Grosjean starts GP2 season with win
Romain Grosjean and Vitaly Petrov earned a Barwa Campos one-two in the opening race of the GP2 season at Barcelona today
Grosjean controlled the race from start to finish and crossed the line 2.4 seconds clear of his team-mate, although the gap would have been greater had there not been a late safety car period to clean up an accident involving Grosjean's main title rival Lucas di Grassi.
By the time he retired the Brazilian was already well out of contention for a podium, with DAMS' Jerome D'Ambrosio having staked his claim for third.
Di Grassi's exit came when he was engaged in a three-car fight for fifth. Arden's Edoardo Motara had just passed the Racing Engineering car and ORT's Alvaro Parente was attempting to do the same when he snagged di Grassi's right-rear, triggering a collision that put both out on the spot - and left Parente's car perched atop di Grassi's.
It was a frustrating end to an already difficult afternoon for di Grassi, who was passed on the outside by Petrov at Turn 1, and also marked a painful start to the fledgling Ocean Racing Team's GP2 career, with Karun Chandhok having spun into retirement a few laps earlier.
Super Nova's Luca Filippi rebounded from the penalty that left him ninth on the grid to finish fourth ahead of Pastor Maldonado (ART), but more impressive were the efforts of those immediately behind them. Kamui Kobayashi's seventh for DAMS was a dramatic recovery from starting 22nd, and it was matched by iSport driver Giedo van der Garde's effort in getting up to sixth from 18th.
ART rookie Nico Hulkenberg was ninth after an eventful outing that included bogging down at the start, and making an extra pitstop near the end.
Pos Driver Team Time
1. Romain Grosjean Barwa Campos 1h02m22.709s
2. Vitaly Petrov Barwa Campos + 2.459s
3. Jerome D'Ambrosio DAMS + 6.349s
4. Luca Filippi Super Nova + 8.346s
5. Pastor Maldonado ART + 8.741s
6. Edoardo Mortara Arden + 12.529s
7. Giedo van der Garde iSport + 12.748s
8. Kamui Kobayashi DAMS + 14.063s
9. Nico Hulkenberg ART + 14.260s
10. Javier Villa Super Nova + 15.200s
11. Diego Nunes iSport + 16.669s
12. Nelson Panciatici Durango + 17.756s
13. Michael Herck DPR + 18.445s
14. Sergio Perez Arden + 18.595s
15. Alberto Valerio Piquet + 31.629s
16. Luis Razia Fisichella + 1 lap
17. Davide Rigon Trident + 1 lap
Retirements:
Lucas di Grassi Racing Engineering 32 laps
Alvaro Parente Ocean 32 laps
Dani Clos Racing Engineering 31 laps
Karun Chandhok Ocean 27 laps
Roldan Rodriguez Piquet 25 laps
Davide Valsecchi Durango 16 laps
Ricardo Teixeira Trident 11 laps
Andi Zuber Fisichella 5 laps
Giacomo Ricci DPR 1 lap
Be part of the Autosport community
Join the conversationShare Or Save This Story
The Indy 500 poleman who didn't live to raceday
Fast Failures: American heartbreak at the Indianapolis 500
Indy Lights champion Spencer Pigot gets three race IndyCar deal
WEC Imola: Ferrari remains on top in FP2 as Fuoco beats Porsche
WRC Croatia: Neuville, Evans tied for the lead after eight stages
WIN! A VIP Race Weekend Experience in Monaco
Lauda's 1976 German GP helmet to be auctioned at F1 Miami GP
Why Alpine’s rigorous training camp yields telling insights into its juniors
Can F2's relaxed title favourite prove a point to Alpine?
Why F1's junior logjam isn't entirely a product of current issues
Inside the racing university moulding F1 drivers and engineers alike
Subscribe and access Autosport.com with your ad-blocker.
From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.
Top Comments