Race report

FIA F2

Coletti keeps the classification lead after series eighth round at Spa

Stefano Coletti is still leading the standings with 135 points. Nasr follows at 129, Leimer at 122 and Bird at 121.

Published: Aug 24, 2013, 9:57 PM

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Stefano Coletti, Rapax

Recover and regret for Stefano Coletti in the Main Race of Spa, eighth round of the GP2 Series 2013.

Started from the twentieth spot of the grid after the puncture in yesterday's qualifying, the classification leader recovered six positions in the first lap and then stabilized his pace on a good rhythm for the whole first stint.

Stefano Coletti, Rapax

Photo by: GP2 Media Service

In the mid part of the race the strategy devised by Team Rapax's engineers was based on an late pit stop, which seemed to allow for good recover chances but a problem to the replacement of one tyre made the Monegasque lose those few seconds that meaning he rejoined behind Adrian Quaife-Hobbs (Hilmer Motorsport) and Dani Clos (MP Motorsport) instead of ahead of them, vanishing the chance of getting the most out of the fresh set of soft tyres. Coletti also was involuntarily hit by the Spanish driver at the exit of Radillon which heavily compromised the efficiency of his rear diffuser.

In the final stages Coletti pushed hard to gain some positions and crossed the finish line in thirteenth place. The race was won by Sam Bird (Russian Time), who was followed by Marcus Ericsson (Dams) and Alexander Rossi (Dams). Retirement for title contender Felipe Nasr (Carlin), while Fabio Leimer (Racing Engineering) ended fourth.

Stefano Coletti is still leading the standings with 135 points. Nasr follows at 129, Leimer at 122 and Bird at 121.

Stefano Coletti: "I decided not to take too many risks at the start to avoid being involved in incidents; I pushed hard in the initial stages and managed to gain several positions. The strategy based on a long first stint was good and I could have ended in the top five or six positions, but unfortunately we lost some seconds at the pit stop which did not allow me to rejoin on clear track.

The championship is more open now and tomorrow I would not mind running the Sprint Race on wet conditions which would give me some more chances to get into the points".

The weekend's programme will resume tomorrow with the Sprint Race scheduled for 10.35 (GMT+2) with live TV coverage on Sky Sports F1 HD.

Stefano Coletti

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Previous article Leimer takes 4th and Leal 6th for Racing Engineering on feature race at Spa

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