GP2 Silverstone: Norman Nato survives investigation to keep pole
Norman Nato has kept his pole position for the GP2 Series round at Silverstone after an investigation over whether he finished his best lap under a red flag
The Frenchman's Racing Engineering car crossed the line to set its quickest lap just as the red lights came on because Oliver Rowland had parked in The Loop with a flat battery.
Following a stewards' investigation the Racing Engineering driver will get to start from his first GP2 pole earned in a qualifying session.
"I didn't see any red flag," said Nato, who is third in the points and is celebrating his 24th birthday today.
"On the last corner I didn't see any marshal showing a red flag.
"I had my eyes on the dashboard [on the run to the line] to see my time and, after I crossed the line, when I went into Turn 1, my engineer told me on the radio."
Pierre Gasly, who would have moved up to take pole in the event of Nato's lap being taken away, said that the same red flag scuppered his best attempt to claim the top spot.
When the session restarted, Gasly improved but ended up just over two tenths off pole.
"I had improved in the first sector and was also improving in the second sector - the few corners we made of it - but then I got the red flag," he said.
"After that the tyres were a bit more used. It was tricky - I was fighting a bit more with the car."
ART Grand Prix driver Sergey Sirotkin will drop from fifth to a pitlane start, though, penalised for missing the weighbridge, with his mechanics then working on the car before it was returned to the scales.
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