Rennbericht

Formula 1 Ing Magyar Nagydij 2011
GP3 SERIES

Circuit: Hungaroring (HU), Length 4,381 km, 30^th/31^st July 2011, Rounds 11 & 12
www.hungaroring.hu

JENZER MOTORSPORT 2011:
Nico Müller (CH), Maxim Zimin (RUS) and Vittorio Ghirelli (I)

Two Top Fives for Müller

The GP3 Series met up on the narrow and demanding Hungaroring Circuit, racing as one of the support races for the Formula 1 Ing Magyar Nagydij 2011.

Race One Qualifying

Saturday, 30/07/11, 09.45 – 10.15, Weather: Sunny, 18°C

On a dry track and under strong sunshine the battle for qualifying was a tough one this weekend, the 30 drivers all keen to impress, with the names at the top of the list changing frequently. Nico’s name was there for quite some time, though in the end he qualified 7^th for race one, while Maxim and Vittorio would start 24^th and 26^th respectively.

GP3 Series

Rennen 1 (30 Minuten)

Saturday, 30/07/11, 17.20, Weather: Overcast, 23°C

The start went well enough with a number of place changes that would last all the way to the finishing line, at least for the top five. There were some minor changes throughout the race in the midfield, but otherwise the fluid, fast circuit proved once more that it is impossible to overtake there without taking massive risks. Nico was already up in 5th place at the end of lap one and had a trouble free race to the chequered flag, and although he managed to put pressure on Sims for most of the race it was just too risky to attempt a passing manoeuvre. Nico did manage to set the third fastest lap time of the race which meant that he was right up there with the leading drivers for speed, and he did collect some useful points as well as securing a promising grid position for Sunday’s race. Maxim started well and made up several positions, but then spent most of the remainder of the race in 20th, despite passing and being repassed by Nunes more than once. Vittorio also made up a place at the start then got bogged down in a race long battle with Smith and Chaves, finishing 23rd.
After the race Sims, who has led the championship so far, and who crossed the finish line just ahead of Nico, was excluded from the race as his car was found to be illegal. That moved Nico and the rest of the field forward one place each in the classification.

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, 31/07/11, 08.30, Weather: Rain, 18°C

It had been raining and the track was very wet, though the race start went ahead as normal, despite the very difficult conditions. It was a tough race and a number of drivers very quickly realised just how slippery conditions were. Melker grabbed the lead while Williamson spun and Vainio dropped back. Dillmann and Nico were 2^nd and 3^rd respectively at this point. Maxim, meanwhile, made a superb start and was up to 9^th by the start of lap 2. For Vittorio, though, things did not go so well despite making up a number of places at the start, as he crashed heavily on the second lap, completely demolishing his car. Luckily he was unhurt, but the Safety Car had to take over the field. At the restart Haryanto managed to surprise Nico and overtake him, while the Safety Car had to be deployed once more in the closing stages of the race. Despite Nico putting up a fierce defence of his line at the restart he was unable to hold Calado back and came home 5^th to collect more points after a difficult drive in tricky conditions. Maxim also drove very well and managed to keep Vainio and Sims behind him, collecting his personal best result of the season to claim a top ten place for the first time, with 9^th his reward.

Championship standings after 12 out of 16 races:

1^st Valtteri Bottas (FIN), 41 points; 2^nd Alexander Sims (GB), 34 points; 3^rd Nigel Melker (NL), 32 points; 4^th Lewis Williamson (GB), 31 points; 5^th James Calado (GB), 31 points; 6^th Mitch Evans (NZ), 28 points; 8^th Nico Müller (CH), 21 points

2011 GP3 Series

For more information:

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