One, Two in Drivers Championship and Teams’ Championship for Lotus ART in GP3.

Lotus ART headed to Monza having secured the Teams’ Championship two weeks before at Spa-Francorchamps and at Monza, they doubled up with the drivers’ title and in the process, remain unbeaten in the category.

Finnish driver Valtteri Bottas secured the crown during the opening race of the weekend at Monza, his fourth win of the campaign while team-mate James Calado finished second to Bottas, both on track and in the Championship.

Champion Bottas said about his title success: “Champion, it feels so good! It was difficult to think about that in the middle of the season when we were 10thin the championship after a tough start, but we never lost our confidence and this title, combined with the teams’ title is a testimony to the hard work and effort by Lotus ART. We can be proud because we brilliantly turned the season around. On a personal level, I’m genuinely happy to be a champion once again after two difficult seasons. I learned my lessons and in the end I’m sure we will be able to build on this in the future.

“Arriving in Monza, the gap between me and James was just 5 points and I knew there was no room for mistakes. We were both unlucky in qualifying because we hit traffic with our second set of tyres but on one hand we saved our tyres in free practice 2, and on the other hand, being in the first position is certainly not the best place to be in Monza where the slipstream is so important. James put pressure on me in the last lap and he did a great job as always, but I knew that if I could push hard and open a gap to break his slipstream, the title was at the end of the road.

“In the second race, coming into Ascari’s chicane, the driver ahead of me braked much earlier than what I expected and I had to cover from James who was on the outside. I hit Daly, it was my fault and I apologize to him. I would have preferred to end the season on a win but that’s how racing goes and it did not change anything for the championship. I would like thank my finish sponsors, Wihuri and Kemppi, which support me from a couple of years and, of course, Williams and my management.”

Calado is pleased to have finished second overall but admits he was a little bit over optimistic in the final race as he wanted to give the team another victory: “Runner-up… it does not have such a bad ring to it for my first season in the series. I knew I had to beat Valtteri and to do so the pole position would have been ideal but it’s down to luck in

Monza and I was not at the right place at the right time, I did not get a good tow and I started the first race from P6. Everything went really well in the race and the only problem I had has a name: Valtteri. He did a fantastic job and we followed each other on our way to the lead. I could not get close enough to get past him in the last lap but I have nothing to regret. It’s great to secure both championships and to do a 1-2 in the drivers’ championship.

“All this would not have been possible without the incredible effort Lotus ART put in and I want to thank each and every member of the team who deserved its success. There was not much at play in the second race and I wanted to offer the team one last win. Unfortunately I was a bit optimistic in the first turn and I collided with Evans”

Richie Stanaway, who joined the team for Spa-Francorchamps continued his GP3 apprenticeship with two solid performances during the free practice sessions but the races didn’t reward his efforts.

The young New Zealander beat a number of his more experienced rivals, including previous GP3 race winners but he was penalised for causing a collision and then in the final race of the season, he suffered a flat tyre and was unable to see the chequered flag.

Stanaway said after the final race at Monza: “The track was a great place to race, and the races were both really exciting with all of the slipstreaming involved. Unfortunately we didn’t get a clear lap in during qualifying and I wasn’t able to show my potential, and we spent both of the races charging from the rear of the grid. In race one I got up to 10th from 23rd but then received a 10 place grid penalty for race 2 for touching another car while coming through.

“In race 2 starting from 20th I got up to 9th by lap 3 and had lots of car speed, after getting up to 7th I touched with another car and got a punctured tyre which sadly put an end to what could have been a good race after I had to pit to change my tyres. But regardless of the results, doing these last 2 GP3 races has been an incredible experience for me and I’m very grateful that I had the opportunity to do it.”

Frederic Vasseur is pleased with how the team have responded after a difficult start to the season and he feels that Stanaway is a driver to watch in the future: “Here comes the sun! After a difficult start to the season, Lotus ART managed to get it dialled in and keep our hold on both titles thanks to the hard work of all our team members. After the rain in the last few races, the team showed that it could be just as competitive in the heat, and it was a great satisfaction, because the Monza weekend showed that we are fast under any circumstance.

“Valtteri and James both deserved the title but there can be only one champion. We are very proud to have worked with both of them. Richie had an exceptional start in a complex championship, and he leaves no doubt that he will be one of the young talents to keep an eye on in the years to come.”

