Driver Summaries: Rounds 5 & 6 Spa-Francorchamps
Championship lead changes hands at legendary venue
Rounds five and six of the 2009 FIA Formula Two
Championship took place at Spa-Francorchamps at the
weekend and the official F2 website has taken a
look at each driver's performance:
Andy
Soucek
Andy Soucek left Spa-Francorchamps in the overall lead of the
championship standings after scoring fourth and second places over
the weekend. After qualifying in the top three for both racess,
Soucek attacked Hegewald for the lead in race one. Whilst battling,
he ended up running off the circuit at Les Combes and baulked
Julien Jousse as he returned to the circuit. Andy finished second
on the track, but later received a ten second penalty and dropped
to fourth. He again followed Hegewald in race two, but had to
settle for second.
Robert
Wickens
Following a torrid weekend in Brno, Wickens came into
Spa-Francorchamps targeting 'wins and podiums'. After failing to
get off the start line in race one, he was collected by Jason
Moore, bringing his race to a close - although championship damage
was alleviated a little by a post-race penalty handed to rival Andy
Soucek. He started race two from second on the grid, where despite
falling to fourth from the start he showed his class with a gutsy
move through Eau Rouge to reclaim third spot from Alex Brundle.
Wickens stayed third to take his first podium since Valencia, and
with it second in the championship - just two points behind
Soucek.
Julien
Jousse
Jousse is firmly in title contention after a competitive weekend
in Belgium. The Frenchman finished third in the opening race having
enjoyed a race-long battle with Milos Pavlovic. Jousse lost out to
Pavlovic when he was baulked unfairly by Soucek, allowing the
Serbian to get past - however a post-race penalty promoted him into
the final podium spot. Jousse followed battled with Pavlovic once
again in race two, as well as Alex Brundle, finishing sixth. An
impressive weekend means he is now lying third in the overall
standings.
Tobias
Hegewald
Hegewald enjoyed a perfect weekend in Spa, winning both races and
thrusting himself into championship contention. After a quiet
showing in Brno he set the tone for the weekend by clocking the
fastest lap in both practice sessions. Two poles followed, which he
converted into consecutive lights to flag victories - also setting
the fastest lap in each race. Tobias' haul of 20 points from the
weekend means he jumps into fourth in the championship, and he will
have one eye on the standings lead heading into the next round at
Brands Hatch.
Mirko
Bortolotti
The Red Bull-backed driver scored a best result of eighth in
qualifying at Spa, but was unable to convert these results into
points over the course of the weekend. The Italian drove
brilliantly in race one, coming from 22nd on the grid up to ninth
at the finish - narrowly missing out on a points place. Mirko was
embroiled in race-long battle with Mikhail Aleshin in the second
round of the weekend. He was unable to overtake his Russian rival
and had to settle for ninth position once again.
Mikhail
Aleshin
It was a weekend of mixed fortunes for Mikhail Aleshin, who had
looked impressive in the opening practice sessions until a spin
into the barriers after the chequered flag meant he was unable to
set a time in the first qualifying session. He then finished
seventh in second qualifying, missing out on his customary top six
by just under three tenths of a second. Starting from the back in
race one, he was caught up in an incident with Sebastian Hohenthal
and Jens Höing, spoiling his chances of a competitive finish.
He bounced back in the second race by finishing eighth, but he will
be looking to reassert his championship challenge at Brands Hatch
after falling to sixth in the table, 11 points behind leader Andy
Soucek.
Milos
Pavlovic
The Serbian driver enjoyed his best weekend in F2 so far at
Spa-Francorchamps. Milos had a great scrap with Julien Jousse in
the opening race, in which he passed the Frenchman on the run out
of Les Combes to take second place. Pavlović came under threat
from Jousse throughout the contest, but he defended gallantly to
take a well-deserved podium finish. "I really wanted a podium today
and I pushed hard to get it," he noted. Milos was extremely
competitive in the second race also - he eventually got by a
defensive Alex Brundle to take fourth.
