GP2 Series – Jolyon Palmer and DAMS back on target

Despite a top-3 finish, a good harvest of points and a reinforced position as championship leader for Jolyon Palmer, the French team left the English circuit with the feeling of a weekend that wasn’t as successful as it might have been. A win for Palmer on Saturday and a possible top-3 finish for Stéphane Richelmi failed to materialise However, the overall performance of the yellow cars bodes well for the rest of the season.  Now that the positions of the front-runners in the hierarchy have been established consistency at the front is what pays off. DAMS prepared for the weekend in an exemplary manner starting with free practice (Jolyon P4 and Stéphane P7), and confirmed this in qualifying with Palmer setting the second-quickest lap. Richelmi had his best time, which would have put him on the second row, cancelled for exceeding the track limits, and he had to make do with eighth spot on the grid. It would count later on.
 
Palmer was on a different and better strategy than the pole sitter Marciello and took the lead in the first race controlling the situation. But a circumspect exit lap after his stop for tyres enabled Evans to snatch first place and victory. Thanks to a fighting drive the next day Jolyon sliced his way up to fourth scoring precious points. Richelmi started on the damp side of the track on Saturday and battled hard to move up from 11th to eighth. But another slow start on Sunday from pole lost him several places.
 
After the high-speed Silverstone circuit the GP2 teams will be racing on a very different layout in two weeks. Hockenheim’s long straights and tight corners should suit the DAMS’ cars and drivers down to the ground. The changeable weather in the region even in July could also play a role. The team, though, has what it takes to cope whatever the conditions.
 
 
François Sicard: “Managing Director:”We were reassured by our cars’ performance after Austria. Overall, it’s been a fairly satisfactory weekend but we could have hoped for better. There’s no doubt that Jolyon should have won the race on Saturday. He made a great comeback on Sunday and he’s still got a comfortable lead in the drivers’ classification. Stéphane wasn’t very lucky in qualifying and that certainly cost him a better result. However, our overall level of performance promises good results in Germany.”
 
Jolyon Palmer: “I’m really very angry with myself about the feature race. I didn’t push hard enough after my pit stop and Evans got out in front of me. I’m really sorry for the team who did a great job. Even if our main rivals finished behind us I wanted that win, especially as it was at Silverstone. I’ll go to Hockenheim determined to take revenge”
 
Stephane Richelmi: “It wasn’t a great weekend in terms of points even if it was better than in Austria. It’s really a shame that my qualifying time was cancelled as I reckoned I was just within the limits. On Saturday for the race it was necessary to start in the left-hand line in the dry. I suffered wheelspin and lost a lot of time. On Sunday I had another problem starting. This being said the positive thing is that the car’s quick and we’ll prove it in Germany.”
 
 
Next round: Hockenheim (Germany) 19-20 July