2016 Catalunya GP2 Series round

Last updated
Flag of Spain.svg    2016 Catalunya GP2 round
Round details
Round 1 of 11 rounds in the
2016 GP2 Series
Formula1 Circuit Catalunya.svg
Layout of the Circuit de Catalunya
Location Circuit de Catalunya, Montmeló, Spain
Course Permanent racing facility
4.665 km (2.892 mi)
Feature race
Date 14 May 2016
Laps 33
Pole position
Driver Flag of France.svg Pierre Gasly Prema Racing
Time 1:27.807
Podium
First Flag of France.svg Norman Nato Racing Engineering
Second Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg Nicholas Latifi DAMS
Third Flag of France.svg Pierre Gasly Prema Racing
Fastest lap
Driver Flag of France.svg Norman Nato Racing Engineering
Time 1:34.050 (on lap 28)
Sprint race
Date 15 May 2016
Laps 26
Podium
First Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Alex Lynn DAMS
Second Flag of France.svg Pierre Gasly Prema Racing
Third Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Jordan King Racing Engineering
Fastest lap
Driver Flag of France.svg Pierre Gasly Prema Racing
Time 1:33.263 (on lap 6)

The 2016 Catalunya GP2 Series round was a GP2 Series motor race on 14 and 15 May 2016 at the Circuit de Catalunya in Spain. It was the first round of the 2016 GP2 Series. The race weekend supported the 2016 Spanish Grand Prix.

Contents

Background

The defending champions for GP2, Stoffel Vandoorne, were unable to defend their respective titles due to the ruling which forbids driver champions from returning to the series. Vandoorne remained as a McLaren reserve and test driver, where he stood in for the injured Fernando Alonso at the Bahrain Grand Prix, while also racing in the Super Formula series in Japan.

Classification

Qualifying

A dramatic qualifying session saw Pierre Gasly take his first pole position of the season, his third in a row dating back to last season, and the fourth in his GP2 career. It was also the first pole position for Prema Racing, which they scored on their debut in the GP2 Series. Norman Nato grabbed his best-ever qualifying position in GP2 with a strong second place, with Alex Lynn behind in third.

Pos.No.DriverTeamTimeGrid
121 Flag of France.svg Pierre Gasly Prema Racing 1:27.8071
23 Flag of France.svg Norman Nato Racing Engineering 1:28.2712
35 Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Alex Lynn DAMS 1:28.4583
46 Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg Nicholas Latifi DAMS 1:28.5634
52 Flag of Russia.svg Sergey Sirotkin ART Grand Prix 1:28.6555
611 Flag of Sweden.svg Gustav Malja Rapax 1:28.6956
722 Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Oliver Rowland MP Motorsport 1:28.8077
81 Flag of Japan.svg Nobuharu Matsushita ART Grand Prix 1:29.12811 1
910 Flag of Russia.svg Artem Markelov Russian Time 1:29.1298
1015 Flag of Italy.svg Luca Ghiotto Trident 1:29.1439
1120 Flag of Italy.svg Antonio Giovinazzi Prema Racing 1:29.16310
129 Flag of Italy.svg Raffaele Marciello Russian Time 1:29.27412
134 Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Jordan King Racing Engineering 1:29.32213
1412 Flag of France.svg Arthur Pic Rapax 1:29.38514
1518 Flag of Spain.svg Sergio Canamasas Carlin 1:29.39715
1619 Flag of Germany.svg Marvin Kirchhöfer Carlin 1:29.44016
1723 Flag of the Netherlands.svg Daniël de Jong MP Motorsport 1:29.46417
187 Flag of New Zealand.svg Mitch Evans Pertamina Campos Racing 1:29.47818
1925 Flag of Sweden.svg Jimmy Eriksson Arden International 1:29.94219
2024 Flag of Malaysia.svg Nabil Jeffri Arden International 1:30.25420
218 Flag of Indonesia.svg Sean Gelael Pertamina Campos Racing 1:30.30422 2
2214 Flag of Indonesia.svg Philo Paz Armand Trident 1:30.60921
Source: [1]
1. ^ – Matsushita received a three-place grid penalty for impeding a rival during the qualifying session. [2]
2. ^ – Gelael received a three-place grid penalty for impeding a rival during the qualifying session. However, since he was unable to serve his penalty in full, Gelael started from the pitlane. [2]

