50. Yifei Ye

Photos: DPPI/FFSA

New entry

China ? age 16

French Formula 4 champion

To be racing in French Formula 4 for a second season is always a considerable advantage, since so few do it, but Ye rammed that advantage home with a level of dominance rarely seen at this level.

He won all but three of the first 17 races, allowing him to wrap up the title in the 18th despite a non-finish. A fourth place would be his only top-10 finish from the final six races, but it didn?t matter. He was almost unbeatable in qualifying, bettered only at the final round.

The level of competition in French F4 this year was probably not the greatest, and Ye failed to make a significant impact in a parallel campaign in the Italian series, scoring just two podiums, but he?s proved he?s more than a one-trick pony with top test showings in Formula Renault, where he?will drive?for top team Josef Kaufmann Racing next year.

He doesn?t yet have the F1 affiliation that fellow Chinese racers Guan Yu Zhou and Sun Yue Yang have, but with the form he?s already showing aged just 16, Ye has to be considered just as decent a prospect.

49. Arjun Maini

Photos: GP3 Media Service

New entry

India ? age 19

10th in GP3

For Maini, an attempt at a second season in European Formula 3 (switching to T-Sport after a strong run in Macau last year) didn?t work out, and he managed just a couple of lowly points finishes in the first four rounds before pulling the plug.

He impressively recovered his season however with a move into GP3, where he was immediately competitive despite no testing whatsoever, while driving for the relatively unfancied Jenzer Motorsport outfit.

He came eighth in his first race ? having qualified third ? and scored in five of his first six, including second in the Hungaroring reverse-grid race.

A top 10 finish overall was impressive in a season where there were around 15 potential race-winners. The nine ahead of him are all very good and all older, yet he regularly mixed it with them.

A full winter testing programme and a move to one of the top teams ? he placed in the top four with both Trident and ART in post-season testing ? could yield much more in 2017.

48. Gustav Malja?

Photos: GP2 Media Service

New entry

Sweden ? age 21

13th in GP2

Malja is a man making some fine progress: in two years, he?s gone from the end of a lacklustre stint in Formula Renault to notching up eight consecutive points finishes (including two podiums) in the second half of his first full GP2 season.

From scoring on his debut at Spa last year to qualifying sixth at the opening round of 2016 at Barcelona, he has been quick from the off in GP2 machinery.

It took a while for him to start stringing results together, with just three points on the board after 12 races, but he then scored 50 in the next eight.

At Spa he was best of the rest in qualifying behind the Prema pair, and was passed only by?Giovinazzi from pole in the sprint race. That he came third in the next race at Monza was thanks to a big slice of luck from the safety car bungle, but he was on the pace too.

He’ll?move from Rapax to Racing Engineering for 2017, when this well-supported Swede will have more GP2 experience under his belt than many of those driving for?top teams.

47. Ed Jones

Photos: Indianapolis Motor Speedway, LLC Photography

Down 2

United Kingdom ? age 21

Indy Lights champion

Jones? title-winning Indy Lights campaign wasn?t a classic, but it was enough. Just.

The Dubai man did a lot of the groundwork in the first part of the season, or at least after a dreadful opening round in St. Petersburg, where and Carlin had won twice on their debuts Stateside 12 months earlier.

With two wins and two second-places from the next four races, Jones went 23 points clear at the top of the standings, but he wouldn?t win again. Despite five further pole positions, there would only be four more podium finishes in 12 races, yet he was only outside of the top six twice in that same period.

His championship was summed up by the deciding race. He started from pole, made a good start, but was shuffled back to fifth later in the opening lap. When team-mate Felix Serralles moved over on the final lap (the only sensible thing to do), fourth was enough for him to win the title.

Jones has found it easier to get the funding in place for a full-time IndyCar graduation than many past Lights champions, and it will be interesting to see how he gets on. He’s a driver with good speed, even if he doesn’t?turn?it into results as often as he maybe should.

46. Aaron Telitz

Photos: Indianapolis Motor Speedway, LLC Photography

New entry

United States ? age 25

Pro Mazda champion

The top three USF2000 drivers of 2015 all stepped up to Pro Mazda for this season, and it was the last of them that made the most successful move.

Telitz joined Pelfrey team-mate Pato O?Ward as a winner on the opening weekend in St. Petersburg, before the second-year Mexican went on a fine winning streak while not having his budget confirmed to see out the season.

O?Ward would be able to complete the campaign, but back-to-back doubles on the fabled Road America circuit and the streets of Toronto in the middle of the year brought Telitz level with him.

Telitz then had the better of the Mid-Ohio event to pull a lead, and won the final race at Laguna Seca to secure the crown.

Having turned 25 last week, Telitz was a late-starter on the Mazda Road to Indy, but he?s making up for the lost time. Next stop: Indy Lights.

45. Sacha Fenestraz?

Photos: DPPI

New entry

France/Argentina ? age 17

Fifth in Formula Renault Eurocup and NEC

Fenestraz had already caught the eye as a car racing rookie in French Formula 4 last year (finishing second), and did so again in 2016 with a strong first season in Formula Renault.

His year actually began pretty poorly, with a seventh place his only top 10 finish from his first seven races across Eurocup and NEC.

Then came the Monaco race. Having taken two of his three F4 wins on the streets of Pau, Fenestraz went there as a dark horse, and once Lando Norris was disqualified and Ferdinand Habsburg took a grid penalty, the Franco-Argentine had pole, then held the lead through a messy and shortened wet race.

He didn?t get another chance to show his street circuit pedigree, but did show more wet weather class with his two further wins, in the final NEC and Eurocup rounds at Hockenheim and Estoril respectively.