Lotus ART Leave Monza with Bianchi Third in Drivers’ Championship.

Lotus ART rounded off the 2011 GP2 Season with a podium finish from the back end of the grid after a frustrating qualifying session for their drivers, Jules Bianchi and Esteban Gutierrez. The problems in qualifying overshadowed the potential of the team and the drivers.

Bianchi finished with the nineteenth fastest time of the session after encountering technical problems. Having started nineteenth, Bianchi drove a good opening race to work his way up the order and took the flag in eighth, securing the final point and Pole Position for the final race of the season.

Starting from Pole in the final race, Bianchi made a slow getaway and dropped down to third by the first corner and he remained there for the rest of the Sprint race, bringing the car home third and securing third in the overall Championship.

Bianchi said about the weekend and the season as a whole: “The Monza races sum up the whole season: with highs and lows. We finished the year on the podium for the championship, and that is a good result overall. Handicapped by a technical problem during the session, I lost big in my last qualifying lap because there were two yellow flags, and P19 on the starting grid forced me to take risks in the race. Moving up to 8th place, and the pole position for the second race, was therefore a lesser evil in terms of the championship. Unfortunately, I skated too much at the start and once in 3rd position we were not fast enough to catch up with Vietoris and Leimer. After a difficult start to the year – I was in 15th after 8 races – we managed to get back on an even keel but we were too far behind. Nevertheless, we demonstrated that we were among the fastest and that we had the technical and human potential to play the top roles and that is what we need to keep in mind for the future.”

Gutierrez started the feature race right at the back of the field after going off early in the qualifying session. He shadowed Bianchi home in the first race by bringing the car home ninth and in the final race of the season, he secured the final Championship point in sixth. Gutierrez ended the season as one of very few rookies to have secured a victory in GP2 this season.

Gutierrez reflects on his maiden GP2 campaign: “After an encouraging practice, I lost control of the car and hit the barriers in qualifying. It was my mistake and it cost us dearly. I was 25th on the starting grid and had nothing to lose. The key was a good start and good timing for the pit stop. I gained several positions in the first lap and we were the first to pit to change tyres. I was very happy to take the chequered flag in 9^th position, even though one position higher would have given me the pole position for the second race. I wanted to secure a point to finish the season on a high note and I made it. I learned a great deal this season; Lotus ART supported me all the time and it bodes well for the future.”

Frederic Vasseur is pleased with how the team responded from their inconsistent start to the season but is ultimately disappointed with third in the drivers’ Championship. He said: “At the start of the year our goal was the title, and we cannot be satisfied with 3rd place but the competition was very strong and we paid dearly for our inconsistency at the start of the year. That said I am proud of Lotus ART because the team never gave up and managed to resolve its problems starting from midseason. Jules and Esteban each won a race and they managed to pull the team up. The second part of the season is very encouraging for the future.”

Grosjean and Dams Celebrate Tenth Podium of 2011 GP2 Season.

The conclusion of the 2011 GP2 Series came at Monza on Sunday morning with Romain Grosjean coming out as the Champion while the team finished second in the teams’ Championship.

Friday afternoons qualifying session didn’t go according to plan for Grosjean as he ended the session fifth fastest, having been baulked on each of his flying laps. Starting from the third row for the Feature race, the newly crowned Champion soon moved himself up into third.

Once he was third, he was unable to make any further progress as he was unable to get ahead of fellow Frenchman, Charles Pic – despite being visibly faster than the Barwa Addax Team driver. He had to settle for third at the flag.

His third in the feature race meant that he would line up sixth on the reverse grid for the final race. His race was all but ended at the first chicane as he was hit up the rear and lost his rear wing. He lost two racing laps as this was replaced and he finished the season down in P22, with the second fastest lap of the race to his name.

Grosjean said after the race weekend: “A big thanks to the whole team who gave me quick cars throughout the season. We worked very hard and our efforts have been rewarded. I’m pleased to give the team another podium at the last round. We’ve accomplished our mission and I’m proud to have won this title, something I really wanted to achieve.”

Team-mate Pal Varhaug had his strongest GP2 race weekend to date at Monza, as he finished P11 during the feature race after a solid qualifying session. He then finished the final race of the season inside the top ten, in tenth – having made a good overtaking move on Adam Carroll at the end of the race.

