Abu Dhabi GP2: Leimer champion as Bird stalls and Rossi wins
Fabio Leimer sealed the 2013 GP2 Series title in the Abu Dhabi feature race, as main rival Sam Bird stalled at the start and Alexander Rossi took victory


Rossi's win, his first GP2 success with the Caterham team, came after opting for a medium/medium tyre strategy that thwarted long-time race leader Jolyon Palmer and his Carlin team.
They chose a medium/super-soft strategy, and Rossi's two-lap undercut was enough to propel him in front as Palmer rejoined from the pits.
Rossi won by 2.1 seconds despite a late safety car to retrieve Mitch Evans's stranded car, as Palmer ran the last nine laps on the more fragile tyre and could not take the fight to him at the finish.
Marcus Ericsson passed Leimer for third with three laps to go at Turn 11, but fourth was enough to crown Leimer as champion.
Chief rival Bird stalled at the start, and despite stopping under an early safety car to switch strategy to get the super-soft tyre out of the way, he was unable to rise to the ninth place he required to take the title fight into Sunday, finishing only 10th.
Dani Clos claimed fifth for MP Motorsport, ahead of James Calado, who made a late-race spurt on super-soft tyres despite a broken bargeboard that was starving his engine of power.
Felipe Nasr finished seventh, followed by Johnny Cecotto Jr, who will start Sunday's sprint race from pole.
The early safety car was required for a nasty clash between Jon Lancaster and Tom Dillmann, from which the latter was lucky to escape as Lancaster's front wing was wedged on his crash helmet.
Results - 29 laps: Pos Driver Team/Car Time/Gap 1. Alexander Rossi Caterham 1h00m16.414s 2. Jolyon Palmer Carlin +2.130s 3. Marcus Ericsson DAMS +3.075s 4. Fabio Leimer Racing Engineering +4.687s 5. Dani Clos MP +5.218s 6. James Calado ART +6.370s 7. Felipe Nasr Carlin +8.873s 8. Johnny Cecotto Jr Arden +12.142s 9. Daniel Abt ART +13.102s 10. Sam Bird Russian Time +13.568s 11. Adrian Quaife-Hobbs Hilmer +14.852s 12. Sergio Canamasas Caterham +15.896s 13. Simon Trummer Rapax +15.919s 14. Rio Haryanto Addax +19.021s 15. Rene Binder Lazarus +19.229s 16. Julian Leal Racing Engineering +21.039s 17. Gianmarco Raimondo Trident +23.308s 18. Nathanael Berthon Trident +1 lap* 19. Stefano Coletti Rapax +1 lap* 20. Daniel de Jong MP +1 lap* 21. Jake Rosenzweig Addax +3 laps* *Not running at finish Retirements: Mitch Evans Arden 22 laps Vittorio Ghirelli Lazarus 9 laps Stephane Richelmi DAMS 1 lap Tom Dillmann Russian Time 0 laps Jon Lancaster Hilmer 0 laps

Abu Dhabi GP2: Alexander Rossi gets pole as Marcus Ericsson demoted
Abu Dhabi GP2: Fabio Leimer says title merited despite Sam Bird woe

Latest news
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