He ended both series fifth overall, and top ?non-Norris? rookie. From there, he hopped into Norris? Josef Kaufmann Racing car and topped the post-season test day, sounding a warning for 2017, when he?ll hope to join brother-in-law Jose Maria Lopez as the winner of a Formula Renault Eurocup title.

44. Sergio Sette Camara?

Photos: Macau Grand Prix

New entry

Brazil ? age 18

Third in Macau Grand Prix

Sette Camara had always seemed a bit of a left-field choice as a Red Bull Junior Team member, and for most of 2016, he struggled to justify the status. He climbed just three championship positions ? from 14th to 11th ? merely matched his podium tally (of two), and was heavily overshadowed at Motopark by his rookie team-mates.

OK, so he was twice denied pole positions to 10-place engine change penalties, but when he was free of those, he couldn?t produce the goods.

Then came Macau, where after a late deal to join Carlin he repeated his?strong pace from last year, and progressed from sixth in first qualifying to third by the end of the qualifying race.

In the main event, he flew into the lead by the second corner, and it was only safety car restarts ? which a) he had no experience of, and b) are a lottery in Macau anyway ? and the tough, professional competition that denied him of a rather famous first car racing win.

After a performance like that you could forgive him for aiming high, but to have leapt?into a GP2 seat with MP within a week, aged 18 and without a single win on his CV is brave to say the least. It?s hard to see Red Bull getting behind it, just when he might have convinced it that he was worth keeping.

With clear promise and a bevy of Brazilian backers led by Petrobras, he remains worth watching, but?how long can he wait for?results?

43. Kenta Yamashita?

Photos: Japanese F3 Association

New entry

Japan ? age 21

Japanese F3 champion

For a while, it looked as though Yamashita would come up short in Japanese F3 for a third straight year, but he produced a perfect final weekend at Sugo to overhaul Jann Mardenborough for the title.

On paper, he should never have been troubled by the talented Welshman, who was mostly new to Japanese circuits despite his Nissan patronage. But Mardenborough ? and the local experts that came in and took wins off the two title rivals during the year ? had an ace up their sleeves in the Volkswagen engine, superior to the Japanese units such as Yamashita?s TOM?s-Toyota.

Nick Cassidy?s struggles in Macau in 2015 had made the current weaknesses of the Japanese entries clear to see, and the decision was made to place Yamashita with British outfit T-Sport in its Tomei-engined car for 2016.

Yamashita was designated a dark horse and he lived up to that almost too well, spending the entire weekend in the top five, but not quite managing to make it onto the podium.

Still, second among the true juniors was a very strong effort, and proof he could do well in Europe. Toyota is more likely to deploy him on the domestic scene, though.

42. Egor Orudzhev

Photos: RPM Racing

Down 20

Russia ? age 21

Third in Formula V8 3.5

Orudzhev should have won the Formula V8 3.5 title this year. Experienced competition like?Tom Dillmann and Matthieu Vaxiviere meant he didn’t start as an overwhelming favourite, but it wasn’t the strength of the opposition that made life difficult.

Instead, it was just a disastrous start that wrecked the Russian?s hopes. Crashing out of the lead on the first lap of the very first race set the tone, and after four races he had just two points to Dillmann?s 76.

Orudzhev went on to win five times (compared to twice each by Dillmann and Louis Deletraz) and salvage third in the final standings, only 40 points off the top. And that?s a gap he could have wiped out with better consistency: only twice?did he pair one of his wins with a top-six finish at the same circuit.

Qualifying was already a clear weakness last season, and after that fateful first race, he wouldn?t score another pole. Near the end of the year he found a novel solution to this: rocket starts, which vaulted him from position five?on the grid to first by the first corner for three wins in four races across?Monza, Jerez and Barcelona.

Having now taken seven wins in the series in all (tying for second on the all-time list with Carlos Sainz and Antonio Felix da Costa) a move to GP2 would make sense for 2017, but he could yet stay where he is: a signal that backer SMP Racing may well be?preparing?him for?its upcoming LMP1 project.

41. David Beckmann?

Photos: FIA F3 European Championship

Up 5

Germany ? age 16

15th in FIA F3 European Championship

Beckmann?s decision to effectively step up to European F3 before he was even old enough was always going to put him up against it this year.

It meant missing the first two rounds and debuting on the narrow streets of Pau, but he impressed in just his second event in Austria, racing into the top seven and coming fifth in second qualifying. He made the podium in his fourth round, at Zandvoort.

A rougher period followed, but Beckmann demonstrated his class before the year was out. He edged out an otherwise dominant Lance Stroll for pole at Hockenheim, only to lose it for a floor infringement caused by kerb damage, before picking himself up for his second podium in race two of the weekend. He went well on his Macau debut, running inside the top 10 before an incident.

Beckmann?s 2016 won?t stand out on his CV as much as a title tilt in F4 would have done, but if?it makes him better in 2017 – and his performances made him hot property on the driver market before he signed for Van Amersfoort Racing – it will have served its purpose.

The post PaddockScout Top 50 2016: 50-41 appeared first on Formula Scout.

Photo: Zak Mauger/GP2 Series Media Service

Gustav Malja has been confirmed with Racing Engineering for the 2017 GP2 season after testing with the team last week.

The 21-year-old Swede came 13th in the standings in his first full season in 2016 with Rapax, scoring back-to-back podiums at Spa and Monza.

He spent all three days of the post-season test in Abu Dhabi with the Spanish squad, which won four races with Norman Nato and Jordan King this year.