Varhaug said about his race and congratulated Grosjean on his title: “Congratulations to the team and to Romain again, they really deserve their title. For me the last two races of the season have been very encouraging. I was better in qualifying and in the race I fought without making any mistakes. I hope I can capitalize on these results in the future.”

Dams General Manager, Loic David added after the final race at Monza: “I’d like first of all to congratulate the whole team. We’ve won two’ GP2 championships, the Asian and the main one, and that doesn’t happen often. It’s a well deserved reward as everybody’s done a remarkable job and the car was among the most consistent of the front-runners. Finally, a big bravo to Romain who proved his mastery, his speed and the consistency of a champion.”

Arden International sees 2011 Season End with Mixed Emotions.

Arden International signed off their 2011 GP2 Campaign with both cars finishing one race and both cars also encountering difficulties during the final two races at Monza.

Saturday’s feature race, the penultimate race of the season saw both drivers fail to finish after coming together at the first corner of the second lap. Having started on the sixth row of the grid, Josef Kral had ended the opening lap tenth while team-mate Jolyon Palmer was back in twelfth.

Both drivers were within touching distance of the points paying positions early on but the nature of the Monza circuit meant that pitfalls were always going to be likely – and so it proved at the first chicane.

Heading on to the second lap, Kral was hit from behind and was spun, and in the spun he accidently took out team-mate Palmer, who had been trying to avoid the incident ahead. This put both cars out immediately and they’d have to start from the back of the grid in the second race.

Speaking about his race ending incident, Kral said: “I made a pretty good start and the car felt well balanced, so after gaining a couple of places on the first lap I was confident I’d be able to make further progress. I know the race had only just started, but I was convinced I had the potential to score points. At the start of the second lap, however, Michael Herck clipped me from behind, which was plain silly. I spun around and my car rolled back into Jolyon’s path. There was nothing he could have done to avoid me. It’s a huge shame, but I hope to make amends tomorrow – no matter how difficult that might be.”

Palmer was also unimpressed with the driving of Herck, which ultimately caused his downfall: “I have made some good starts recently, but today’s was a bit average and I lost one place immediately when Michael Herck passed me by cutting the first chicane. I attempted to regain the place, but he kept trying to drive me off the track. I managed to overtake him at about the third attempt, but he then passed me again by outbraking himself into Turn One. In the process he took out a couple of cars, including Josef’s, but I managed to avoid the initial incident. Unfortunately, however, I reached the second part of the corner and saw Josef’s car heading towards me – the end of the afternoon for both of us. It’s a real shame.”

After the disappointment of seeing their final Feature race of the season ended after just one racing lap, the team headed into the final race of the season looking to bounce back and finish on a high note.

Starting back in twenty fourth (Kral) and twenty fifth (Palmer), they faced an uphill task to recover any points but they both delivered controlled, consistent drives to bring home a two car finish.

Having moved into P17 and P19 by the end of the opening lap, the dup were then unable to make any more progress during the remainder of the sprint race and took the flag in the same positions.

It was a low key end to a season full of ups and downs for Arden International, a season which has seen podiums for Kral while the inevitable Motorsport frustrations.

Summing up his final race of the season and his first full GP2 campaign, Kral said: “I got off the line well, but the car ahead stalled and I had to take to the dirt to avoid contact. I was quite close to the pit wall, and getting lots of wheelspin, so lost a few places on the run to the first turn. I managed to recover most of those during the course of the opening lap, but then the race settled down. I made several attempts to pass Rodolfo Gonzalez… and it was in the middle of one of those that Davide Valsecchi passed me! It didn’t help that I suffered significant rear tyre wear this morning – there wasn’t much rubber left at the end – and it’s a shame that I haven’t really been able to exploit the car’s potential this weekend.

“Overall, though, it has been a tough year with some very positive moments and the team has done a great job. It is the first time I have completed a full GP2 campaign and I believe I’m a better driver now than I was when the season began five months ago.”

Palmer said about his final race and his debut season in GP2: “I gained a few positions in the early stages, but then ran wide at Lesmo 2 while trying to keep Davide Valsecchi behind me. After that I had a long race trying to make up time on the group in front – there’s not much else to say, really. I’m grateful to everyone at Arden for what has been a very enjoyable season, on and off the circuit. I have learned many valuable lessons and expect to return stronger next year.”