Philipp Eng
After scoring podiums in Valencia and Brno, Philipp Eng had a
miserable weekend in Spa where he failed to finish either race. The
Austrian looked sharp at the start of the weekend, finishing inside
the top ten in both practice and qualifying sessions. A strong
start to race one saw him involved in a three way tussle for fourth
place with Alex Brundle and Jolyon Palmer, but he suffered damage
to his car when Brundle spun at Les Combes, retiring on lap four.
Eng made another good start in race two, but with his car
struggling for performance following repairs from race one he
pulled into the pits on lap four, bringing his weekend to a
close.
Nicola De
Marco
Nicola missed Friday's entire running at Spa-Francorchamps as he
was taking his Italian and Mathematics exams at home. Forced to
play catch-up for the remainder of the weekend, he had to scrap his
way from near the rear of the grid in both races. A 13th in race
one was followed with an 11th place in race two - it was a valiant
effort by the Italian, but he will be keen to get back in the
points at Brands Hatch.
Edoardo
Piscopo
After impressing at Brno, Piscopo seemed to struggle to replicate
his form at Spa-Francorchamps. He set the 12th fastest time in
second practice but was unable to break into the top ten in first
qualifying, and then was not able to set a time in the second
session. The likeable Italian is fast gaining a reputation as a
superb racer, however, and he justified the tag with some stunning
moves which helped him to make up 11 places and finish eighth in
race one. It was a similar story in race two, with Piscopo gaining
11 places again, but he could only finish 14th after having to
start from the back of the grid. He now lies 10th in the
championship, level on points with fellow Italian Nicola De
Marco.
Carlos
Iaconelli
Iaconelli was not completely satisfied with his qualifying
results, as he had to start both races from 11th on the grid. After
a good start in race one, Carlos had passed two or three cars
before a problem struck his F2 machine. Forced into retirement, the
Brazilian then fought hard in race two. Surrounded by other front
runner drivers who hadn't qualified well, it was a tough scrap for
points - Carlos followed Mirko Bortolotti home in tenth.
Kazim
Vasiliauskas
Arriving at Spa-Francorchamps for the first time, Kazim was
quickly up to speed, finishing an impressive fifth in first
qualifying and then taking ninth in the second session. The
Lithuanian was however hit by a late technical problem and was
forced to start race one from the pit lane. He took the setback in
his stride and produced a stellar race to cross the line in tenth
place, just behind Mirko Bortolotti. He was similarly impressive in
race two, where he improved two places to finish seventh.
Vasiliauskas will be hoping for a strong weekend at Brands Hatch,
the first circuit he has previous experience of after winning there
earlier this year in Formula Palmer Audi.
Henri
Karjalainen
The Finn was unable to repeat his Brno qualifying magic but still
lined up in a respectable 13th and 14th for the two races at Spa.
Henri drove a fantastic race in the weekend opener, managing to
soar six places over the 11 laps; a seventh place and two
championship points was just rewards. He enjoyed a great three-way
battle with Natacha Gachnang and Edoardo Piscopo in the second
contest, and the trio were split by just over a second at the
chequered flag - Karjalainen finished 15th.
Armaan
Ebrahim
Having impressed in both races at Brno, Armaan's weekend was
spoilt by a huge crash he suffered at Eau Rouge in second
qualifying - the Indian driver went off on the outside of the
corner, and was then collected by Henry Surtees as his car lay
stricken on the track. Armaan was luckily unhurt, but he was unable
to post a time in the qualifying session and his car could not be
repaired before the first race. He was able to start race two, but
retired after four laps.
Alex
Brundle
The young Briton was in fantastic form at Spa-Francorchamps. He
was in the top three throughout free practice, and scored an
impressive season best of fourth place in qualifying two. Brundle
and Philipp Eng both retired in race one after a coming together in
an incident, which also involved Jolyon Palmer, whilst fighting for
sixth place. Undeterred by this setback, Brundle scored a brilliant
fifth position in race two after holding off the experienced Julien
Jousse in the latter stages of the contest.
Tom
Gladdis
One of the surprise packages at Brno, Gladdis again proved himself
at Spa when he finished sixth in race one. The Briton had qualified
15th, but a strong race - coupled with mistakes by those in front -
allowed him to improve nine places and take a solid points finish.