“I?m excited to join Racing Engineering for the 2017 GP2 season,” he said.

“We began getting to know each other in Abu Dhabi last week, and I immediately felt very much at home.

“It?s a team with a long and successful history in GP2, and I?m convinced it?s the ideal place for my continued development as a driver.

“I?m also very pleased to have everything in place at such an early stage ? it will ease preparations this winter and give us all some peace of mind.”

Team boss Alfonso de Orleans-Borbon said: “Already with ample experience in GP2, he is ready to start achieving wins in this extremely competitive category.

“Having known him for a couple of years now, he fits into our team philosophy of hard work and teamwork.

“We are going to have a great season working together.”

Malja is likely to be joined at Racing Engineering by?Louis Deletraz, who also did the full test with the team.

The post Malja makes Racing Engineering switch for GP2 2017 appeared first on Formula Scout.

Photo: Zak Mauger/GP2 Series Media Service.

Luca Ghiotto has taken his first GP2 win of his career in the Malaysian?GP2 Sprint Race. Ghiotto took the lead out of turn two and held off a?late charge from?Raffaele?Marciello?to become the tenth different winner of the season.

Ghiotto had the better start and pulled ahead of Mitch Evans?off the line, but Evans wasn’t going to go without a fight as he?slipped back ahead into turn one, only for Ghiotto to get back ahead out of turn two to take the lead.

On the second lap, the two Racing Engineering cars went into turn two together, but as Norman Nato assumed the fourth position was his, Jordan King clipped the rear of the Frenchman’s car and spun him out on the spot. With Nato’s car going nowhere, the safety car had to be brought out. King was given a 10 second time penalty for the incident.

When the race went green again, Marciello tried a move on Evans into turn one, but was unable to pull it off until turn four as Evans struggled with brake issue. Meanwhile behind them, Gustav Malja made a move on King for fourth position coming out of turn two.

Pierre Gasly then made a move on Sergio Canamasas for eighth on the track on the inside of turn four, putting himself just behind Antonio Giovinazzi and Oliver Rowland. King was struggling with damage from his earlier incident, and was passed by both Rowland and Giovinazzi down the main straight. Giovinazzi then tried to take Rowland on the outside of turn four, but was pushed wide and went way off track, allowing both King and Gasly through on the Italian.

Gasly made short work of King in the DRS zone and then used the tow down the main straight on Rowland to put himself up into fifth place. Giovinazzi would follow his team mate through on Rowland a lap later as King fell down the field.

After a race long battle for third position, Malja was finally able to catch and pass Evans after a late dive down the inside of turn four. But because they were slowing each other so much, it allowed Gasly and Giovinazzi within striking range of the pair of them.

At the tail?end of the?of the points paying positions, a battle between Canamasas and Johnny Cecotto for eighth ended with Nobuharu Matsushita overtaking the pair of them. Matsushita started on the back row of the grid but was now putting in some of the fastest laps of the race.

Gasly and Giovinazzi finally made their?way passed Evans as?the Kiwi had to concede fourth position to?the faster Prema drivers. Malja was the next to go after locking up?into turn nine and running wide, allowing the Prema pair through for third and fourth positions.

Despite coming under heavy pressure in the final few laps, Ghiotto was able to hold off Marciello to the line to take his first GP2 win of his career. Likewise, Gasly was able to hold his championship rival Giovinazzi to take the final podium position. Malja finished in?fifth position to take his eighth points finish in a row. Evans held off the late charging Matsushita in sixth position, with Rowland dropping down?to eighth by the chequered flag.

After retiring with gearbox issues, Sergey Sirotkin is now out of the running in the championship, meaning that Giovinazzi, Gasly and Marciello will go into the final round as potential?champions.

The post Luca Ghiotto becomes a race winner in the Malaysian GP2 Sprint Race appeared first on Formula Scout.

Photo: Zak Mauger/GP2 Series Media Service.

Antonio Giovinazzi has won a chaotic GP2 Feature Race as the series visits Sepang for the first time since 2013. The Italian driver led most of the race before the pit-stops, but had to claw back the win from Sergey Sirotkin, who had used the undercut to get ahead of Giovinazzi until the dying moments?of the race.

Before the race had even begun, Artem Markelov‘s car came to a stop on the back straight during the formation lap. With his Russian Time car?stuck in the middle of the track, a second formation lap was called for while the track marshals tried to remove his?car. Unfortunately though, the marshals were unable to get the car off the track in time for the second attempted start, and a third formation lap was needed while the marshals dragged Markelov’s car into the support pit-lane.

When the lights finally went out, Pierre Gasly made a horrible start from pole position and dropped way down?the field as Raffaele Marciello made a perfect start from third on the grid to get himself into first going into the first corner. Marciello then locked up going into turn two and this allowed second place starter Giovinazzi to get ahead and take the lead of the race. Marciello tried to take the position back coming into turn five, but he couldn’t hold onto the car and had to bail out of the move, allowing Sirotkin to overtake him for second place.

Alex Lynn was onto the back of Norman Nato?for fourth position, but the DRS detection point was not functioning down?the main straight. This mean that Lynn and many other drivers were able to get onto the car in front, but not close enough to make the move down the main straight into turn one.

At the start of lap seven, Oliver Rowland and a very slow Gasly made their?pit-stops onto the harder compound tyres. The following lap, Nato made his stop and just got out ahead of the pair of them. Lynn made his stop a lap later, but he came out behind both Nato and Rowland, showing that the undercut was working very well for those who had pitted early.