Marussia Manor Racing Secure Championship Top Three After Monza Podiums.

The final weekend of the 2011 GP3 Series saw Marussia Manor Racing secure a top three finish in the teams’ Championship as Rio Haryanto secured a double visit to the podium at Monza and Adrian Quaife-Hobbs secured a sixth place finish to go with his Pole Position for the opening encounter.

Practice one and two saw Quaife-Hobbs showing some impressive pace as he finished second in the morning and third in the afternoon session. Both sessions saw the young Briton within 0.1s of the ultimate pace.

Qualifying Saturday morning saw Quaife-Hobbs secure his second Pole Position of the season in the dying seconds of the session, beating the time set by Nico Muller by 0.062s.

The penultimate race of the season saw Quaife-Hobbs make a good start from Pole Position and he held the lead for a number of laps, before he crashed out at Ascari on lap ten, causing a Safety Car period.

After his retirement in the opening race of the weekend, Quaife-Hobbs lined up in twenty fourth for the final race of the season. He put in a recovery drive to remember as he recovered sixth and the final point for sixth,

Looking back at the weekend, and to the future, Quaife-Hobbs said: “I really didn’t expect to finish in the points today after starting from so far back on the grid, so it was a good race – and I did it with a broken front wing as well! A good result for me and the team. I finish 4th in the Championship, which is a great result, and now I just can’t wait to get to Abu Dhabi where I will be testing the MVR-02.”

For Haryanto, he finished the qualifying session third, having been second until Quaife-Hobbs topped the times. Starting behind his team-mate for the opening race, he slipped down a position as Bottas moved ahead of the Indonesian.

He soon regained the position from Bottas before engaging in a battle for third with Muller after the Safety Car due to Quaife-Hobbs accident. He ultimately came out on top to round off the race one podium.

After his third place finish in the first race at Monza, Haryanto lined up sixth for the final race of the season. Throughout the entire race, he was fighting for a podium finish and he secured his second podium of the weekend with second place.

For Haryanto, the Monza weekend is one he won’t ever forget, as he explains: “It has been a very positive weekend for me – one I won’t forget! To be on the podium on both Saturday and Sunday is such a great result, I’m very happy with this weekend. We have worked hard this season and results like this are the reward. The team has done a very good job and I want to thank everyone for an excellent weekend.”

Matias Laine finished twentieth in qualifying, a second off Quaife-Hobbs session topping time. He finished the first race in twentieth, but his season came to a premature end in the final race as he suffered a flat tyre.

Laine said after the race: “What a shame to end the season without being able to finish the race. It’s disappointing, but I’m happy because the team has finished third in the Championship. We deserve it. We have worked hard and I want to thank the team for all their hard work – I have really learned a lot this year.”

Team Principal Pete Sliwinski is pleased with how the weekend at Monza went for the team and for the fact that Quaife-Hobbs has got the F1 test at Abu Dhabi.

He said about the weekend and the season as a whole: “What a great way to end the season! Today’s race was real racing. We had the pace during the whole weekend and it was great to watch Rio and Adrian fight so hard and perform great moves on track. This is what it’s all about! I’m very happy to have seen Rio on the podium on two occasions this weekend. The team have done an excellent job this season and it was a shame that the good results didn’t start coming earlier. We had to wait until the third race of the season for our first win, so we knew it was going to be difficult to win the Championship but we never stopped trying and at the end of the season the good results haven’t stopped coming our way. So overall I’m pleased with this season and I want to congratulate the whole team. Congratulations also to Adrian who of course wins the prize of an F1 test with Marussia Virgin Racing in Abu Dhabi.”

Vietoris Success Sees Racing Engineering Finish on a High Note.

Racing Engineering rounded off their 2011 GP2 Series campaign on a high note as Christian Vietoris secured the final victory of the campaign at Monza, and which ensured the Spanish outfit finished inside the top three in the teams’ Championship.

Feature Race: Vietoris Finished inside Monza Top Six.

The penultimate race of the 2011 GP2 Series took place in warm, dry conditions at Monza. At the start, Vietoris held on to his seventh position while team-mate Clos make a poor getaway and dropped two positions to ninth and the following lap, Vietoris was demoted to eighth, so the two Racing Engineering drivers were running nose to tail.

