Raffaele Marciello took advantage of the safety car chaos at the Autodromo Nazionale Monza to secure second place during Saturday’s Feature race, but admitted he was powerless to withstand Antonio Giovinazzi on the final lap that denied him only his second career GP2 Series victory.
Marciello was not in contention for a podium until being in the right place at the right time when the safety car was deployed, with the Italian inheriting the lead when the erstwhile race leader Pierre Gasly was held up by the safety car, but the Russian Time driver was unable to defend from Giovinazzi on the final lap when his fellow Italian had the use of DRS.
“The strategy worked well, as did the safety car timing and we got a strong second place, my best result of the season,” said Marciello on rus-time.com.
“It’s never satisfying to lose a win on the last lap but with Monza’s long straight and DRS, there was no more I could do to defend Giovinazzi.”
Marciello was hopeful of another strong result on Sunday, but a mechanical issue on the grid forced the Italian to start from the pit lane that ultimately meant he was unable to better fifteenth at the chequered flag.
“I was expecting to score good points again from seventh on the grid but that opportunity disappeared when I had a mechanical issue on the formation lap, couldn’t get off the grid and had to start the race from the pit lane,” admitted Marciello.
“I did some overtaking but, from there, 15th was the best that I could do.”