Marciello pitted a lap later, but a very slow stop where the wheel gun wouldn’t tighten?meant that he came back out onto the track behind Nato, Rowland and Lynn as well. This meant Sirotkin, who pitted the same time as Lynn, was now flying on the new tyres, and this put pressure on Prema to pit Giovinazzi from first place. Despite a near perfect stop for Giovinazzi, the undercut from Sirotkin worked better than expected, putting the Russian driver into the net?lead of the race.

Luca Ghiotto was running first on the track using the opposite tyre strategy. The Italian driver was running a full five seconds ahead of Mitch Evans and Gustav Malja in second and third. But Malja was the first to blink, pitting on lap 16 and coming out just behind Gasly. Meanwhile, Sirotkin was making his way through the hard compound starters, and this allowed Giovinazzi to catch up to?the?Russian driver.

Ghiotto and Evans pitted on lap 19, with Ghiotto coming out in eighth position just ahead of Gasly. Evans on much fresher medium tyres was able to easily dispatch Gasly into the penultimate corer of the track, with Malja following him through a lap later to demote Gasly out of the points.

The battles weren’t over, as Lynn and Rowland battled it out corner after corner for fourth?position. Rowland went wide coming out of turn 14 allowing Lynn through, but Rowland came back at Lynn by picking up the tow down the main straight, almost touching the pit-lane wall to take the position back in turn one. It was all for naught however, as Rowland’s tyres were shot and by the time they made it back to the start line again, he was re-passed by Lynn. Marciello and Lynn then made their way through the British driver a few corners later.

With only two laps left, Giovinazzi was onto the back of Sirotkin, and by using the DRS on the back straight, he was able to set up a drag race down the main straight. Sirotkin held first?into turn one, but Giovinazzi hung out his car into turn two and was able use the driving line out of turn three to re-take the lead.

Once he had first back, Giovinazzi had nothing stopping him from taking his fifth win of the season and the championship lead. Sirotkin settled for second after two rounds off the podium, with Nato taking the final podium position in third. Lynn took fourth position ahead of King, who passed Marciello in the dying moments for fifth place. Ghiotto took seventh, ahead of Evans and Malja in eighth and ninth place, with Sergio Canamasas in the final points paying position.

Rowland and Gasly battled it out over the line with 0.00 seperating them on the timing screens, but neither drivers scored points.

The post Giovinazzi wins Sepang feature race to take GP2 points lead appeared first on Formula Scout.

Photo: Sam Bloxham/GP2 Series Media Service

Antonio Giovinazzi produced the latest stunning?performance of his rookie GP2 season by defeating team-mate?Pierre Gasly in an all-Prema scrap for pole at Spa-Francorchamps.

Gasly had?controlled most of the session and improved his time on his second run to move over three tenths of the field, but Giovinazzi went even faster soon afterwards, 0.161s quicker than the Frenchman.

With the soft tyres only really good enough for one flying lap of the longest circuit on the calendar, that settled the pole fight. Taking his second pole of the year, Giovinazzi was over half a second clear of the best non-Prema car.

That honour went to?Gustav Malja, who went out earlier for his second run and made use of the clear track ahead of him to came close to matching Gasly’s initial benchmark and finish up third, one year on from his points-scoring GP2 debut at?the Belgian track.

Racing Engineering drivers?Norman Nato and?Jordan King were next up, split by two tenths and just ahead of Malja’s Rapax team-mate?Arthur Pic in the Italian squad’s most competitive showing to-date this season.

Raffaele Marciello was seventh in front of Alex Lynn,?Nobuharu Matsushita?and?Marvin Kirchhofer.

Sergey Sirotkin, who leads the standings on equal points with Gasly, had a torrid session, starting when he understeered wide on his first effort. He finished up 13th.

That was two places ahead of Oliver Rowland,?the slowest?of the championship’s top five, who are covered?by only 14 points.

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Photo: GP2 Series Media Service

Sergey Sirotkin has won a chaotic GP2 feature race at Hockenheim despite having to pit twice.

The Russian had his?first pit-stop voided due to pitting under the virtual safety car, but nothing was going to deny him?as he used the advantage of the fresher tyres to overtake the field and take his second win in a row.

When the lights went out, it was Pierre Gasly who made a terrible start on the medium tyres, almost stalling the car and dropping way back beyond the top 10. On the other side of the grid, it was Sirotkin who made the perfect start and easily kept his lead while others darted around to avoid the slow Gasly.

Norman Nato was up alongside Oliver Rowland in third position after making a good start, but Rowland came back at him and was able to retake third position around the Mercedes corner. This left Nato all out of shape and allowed Alex Lynn to overtake Nato for fourth position into the Stadium Section of the track.

Meanwhile up front, Raffaele Marciello was hounding the back of Sirotkin going into the hairpin, but even though he had DRS, he was unable to pass him there. But Sirotkin had a slow exit of the hairpin and Marciello used this as a chance to get alongside the Russian and take the inside line into the Mercedes corner and take the lead of the race on only lap 2.

Lynn then made his move on Rowland for third while his team mate Nicholas Latifi did the same and got himself ahead of Nato for fifth. Rowland who was struggling on his Soft tyres was the first to pit onto the medium?tyres on only lap 7.

The first major incident was when Artem Markelov outbraked himself into the hairpin while defending from Gustav Malja, only to lose control of the car and slam straight into the back of Jordan King, bringing out the VSC.

Sirotkin had dashed into the pit-lane just as the VSC?was thrown, and was able to return to the track in fourth position on the harder compound tyres. This effectively gave him a free pit-stop as drivers cannot change tyres under the VSC, but it was unclear whether he pitted before the VSC?.