During the pit window, the two drivers were temporarily up as high as second and third and the first stop for the team came on lap thirteen when Vietoris pitted, with Clos doing the same the lap later.

Lap fifteen and the two of them were running together in eighth and ninth, Vietoris trailing Carroll by 1.5s while Clos was leading Leimer by 0.2s. Sadly for the team, any chance Clos had of a good result was taken away from him when he was given a drive through penalty for speeding in the pitlane, while a few laps later, Vietoris benefitted from a penalty given to Parente as he moved into sixth, and by lap twenty one, he had a comfortable gap to Leimer behind.

After his penalty, Clos was down in fourteenth position but with a gap of 25s to the final point in eighth, the Spaniard wasn’t going to pick up any points in the Feature race. Even so, he chased down Ericsson in thirteenth and on lap twenty seven, he moved into thirteenth.

Clos reckons the penalty ruined his race, as he explains: “I didn’t have a good start, but my race pace after was really good. Chris and I had a very good rhythm, whereas I think my car was even faster than his. I waited for his tyres to degrade more. When I entered the pits, I thought the speed limiter was already on, but this wasn’t the case. With the drive through penalty my race was pretty much over.”

The duo finished in sixth and thirteenth, and ahead of the Sprint race, Vietoris would line up third and with a chance of a final race podium while Clos, who was back in thirteenth, would look to end his campaign with some points.

Vietoris said after the feature race: “This wasn’t a very exciting race. My start was good, but not perfect. I had a safe first lap and then everyone pretty much drove at his own rhythm. Race pace was good and also the pit stop. I start tomorrow’s race from P3 and who knows, what’s still possible. A race win to finish the season would not be too bad.”

Racing Engineering President, Alfonso de Orleans-Borbon said after the Feature race: “It’s a pity about the race. We are tied up with iSport in 3rd position in the teams’ championship now. But tomorrow we will fight back and with Chris starting from P3, we have good options. The whole team did a very good job and we hope that tomorrow this will translate into points.”

Sprint Race: Vietoris Signs Off in Style.

Racing Engineering signed off the 2011 GP2 Series on a high note as they secured victory in the Sprint race at Monza and with it, a top three position in the teams’ Championship.

Christian Vietoris lined up third on the reverse grid and he was able to take advantage of the poor starts made by those ahead of him to lead before the first corner – once through the first corner, he started in a close duel with Leimer for the lead of the race, while dropping those behind them.

During the opening laps, Leimer kept the pressure on Vietoris and looked to move ahead of the young German driver on a couple of occasions – but Vietoris rebuffed the attempts made by Leimer. From the sixth lap onwards, Vietoris started to pull out a slight gap, opening up an advantage of between 0.6 and 0.8s.

His Racing Engineering prepared car was working perfectly and he was able to hold the lead until the chequered flag, having led from start to finish and signing off his GP2 Campaign in the best possible way.

Vietoris reflected on his victory: “Obviously at the start the goal was to win the race, we made some changes over night, some worked some didn’t but we had a good pace and then just needed to drive to the end (laugh)!! Leimer was always in my tow so I could not get away but I managed the gap.”

After his drive through penalty in the feature race, Dani Clos lined up thirteenth on the grid and after a good start; he completed the opening lap in eighth position, just behind the cars of Esteban Gutierrez and Adam Carroll, who were sixth and seventh respectively.

Clos moved into seventh on lap fourteen and then chased down sixth placed Gutierrez over the final seven laps, and finished half a second off the young Mexican driver.

Clos reflected on his race: “It has been an intense race. Today I started well and I was able to put myself in a good position. I was very aggressive from the beginning trying to get in the points for the team; I almost managed it but was not quite able to take Gutierrez. I am happy with the third position of the team in the championship after the hard start and even though I would like to have scored more points in the Driver this year it was not to be.”

Alfonso de Orleans-Borbon is pleased to have finished inside the top three in the teams’ Championship and is ready for the 2012 season already: “A fantastic job by both drivers. Great starts, especially Chris, and a well-deserved race win for him. Congratulations to the entire team. Not only did they do a fantastic job this weekend, but also the whole season. Finishing third in the team championship is a just reward. Even if we had a difficult start to the season, the hard work paid off and we are more than ready for next year.”