After a only a 30 minute practice session for the GP2 drivers’, they were thrown into the deep end with the all important qualifying session for race 1 of the Malaysian Grand Prix weekend. After a quick firing practice session, Jolyon Palmer was the one to watch after setting the fastest time in practice.
As the session turned green Johnny Cecotto jr. led out the majority of the field as they all seemed eager to getting times on the leader-board. With rain threatening the second practice session in Formula 1, the same threat was hovering over GP2 during qualifying.
The times instantly began to tumble as the drivers’ began setting timed laps, as Jon Lancaster, Esteban Gutierrez, Johnny Cecotto jr., and Davide Valsecchi all fired in fast lap times in quick succession. Rodolfo Gonzalez ran wide at turn 11 as the Venezuelan driver struggled to get a quick time set.
After a frenetic opening few minutes of qualifying, the track action died down slightly as the majority of the field returned to the pits to refuel, change tyres and prepare for further qualifying laps.
The Arden International driver of Luiz Razia went 2nd, almost getting blocked by the Venezuela GP Lazarus driver of Fabrizio Crestani, who was also pushing hard on a flying lap. With 26 cars on the track, blocking was inevitable, however the race stewards have confirmed they will investigate suspected blocking between Rodolfo Gonzalez and Stefano Coletti after the session.
As the session came to an end, Fabrizio Crestani ended a rigorous qualifying session stopping on track. This in turn brought out the yellow flags which ended anyone’s hopes of beating Valsecchi’s time.
Tomorrow sees race 1 take place, with the grid for race 2 on Sunday decided with the results of race 1. The top eight will then be reversed in traditional GP2 fashion for race 2.
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| Pos | Driver | Team | Laptime | Laps |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | Davide Valsecchi | DAMS | 1:45.494 | 10 |
| 2. | Luiz Razia | Arden International | 1:45.554 | 11 |
| 3. | Max Chilton | Carlin | 1:45.558 | 12 |
| 4. | Stefano Coletti | Scuderia Coloni | 1:45.577 | 9 |
| 5. | Fabio Leimer | Racing Engineering | 1:45.588 | 11 |
| 6. | James Calado | Lotus GP | 1:45.638 | 8 |
| 7. | Jolyon Palmer | iSport International | 1:45.758 | 11 |
| 8. | Giedo van der Garde | Caterham Racing | 1:45.773 | 12 |
| 9. | Fabio Onidi | Scuderia Coloni | 1:45.810 | 10 |
| 10. | Felipe Nasr | DAMS | 1:45.942 | 10 |
| 11. | Johnny Cecotto | Barwa Addax Team | 1:46.012 | 11 |
| 12. | Fabrizio Crestani | Venezuela GP Lazarus | 1:46.138 | 10 |
| 13. | Stephane Richelmi | Trident Racing | 1:46.150 | 13 |
| 14. | Josef Kral | Barwa Addax Team | 1:46.160 | 12 |
| 15. | Esteban Gutierrez | Lotus GP | 1:46.186 | 13 |
| 16. | Tom Dillmann | Rapax | 1:46.264 | 12 |
| 17. | Rio Haryanto | Carlin | 1:46.392 | 12 |
| 18. | Nathanael Berthon | Racing Engineering | 1:46.428 | 12 |
| 19 | Nigel Melker | Ocean Racing Technology | 1:46.489 | 6 |
| 20. | Marcus Ericsson | iSport International | 1:46.557 | 13 |
| 21. | Jon Lancaster | Ocean Racing Technology | 1:46.662 | 13 |
| 22. | Julian Leal | Trident Racing | 1:46.868 | 12 |
| 23. | Rodolfo Gonzalez | Caterham Racing | 1:46.962 | 11 |
| 24. | Simon Trummer | Arden International | 1:47.004 | 12 |
| 25. | Ricardo Teixeira | Rapax | 1:48.113 | 12 |
| 26. | Giancarlo Serenelli | Venezuela GP Mazarus | 1:49.620 | 14 |