| Sunday, November 13, 2011 12:47PM |
GP2 Race Two, Yas Marina Circuit, Abu Dhabi
Sunday 13th November 2011
Alexander Rossi P7
Luiz Razia P8
An eventful race concluded the GP2 finale in Abu Dhabi today with both Caterham Team AirAsia cars finishing in the top ten and showing good pace throughout the race. 20 year old Alexander Rossi went from strength to strength this afternoon, gaining an impressive six positions from thirteenth on the grid. He defended well to drive a faultless race and fought an exciting battle in the closing laps to finish the unique GP2 race seventh, just ahead of team mate Luiz Razia.
This concludes an exciting debut season for Caterham Team AirAsia. On behalf of the whole team we would like to thank everyone who has been an integral part of this team’s early success and look forward to the 2012 race calendar release next month.
Team Manager Phill Spencer: “I truly believe Luiz had the car to win the race today. He had fastest lap several times but these things happens and rules are rules. The last lap was very exciting and in the end we got both cars in the top ten and back in one piece. I am really pleased with the team’s performance this season. We have another trophy to take home so congratulations to the whole team and the drivers. It has been one tough season - as I have said before we have had our highs and our lows but I believe we will come back stronger next year.”
Alexander Rossi (Best Lap: 1:52.851 / P7): “We made big improvements from yesterday but this is only our second race together so it’s definitely a good beginning. As for today I had a good start and I gained a few positions, I was lucky at times but there were some good battles going on. The last lap was really interesting - everyone in GP2 pushes really hard but at the end of the day we give each other just enough room to survive! It’s hard fighting but I have a lot of confidence in the guys around me so that’s cool. GP2 is now all about the managing the tyres, that’s why it’s so important to work through GP2 into Formula One. It’s been a big learning curve for me but we are making improvements all the time. We have a good qualifying pace, it’s just unfortunate we weren’t able to show it this weekend - You need a consistent pace over the whole race weekend - this is the challenge everyone faces and we’ll just keep working towards that.”
Chief Engineer Humphrey Corbett “What a race! Luiz Razia had an incredible race – today he was on fire no doubt about it, he used his head and saved his tyres and when he got clear of Da Costa he just went for it, setting a lap half a second faster than anyone else out there! Ok he had the infringement with the yellow flag which was a shame but that’s one of those things. We know where it happened and although he slowed down it obviously was not enough and the stewards’ decision is final. From then on in he climbed back and on the last lap it all happened. Cars were going off everywhere - it was very good viewing and before we knew it he was right behind Alexander at the finish line!”
“Alexander has learnt a lot this week. His start was good and he climbed up pretty quickly, dicing with other cars for most of the race. He didn’t have any understeer today which is what we were aiming for so I am pleased about that. All in all he drove well and didn’t put a foot wrong and in the last lap he defended brilliantly. I think we should have had a podium today, but we have proved we can be up there which bodes well for next year”
Source: Caterham AirAsia GP2 Team Press Office
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