Race Report

Formula 1 British Grand Prix 2017
GP3 SERIES

Circuit: Silverstone (GB), Length 5.901 km, 15^th/16^th July 2017, Rounds 5 & 6
www.silverstone.co.uk

JENZER MOTORSPORT 2017:
Alessio Lorandi (I) and Arjun Maini (IND)

Podium for Lorandi at Silverstone

The GP3 Series reconvened on the demanding Silverstone Circuit, racing as one of the support races for the Formula 1 British Grand Prix. This was their third outing supporting the 2017 Grand Prix Programme. Even in free practice on Thursday it was clear that the strong field would produce a very close fight for places.

Race One Qualifying

Friday, 14/07/17, 16.05 – 16.35, Weather: Cloudy, 18°C

Free practice this time took place early, on the Thursday evening. While Arjun was on his fastest lap the yellow flag was shown and he had to slow down, which meant he ended the session in 12^th place. There was a technical problem with Alessio’s car, which couldn’t be completely solved during the session, and that left him in 17^th.
The qualifiying session took place on Friday evening and our drivers did their absolute best. The result kept changing until the very last second, and 14 drivers were within one second of the best time at the flag! Alessio was in an excellent 5^th at the end of the session, but then Boccolacci was hit with a penalty from the RedBull Ring, which cost him three positions on the grid, and moved Alessio up to 4^th. Arjun claimed a very good 8^th grid position for Race One.

GP3 Series

Race One (40 Minutes)

Saturday, 15/07/17, 16.30, Weather: Cloudy, 19°C

The first race started under an almost black sky, but the weather gods were benevolent and the rain didn’t arrive. Alessio got away well and was soon in the fight for positions. He dropped back behind Aitken in the early corners and was now 5^th. Arjun got a good start and came back in 9^th at the end of the first lap. The race was hard and fast, and the first 12 drivers were covered by less than 10 seconds for most of the race. Alessio came under pressure from Boccolacci initially, but was eventually able to break away. He then moved up to put pressure on Aitken, and as soon as he was into the DRS zone, he launched his attack and pulled past Aitken in one swift manoeuvre. Now he was 4^th and focussed on Kari. Behind him Arjun was also making his way forward, and he was 7^th when the Virtual Safety Car was deployed, while Tveter’s car was cleared away. Alessio was very well prepared at the restart and sprinted away, sweeping past Kari on his first attack. During the closing laps he had his eye on Hubert, but there wasn't enough time to launch a further attack. To the great joy of both team and driver Alessio nevertheless secured a sensational 3^rd place on the podium. Arjun set the 2^nd fastest lap time of the race and after a super run came home in a thoroughly decent 7^th place.

The grid for the second race of the weekend was set by reversing the order of the first eight finishers in the first race, with the rest of the places set according to finishing order in the first race.

GP3 Series

Race Two (30 Minutes)

Sunday, 16/07/17, 08.10, Weather: Cloudy, 18°C

At the end of the first lap Arjun was 3^rd from Alesi and Aitken, with Kari staging a determined push from behind and didn’t hesitate to use his DRS as soon as he was able. This helped him make his way past Arjun. There was then a short Safety Car phase and Arjun came under pressure from yesterday's winner, Russell at the restart, and despite a spirited defence from Arjun, Russell soon got past. Now Arjun was 5^th and finally seemed to get his pace back. Alessio held position for a long time, and after the restart managed to gain a place to slot in just behind Arjun in 6^th place. The pair of them crossed the finish line in line astern after another exciting race which meant that once again they collected useful points for themselves and the team.

We are now looking forward to the next race at the Hungaroring (HU), which is on the program on the weekend of 30^th July 2017

Championship standings after 6 out of 16 races:

1^st George Russell (GB), 92 points; 2^nd Anthoine Hubert (F),57 points; 3^rd Nirei Fukuzumi (JPN), 54 points; 4^th Jack Aitken (GB), 52 points; 5^th Alessio Lorandi (I), 51 points; 6^th Giuliano Alesi (F), 43 points; 7^th Arjun Maini (IND), 36 points

2017 GP3 Series

For more information:

• www.gp3series.com
• www.italiaracing.net