2016 GP2 silly season thread

[Rf1 Fan]

Marciello with Russian time alongside Markelov.

[skells22]

the pre season dates have also been said about but still not time frame for this year race dates both in Spain and one at the GP venue of Barcelona at 9 to 11 of march the off to Jerez for the 29 to 31 march.

[fergus_r]

Shame about Marciello, GP2 has ruined his career.

[p-matt]

Originally Posted by fergus_r

Shame about Marciello, GP2 has ruined his career.

Ferrari really should have put him in FR3.5 when he was bossing pre-season testing in 2014. Maybe they saw GP2 as the bigger challenge, and the more relevant series?

But GP2 didn't ruin his career - the fact is he didn't do a good enough job. Perhaps his form in F3 was misleading as to how he could hack it in a more complex series. He made lots of silly errors in the last two years, and never really got on top of the Pirelli tyres.

[Formulahistory]

ART: Sergey Sirotkin – Nobuharu Matsushista (?)
Racing Engineering: Jordan King – Norman Nato (?)
DAMS: Alex Lynn – Nicholas Latifi
Campos: Mitch Evans – Sean Gelael
Russian Time: Artem Markelov – Raffaele Marciello
Rapax: André Negrão (?) – Gustav Malja (?)
Trident: Luca Ghiotto (?) – Artur Janosz (?)
Status: Philo Paz Armand (?) – Alex Fontana (?)
Carlin: Dean Stoneman (?) – Antonio Giovinazzi (?)
MP: Daniël de Jong (?) – Nick Yelloly (?)
Arden: Emil Bernstorff (?) – Jimmy Eriksson (?)
Hilmer: Arthur Pic (?) – Patric Niederhauser (?)
Prema Power: Pierre Gasly (?) – Oliver Rowland (?)

[Rf1 Fan]

Originally Posted by p-matt

Ferrari really should have put him in FR3.5 when he was bossing pre-season testing in 2014. Maybe they saw GP2 as the bigger challenge, and the more relevant series?

But GP2 didn't ruin his career - the fact is he didn't do a good enough job. Perhaps his form in F3 was misleading as to how he could hack it in a more complex series. He made lots of silly errors in the last two years, and never really got on top of the Pirelli tyres.

Ferrari put Marciello in GP2 to please sponsors not because the championship is more relevant. They did the same with Fuoco by putting him GP3.

Junior series are there to see who is fast and who is not, to some extent the quality of the race craft.
Dealing with complex tyre mangement should be a problem as you only get 45 minutes of Free Practice against 4 hours in F1.

Esteban Ocon just said in french radio yesterday that to him GP2 was quite uninteresting due to the fact that you are only tyre limited and not progressing on other technical aspects.

It should ring some bells at GP2 that the GP3 champion is slashing in the face of the bigger championship.

If GP2 was a bit smarter they would either cancel race 2 and put a second practice session or make things easier in order to work.

The dallara GP2/11 is a flawed car with little downforce like the GP3/13.

GP2 should bring car like it was in the first generation.

Easy to get up to speed in 45 minutes windows of practice .

[Mekola]

Why there are no Argentinians in the series. On the first two years it were one or two, and only part 2007 part 2014 we had one. Is not speaking good about the series, considering GP2 is the F1 feeder series.

[fergus_r]

Originally Posted by p-matt

Ferrari really should have put him in FR3.5 when he was bossing pre-season testing in 2014. Maybe they saw GP2 as the bigger challenge, and the more relevant series?

But GP2 didn't ruin his career - the fact is he didn't do a good enough job. Perhaps his form in F3 was misleading as to how he could hack it in a more complex series. He made lots of silly errors in the last two years, and never really got on top of the Pirelli tyres.

F3 is far more relevant than GP2 imo. In F3 we can see the true talent, the pure speed of a driver, whereas GP2 has far too many factors (tyres, reverse grids, etc) which basically make it a lottery most of the time.

Nevermind FR 3.5, I think even going the Lynn/Ocon route into GP3 would've done him good. Lynn finished third in F3, in the same team as Marciello, yet still won GP3 in 2014. There's no reason to suggest Marciello wouldn't have taken that title, and he'd be in a much better position now.

I agree with entirely with Rf1.

[p-matt]

The GP2 2016 wiki page has Giovanazzi at Prema. It's unsourced. If it's true it's a strange choice - I would have expected him at Carlin and Rowland and Gasly and Prema.

[fergus_r]

Meanwhile Mitch Evans and Sean Gelael have joined Campos, the latter bringing a two-year Jagonya Ayam sponsorship deal with him.

[Rf1 Fan]

Originally Posted by p-matt

The GP2 2016 wiki page has Giovanazzi at Prema. It's unsourced. If it's true it's a strange choice - I would have expected him at Carlin and Rowland and Gasly and Prema.

Italiaracing confirms the story

[Formulahistory]

ART: Sergey Sirotkin – Nobuharu Matsushista (?)
Racing Engineering: Jordan King – Norman Nato (?)
DAMS: Alex Lynn – Nicholas Latifi
Campos: Mitch Evans – Sean Gelael
Russian Time: Artem Markelov – Raffaele Marciello
Rapax: André Negrão (?) – Gustav Malja (?)
Trident: Luca Ghiotto (?) – Artur Janosz (?)
Status: Philo Paz Armand (?) – Alex Fontana (?)
Carlin: Dean Stoneman (?) – Antonio Giovinazzi (?)
MP: Daniël de Jong (?) – Oliver Rowland?
Arden: Emil Bernstorff (?) – Jimmy Eriksson (?)
Hilmer: Nick Yelloly (?) – Arthur Pic (?)
Prema Power: Antonio Giovinazzi – Pierre Gasly (?)