Feature Race

Pierre Gasly got a good getaway from pole position, followed by Nato and the fast-starting ART car of Sergey Sirotkin. However, the safety car was called out when rookie Luca Ghiotto crashed at Turn 3. The restart on Lap 5 saw no positional changes up front. Soft-shod Alex Lynn and Jordan King started the pit stop cycle, but Gasly's blistering pace out front eradicated any potential strategic advantage. The battle for second raged on, with Nato holding off a charging Sirotkin. But Sirotkin's race quickly unravelled when he spun in Turn 2 on Lap 23 and stalled the engine, a rare mistake from the Russian driver. The safety car came out once again while Sirotkin's stricken car was retrieved. This proved advantageous for the drivers on the hard tyre, as they were awarded a "free" pit stop under the safety car. As such, Gasly, Nato, Nicholas Latifi, and Sergio Canamasas all emerged in front of Lynn.

The race restarted again on Lap 26, and this time, there were moves aplenty. Artem Markelov jumped ahead of both Lynn and King for P5, before Nato made a brave race-winning move in the final complex of corners to take the lead. Shortly after, the race became time-certain, which spurred on drivers to make more moves. Latifi passed Gasly on Lap 33 to claim second, while Markelov continued his charge to the front by deposing Canamasas for fourth.

The race ended under a bizarre set of circumstances: Prema Racing's Antonio Giovinazzi clattered into the back of Raffaele Marciello on Lap 34, sending him into the Turn 4 gravel. The safety car came out for the third time, with time running out just before the field crossed the line. Under GP2 rules, there is always one lap after the time runs out, but despite this rule, the checkered flag was accidentally waved one lap too early. Because of race control's gaffe, the results were rolled back to one lap before, which annulled the accident between Marciello and Giovinazzi. However, Giovinazzi was still awarded a twenty-second time penalty which relegated him to an 18th-place finish.

Pos.No.DriverTeamLapsTime/RetiredGridPoints
13 Flag of France.svg Norman Nato Racing Engineering 3358:51.044225 (2)
26 Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg Nicholas Latifi DAMS 33+1:337418
321 Flag of France.svg Pierre Gasly Prema Racing 33+4.248115 (4)
410 Flag of Russia.svg Artem Markelov Russian Time 33+5.145812
518 Flag of Spain.svg Sergio Canamasas Carlin 33+7.2941510
65 Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Alex Lynn DAMS 33+7.59638
74 Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Jordan King Racing Engineering 33+8.678136
89 Flag of Italy.svg Raffaele Marciello Russian Time 33+11.544124
911 Flag of Sweden.svg Gustav Malja Rapax 33+13.10262
1022 Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Oliver Rowland MP Motorsport 33+17.51371
111 Flag of Japan.svg Nobuharu Matsushita ART Grand Prix 33+18.52611
127 Flag of New Zealand.svg Mitch Evans Pertamina Campos Racing 33+21.77318
1312 Flag of France.svg Arthur Pic Rapax 33+23.02214
1423 Flag of the Netherlands.svg Daniel de Jong MP Motorsport 33+23.78717
1519 Flag of Germany.svg Marvin Kirchhöfer Carlin 33+24.12516
1625 Flag of Sweden.svg Jimmy Eriksson Arden International 33+24.34819
178 Flag of Indonesia.svg Sean Gelael Pertamina Campos Racing 33+27.522PL
1820 Flag of Italy.svg Antonio Giovinazzi Prema Racing 32+1 Lap10
1924 Flag of Malaysia.svg Nabil Jeffri Arden International 32+1 Lap20
Ret14 Flag of Indonesia.svg Philo Paz Armand Trident 28Mechanical21
Ret2 Flag of Russia.svg Sergey Sirotkin ART Grand Prix 23Spun off5
Ret15 Flag of Italy.svg Luca Ghiotto Trident 0Accident9
Fastest lap: Flag of France.svg Norman Nato (Racing Engineering) – 1:34.050 (on lap 28)
Source: [1]

Sprint Race

Reverse-grid polesitter Raffaele Marciello got a clean start, holding off Jordan King into the first corner, but Alex Lynn got a great start from third and passed King into turn 2. It took Lynn merely two laps to catch and sail past Marciello, setting the Briton up for a dominant drive to victory. Behind him, Marciello plummeted to fourth, being passed by King and Pierre Gasly in quick succession. Gasly then overtook King for second on Lap 6 and set off in pursuit of his former teammate. Positions remained at the front of the field, but it was all change in the middle of the pack. Sergey Sirotkin and Luca Ghiotto chewed through almost half the field from their last-row starting positions.

