GP2 Series
Hockenheim, R1
With its requirement to run two different tyre compounds during feature races, GP2 has an extra ability to throw up great races, and the pick of those strategic battles in 2014 was at a scorching hot Hockenheim. It certainly provided a fitting 100th race in the category.
Runaway championship leader Jolyon Palmer started from pole position, but he had star rookie Stoffel Vandoorne alongside him on the front row, and in a repeat of the season opener in Bahrain, it was the McLaren protege that got the better launch to lead into turn one. Both drivers started on the harder of the two available tyres, meaning they would be going longer into the race before pitting. Stefano Coletti and Felipe Nasr were on the same strategy in third and fourth.
The best runners on the softer tyre in the opening laps were Arthur Pic and Raffaele Marciello, who sat fifth and sixth before pitting together. Both of their cars then died while they were stopped, shutting down due to the high temperatures. Other drivers were subsequently warned to keep their revs up during their stops.
With those two relegated to the back and out of contention, Mitch Evans became the leading option-starter after working his way up from a lowly grid slot of 15th to fifth by the time he stopped. Not having to try to preserve his new harder tyres as long as those that stopped before him, his pace was strong and so when the leaders pitted, Evans moved ahead.
Vandoorne and Palmer emerged from their stops in second and third and on Evans? tail, but despite their fresher rubber, Evans did enough to hold on and claim his second consecutive feature race victory.
The battle for the win was intriguing, but the action behind also contributed to this race?s greatness. The early-pitting Stephane Richelmi and Adrian Quaife-Hobbs got themselves into the top five once everyone had stopped, but ran out of tyre life and fell backwards. Past them and up to fourth came the relatively late-stopping Johnny Cecotto, but he couldn?t hold on until the end either.
Meanwhile, Coletti and Nasr had emerged from their stops back in the middle of the field and provided much excitement as they fought back up to fourth and fifth respectively at the flag, trading places with each other several times in the process as everybody scrabbled for grip.
Peter Allen