Race Report

2017 Formula 1 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix
GP3 SERIES

Circuit: Abu Dhabi (UAE), Length 5.554 km, 24^th – 26^th November 2017, Rounds 15 & 16
www.yasmarinacircuit.com

JENZER MOTORSPORT 2017:
Alessio Lorandi (I), Juan Manuel Correa (USA) and Arjun Maini (IND)

Maini on the podium at Abu Dhabi Finale

The GP3 Series met up for their eighth and final round of the season which was held in the spectacular setting of the Yas Marina Circuit in Abu Dhabi, as usual on the same bill as F1. The 2017 champion, George Russell, had been crowned at the previous race, but the remaining positions were not yet decided. Exciting racing was to be expected!

Race One Qualifying

Friday, 24/11/17, 15.10 – 15.40, Weather: Sunny, 26°C

Free practice was run on Friday morning, and saw Arjun running well to take 9^th place on the results sheet. Juan Manuel was 17^th and Alessio, who had a flat tyre, was 18^th.

The qualifying session was held a little later in the afternoon heat. A super lap from Arjun saw him secure 5^th on the grid. Alessio was held up by traffic on his fastest lap and so ended up 10^th, while Juan Manuel claimed 19^th place on the grid.

GP3 Series

Race One (40 Minutes)

Saturday, 25/11/17, 12.25, Weather: Sunny, 27°C

The start to the penultimate race of the season went well, and Arjun managed to move up to 4^th place, while Alessio improved two places and was now 8^th.Juan Manuel, who picked up a penalty in qualifying. had to start from pitlane but was already up in 18^th. Then Siebert’s car broke down out on track and had to be removed, which meant the Virtual Safety Car was deployed. At the restart Arjun held 4^th, but Alessio was taken by surprise by Schothorst and dropped back to 9^th. However, he regained his place in the next couple of corners and put in a determined drive from then on. Juan Manuel, meanwhile, had improved to 14^th. Later on Alesi had clashed with someone and the Virtual Safety Car had to be deployed again, while his car was cleared away. Alessio was in a race long battle with Boccolacci, the pair of them trading places more than once, but in the end it was Alessio who kept his nose in front to finish 6^th. Juan Manuel had overtaken Aitken and was now 13^th, and with two laps to go Arjun managed to close in on Pulcini and activate his DRS to pass the Italian. This meant that after a very exciting race he was rewarded with a brilliant 3^rd place! Pulcini picked up a puncture and dropped back, which meant that Alessio finished a great race in a super 5^th place! Juan Manuel also drove an excellent race which he finished with a great 12^th place.

Hubert was handed a time penalty after the race which dropped him back to 11^th and meant that Tveter inherited pole position for the second race.

GP3 Series

Race Two (30 Minutes)

Sunday, 26/11/17, 12.50, Weather: Sunny, 27°C

The last race of the season provided Alessio with a chance to claim a podium position. He hung on to 4^th at the start, but soon came under pressure from Ticktum, which meant he had to concentrate on defending rather than attacking. Once Ticktum was through Alessio closed the gap to Schothorst quickly and was able to pressurise him. Alessio used the DRS support immediately and had it in mind to quickly follow Ticktum’s suit, but the manoeuvre was overoptimistic, and Alessio damaged his front wing on Schothorst’s car. He dropped back and made his way to the pitlane to get the part changed, and although he was able to finish the race after his stop, the possibility of a great result had completely slipped away and he finished 17^th. Arjun was battling hard with Russell, and they changed places several times during the course of the race. Arjun held 7^th place for a number of laps, but shortly before the end of the race Baptista shot past him, which meant Arjun took the chequered flag in 8^th place. Juan Manuel had to avoid an accident on lap one which cost him several places, but he was able to fight his way back up to 13^th and came home safely in that position.
After the race a number of time penalties were handed out to Ticktum, Kari and Baptista, which worked in favour of Arjun and Juan Manuel. Arjun gained a few more points for being classified 6^th, and Juan Manuel was finally listed in 12^th place, meaning he had finished both races just outside the top ten.

That brought an exciting 2017 GP3 Series season to an end.
Next week the team remains in Abu Dhabi where a number of new talents will get their chance to impress over the three official test days on 30^th November and 1^st/2^nd December 2017.
The 2018 season will start in February with the first tests of the year.
We are looking forward to this!

Championship final standings after 16 races:

1^st George Russell (GB), 220 points; 2^nd Jack Aitken (GB), 141 points; 3^rd Nirei Fukuzumi (JPN), 134 points; 4^th Anthoine Hubert (F), 123 points; 5^th Giuliano Alesi (F), 99 points; 6^th Dorian Boccolacci (F), 93 points; 7^th Alessio Lorandi (I), 92 points; 9^th Arjun Maini (IND), 72 points

2017 GP3 Series

For more information:

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