The intense midfield battle came to an abrupt end on Lap 21, when Sean Gelael aggressively blocked Antonio Giovinazzi on the back straight, but Giovinazzi was already partially alongside the Indonesian driver. He was launched over Gelael's left-rear wheel and slid down the remainder of the straight, collecting an innocent Arthur Pic in Turn 10. Giovinazzi hurtled towards the barriers at unabated speed, skipping across the gravel before slamming the tyre wall side-on. He climbed out of his car visibly shaken, but otherwise uninjured, which was positive news after such a violent impact. The safety car was deployed, but a lengthy clean-up meant that it could only be recalled on the final lap. As a result, Lynn was able to take a second consecutive Spanish sprint race victory, while Gasly, King, Artem Markelov, Marciello, Oliver Rowland, Nicholas Latifi, and Nobuharu Matsushita also claimed points.

Pos.No.DriverTeamLapsTime/RetiredGridPoints
15 Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Alex Lynn DAMS 2643:50.241315
221 Flag of France.svg Pierre Gasly Prema Racing 26+0.377612 (2)
34 Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Jordan King Racing Engineering 26+1.120210
410 Flag of Russia.svg Artem Markelov Russian Time 26+2.16858
59 Flag of Italy.svg Raffaele Marciello Russian Time 26+3.38216
622 Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Oliver Rowland MP Motorsport 26+3.990104
76 Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg Nicholas Latifi DAMS 26+4.58472
81 Flag of Japan.svg Nobuharu Matsushita ART Grand Prix 26+5.647111
918 Flag of Spain.svg Sergio Canamasas Carlin 26+8.1154
1011 Flag of Sweden.svg Gustav Malja Rapax 26+8.4199
112 Flag of Russia.svg Sergey Sirotkin ART Grand Prix 26+8.69821
1215 Flag of Italy.svg Luca Ghiotto Trident 26+8.82822
138 Flag of Indonesia.svg Sean Gelael Pertamina Campos Racing 26+9.17817
147 Flag of New Zealand.svg Mitch Evans Pertamina Campos Racing 26+9.65012
1519 Flag of Germany.svg Marvin Kirchhöfer Carlin 26+10.15215
163 Flag of France.svg Norman Nato Racing Engineering 26+10.4308
1723 Flag of the Netherlands.svg Daniel de Jong MP Motorsport 26+10.72614
1824 Flag of Malaysia.svg Nabil Jeffri Arden International 26+11.67219
1925 Flag of Sweden.svg Jimmy Eriksson Arden International 25+1 Lap16
Ret12 Flag of France.svg Arthur Pic Rapax 20Collision13
Ret20 Flag of Italy.svg Antonio Giovinazzi Prema Racing 20Accident18
Ret14 Flag of Indonesia.svg Philo Paz Armand Trident 13Retired20
Fastest lap: Flag of France.svg Pierre Gasly (Prema Racing) – 1:33.263 (on lap 6)
Source: [1]

Standings after the round

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sergey Sirotkin</span> Russian racing driver (born 1995)

Sergey Olegovich Sirotkin is a Russian racing driver, who most recently competed in the 2023–24 Middle East Trophy for SMP. Sirotkin competed in Formula One in 2018.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Antonio Giovinazzi</span> Italian racing driver (born 1993)

Antonio Maria Giovinazzi is an Italian racing driver, who competes in the FIA World Endurance Championship for Ferrari. Giovinazzi competed in Formula One between 2017 and 2021. In endurance racing, Giovinazzi won the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 2023 with Ferrari.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2013 Macau Grand Prix</span> 60th running of the Macau Grand Prix

The 2013 Macau Grand Prix was a motor race for Formula Three cars that was held on the streets of Macau on 17 November 2013. Unlike other races, such as the Masters of Formula 3, the 2013 Macau Grand Prix was not a part of any Formula Three championship, but was open to entries from all Formula Three championships. The race itself was made up of two races: a ten-lap qualifying race that decided the starting grid for the fifteen-lap main race. The 2013 race was the 60th running of the Macau Grand Prix and the 31st for Formula Three cars.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2014 Bahrain GP2 Series round</span> Motor race

