Issue 88 - GP3 Series

FOLLOWING YOUNG DRIVERS ON THEIR WAY TO THE PINNACLE OF MOTORSPORT
88
ISSUE 6
2015, JULY 29
BUDAPEST
ROUND 4
WHO'S THE
BOSS?
Ghiotto dominates Race 1 and extends Series lead
before the summer break whilst Ceccon wins Race 2.
88
CONTENT
ISSUE 6
2015, JULY 29
BUDAPEST
ROUND 4
FOLLOWING YOUNG DRIVERS ON THEIR WAY TO THE PINNACLE OF MOTORSPORT
P4
P8
P6
HOT LAP
Good Week
Esteban Ocon
WHO'S THE
BOSS?
P10
Nothing but the bits
School’s out for summer
P18
All rights reserved.
P22
We’ve picked our favourite shot from the
weekend… do you agree?
P24
game zone
Fancy a challenge? Answer our trivia
question and Name That race teaser
Get to know the reasons behind the
designs with the Status Grand Prix drivers
P20
#HitMeWithYourBestShot
A series of quick-fire questions with
Campos Racing’s Zaid Ashkanani
The GP2 logo, GP2 SERIES logo, GP3 logo, GP3 SERIES logo, GP2, GP3, GP2 SERIES and
GP3 SERIES and related marks are trade marks of GP2 Trade Marks Limited and its
affiliates.
SHAKE YO HELMET
More of the best moments from Round 4
in Budapest
Lightning round
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data, historical race data, photographs, other images, illustrations, text and written and
other materials contained in this e-zine are protected by copyrights, database rights,
trademarks and/or other intellectual property rights owned, or used with permission
of their owners, by GP2 Motorsport Limited and/or its affiliates. This e-zine as a whole
is protected by copyright and other intellectual property rights. All rights are reserved.
The best stats from the Budapest weekend
P14
P12
P16
STATS To CHAT
Who shone and who had a weekend to
forget in Round 4?
What's UP
Ghiotto dominates Race 1 and extends
Series lead before the summer break
whilst Ceccon wins Race 2.
Bad week
Where are they now?
A fantastic Budapest weekend for our GP3
graduates in GP2 and Formula 1
FAN ZONE
Did your tweet make the cut? Enjoy the
best Twitter and Instagram posts
HEROES
I have three: Ayrton Senna, Usain Bolt (runner)
and Ryan Villopoto (supercross). They are all
very talented but the reason I admire these
three so much is because they have all trained
so hard to achive what they wanted to do and
reach the top of their game. They can break
everything and still come back to compete at
the best level.
RACE DAY ROUTINE
HOT LAP
ESTEBAN OCON
Driver #6
ART Grand Prix
In the Beginning
It began when I went away with my parents
and their friends on holiday. On our trip in
France there was a complex with paintballing,
jet-skiing and go-karting. There was a
baby kart which my parents put me in with
a friend, just so I could try it out. I liked it.
I did my lap with no problem and that was
my first time in one. I then got a go-kart for
Christmas. I raced it on the grass outside
my house. I then started taking part in races
and began winning. That’s how my career
started. It was always what I wanted to do
from being a kid, to reach Formula 1. That’s
what I am still trying to do now. None of my
family has a racing background. My Dad runs
a small garage and is a mechanic. He likes
motorsport but he’s not a driver. I can’t say
it all came from me; it came from my family
a bit too (Laughs). My family have helped me
a lot.
It starts earlier in the week as I always go to
the ART GP factory to prepare for the weekend
on the Tuesday of race week. We look at the
data, check all of the videos and prepare the
run plan. On Wednesday morning we go on
the simulator before we travel to the track. On
Saturday before the race I have a small nap
(Laughs). I do this just after lunch so I am fully
ready for the race ahead. I don’t listen to music.
I try to minimise how tired I am before the race
but I am quite relaxed generally. I always get
into the car from the right hand side. I don’t
have any lucky charms or anything.
