GP3 Series

Gutiérrez Cruises To Victory

1 Mins read

Esteban Gutiérrez took yet another GP3 series win to further extend his championship, unchallenged all race by second place man Robert Wickens.

Just like the GP2 race, there were incidents aplenty on the opening lap, notably Nigel Melker using Felipe Guimaraes‘s car as a launchpad at the first turn.

Michael Christensen was hounding Jean-Eric Vergne for the final podium spot in the opening laps, only for the Dane to crash out. With Vergne and Roberto Merhi left to battle for 3rd (which the latter would eventually take) a three way battle for 5th place emerged between Miki Monras, Rio Haryanto and Nico Muller. Monras would eventually break away from the the latter pair, and almost took fourth from Vergne but ran out of laps to try and pass.

James Jakes meanwhile was on a charge – after starting 27th on the grid he picked off drivers one by one, with Tobias Hegewald the only man standing between him and a point, plus pole for Race 2. His persistence paid off, taking the place with only a handful of laps remaining.

Race One Results

Pos  Driver                Team         Time/Gap
 1.  Esteban Gutierrez     ART        28m00.338s
 2.  Robert Wickens        Status       + 2.484s
 3.  Roberto Merhi         Atech CRS    + 8.699s
 4.  Jean-Eric Vergne      Tech 1      + 11.634s
 5.  Miki Monras           MW Arden    + 12.030s
 6.  Rio Haryanto          Manor       + 20.832s
 7.  Nico Muller           Jenzer      + 21.415s
 8.  James Jakes           Manor       + 23.335s
 9.  Tobias Hegewald       RSC Mucke   + 29.646s
10.  Stefano Coletti       Tech 1      + 30.534s
11.  Pal Varhaug           Jenzer      + 32.402s
12.  Adrian Quaife-Hobbs   Manor       + 33.021s
13.  Simon Trummer         Jenzer      + 33.624s
14.  Pablo Sanchez Lopez   Addax       + 34.886s
15.  Pedro Nunes           ART         + 36.526s
16.  Ivan Lukashevich      Status      + 45.654s
17.  Dean Smith            Carlin      + 45.871s
18.  Mirko Bortolotti      Addax       + 48.341s
19.  Daniel Morad          Status      + 49.230s
20.  Vittorio Ghirelli     Atech CRS   + 52.013s
21.  Lucas Foresti         Carlin      + 53.293s

Retirements:

     Michael Christensen   MW Arden   3 laps
     Felipe Guimaraes      Addax      0 laps
     Doru Sechelariu       Tech 1     0 laps
     Josef Newgarden       Carlin     0 laps
     Alexander Rossi       ART        0 laps
     Renger van der Zande  RSC Mucke  0 laps
     Leonardo Cordeiro     MW Arden   0 laps
     Nigel Melker          RSC Mucke  0 laps
     Oliver Oakes          Atech CRS  0 laps
450 posts

About author
Alasdair Lindsay is a Regular Contributor to TCF and can be found on twitter at @AlasdairLindsay
Articles
Related posts
GP3 SeriesPorsche Carrera Cup Australia

Joey Mawson set for guest entry for Porsche Carrera Cup Australia

1 Mins read
Upcoming single-seater racer explores sports car options in F1 supporting Porsche Carrera Cup race.
GP3 Series

Giuliano Alesi: "Sometime it Went Good, Sometimes Bad, But I Always Learned From Them"

2 Mins read
Giuliano Alesi looks back on his 2018 GP3 Series, as he prepares for a Formula 2 test this week.
GP3 Series

Ilott Claims Third in GP3 Standings

2 Mins read
Callum Ilott rounds off a strong rookie season in the GP3 Series with third in the championship.