TURN HERE 5 AUGUST 2008 GP2 SERIES Hockenheim//Hungaroring Nelson Piquet Nelson’s thoughts on GP2’s flying rookies and balancing team ownership with an F1 seat Carnival time Brazilians Di Grassi and Senna close on Pantano at the top of the table DOWNLOAD CHandHOK Q&A Pit gossip SUBSCriBE Here PDF HERE KARUN DISCUSSES HIS SEASON THE INSIDE LINE ON GP2 SIGN UP FREE TO THE E-ZINE GP2 SERIES Hockenheim//Hungaroring Piquet’s opinion Runner-up to Lewis Hamilton in the 2006 GP2 season, Nelson Piquet graduated to a full time F1 race seat this season with the Renault team. He is also team owner of Piquet Sports and here offers up his candid views on the GP2 season so far. As a fan, a competitor and now a team owner with a fast, consistent car and that consistency has in turn Piquet Sports, the great thing about GP2 is that helped him to the top of the overall standings. there is much more emphasis on driver skill than the type of car you drive. Because of that I guess it is Team talking no surprise that most of the drivers who did well last Because I have to concentrate so much time on my year, and have already spent some time in GP2, are F1 seat, as a team owner I’m not very hands-on. The up there again. last thing my drivers need is for me to transfer any of GP2 is not easy, especially for rookies because my own stresses onto them! But when I have time, you have so little time in free practice and qualifying. especially in the evenings, I enjoy popping over to the So aside from Giorgio Pantano, the guys that have GP2 paddock. It’s got a great atmosphere. really impressed are Alvaro Parente who won his first I don’t know my drivers that well personally, but ever GP2 Series race, and Romain Grosjean who is both Andreas Zuber and Pastor Maldonado are mixing it with Pantano and Bruno Senna at the top quick. They’re lying in sixth and ninth at the moment of the standings. He is proving that his GP2 Asia and I just think they have been making some simple championship was no fluke. mistakes that will be sorted out by more time in the I struggled myself in my first year and it was not car. Starts seem to be the biggest problem. Poor until my second season that I was consistently starts are usually 90% down to the driver, not the running at the front. One of the biggest lessons team, so perhaps we need to help them a little bit I learnt in that time was to go into qualifying and more in this area. Andi has put in a couple of great always bag a good lap on your first set of tyres. Get performances recently, but if the guys had been one in the bank, then push like hell on the second set. finishing close to their qualifying positions earlier this year we would be much higher in the championship. Piquet Sports owner At the sharp end GP2 is all about young drivers and we all make Nelson Piquet As well as a new batch of drivers, the new car has mistakes; that’s the beauty of the series. I lost the mixed things up a bit, especially at the beginning of championship because of silly mistakes. The only the season. Having eight different race winners in the one that is consistent at the moment is Giorgio first nine races showed how competitive this series and it’s no coincidence that he is also the most is, but now that things have settled down, there are experienced. But the beauty of the Series is you can trends appearing. After being very strong last year, never be sure what is coming next. ART and iSport are reasserting themselves at the sharp end and have been joined by an impressive performance by Racing Engineering. Pantano’s experience has greatly helped the team put together For all the latest news log on to: WWW.GP2SERIES.COM 02 2008 GP2 Series Hockenheim//Hungaroring GP2 drivers get first taste of Valencia GOOD MONTH The all-new Valencia street circuit saw its first action last month during a weekend of GT and F3 racing. With GP2 ISPOrt visiting the circuit for the first time at the end of August, a Karun Chandhok’s first win of the season, combined with podiums handful of Series drivers took the opportunity to try out the at Hockenheim and Hungaroring circuit and report back from Europe’s newest racing venue. for Bruno Senna put the British- based team 18 points clear at the top of the team standings. Giorgio Pantano: Senna, meanwhile is also still in “There are three or four Luca Filippi: “The contention for the drivers’ title. overtaking places on the bridge section is very new circuit. The first is at corner cool. The braking point two which is a tight right. You for the right hander is about arrive flat from turn one, brake hard 100m after you turn in then its GIORGIO PaNtaNO into the right and then go straight flat out over the bridge. There’s into a more open left hander. a bump in the road then the right Pantano is rapidly becoming the That section into the first chicane after the bridge is off-camber dominant force of the 2008 GP2 should make for exciting starts which unbalances the car and Series. His feature race win at to the GP2 races.” causes oversteer. You also can’t Hockenheim was his fourth of the see the exit as you turn in season and his third on the spin. because of a high wall.” Despite scoring just two points in Hungary he still leads the driver Vitaly Petrov: “The standings by seven points. most interesting part of the circuit is the quick left/right/right after the bottom hairpin. We’ll go from second Ho-Pin Tung: gear to fifth by the time we exit “After hitting around ANDREAS ZUBER the second right. Some people 300km/h down the The Piquet Sports driver was might then be foolish enough to straight, the next chicane is slow one of the early season pace- try and overtake going into the with a big, forgiving run-off area. It provides a good opportunity to setters, coming third in the first final hairpin but I’d be surprised if two feature races before a string it works, the run-off is good but make a move under some really of midfield finishes. But, his is too narrow to pass.” hard braking. With another right coming quickly afterwards breathtaking charges to second in there’s also a chance to the Hockenheim sprint race and repass after the chicane.” Hungarian feature reminded us just how much ability he has. Q&A KarUN CHANDHOK ROMAIN GROSJEAN Karun’s performances this year have A 25 second penalty in Germany helped put his iSport outfit at the top of What are your goals for the rest of the year? denied Grosjean his first feature the team standings, and following his first Bruno [Senna] is perhaps too far away in race win before a 10 place grid win of the season in Hockenheim, the 24- second, but I’m only eight points off third penalty at the Hungaroring cost year-old is being linked with an F1 seat. at the moment so it’s not impossible for him third place in the drivers’ me to finish the season in the top three. championship. The Frenchman How does it feel to get your first win? will be hoping these things don’t It’s more a relief rather than anything What’s making iSport so quick right now? come in threes... else! My race pace was really strong in It’s just a very good team - by far the best Silverstone and since then we’ve made a I’ve worked for. It helps that Bruno and I few tweaks to the car, so in Hockenheim get along so well, we try different setups the car was really quick. in free practice, then pool the information. MICHAEL HERCK It’s been a tough year for the And what about the rumours linking you DPR man. After breaking his to Force India next year? It’s not rocket wrist during GP2 Asia he missed science is it? There’s and Indian team and the first six races of the Series an Indian driver running near the front season. Despite battling hard, of F1’s feeder series. I have a very good he has failed to score any points personal relationship with the team’s owner, since his return and finished only Vijay Mallya, we’ve been family friends for two of this month’s four races. twenty years, so have conversations about motorsport all the time. But, at the moment British-based Karun there is no agreement with Force India. Chandhok is nicknamed BAD MONTH Brakley’s fastest Indian by CLICK HERE FOR his team-mates KARun’S PROFILE 2008 GP2 Series Hockenheim//Hungaroring 03 GP2 SERIES Hockenheim//Hungaroring F1 test shows GP2 graduates GP2/08 pace shining in F1 The GP2 car is closer than ever to the machinery GP2’s position as F1’s strongest being used in Formula 1 according to Trust Team feeder series was underlined Arden driver Sébastien Buemi. this month when ex-GP2 drivers The Hungaroring sprint race winner spent a finished first and second at both day testing with the Red Bull F1 team in Jerez the German and Hungarian rounds recently, his third F1 test of the year.