Training
Last week I went to Font-Romeu in the
Pyrénées for a week’s training at the 321
Performance Centre. It was really difficult.
My trainer Xavier Feuillée also looks after
Sébastien Ogier and Cyril Depraux (the Dakar
winner) so we train together. We go swimming
in the morning, then three hour’s work in the
mountains, as well as running. We do all
sorts of exercises to get mentally focused
ahead of the weekend. The mental side is
just as important. We work on our reactions,
reflexes and co-ordination. It is a full training
programme. On a typical day we train from
09.00 to 13.00 and in the afternoon we have
a small nap. Then we go again from 15.00 to
19.00. So they are long days. We have diets to
follow but for me I am quite lucky as I am quite
skinny so I can take a lot of weight. For other
sportsmen, it is perhaps a bit harder. I can
eat healthy stuff but in good-sized quantities
(Laughs).
HOBBIES
I still have to train a lot but I just like to find
time to see my friends and my girlfriend. I just
like to try to relax and get away from racing.
But there isn’t much time to do that (Laughs).
I still make sure I keep in the rhythm and not
go to bed too late and just live the kind of
“typical” teenager life. n
5
GOOD
WEEK
BAD
WEEK
LUCA GHIOTTO
We are running out of superlatives for the Italian: Perfection
on Saturday with pole, race win and fastest lap leaving his rival
Esteban Ocon describing his as from “another planet”. Ghiotto‘s
goal was P4 on Sunday, which he duly achieved, pocketing a
mammoth 39 points and extending his Series lead to 23 points
ahead of the summer break.
ART GRAND PRIX
Three podiums achieved and 53 more points in the bag for the
French squad in another successful weekend. Despite second
place in Race 1, Ocon was disappointed with his race pace, but
his smile returned on Sunday after the issues had been fixed
and he posted the fastest lap. They remain on top in the Teams’
Standings by a huge 45 points margin with both Ocon and Marvin
Kirchhöfer gunning for gold.
ARDEN INTERNATIONAL
A strong weekend in Hungary saw Kevin Ceccon take his second
consecutive Race 2 victory. It was a case of what could have
been for the British squad though, with Emil Bernstorff retiring
after a lap one incident with Antonio Fuoco after a heated battle
for second place on Sunday. 33 points added to the team’s tally
leaves them sitting pretty in third place.
CAMPOS RACING
The newcomers to the GP3 field are still fighting hard for their
first points in the Series. Once again Álex Palou qualified well in
P7 but a tyre issue meant a visit to the pits, costing him any hopes
of a points finish. Samin Gómez was issued with a five place grid
penalty for the next race in Spa-Francorchamps following an
incident but the Spanish camp remains positive and will be sure
to bounce back from adversity for Round 5 in Belgium.
JANN MARDENBOROUGH
A miserable weekend for the Carlin ace… Technical problems
cost him valuable set-up time in Free Practice. He was besieged
with further bad luck after suffering a puncture in Saturday’s
race. Race 2 was no better: the Brit made an excellent start
but was hit by Samin Gomez and ended up P17. It can only be
onwards and upwards for the previous GP3 winner…
7
STATS TO CHAT
The best stats from the
Budapest weekend
2.25
0.766
Kevin Ceccon’s
winning margin
over Esteban
Ocon in Race 2.
Trident’s Luca
Ghiotto average
qualifying position
this season.
9
4
Pål Varhaug
scored his first
points of the
season keeping
his Jenzer
Motorsport
teammates at
bay.
18
The number of
drivers to have
scored a point
this season.
and races with him. No relax time for me!”
(Laughs).
ART Grand Prix’s Alfonso Celis. Jr said: “I am
going on holiday to North Spain, in an area
near Santander. I’ll mainly be spending time
with my family. I will also bring my trainer on
holiday so we can cycle in the mountains, go
jogging and play tennis.”