The drama did not end there as Daniel de Jong also misjudged his braking into the hairpin and speared into the side of Sean Galael, taking both drivers out and bringing out a?VSC?again.

Marciello finally pitted on lap 13, releasing the medium tyre starters Lynn, Latifi and Nato. Sirotkin was hot on their heels on his fresher tyres, but he was now under investigation for pitting during the VSC.

Latifi was clearly struggling with the harder tyres, which made it easy for Nato?to catch up and pass him. Sirotkin would also make his way through a lap later, followed by Malja, Nabil Jeffri and Nobuharu Matsushita.

Up front, Lynn on the harder tyres in the lead of the race in the other DAMS car was also struggling. Lynn had not yet pitted, which made it easy for Sirotkin to pass and take the race lead on track. But then a lap later, it was found that Sirotkin had indeed pitted under the VSC, meaning his first stop was invalidated and that he will be forced to pit again.

With Sirotkin momentarily out of the running, the driver inheriting the race lead was Marciello. Further down the field, Luca Ghiotto?and King made contact out of turn 10 with King ending up with a rear right puncture, forcing him back into the pits.

Sirtokin finally made his second pit-stop and switched back to the soft tyres, returning to the track in fifth position.

Lynn then tagged the back of Nato into turn 2, spinning the Frenchman around and causing him to stall the car on the inside of the corner, bringing out the third VSC?period.

With the final laps underway, Sirotkin was back on the move, overtaking both Rowland and Ghiotto and closed onto the back of Marciello. He made a move into the hairpin but Marciello was able to out drag him out of the corner, only for Sirotkin to fight back with an incredible late braking manoeuvre into turn 12 to retake the race lead.

With only two laps left, Ghiotto managed to catch up and pass Marciello into the hairpin to take second position.

But nothing was going to stop Sirotkin from winning, who took first position a full 13 seconds ahead of Ghiotto in second place. The final podium position went down the absolute wire as Gasly managed to catch and pass Marciello on the finish line, with the drivers separated by a time less than the timing screens would show.

Arthur Pic made his way up from 17th to finish in fifth position, followed by Rowland and Pic?s Rapax team mate Malja in sixth and seventh. Lynn would come home in eighth after receiving a time penalty for crashing into Nato, ahead of Antonio Giovinazzi who started dead last on the grid, with Matsushita rounding out the top 10.

The post Sergey Sirotkin wins a chaotic GP2 feature race at Hockenheim appeared first on Formula Scout.

Photo: Sam Bloxham/GP2 Series Media Service

Alex Lynn?has taken victory in the GP2 sprint race in Barcelona for the second year running.

The DAMS driver?climbed from third to second on the first lap, capitalising on a tussle between front row starters?Raffaele Marciello and?Jordan King ahead of him. There was slight contact between the pair at Turn 2 and Lynn was able to go around the outside of King at Turn 3.

Marciello led by 0.6 seconds at the end of lap two, but Lynn set the fastest lap on the next time around and had use of the DRS to pass the Russian Time driver down the inside of Turn 1.

Former team-mate?Pierre Gasly would become Lynn’s toughest challenger after charging his way from sixth to second but he couldn’t get the gap lower than around 1.5s before a safety car towards the end of the race following a big crash for his Prema team-mate?Antonio Giovinazzi.

Giovinazzi was squeezed when trying to pass his long-time team-mate and friend?Sean Gelael into Turn 10, and contact between them ripped?off?the Italian’s front-right wheel.?Giovinazzi headed into the barriers at high speed, clipping?Arthur Pic into a race-ending spin on his way.

Giovinazzi took a while?to get out of his car, and the race ended under safety car while he received medical attention.

King joined Lynn and Gasly on the podium, while?Artem Markelov beat his struggling team-mate Marciello to fourth.

After spending much of the race in eighth,?Oliver Rowland?made quick-fire passes on?Sergio Canamasas and?Nicholas Latifi just before the safety car to finish sixth.?Nobuharu Matsushita also passed Canamasas to take?the final point.

Gustav?Malja?took a second 10th place finish from the weekend ahead of?Sergey Sirotkin, who had a decent race from the back of the grid following his feature race spin, getting up into 11th past Pic just before the Frenchman was eliminated.

The post Alex Lynn wins GP2 Barcelona sprint race for second straight year appeared first on Formula Scout.

Photo: Sam Bloxham/GP2 Series Media Service

Norman Nato?took his maiden GP2 victory in the 2016 season opener at Barcelona with a pass?on?Pierre Gasly towards the end of the race.

Gasly had led pretty much uncontested from the start of the race, seemingly on course for his first race win since 2013.

He led Nato by over half a second when?Sergey Sirotkin spun and stalled at Turn 2 in his race-long attempts to attacked Nato, having climbed from fifth to third at the start past DAMS driver?Alex Lynn and?Nicholas Latifi.

The safety car was needed to retrieve the stranded ART Grand Prix car, at which point those that started the race on the hard tyre came into the pits for their mandatory stop.

Gasly emerged?with his lead intact, but when the race restarted with 11 laps to go, he was attacked into Turn 10 by an opportunistic lunge from Nato.

The French drivers banged wheels as Nato worked his way past, and the Racing Engineering man immediately set the fastest lap of the race on the next tour and opened up a 1.2-second lead over Gasly, who was struggling to get the soft tyres to work and under pressure from Latifi.

Canadian driver Latifi, starting his first full season in GP2, was able to use his superior speed to drag past Gasly on DRS down the pit straight and claim second before the race ended under safety car conditions when?Raffaele Marciello was punted out of eighth place at Turn 4 by fellow Italian?Antonio Giovinazzi.