[Hawkwood]

You have Giovinazzi listed twice, and Alex Fontana has switched single-seaters for GTs.

[chunterer]

Giovanazzi is also keeping some Jagonya Ayam sponsorship which is interesting...

Stoneman won't be there unless he can find a lot of money, unfortunately.

Back to the earlier points about cstegory peking orders.... At present I think F3 and 3.5 are a clearer indicator of outright ability than GP2 or GP3.

The 3.5 front runners and titlists have generally gone on and done a good job in F1 without having to worry about GP2 in the last few years. That certainly wouldn't have been the case in the first few seasons of GP2 when the category was free-er and I think much more competitive throughout the field. Drivers just had to do it...

The tyre stuff in GP2 is a gimic and a nonsense and I don't think it has any bearing to how a driver will get on in F1 other than possibly stunt their racers instincts!! The F1 tyres are different to GP2 in any case aren't they?

The GP3 champions so far haven't exactly set the world alight, like Abt. It's also stymied some drivers careers after they had already shown they are good enough elsewhere. Ocon is brilliant yet it took him quite sometime to come through last year. Lynn was already a F3 frontrunner so GP3 didn't really add much to his armoury.

De Vries has already spent a year in a more advanced car with 3.5 so GP3 is a step backwards imo.

[GM10]

Originally Posted by fergus_r

Shame about Marciello, GP2 has ruined his career.

According to Raffaele, Ferrari could have tried harder to put him in Formula 1 this year.

http://autosprint.corrieredellosport...ivabene/40954/

Translating the quotation: "I never had a good relationship with Maurizio Arrivabene. He didn't consider me suitable for Formula 1. I can't please everybody. They (Ferrari) never did a great effort: if they had wanted, they could have put me in a Ferrari-powered team".

[chunterer]

Well there's little doubt he is 'better' than the sum of his results over the last 2 seasons.

He showed genuine pace with RE in 14 so I really do think he and Trident just didn't work out properly.

He needs to deliver wins at the very minimum this year though....

[GM10]

I think he is a good driver, but maybe Ferrari (mostly Baldisserri, who has recently left FDA to follow Stroll's career) has had a bad influence on him.

Raffaele's biggest problem is that his humbleness is near zero.

[Rf1 Fan]

Originally Posted by GM10

I think he is a good driver, but maybe Ferrari (mostly Baldisserri, who has recently left FDA to follow Stroll's career) has had a bad influence on him.

Raffaele's biggest problem is that his humbleness is near zero.

I guess it is some sort of struggle to control his emotions.

I remember after a GP2 race it became rather hot between him and Baldissieri by tweets.

Also sometimes he lost the plot in F3 by crashing by himself of stalling.

[bella]

have to say, no idea about the lad other than his results have been a bit quiet the past year or so but whining to the media is poor form regardless of how poorly you've been treated.

[skells22]

well , if the gp2 drivers want to race at Le Mans there now a issue if I go by the European GP. GP2 is on the support bill for Baku but not GP3 (meaning the GP3 drivers can head to le mans but GP2 drivers can not)

[pericu]

About the relationship between Marciello and Baldisserri, I always felt that it had never been so good, especially since I saw a interview with Luca spoken about him. It was in 2012 when Marciello was in his first year in fiaf3 after doing 3r in the italian f3. I put the video for people who understands italian (min 3:50)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5qgILHK1COo

He said Marciello is the classical driver who can be so fast but he can lose easily the concentration. I know these are not meaning bad words, but it's just my feeling, and these definitely are not the words someone can expect from his tutor.

[GM10]

Originally Posted by pericu

He said Marciello is the classical driver who can be so fast but he can lose easily the concentration. I know these are not meaning bad words, but it's just my feeling, and these definitely are not the words someone can expect from his tutor.

You're right. But just think about this: apart from Bianchi, none of the FDA drivers particularly distinguished himself since FDA is born. FDA former drivers were nothing special, I know, but they also NEVER showed any sign of improvement. If they already had good qualities, they continued to show them, if not, they pursued to take poor results.

Now, Stroll (who has considerably filled Ferrari's wallet in the last few years, and THIS is the first FDA's target) left Ferrari joining Williams, and Baldisserri followed him. Rivola has taken Baldisserri's former role and the situation could improve this year.

This long speech to say that Marciello has surely his faults, but that's absolutely not all.

[Mekola]

Originally Posted by GM10

But just think about this: apart from Bianchi, none of the FDA drivers particularly distinguished himself since FDA is born. FDA former drivers were nothing special, I know, but they also NEVER showed any sign of improvement. If they already had good qualities, they continued to show them, if not, they pursued to take poor results.

Even is known that FDA is making poor contracting decisions... Even to not contract drivers at all as they promised first. Ask Argentinian kart driver Kevin Felippo otherwise.

[GM10]

I have to think that Felippo (I don't know him before, I'm honest) had no money, had he?

[Mekola]

Originally Posted by GM10

I have to think that Felippo (I don't know him before, I'm honest) had no money, had he?

He has little money, but he persists to be in karts, racing at international level. His family helps him, don't know if he has sponsors, hope he could have some.

Wonder if talented drivers could be helped by a program. Argentinian drivers must have one. Wonder why the Pérez Companc, one of the richest families of Argentina, and with strong interests in motorsport (historic and current), is not making a promotion program for our locals, as Carlos Slim does with EscuderÃ*a Telmex for Mexican drivers.