WHAT'S UP
Álex Palou (Campos Racing) will go to
Menorca. “I will spend five days there to relax
a bit and have a break. Once I’m back home, I
will then go to the High-Performance Centre
and train there like I always do. I am always
trying to make myself better. I train three
SCHOOL’S OUT FOR
SUMMER
T
he official summer break is here but
what does that mean for our GP3
drivers? Is it all holidays and parties,
or does the hard work still continue?
We chatted to a selection of drivers in the
paddock to find out how they will spend their
time in the three week break…
Koiranen GP’s Jimmy Eriksson revealed:
“I will be working for my Dad. I’ll be driving
trucks like normal at my father’s business.
I will also be spending some time with my
younger brother Joel who was here with me
in Budapest. I will be going to some tests
times a day. Some days when our trainer is
happy with us, he lets us go and play volleyball
or even football sometimes. But normally he
doesn’t.” (Laughs).
Arden International’s Kevin Ceccon will
spend some time on the beach in Viareggio,
Italy whilst Marvin Kirchhöfer plans to go to
Switzerland to spend some time with his
girlfriend.
Mitchell Gilbert is travelling long haul to
Malaysia to spend the week with his father
and brother. The summer break is also a good
opportunity for drivers to put plans in place
for the upcoming season as the Carlin ace
explains, “I need to speak with my sponsors
about 2016 and see what the crack is, now is
the time to do this. I also need to make sure
I don’t put any weight on over the break as I
struggle with my weight in the car. I will be
focusing on endurance which is tough. I know
everyone wants to be doing weights and
looking in the mirror, but for me, if I train like
that I will put on four kilos straight away. I’m
not a big holiday man to be honest. I get my
one holiday a year when I go back home to
Australia.”
Jenzer Motorsport’s Ralph Boschung
revealed: “I will go home to Switzerland. I have
five chill days. I will not train as I have been
working very hard on my fitness. I will see my
friends and maybe have a drink or two. After
that I will be doing some driver coaching for
Jenzer Motorsport with Formula 4. That will
be for two weeks and I will be doing my best to
train in the hotel whilst I’m there. From then
on, I will have one week to prepare for the next
round at Spa-Francorchamps.”
Trident’s Artur Janosz will be going to Santorini
in Greece. “It’s a small island but I don’t know
exactly where I’m going… (Laughs)”. “Then
maybe I’ll have a few days to enjoy by the
Polish sea. I really need some relax time, I
think everybody does. I will still be running on
holiday and going to the gym over the break
but I will not be pushing too hard as I will need
a rest and to have a good time.”
ART Grand Prix’s Esteban Ocon will be busy
fulfilling his duties within his Mercedes role:
“I’m not in the summer break mode at all. I will
be going to the Red Bull Ring for Mercedes at
the DTM next week. Then I will have ten days
to relax. But before then I will still be working
hard.”
And finally how will Series leader Luca Ghiotto
spend his summer break? “I will be holidaying
with my family for ten days. In fact, we will stay
very close to my house as when you’re a racing
driver, you spend so much time travelling on
aeroplanes and at the airports. So for me, I’ve
already had enough (Laughs).
“I didn’t want to leave Italy. I am happy to stay
close to my home which is near Venice. This is
a nice place to relax and once that’s over, I will
be fully back into my routine. I won’t stop my
training fully, I’m sure I will do some running
by the sea which will be good.” n
11
NOTHING
BUT THE
NOTHING
BUT THE
BITS
BITS
#CiaoJules
#InTeamBattle
A lovely gesture from Series leader Luca Ghiotto who dedicated his
Race 1 victory to Jules Bianchi…
The Jenzer Motorsport trio provided us with some epic racing and
finished line astern in Race 2.
13
#ThankYou
#FuocoFans
A huge turnout of fans to see our drivers at the F1 Game Zone in the
scorching conditions…we thank you all!
