Bridgestone Motorsport's 2010 GP2 Series Silverstone Report

Pastor Maldonado (Rapax) took his third consecutive feature race win, at Silverstone on Bridgestone's medium specification dry tyre, with Sergio Perez (Barwa Addax Team) claiming victory in the sprint race. Silverstone's new Grand Prix Circuit increased the challenge for both the drivers and tyres at this highspeed track. Higher temperatures than usually experienced at this round meant the tyres became one of the most influential factors effecting race performance. Those drivers with an understanding of how to get the best from their Bridgestones benefited considerably.

Sergio Perez Barwa Addax Team Credit: Bridgestone Motosport

Saturday's 29 lap feature race was lead by Maldonado after he overtook pole sitter Jules Bianchi (ART Grand Prix) as they left the start line. Both of the front runners pitted on the same lap to change rear tyres, with Maldonado maintaining his lead by returning to the track ahead of the Frenchman. Bianchi finished second, with Dani Clos (Racing Engineering) in third. Maldonado was the quickest on-track setting the fastest time on lap 23.

In Sunday's 21 lap sprint race, under dry conditions, Perez worked his way up the field from fourth on the grid to take victory ahead of iSport's British driver Oliver Turvey. Clos secured his second podium finish of the weekend, once again taking third. Perez took the point for fastest lap.

Maldonado increases his lead in the drivers' championship standings with 56 points, followed by Clos on 37 and Bianchi in third with 31. Rapax continues to impress in the teams' championship with 76 points, while Barwa Addax Team remain in second place, now on 57. ART Grand Prix is a close third with 53. Hockenheim provides the venue for the sixth round of the GP2 Series on 23-25 July, where Bridgestone's medium compound GP2 dry tyre will be the chosen specification.

"Pastor Maldonado gave a strong performance in race one and conserved his tyres. His lap times were very stable which is why he was able to finish 10.1 seconds ahead of Jules Bianchi. I believe Bianchi had a chance to win but unfortunately his tactics and pit stop timing did not work in his favour. Throughout the weekend we have seen numerous overtaking manoeuvres on the new circuit layout, with Sunday's sprint race providing exciting battles among the podium contenders. Congratulations to Sergio Perez, who started from fourth, for his race win and lead of over 15 seconds as he crossed the line. This weekend's higher track temperatures affected the tyres here in a way that we don't usually see at Silverstone, leading to some external heat damage, but this did not affect overall tyre performance."

Temperatures   Ambient      Track        Weather
Saturday race  28C-29C-28C  37C-39C-37C  Sunny
Sunday race    23C          26C-25C-27C  Partly Cloudy

Print This Page	Go back to the previous page