Artem Markelov produced a typically attacking drive to finish fourth, having been seventh at the restart. The Russian pounced on?Jordan King?into Turn 1, then took Lynn at Turn 5.

Sergio Canamasas, running well in?his last-minute drive for Carlin, was much harder to pass on similar fresh soft tyres, but Markelov did eventually find a way past for fourth and was pressuring the struggling Gasly when the race was neutralised early, with the Frenchman at least securing a podium for Prema in its maiden GP2 race.

Lynn had started on the soft tyres and suffered a slow early pitstop that left him 40 seconds off leader Gasly for a large part of the race, and although he was initially slow at the restart compared to those on fresh tyres, he was able to recover fifth with a move on Canamasas.

King was seventh, with Giovinazzi crossing the line eighth but highly?unlikely to be allowed by the stewards to keep hold of a debut eighth place and reverse-grid pole.?Gustav Malja and?Oliver Rowland completed the provisional top 10, the latter surviving a bumpy trip across the Turns 1/2 run-off on the first lap.

Behind him, GP3 graduate?Luca Ghiotto?suffered a puncture in first-lap contact and slid?off into the Turn 3 gravel trap, causing a safety car.

UPDATE:?The chequered flag was shown a lap early, meaning the results were rolled back by another lap. That?negates Lynn’s pass on Canamasas for fifth and means Marciello holds on to eighth. Giovinazzi was still penalised, relegated to 14th.

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Photo: Sam Bloxham/GP2 Series Media Service

Prema will start its first ever GP2 race from pole position after?Pierre Gasly topped qualifying in Barcelona by almost half a second.

The Red Bull Junior led after a frantic opening to the session following a brief and light rain shower, before ART newcomer?Sergey Sirotkin took over at the top when he opted to do his second run during the middle of the session.

Inside the final six minutes,?Alex Lynn and?Norman Nato both took very brief turns on top before Gasly posted his pole lap, which would never be challenged with most drivers returning early to the pits.

On pole for the third consecutive round and fourth time from the last five events, Gasly’s advantage over fellow Frenchman Nato was 0.464 seconds, with Lynn almost a couple of tenths further back in third.

Lynn’s DAMS team-mate?Nicholas Latifi claimed fourth for the start of his first full GP2 season, with Sirotkin ending up fifth.

Gustav?Malja?was undoubtedly the surprise of the session, beating Formula Renault 3.5 champion?Oliver Rowland to sixth place. Second to Gasly in the early stages, Rowland ended up exactly a second behind his long-time rival after running wide out of the chicane on his best lap.

The drivers from eighth to 11th were separated by just 35 thousandths of a second, with?Nobuharu Matsushita pipping?Artem Markelov to eighth by just 0.001s, while?Luca Ghiotto edged out fellow Italian?Antonio Giovinazzi?by 0.02s for the honours of top?debutant and a place in the top 10.

Raffaele Marciello, Jordan King and Arthur Pic were next up, while?Mitch Evans was only 18th in a nightmare first qualifying with Campos.

UPDATE:?Matushita and?Sean Gelael were penalised for incidents while “squabbling over track position”, with Matsushita to now start 11th and Gelael from the pits.

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Photos: GP2 Series Media Service

After Stoffel Vandoorne’s impressive domination of 2015, this GP2 season looks like it might be very different. Men?who spent last season in the Belgian’s shadow but who are fine drivers in their own right – Sergey Sirotkin, Mitch Evans, Alex Lynn and Pierre Gasly – could all be champion at the end of it, and it’s near-impossible?to split them before the action begins.

Sirotkin was the best of this year’s crop?in last year’s standings and now he’s got Vandoorne’s car, but it remains to be seen whether team and driver will combine to be unbeatable. Lynn has continuity at DAMS, and was quick enough already last year, needing only to work on tyre degradation and cutting out mistakes. Gasly has a new team in Prema, but Vandoorne’s old engineer should make his car quick. Evans has vastly more GP2 experience than those three, but how he will go at Campos is unclear.

The depth on the grid runs a lot deeper than that, too. Raffaele Marciello, unshackled from Ferrari, cannot be discounted. Sirotkin’s ART team-mate Nobuharu Matsushita and Rapax signing Arthur Pic are both race winners, while Racing Engineering’s Jordan King and Norman Nato have both looked quick in testing.

Then there’s a pretty strong rookie crop, consisting of FR3.5 champion Oliver Rowland, GP3 graduates Luca Ghiotto, Marvin Kirchhofer and Jimmy Eriksson and European Formula 3 runner-up Antonio Giovinazzi, but they’ll be doing very well just to get a look in.

It could be a classic year.

ART Grand Prix

As well as Vandoorne, ART?has lost his engineer?Guillaume Capietto to the big-spending Prema, but in Sirotkin and Stuart King – who comes?from engineering Frijns, Vandoorne and Rowland at Fortec in FR3.5 – it has very capable replacements, complementing a Matsushita with a year’s experience to add to his speed.

1.?Nobuharu Matsushita
Japan, age 22, ninth in GP2?in 2015 ??That Honda protege Matsushita was as strong as he was at times last year despite a total lack of experience of the tracks bodes well for this term. He undoubtedly?benefitted from the strength of the team and his team-mate, but that won’t really change this year. He’s been pretty quiet in pre-season, but it’s hard to imagine him not taking a big step forward. He’ll need to find consistency to fight for the title, though.

