driver hoping to return his country to motorsport's top tier
With a chaotic but “pretty much perfect” FIA Formula 2 weekend in Saudi Arabia behind him, Felipe Drugovich now leads the drivers’ standings in his third crack at the series. The Brazilian driver explains how he's improved amid some difficult years, and shares his dreams of ending his nation's absence from the F1 grid
The Red Bull junior aiming to emulate Piastri in F2
Norwegian talent Dennis Hauger has a tough act to follow in Oscar Piastri’s footsteps on his graduation to F2 as the reigning F3 champion with Prema. Here’s what he makes of the task ahead of him
The other Mercedes F1 young gun facing a big 2022
With a disappointing 2021 season behind him, Frederik Vesti makes the move up to FIA Formula 2 with a reinvigorated sense of determination. Could this finally be the breakthrough year for the talented Mercedes junior?
Ranking the 10 best drivers of an F1 junior series stalwart
DAMS has been one of the most prolific teams below Formula 1 since its foundation in 1989, launching 32 drivers into grand prix racing. Following the team's sale to ex-F1 racer Charles Pic, formally closing the book on the ownership of the Driot family, Autosport picks out its 10 best drivers during their spell with the team
How an F2 enigma hopes ‘coming home’ can reopen doors to F1
After a disappointing 2021, Marcus Armstrong is returning to FIA Formula 2 for another shot at the title in 2022 with Hitech – this time without the backing of Ferrari. This year, he says, he’s ready to give it his all in a last-shot bid to reach Formula 1
The hardships that haven’t dented an F2 rookie’s American F1 dream
Faced with no options for 2021, Logan Sargeant’s Formula 1 dreams looked set to crumble. But a last-minute Formula 3 seat and a strong season secured him an F1 junior berth and a Formula 2 drive for 2022. He told Autosport how his transformative season has affected both his personality and his future