Gladdis started race two again from 15th, but was forced to retire
after one lap. He will, however, be encouraged by another points
haul.
Jack
Clarke
Clarke enjoyed his most impressive weekend in F2 so far. Buoyed by
the flowing nature of the Spa-Francorchamps circuit, the young
Englishman lined up 12th and 13th respectively on the grid - his
best qualifying performance this season. In race one, the
21-year-old got a clean getaway and was able to make some early
moves. After avoiding two key incidents in front of him, he went on
to finish a fantastic fifth. "I was quick and I deserved my fifth
place - it makes me pretty happy," he said. He retired from race
two after making contact with Jolyon Palmer.
Henry
Surtees
Henry Surtees was on the pace from the outset at
Spa-Francorchamps, finishing seventh and sixth in practice and then
taking sixth in first qualifying. He was however unable to set a
competitive time in second qualifying after collecting Armaan
Ebrahim's stricken car at Eau Rouge, but was unhurt in the
collision. A strong race one saw him running fifth until he
suffered last lap heartbreak when his alternator broke, robbing him
of a deserved points finish. Disappointment followed in race two
when he was hit by German Sanchez at the bottom of Eau Rouge,
forcing Surtees to retire. He lies 18th in the championship with
two points, aggrieved after failing to score in either Brno or Spa
despite good showings at both tracks.
Jolyon
Palmer
Having won at Spa last year in Formula Palmer Audi, Jolyon made
full use of his experience to take an impressive ninth in first
qualifying. He had another strong showing in second qualifying,
finishing a close 12th behind Carlos Iaconelli. The 18-year-old was
then beset by misfortune in both races, starting in race one when
he was caught up in an incident with Alex Brundle and Philipp Eng
whilst challenging for fourth. Despite suffering damage to his
front wing he soldiered on until eventually having to pit, dropping
him down to 16th. In race two he was again running strongly until a
coming together with Jack Clarke on the first lap brought his race,
and his weekend, to a close.
German
Sanchez
Spa proved a difficult weekend for German, although he was able to
record an impressive 12th in race one after starting from 14th on
the grid. He also performed well in second qualifying, taking 17th,
but technical problems forced him to retire on lap 11 of race two.
German will be hoping to get off the mark and register his first
points of the season in the next round at Brands Hatch.
Sebastian
Hohenthal
The Swede did not enjoy the best of luck in Belgium. He was hit by
Jens Hoing at the beginning of race one as the cars went through La
Source for the first time, which forced him to pit for repairs. He
returned to the circuit one lap down but did finish the race.
Hohenthal drove a decent race on Sunday, passing the likes of Hoing
and German Sanchez on his way to 12th at the finish.
Natacha
Gachnang
The female racer continues to make progress in Formula Two and
enjoyed two very competitive performances at Spa-Francorchamps.
Gachnang improved upon her grid positions in both outings, passing
German Sanchez in race one to take 11th by around half of a second.
Finishing 13th in race two was impressive, bearing in mind that she
was able to hold off regular points scorers in Edoardo Piscopo and
Henri Karjalainen. She also made a ballsy move past Jens Hoing
during the 15 lap second race.
Pietro
Gandolfi
Gandolfi himself admits that he his experiencing a steep learning
curve in Formula Two. He was pleased with his performance at
Spa-Francorchamps as he made no errors in the races and completed
both outing. Gandolfi finished an impressive 14th in race one
before going on to take 17th in the second race of the weekend.
Jason
Moore
After a fairly competitive qualifying performance, Jason's weekend
was ruined by a startline incident in Race One when Robert Wickens
failed to get away from the grid. It looked as though the whole
pack would be able to avoid him but the unsighted Moore collected
him at speed, spreading the track with debris. Unfortunately his
car was damaged beyond repair and he did not take part in Sunday's
race.
Jens Hoing
The German's race pace is pretty quick, but he admitted to
struggling with new tyres during qualifying. The 22-year-old was
caught up in a collision with Mikhail Aleshin and Sebastian
Hohenthal at the start of race one and retired. In race two, Jens
was in feisty mood as he attacked the likes of Henri Karjalainen
and Natacha Gachnang - he eventually finished 16th and notched up
more valuable track time in the process.