A British 1-2-3 on Pirelli wet tyres in GP2 in AustriaBritain’s three GP2 drivers locked out the podium in the second of two races at the Red Bull Ring in Austria, mastering the wet conditions in the Pirelli-supplied series.
Jordan King claimed his maiden GP2 victory, with the Manor Formula 1 development driver starting from pole position in his Racing Engineering car and pulling away from the rest, even doing so again after a late safety car period to win by six seconds.
Oliver Rowland took second for MP Motorsport, with the Renault Sport Academy member making an early pass on King’s team-mate Norman Nato for his best result yet in GP2.
Completing the all-British podium was Alex Lynn thanks to a storming drive from 11th on the grid, the Williams F1 development driver making short work of many of the championship’s biggest names in his DAMS car.
The result came just days before the trio’s home round at Silverstone supporting the British Grand Prix. The GP2 title race is extremely close with the top 10 drivers separated by just 26 points. All three British drivers are among them, with Rowland fifth, Lynn seventh and King ninth.
British drivers also fighting at the front in GP3 with PirelliBritish racers continue to be among the frontrunners in the Pirelli-supplied GP3 Series after round two at the Red Bull Ring.
London-born Alex Albon battled for a second consecutive victory in the first race of the weekend and ended up taking second place, a result he would repeat on Sunday from seventh on the grid. That leaves him just five points off the standings lead going to his home event at Silverstone this weekend, with the leader – his ART Grand Prix team-mate Charles Leclerc – to serve a grid-penalty in the opening race after a crash in Austria.
In extremely wet conditions, Jake Hughes started race two from the reverse-grid pole but after the first nine laps were held behind the safety car, contact was made between Hughes and compatriot Matt Parry on the exit of the first corner. The pair finished up sixth and seventh behind another Brit Jack Aitken.
While his four fellow countrymen scored points in both races, it was a weekend to forget for Jake Dennis, who was innocently crashed into in both races, twice forcing him to retire.
Palmer to race in BRDC British F3 at Spa on Pirelli tyresWill Palmer will race in the BRDC British Formula 3 Championship at Spa-Francorchamps this week, rejoining the HHC Motorsport team.
Palmer, the younger brother of Renault Sport F1 driver Will, claimed the BRDC Formula 4 title last season and won the prestigious McLaren Autosport BRDC Award at the Pirelli-supported Autosport Awards.
Exclusively supplied by Pirelli, BRDC F4 was upgraded to F3 status for 2016 with the introduction of a new Tatuus-Cosworth car. It will be racing at classic Belgian circuit Spa for the first time, giving Palmer the chance to race on the circuit prior to his Formula Renault rounds there later in the season.
“I’m really looking forward to racing in BRDC British Formula 3 this weekend, particularly at such a legendary track like Spa,” said the 19-year-old. “It’s also great to be rejoining HHC Motorsport having had so much success together last year. I’m sure it will be tough as it is a competitive series and I’m not so familiar with the car, but I’m confident we can challenge for some strong results.”
Tomlin triumphs twice in Pirelli Ferrari Formula ClassicThe third round of the Pirelli Ferrari Formula Classic Series took place at Donington Park with a double win for David Tomlin in his Ferrari 308 GTB.
In the first race, James Cartwright finished just six tenths of a second behind Tomlin driving his Ferrari 328 GTB, while Tristan Simpson completed the podium in a newer Ferrari F355 Challenge.
Cartwright finished close behind Tomlin again in race two after battling for the lead in the early stages, but was given a five-second penalty for exceeding track limits. That dropped him to fourth, with Simpson and fellow F355 driver Tim Mogridge making the podium.
The next round is at Spa-Francorchamps on July 22-24.
Pirelli F1 simulator raises funds at Heveningham Hall Country FairLast weekend the Pirelli F1 simulator featured at the Heveningham Hall country fair in the heart of Suffolk.
Heveningham Hall is a 18th Century country estate which this year held its Country Fair for the 20th year and to celebrate held an inaugural Concours d’Elegance which featured 50 pre and post-war cars.
Pirelli was on hand to provide its F1 simulator for the not-for-profit event that attracted over 20,000 people across the weekend. Proceeds from the event were distributed to worthy causes in the local community, and the Pirelli simulator raised more than £550.
Coming up next week: BRDC British F3 races at Spa and the Welsh and BTRDA series join the British Rally Championship at the Nicky Grist Stages
