Photo: Alastair Staley/GP2 Series Media Service
GP2 Series title contenders Felipe Nasr and James Calado signalled their intentions for the first European round of the GP2 season by finishing up first and second in free practice in Barcelona.
Nasr, who lies third in drivers’ standings and is chasing his first win in GP2, finished up 0.761 seconds clear of the opposition for the Carlin team.
Pre-season favourite Calado was closest to the Brazilian in his re-liveried ART machine as he looks to make up ground from fifth in the standings after a difficult start to the campaign. The Englishman claimed his maiden GP2 pole at the Catalunya circuit last year.
Johnny Cecotto was third quickest for Arden, narrowly ahead of Nasr’s team-mate Jolyon Palmer. Robin Frijns was a strong fifth as he embarks on his second weekend in GP2 with the Hilmer squad, returning to the scene of his controversial Formula Renault 3.5 title success.
Championship leader Stefano Coletti was the last man within a second of Nasr’s time in sixth place, having only ventured out on to the track for the final third of the session.
Russian Time drivers Sam Bird and Tom Dillmann were seperated by 0.015s in seventh and eighth respectively, with the top ten completed by DAMS’ Marcus Ericsson and Fabio Leimer, the winner of the feature races in Malaysia and Bahrain.
Series returnee Jon Lancaster finished the session in 16th place. The Brit replaces Pal Varhaug alongside Frijns at Hilmer this weekend.
Simon Trummer brought out the yellow flags when he spun onto the infield between turns 12 and 13, while Daniel De Jong stopped at the side of the track before managing to set a time.
Free practice times
| Pos | Driver | Team | Time | Gap | Laps |
| 1. | Felipe Nasr | Carlin | 1:30.103 | 13 | |
| 2. | James Calado | ART Grand Prix | 1:30.864 | 0.761 | 11 |
| 3. | Johnny Cecotto | Arden International | 1:30.951 | 0.848 | 8 |
| 4. | Jolyon Palmer | Carlin | 1:30.977 | 0.874 | 15 |
| 5. | Robin Frijns | Hilmer Motorsport | 1:31.010 | 0.907 | 13 |
| 6. | Stefano Coletti | Rapax | 1:31.092 | 0.989 | 8 |
| 7. | Sam Bird | Russian Time | 1:31.265 | 1.162 | 10 |
| 8. | Tom Dillmann | Russian Time | 1:31.290 | 1.187 | 10 |
| 9. | Marcus Ericsson | DAMS | 1:31.295 | 1.192 | 12 |
| 10. | Fabio Leimer | Racing Engineering | 1:31.303 | 1.200 | 10 |
| 11. | Mitch Evans | Arden International | 1:31.339 | 1.236 | 11 |
| 12. | Daniel Abt | ART Grand Prix | 1:31.389 | 1.286 | 11 |
| 13. | Kevin Ceccon | Trident Racing | 1:31.492 | 1.389 | 11 |
| 14. | Alexander Rossi | Caterham Racing | 1:31.528 | 1.425 | 14 |
| 15. | St?phane Richelmi | DAMS | 1:31.577 | 1.474 | 12 |
| 16. | Jon Lancaster | Hilmer Motorsport | 1:31.846 | 1.743 | 16 |
| 17. | Kevin Giovesi | Venezuela GP Lazarus | 1:31.930 | 1.827 | 7 |
| 18. | Sergio Canamasas | Caterham Racing | 1:32.020 | 1.917 | 15 |
| 19 | Rene Binder | Venezuela GP Lazarus | 1:32.077 | 1.974 | 11 |
| 20. | Nathanael Berthon | Trident Racing | 1:32.276 | 2.173 | 14 |
| 21. | Jake Rosenzweig | Barwa Addax Team | 1:32.413 | 2.310 | 12 |
| 22. | Rio Haryanto | Barwa Addax Team | 1:32.468 | 2.365 | 14 |
| 23. | Julian Leal | Racing Engineering | 1:32.646 | 2.543 | 10 |
| 24. | Adrian Quaife-Hobbs | MP Motorsport | 1:33.455 | 3.352 | 9 |
| 25. | Simon Trummer | Rapax | 1:41.742 | 11.639 | 0 |
| 26. | Daniel De Jong | MP Motorsport | No time | 0 |