Fabio Leimer furious with Valencia GP2 winner Esteban Gutierrez after clash

Following a second safety car period, with seven laps remaining, Leimer was in prime position to take the race win as leader James Calado had failed to take his mandatory pitstop before the first safety car, and was doomed to drop back when he did so. But Calado's Lotus GP team-mate Gutierrez made contact with Leimer at the final corner, pushed him wide and caused Leimer to drop from second to fifth, which became fourth when Calado pitted.

"Gutierrez drove into my car," said Leimer. "In my opinion this move was not fair and he destroyed my race. I was actually lucky as I was close to spinning and then even P4 would not have been possible. I am sure I could have won today, and from P7 to P1 that's not bad. I felt really comfortable and everything went well [until the collision].

"Esteban usually drives hard, but fair. Today, in my opinion, he overdid it as he also crashed into [Caterham's Giedo] van der Garde, therefore destroying both Giedo's and my races. The championship is not decided in one race, so one can race hard, but it should stay fair."

Gutierrez had previously made contact with van der Garde at Turn 17 on lap 11, causing them both to leave the track and allow Leimer ahead. Van der Garde then suffered a disastrous pitstop, when his right-rear wheelgun jammed on, and then he was forced to pit again later on due to flat-spotted front tyres. He finished 12th, but drops to fourth behind Gutierrez in the points.

"This was a horrible race," rued van der Garde. "It is incredible how unlucky someone can be. I really didn't make any major mistakes, it was all a matter of bad luck."