DAMS was still quick in Spain even if things didn’t go off as smoothly as during the opening weekends. Nonetheless, Davide Valsecchi’s third place on Sunday added another podium finish to his collection this season. The Italian has a 25-point lead in the drivers’ championship over Luiz Razzia, and DAMS is well in front in the teams’ ratings with 29 points in hand over its closest pursuer.
It all got off to a good start and the car proved very quick in free practice as Felipe Nasr set the third-quickest time. In qualifying it turned sour as there was a yellow flag at just the wrong moment when Nasr and Valsecchi were on their flying laps. Their seventh and twenty-second places in no way reflected their overall potential.
The team opted for an aggressive strategy for the feature race, and the results confirmed it was the right choice as Davide finished fourth after a very solid drive. As usual Nasr put on another remarkable comeback and fought his way up to eleventh.
On Sunday both drivers put on an excellent repeat performance as Valsecchi achieved his aim of third place thanks to a superb start and a well-judged race. The front of Nasr’s car was damaged in a collision with another driver, and he was unable to get the most out of it so he could do no better than ninth.
Jean-Paul Driot, CEO: “I’d like to congratulate the team and reassure them if necessary. The fact that we’ve won a lot over the past few weekends could make this one seem a bit disappointing. But the team put on a good performance bagging a podium finish. The opposition is tough and it’s during races like the ones this weekend that you win titles. Davide did exactly what we expected of him and Felipe, who wasn’t exactly spoilt by Lady Luck, again showed how quick he is – he’ll soon bounce back!”
Davide Valsecchi: “No wins this weekend but we were quick. The bad luck we had in qualifying sometimes happens. But we were able to fight back and score a good haul of points. My thanks to the team who again gave me a superbly-prepared car and also for the good strategy. Now we have to take up the challenge that awaits us in Monaco and I think we’ll be very strong there.”
Felipe Nasr: “It wasn’t exactly the best weekend I could have hoped for: that’s how you learn. It’s a pity I didn’t score any points to reward the team for their work. Even though I’m disappointed, I was able to rack up the kilometers and gain experience. It’ll be very useful for Monaco.”
Next round: Monaco 25-26 May
Race 1 results:
Pos Driver Team Time/Gap
1. Giedo van der Garde Caterham 1h00m22.966s
2. James Calado Lotus + 0.878s
3. Stefano Coletti Coloni + 3.811s
4. Davide Valsecchi DAMS + 11.859s
5. Nathanael Berthon Racing Engineering + 15.795s
6. Fabio Onidi Coloni + 19.379s
7. Max Chilton Carlin + 19.768s
8. Luiz Razia Arden + 20.072s
9. Jolyon Palmer iSport + 27.624s
10. Esteban Gutierrez Lotus + 36.653s
11. Felipe Nasr DAMS + 45.264s
12. Fabio Leimer Racing Engineering + 46.534s
13. Marcus Ericsson iSport + 47.087s
14. Nigel Melker Ocean + 47.356s
15. Rodolfo Gonzalez Caterham + 53.555s
16. Rio Haryanto Carlin + 1m00.879s
17. Fabrizio Crestani Lazarus + 1m06.737s
18. Johnny Cecotto Addax + 1m11.199s
19. Victor Guerin Ocean + 1m11.397s
20. Josef Kral Addax + 1m14.871s
21. Stephane Richelmi Trident + 1m15.821s
22. Tom Dillmann Rapax + 1m20.031s
23. Simon Trummer Arden + 1m20.382s
24. Julian Leal Trident + 1m28.989s
25. Giancarlo Serenelli Lazarus + 1 lap
Retirements:
Ricardo Teixeira Rapax 8 laps
Race 2 results:
Pos Driver Team Time/Gap
1. Luiz Razia Arden 40m08.411s
2. Nathanael Berthon Racing Engineering + 5.256s
3. Davide Valsecchi DAMS + 5.897s
4. James Calado Lotus + 6.575s
5. Max Chilton Carlin + 13.117s
6. Giedo van der Garde Caterham + 14.362s
7. Esteban Gutierrez Lotus + 14.874s
8. Stefano Coletti Coloni + 19.223s
9. Felipe Nasr DAMS + 19.703s
10. Fabrizio Crestani Lazarus + 21.570s
11. Fabio Leimer Racing Engineering + 22.852s
12. Tom Dillmann Rapax + 23.312s
13. Johnny Cecotto Addax + 30.155s
14. Rodolfo Gonzalez Caterham + 30.601s
15. Rio Haryanto Carlin + 31.281s
16. Josef Kral Addax + 31.834s
17. Julian Leal Trident + 32.817s
18. Fabio Onidi Coloni + 34.371s
19. Stephane Richelmi Trident + 34.818s
20. Simon Trummer Arden + 35.426s
21. Victor Guerin Ocean + 38.977s
22. Marcus Ericsson iSport + 39.878s
23. Ricardo Teixeira Rapax + 41.979s
24. Nigel Melker Ocean + 48.441s
Retirements:
Giancarlo Serenelli Lazarus 3 laps
Jolyon Palmer iSport 0 laps