2. Sergey Sirotkin
Russia, age 20, third?in?GP2?in 2015 ??Sirotkin surprised all with his rookie campaign last year, particularly as?it came with a relatively unfancied team in Rapax. So as the?returning driver who placed highest in last year’s standings jumping into the champion’s car,?the pressure’s on, particularly with an SMP-backed foot in the door in F1 with Renault. The questions are whether he can thrive?in the?ART environment as well as he did at Rapax, and whether he can step up to win?more than just one race.

Racing Engineering

Always a competitive force, the Spanish squad took second in both standings last year thanks to?Alexander Rossi. On paper its 2016 pairing doesn’t appear as strong, but it’s?been pretty quick in pre-season, and not just at its home track of Jerez where it was dominant.

3. Norman Nato
France, age 23, 18th?in?GP2?in 2015 ??A former rival of Vandoorne in F4 and of Daniil Kvyat in Formula Renault, Nato has underperformed relative to his ability in recent years, particularly in a rough rookie GP2 campaign last year. He showed good speed on occasion though, and his pre-season form suggests?that moving from Arden to Racing Engineering could help him turn it into consistent results. A dark horse.

4. Jordan King
United Kingdom, age 22,?12th?in?GP2?in 2015 ??King did a good job last year after making the fairly large step up from F3, finishing the year equal?on points with 10th place. There were some good race drives, but feature race results never matched fourth in the opening race, so it’s clear where he can?improve. Title ambitions seem a little optimistic considering?the opposition, but a top-six berth is a good target if the pre-season pace is genuine.

DAMS

DAMS remained among the very quickest teams in qualifying trim last year, but struggled to maintain that speed in races, something?that could be put down to an unusually inexperienced line-up. Bringing in another rookie won’t solve that problem, but focussing its efforts on a clear lead driver may have benefits compared to last year’s equally-matched pairing.

5. Alex Lynn
United Kingdom, age 22, sixth?in?GP2?in 2015 ??Lynn impressed with his speed in his rookie campaign last year, putting in a much more competitive showing than previous GP3 champions had done. After wins in Spain and Hungary, big points went missing to some uncharacteristic errors, but it’s easier to cut out mistakes than to have to find lap time. Having the continuity that his rivals lack could be crucial in the title fight.

6. Nicholas Latifi
Canada, age 20, 27th in GP2?in 2015 ??Funding has clearly played a part in Latifi bagging a top seat at DAMS, and the same can be said for his role with the Renault F1 team, but both gigs should help him to extract the potential he showed earlier in his career after a couple of?low-key seasons in F3 and FR3.5. He’s yet to score from nine starts in GP2, but with a full winter with DAMS under his belt, that shouldn’t remain the case for long.

Campos Racing

The Adrian Campos-led outfit has been a frontrunner since returning to GP2, and a strong season with Rio Haryanto last year has secured some big Indonesian backing for 2016, and with it a top lead driver in Mitch Evans. Can it provide him with a?car to win the title?

7. Mitch Evans
New Zealand, age 21, fifth in GP2?in 2015 ??If you combine ability and experience at this level, Evans is arguably the strongest driver on the grid. He could have given Vandoorne a much harder time in 2015 if the first half of his season wasn’t plagued by technical problems. It remains to be seen?whether the Indonesian-funded switch to Campos pays off; as great as Evans?is in races, will he start them far enough up the grid to win?

8. Sean Gelael
Indonesia, age 19, 30th in GP2?in 2015 ??Gelael’s step into GP2 in the middle of last year came needlessly early in his development (he’ll only be just out of his teens when the season ends) but given that his Indonesian backers – led by his father’s KFC concern – are also supporting three other?drivers on this year’s grid, it’s hard to be too critical. Sportscar successes at the start of the year show he’s no slouch.

Russian Time

Once changes were made last summer, including the return of?iSport’s Gavin Jones, Russian Time’s was as strong a package as anything, particularly in races. If that is maintained and new lead?driver Marciello gets what he needs, it could be a good season, but only if.

9. Raffaele Marciello
Italy, age 21, seventh in GP2 in 2015?– A very muted second season in GP2 last year gave Ferrari enough cause to drop Marciello, but his personal sponsors have remained on board. His European F3 title and solitary GP2 win at Spa in 2014 seem a long time ago, but second to Vandoorne in Abu Dhabi last November was?evidence?of a potential?post-Ferrari revival. However, if Russian Time continues to be best?in race trim, does he have the Evans-esque racecraft to capitalise?

10. Artem Markelov
Russia, age 21, 13th?in GP2 in 2015?– Markelov grew considerably last year after his difficult 2014 rookie campaign, and would?have finished the year in the top 10 had his car not stopped out of a fine second place in Abu Dhabi. In theory more progress should be made this year, but the low turnover at the front of the grid and arrival of some fast rookies means that any improvement will have to be worked hard for.

Rapax

The team that took Pastor Maldonado to the 2010 title reminded all what it was capable of with Sirotkin last year. That hasn’t automatically made it one of the more fancied teams over the winter, but the ingredients are still there for a positive season.

11.?Gustav?Malja
Sweden, age 20, ninth?in FR3.5?in 2015?-?Despite his number, Malja very much arrives as number two at Rapax – after all, he’s only a year out of Formula Renault 2.0. This is season six of his single-seater career though, and he nabbed a point on his GP2 debut at Spa last year with Trident despite no prior running?in the car. Decent progress was made on two later appearances with Rapax, and the pre-season pace has been good.