The 2014 Bahrain GP2 Series round was a pair of motor races held on 5 and 6 April 2014 at the Bahrain International Circuit in Sakhir, Bahrain as part of the GP2 Series. It was the first round of the 2014 GP2 Series and was run in support of the 2014 Bahrain Grand Prix. The first race, a 32-lap feature event, was won by ART Grand Prix driver Stoffel Vandoorne after starting from second position. Julián Leal finished second for the Carlin team and DAMS driver Jolyon Palmer took third. Palmer won the shorter 23-lap sprint race from Rapax's Simon Trummer in second and Leal third.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2014 Monaco GP2 Series round</span> Pair of motor races held as part of the GP2 Series

The 2014 Monaco GP2 Series round was a pair of motor races held as part of the GP2 Series on 23 and 24 May 2014 at the Circuit de Monaco in Monte Carlo, Monaco. It was the third round of the 2014 GP2 Series and was run in support of the 2014 Monaco Grand Prix. The first event, a 40-lap feature race, was won by DAMS driver Jolyon Palmer who started from pole position. Mitch Evans finished second for Russian Time and Carlin's Felipe Nasr took third. Palmer's teammate Stéphane Richelmi won the shorter 30-lap sprint race from second the following day, ahead of Trident driver Sergio Canamasas and Rio Haryanto of Caterham Racing.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2015 GP2 Series</span> Season of Formula One feeder championship

The 2015 GP2 Series season was the forty-ninth season of the second-tier of Formula One feeder championship and also eleventh season under the GP2 Series moniker, a championship for open-wheel racing cars run as a support series to the 2015 Formula One World Championship. Twenty-six drivers representing thirteen teams raced over eleven rounds, starting in Bahrain on 18 April and finishing in Abu Dhabi on 29 November.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2016 GP2 Series</span> Season of Formula One feeder championship

The 2016 GP2 Series season was the fiftieth season of the second-tier of Formula One feeder championship and also twelfth and final season under the GP2 Series moniker, a motor racing feeder series that was run in support of the 2016 FIA Formula One World Championship. It was the final season run under the "GP2 Series" name, with the championship being rebranded as the FIA Formula 2 Championship from 2017. It was also originally scheduled to be the final season for the Dallara GP2/11 chassis that was introduced in 2011 and the Mecachrome 4.0 litre V8 normally-aspirated engine package that débuted in the maiden season of the series in 2005 before a brand new chassis and engine package was introduced for 2017, however due to another cost-cutting, the series announced it would keep the current chassis and engine package for one more season.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2015 Bahrain GP2 Series round</span> Motor race

The 2015 Bahrain GP2 Series round was a pair of one-make single seater motor races held on 18 and 19 April 2015 at the Bahrain International Circuit in Sakhir, Bahrain as part of the GP2 Series. It was the first round of the 2015 GP2 Series and was run in support of the 2015 Bahrain Grand Prix. The first race, a 32-lap feature event, was won by ART Grand Prix driver Stoffel Vandoorne from pole position. Rio Haryanto finished second for the Campos Racing team, and Racing Engineering driver Alexander Rossi took third. Haryanto won the shorter 23-lap sprint race, from Vandoorne in second, and Lazarus driver Nathanaël Berthon in third.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2016 Monaco GP2 Series round</span> Motor race

The 2016 Monaco GP2 Series round was a pair of motor races held on 27 and 28 May 2016 at the Circuit de Monaco, Monte Carlo, Monaco as part of the GP2 Series. It was the fourth round of the 2016 GP2 Series and was run in support of the 2016 Monaco Grand Prix. The first race, a 40-lap feature event, was won by Russian Time driver Artem Markelov after starting from 15th position. Norman Nato finished in second for Racing Engineering and MP Motorsport's Oliver Rowland took third. Nobuharu Matsushita for ART Grand Prix won the following day's 30-lap sprint race from pole position with Carlin's Marvin Kirchhöfer and Markelov's teammate Raffaele Marciello second and third.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2015 Monaco GP2 Series round</span> Pair of Monaco motor races

The 2015 Monaco GP2 Series round was a pair of motor races held on 22 and 23 May 2015 at the Circuit de Monaco, Monte Carlo, Monaco as part of the GP2 Series. It was the third round of the 2015 GP2 season and was run in support of the 2015 Monaco Grand Prix. The first race, a 40-lap feature event, was won by ART Grand Prix driver Stoffel Vandoorne who started from fourth position. Alexander Rossi finished second for Racing Engineering, and MP Motorsport driver Sergio Canamasas came in third. Status Grand Prix driver Richie Stanaway won the second event, a 30-lap sprint race, ahead of Trident's Raffaele Marciello and Sergey Sirotkin of the Rapax team.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2016 Baku GP2 Series round</span> Motor race

