Arthur Pic scored points for the third successive round in 2016 at the Red Bull Ring this weekend (July 1-3), after carving his way through the field to claim ninth place in the hectic Austrian GP2 Series Feature Race.
It had been a solid start to the weekend for the Frenchman after he qualified in 12th place. Beginning the Feature Race on dry tyres, Pic managed to hold station over the opening few laps, but rain in sections of the 2.688-mile circuit saw him pit for wets.
However, with much of the track still dry the 24-year-old was subsequently forced back into his box to put slicks on again. Artem Markelov then crashed into the barrier on the pit-lane exit with 12 of the 40 laps remaining, which brought out the red flag.
The restart saw Pic climb from 13th to just outside the points in 11th, but following a brace of penalties in front of him, Arthur jumped up to ninth and one place behind the pole position spot for the partially reversed grid in the Sprint Race.
There was to be no question about what tyre to be on in Sunday’s race. A downpour soaked the Spielberg-based track, seeing the entire grid opt for full wets with the start taking place behind the Safety Car.
Pic got away well once the action got underway, launching himself ahead of race one winner Mitch Evans to progress into the points once again. Contact with Sean Gelael however saw him drop back down to 13th and the French ace had a lot of work to do.
A Safety Car seven laps from the end saw Pic join a number of drivers gambling on slick tyres as the track quickly dried. With the neutralisation only lasting a lap though, the GP2 race-winner and five-time podium finisher was unable to catch the field and had to settle for 18th.
The GP2 Series now heads to Silverstone next weekend (July 8-10) in what is an extremely busy July for the championship. Pic is hoping for a strong points finish at the Northamptonshire-based circuit.
Arthur Pic: “It was another complicated weekend for us, and the weather didn’t help either. On Friday we qualified 12th and it was quite tight between me and the cars ahead. Saturday’s race was crazy and we made a wrong choice by pitting for wets, so I had to go back to slicks. After the red flag our pace was good and we climbed back to 10th but after being squeezed onto the grass I dropped to 11th. The driver at fault received a penalty though, as well as someone else so I was classified ninth in the end.
“The Sprint Race was very wet and after the Safety Car peeled into the pits, I managed to overtake Evans for eighth. Then I had contact with Gelael, causing me to lose some places and with the race neutralised I decided to pit for slicks. The Safety Car only stayed out for one lap though, which meant there was no chance of us catching the back of the field.
“I’m now looking forward to Silverstone, where the target will be to score some big points. We are going to make sure the tide changes following our difficult start to the season.”