12. Arthur Pic
France, age 24, 11th in GP2?in 2015?– A Pic-Rapax combination is something of a surprise, but he’ll be hoping to repeat some of Sirotkin’s 2015 form after his own campaign failed to build on the promise of his rookie season, when he was sometimes?the closest thing to Vandoorne. One-lap speed is definitely his strong suit, and using it will be key to him getting anything out of the decision to stay?in GP2.

Trident

After its wins with Johnny Cecotto in 2014, more would have been expected of Trident’s partnership with Marciello last season. The team?was key to Luca Ghiotto’s form in GP3 last year but it’s pretty doubtful that it will make?his GP2 car similarly quick.

14.?Philo Paz Armand
Indonesia, age 20, 26th in FR3.5?in 2015?– Going from?a quiet couple of years in FR2.0 to?GP2 via just nine starts in FR3.5 isn’t the best?way of doing things, but Armand is looking to capitalise on the wave of popularity for GP2 back home following?Haryanto’s 2015 wins. Ultimately, like Gelael, he won’t have the speed yet to generate similar headlines.

15. Luca Ghiotto
Italy, age 21, second?in GP3?in 2015?-?When talk of?F1?backing fell flat, there was a concern that Ghiotto’s stunning GP3 season wouldn’t be rewarded with a GP2 graduation. Fortunately, Trident has facilitated that, but?the fact that he’s the most experienced driver in a team that struggled a little?last season is far from ideal.?In a deep field, being top rookie might be the most realistic aim, but even that won’t be easy.

Carlin

From helping Felipe Nasr towards F1, Carlin’s GP2 programme went into free fall last year when a promising deal to run Marco Sorensen turned sour and Julian Leal’s long career in the series petered out mid-season. Turning to Marvin Kirchhofer is a good move, but it won’t be an easy season.

18. Sergio Canamasas
Spain, age 30, 15th?in?GP2 in 2015?– It looks like Carlin kept its options open for as long as possible over this seat, but there was an inevitability that it would go to Canamasas. If there’s one round the team?will want to keep him for it’s Monaco – where he’s found the podium twice in two years – but that’s always an event that attracts drivers from other series.

19.?Marvin?Kirchhofer
Germany, age 22, third?in?GP3?in 2015?-?Finishing?only third in GP3 for two years running, even though he broke the series win record, could have derailed Kirchhofer’s career, but he’s secured a deserved step up to GP2 with Carlin. Like with Ghiotto, it’s not an ideal scenario, given the team’s tough 2015 and his lack of a proper team-mate, but he’s good enough to shine when things come together.

Prema Racing

Prema’s here, and unsurprisingly it means business. It’s recruited big names from other teams to join its own people, and after a torrid debut test at the end of last year, it’s looked right on the pace in pre-season. There’s no reason to think it can’t win from the off.

20.?Antonio?Giovinazzi
Italy, age 22, second?in European F3?in 2015?-?Giovinazzi’s another driver whose future looked uncertain after missing out on a title last?year, with no opening in the DTM and an F3 return being banned, but Ricardo Gelael stumped up for a GP2 seat with Prema, for whom he was a thorn in the side in 2015. On paper, this isn’t an easy year for rookies, but Giovinazzi’s looked quick in testing, and a top-six place is not impossible.

21. Pierre Gasly
France, age 20, eighth?in GP2?in 2015?– Gasly’s first season in GP2 didn’t live up to the expectations set by his rapid testing pace, and means he’s spent two years in the Red Bull Junior Team without winning a race. That’s undoubtedly played a part in him having to leave?multiple champions DAMS for newcomers Prema, but linking up with Vandoorne’s engineer and compatriot?Capietto means it?might be not be a bad thing whatsoever.

MP Motorsport

MP Motorsport has had limited success since arriving in GP2 but that could change this year, having secured the services of?Oliver Rowland after his promising appearances at Silverstone and Spa last year.

22. Oliver Rowland
United Kingdom, age 23, FR3.5 champion?in 2015?– One?might have expected Rowland to have earned a seat in one of the bigger-name teams – particularly after he tested?with ART, DAMS and Prema – but there’s sense in joining MP too. He knows the team, and engineers Tony and Sarah Shaw, well from his Formula Renault stint with it and proved?its speed at Silverstone and Spa last year, as did Marco Sorensen two years ago.

23. Daniel De Jong
Netherlands, age 23, 23rd in GP2?in 2015?-?De Jong stays on for another season with the family-owned team, but he insists this will be his last. After 2015 was interrupted by his back-breaking crash at Spa, this season could be a good opportunity for him with a particularly strong team-mate in Rowland, who he already gets on with?from back when the Briton worked at the MP factory during his Formula Renault campaign.

Arden International

The team established by Christian Horner has struggled to perform in recent times, often not helped by a lack of driving strength. This season may be no better, with a rookie pairing only confirmed shortly before?the opening round. If that was the best?option, a gamble on its GP3 star Emil Bernstorff would have been good?to see.

24.?Nabil Jeffri
Malaysia, age 22, 26th?in European F3?in 2015?– Having focussed his testing efforts on GP3 at the end of 2015, Jeffri’s step up to GP2 seems?to be more because there was a seat available more than anything else. His test for Tony Fernandes’ F1 team at 16 was a long time ago, and he failed to make in impression in European F3 last year after coming second in the German series.

25. Jimmy Eriksson
Sweden, age 25, fifth in GP3?in 2015?– After two years towards?the sharp end in GP3, Eriksson’s step up to GP2 is a deserved one. He’s already a relative veteran in single-seater terms, but as another series rookie leading an inexperienced line-up at an out-of-form team, this won’t be an easy season for the man who may start to become better known?as ‘Joel Eriksson’s older brother’.

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