The 2016 Baku GP2 Series round was a pair of motor races held on 18 and 19 June 2016 at the Baku City Circuit in Azerbaijan as part of the GP2 Series. It was the third round of the 2016 GP2 Series and was run in support of the 2016 European Grand Prix. The first race, a 26-lap feature event, was won by Prema Racing driver Antonio Giovinazzi from pole position. Sergey Sirotkin finished second for ART Grand Prix, and Russian Time driver Raffaele Marciello took third. Giovinazzi won the shorter 21-lap sprint race from teammate Pierre Gasly in second and Sirotkin third.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2016 Red Bull Ring GP2 Series round</span> Motor racing series in Austria

The 2016 Red Bull Ring GP2 Series round was a GP2 Series motor race held on 2 and 3 July 2016 at the Red Bull Ring in Austria. It was the fourth round of the 2016 GP2 Series. The race weekend supported the 2016 Austrian Grand Prix.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2016 Silverstone GP2 Series round</span>

The 2016 Silverstone GP2 Series round was a GP2 Series motor race held on 9 and 10 July 2016 at the Silverstone Circuit in the United Kingdom. It was the fifth round of the 2016 GP2 Series. The race weekend they supported the 2016 British Grand Prix.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2016 Hockenheimring GP2 Series round</span>

The 2016 Hockenheimring GP2 Series round was a GP2 Series motor race held on 30 and 31 July 2016 at the Hockenheimring in Germany. It was the seventh round of the 2016 GP2 Series. The race weekend supported the 2016 German Grand Prix.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2016 Spa-Francorchamps GP2 Series round</span>

The 2016 Spa-Francorchamps GP2 Series round was a GP2 Series motor race held on 27 and 28 August 2016 at the Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps in Belgium. It was the eighth round of the 2016 GP2 Series. The race weekend supported the 2016 Belgian Grand Prix.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2016 Monza GP2 Series round</span>

The 2016 Monza GP2 Series round was a GP2 Series motor race held on 3 and 4 September 2016 at the Autodromo Nazionale Monza in Italy. It was the ninth round of the 2016 GP2 Series. The race weekend supported the 2016 Italian Grand Prix.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2017 Formula 2 Championship</span> 1st edition of FIA Formula 2 Championship

The 2017 FIA Formula 2 Championship was the fifty-first season of the second-tier of Formula One feeder championship and also the first season under the moniker of FIA Formula 2 Championship, a motor racing championship run in support of the 2017 FIA Formula One World Championship. The championship is sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA) and is open to teams and drivers competing in cars complying with Formula 2 regulations.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2017 Sakhir Formula 2 round</span>

The 2017 Bahrain FIA Formula 2 round was a pair of motor races held on 15 and 16 April 2017 at the Bahrain International Circuit in Sakhir, Bahrain as part of the FIA Formula 2 Championship. It was the first round of the 2017 FIA Formula 2 Championship and was run in support of the 2017 Bahrain Grand Prix.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2017 Barcelona Formula 2 round</span>

The 2017 Barcelona FIA Formula 2 round was a pair of motor races held on 13 and 14 May 2017 at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya in Montmeló, Catalonia, Spain as part of the FIA Formula 2 Championship. It was the second round of the 2017 FIA Formula 2 Championship and was run in support of the 2017 Spanish Grand Prix.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2015 Yas Marina GP2 Series round</span>

The 2015 Yas Marina GP2 Series round was a GP2 Series motor race held on November 28 and 29, 2015 at Yas Marina Circuit, Abu Dhabi. It was the last race of the 2015 GP2 Series. The race supported the 2015 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.

References

  1. 1 2 3 "GP2 Series 2016 Results - Spain". GP2 Series . GP2 Motorsport Limited. Archived from the original on 2016-05-20. Retrieved 27 May 2016.
  2. 1 2 "Penalties for Matsushita and Gelael". GP2 Series . GP2 Motorsport Limited. 13 May 2016. Archived from the original on 14 May 2016. Retrieved 27 May 2016.
Previous round:
2015 Yas Marina GP2 Series round
GP2 Series
2016 season
Next round:
2016 Monaco GP2 Series round
Previous round:
2015 Catalunya GP2 Series round
Catalunya GP2 roundNext round:
2017 Barcelona Formula 2 round