GP3 2013
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@portugoose Oh okay thanks for the clarification..
Infact we hope to be able to reveal our final 2 places on the 2013 #GP3 grid later today! Nobody has guessed correctly yet…
— GP3 Series Official (@GP3_Official) May 2, 2013
Any guesses?
Ryan Cullen has just been announced as joining Marussia.
As for the other seat I have no idea – Pal Kiss returning, maybe? There was some talk of him finding a FR3.5 seat for this year but nothing came of it, so he could come back for another year.
Pirelli has announced they will tweak the GP3 tyre compunds for the rest of the season:
The 2013 GP3 Series season opened this month in Barcelona and introduced the Series’ second generation car. Following Round 1 and after analysing together with our partner Pirelli how the race weekend unfolded, it has been decided to readjust the tyre compounds for the upcoming rounds. This decision was taken in order to help put in light the drivers’ skills and allow them to race more combatively, but at the same time keep in line with the philosophy of the Series: starting to develop young drivers’ sensitivity to tyre management for the next steps.
Last winter, the development programme with Pirelli aimed at defining several options for the GP3 tyres. In light of the results from Barcelona, it emerged that the tyre selection was slightly too aggressive for combative racing. Thanks to the development work which took place over winter between GP3 and Pirelli, the compound adjustment to a harder range for each event (including a Super Hard tyre where a Hard compound was going to be used) was easy to put in place and will be seen from next month in Valencia for the second round of the season.
GP3 Series CEO Bruno Michel commented: “We are very pleased with how Pirelli work and react to any given situation. The GP3/13 is a new car – one that’s proven to be reliable and competitive. GP3 races have always showcased drivers giving maximum attack whilst starting to learn how to manage the tyre degradation. After Barcelona, we analysed that we had to fine-tune our compound selection to a harder range in order to keep that balance intact. Pirelli have been quick to adapt to the situation in terms of production too.”
Pirelli’s Racing Manager Mario Isola said: “Following the first two races we analysed the data and together with the Series organizers we have decided to revise some of the initial choices, which turned out to be slightly too performance-orientated, considering some of the greatly increased forces that the brand new GP3 car is putting on the tyres. In pre-season testing the teams had the opportunity to run the new car on our new tyres, but due to the temperatures at that time of year, the track conditions were not completely representative and the full potential of the car-tyre package could not be exploited. Now that we are four to five seconds per lap quicker than last year, and with a good amount of representative data from Barcelona, we have decided to make more use of the harder compounds for the GP3 races so that the drivers can push their cars closer to the limit but still learn about tyre management.”
http://www.gp3series.com/News/2013/05_May/GP3-tweaks-tyre-compounds-for-rest-of-2013-season/
I think the situation for GP3 is less critical than Formula 1, because all cars are the same. Still, this will benefit and hurt certain drivers midway through the season (yes, I’m perfectly aware the season only just got underway) which I think is wrong.
Kvyat’s happy:
https://twitter.com/Dany_Kvyat/status/339766140593127424
He and Sainz seemed to particularly struggle with the tyres in the first race. I guess anything in a Red Bull livery can’t make its tyres last.
Speaking of which, here’s Mark Webber’s view:
Well done GP3 http://t.co/OFcReJLGb9
— Mark Webber (@AussieGrit) May 29, 2013
Gp3 practice starts just before 6 this afternoon, the track currently is still damp and at 17 degrees, should be a fun event and the mood in the paddock is currently very relaxed, 4 of the at team members are sat across from me joking around as there isn’t a lot to do remembering its a long day until the gp3 cars get out.
@paddocksi Good to hear from you again!!
I apologise for my absence although I have been at both th Catalonia GP and Valencia gp3 GP the Internet connections have been appalling. Fortunately we seem to be able to do it properly when we host a GP in England. I’ve just had a walk down the pits and as I mentioned earlier it I incredibly quiet amongst the gp2 and gp3 teams, especially with gp3. The double pit lanes at Silverstone make things very interesting logistically for the teams with the support series being hosted in the old paddock the teams have to catch a bus as their drivers head out in their cars to the new pits where they line up amongst the formula 1 teams.
Nick Cassidy has also made it to the paddock although I am very sorry to say that he isn’t driving, watching him in Spain an Portugal Preseason I really felt he would be a title contender this season but its nice to see him again.
This weekend four of the British drivers will be sporting the inboard cameras so be sure to tune in on sky sports f1.
Kevin Korjus grabs pole for today’s feature race ahead of ART duo Jack Harvey and Facu Regalia. Behind them are Alex Fontana, Carlos Sainz Jr, Tio Ellinas, Daniil Kvyat, Nick Yelloly, Conor Daly and Patric Niederhauser bringing up the top 10.
It’s a long break between the qualification this morning and the first race to afternoon, it gives plenty of time for reflection for the drivers and also to fulfil other commitments. Dino Zamparelli and Ryan Cullen made an appearance at the Silverstone Racing Club to speak whilst the members enjoyed some refreshing beverages, they provided a first hand insight into the difficulties of qualifying especially when there is 27 drivers with speeds differing up to 6 seconds a lap. Dino explained that he really struggled with traffic which led to him qualifying in 16th whilst Ryan was happy just to get some more experience under his belt as this is the first time he has driven the Silverstone circuit in aero-package car.
Meanwhile in the paddock again the mood has been laser although the ART team haven’t yet taken to playing tennis again.
With the very busy schedule on track it takes along time for the gp3 cars to return to the paddock after qualifying. Parc-ferme is in the new paddock and the teams are based in the old. Today, it took around 3 hours for the cars to be back leaving very little for e mechanics to do.
The drivers however, as I mentioned previously, have their commitments, and it’s very rare you see any relaxing. Fontana was pacing the paddock on his phone evidently speaking to the press back home, the Jack Harvey, as the highest qualifying Brit has been very busy with press interviews as have many drivers and all also have to go throu their data from the qualifying session to learn for the race later today.
So venutrini wins the second race, Zamparelli and Daly both had holes punched in the gear boxes after an incident at turn 3 of lap one, looking at the car inside the marussia manor garage you could literally see the gears through a whole the size of a small melon.
The biggest controversies in the paddock among the drivers and the teams and also those as spectators and commentators were the penalties dished out the previous day on Carlos Sainz Jr. And Kujala. Kujala had a horrible incident where his front wheel touched the rear wheel of fumaneli which in turn dragged kujala’s car up and over the trident driver, flipping Kujala into the air and landing upside down, an unfortunate incident which really should have been a racing incident with perhaps a 5 place grid penalty which however resulted in a race suspension. Sainz’s 10 place grid penalty was, however, a travesty of stewardship. It was plain to see Sainz knowingly force Williamson off of the track, willingly forcing a driver onto the grass which could of resulted in a horrific accident which fortunately didn’t happen, Sainz used his car as a weapon and broke a cardinal rule of leaving enough space for a car, an incredibly dangerous move and very easy to see he did this knowingly yet he escaped with a ten place grid penalty. Speaking to some teams before the second race many agreed that the penalties should have been the other way around but it appears this season after the gp2 race in Barcelona that the stewards are failing to see that some drivers are actively using their cars as weapons.
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