Loyal supporters of Carlin and Ferrari Academy Driver Antonio Fuoco
were out in force in Hungary!
SHAKE YO HELMET
SEB MORRIS
Alex fontana
sandy stuvik
15
British Driver
#7 Status Grand Prix
Swiss Driver
#8 Status Grand Prix
Thai Driver
#9 Status Grand Prix
I’ve always tried to keep the same fundamental design from
my lid when I was nine years old. It used to be a lot more green,
with silver and dark, candy red colours. Michael Schumacher
was always my idol, so my design is quite similar to his, but I
have a few flakes within the design. This really stands out in
the sun. The squares at the top of my lid are also quite similar
to Schumacher’s helmet. I have got a large «S»on my lid for
my forename. It is a bit like Jenson Button’s with the design
being inverted on either side, which I think is quite cool. On the
back of my helmet is my signature which is also my logo. My
Dad’s company is within the background too. It’s something
nice for me and him to know he’s on there. The Welsh flag is
within my design, I’ve always had this. Ironically the colours
of this helmet also suit my Status GP car perfectly.
My helmet is in memory of the Welsh driver Tom Pryce who
was killed racing. My father had the same helmet design as
him. One half of the helmet represents my Greek nationality
and one half of my Swiss. The Welsh dragon is also in tribute
to Tom and this matches my dragon tattoo on my chest.
The design is based around beer seeing as one of my main
sponsors is a beer producer (Thai national beer). Plus I’ve
always liked a beer so it was quite fitting to do a design around
that. The Singha lion is represented on my lid which is my
sponsor’s logo. Of course I only allow myself a drink or two
when I’m not racing (Laughs). I like gold so that’s the main
colour. The rest of the design is quite simple. I’ve had this
design since 2012. I like the fact there isn’t too much going on
and you can see a bit of carbon fibre. We’ve only used black
and gold so it is quite distinctive.
LIGHTNING ROUND
ZAID ASHKANANI
Driver #23
Campos Racing
Do you have any nicknames?
In Kuwait they call me
Buzeet. I also get called
“the Lion” as I eat a lot
(Laughs).
Twitter or Facebook?
I don’t use either, I prefer
Instagram.
What song is the most played on
your iPod?
I like old classic music from
the region I grew up in.
Do you have any bad habits?
I think maybe sometimes
I am a little bit quiet and
don’t say too much…
Tennis or football?
Tennis.
Left handed or Right handed?
Right.
Main course or Dessert?
I like dessert more as I
only probably have it once
a week. So I wait all week
for it and I really enjoy it
(Laughs).
Do you have any pets?
I have an African Grey – a
bird. We call it Ash because
he is grey.
Soft drink or Bubbly?
Soft drink.
Favourite Film?
Shooter.
Last person you received a text
from?
It was a group message
from the family.
Last person you rang?
My father.
PS4 or Xbox?
Xbox.
Wet race or Dry race?
To be honest I’ve not yet
raced in the wet so I will
have to say dry.
Indoor training or Outdoor
training?
Both! But in Kuwait it is very
hot right now so it is easier
to train indoors there. I
spend a lot of time in Spain
too with Campos Racing, we
have a gym in the workshop
where we do physical and
mental training together.
What’s the most important
thing in life?
Family comes first for sure.
Racing also means so much
to me too.
Describe your perfect Saturday?
Being at the racetrack and
finishing on the podium.
Best advice you’ve ever
received?
The longer you live, the
more experience you have…
so sometimes you have to
wait a little. n
17
19
#HitMeWithYourBestShot
When Sunday July, 26 _ 09:31
Where Hungaroring, Budapest, Hungary.
Who Kevin Ceccon (Arden International) locks a
wheel leading Antonio Fuoco (Carlin), Jimmy Eriksson
(Koiranen GP), Esteban Ocon (ART Grand Prix) and the
rest of the field at the start.
Whom Sam Bloxham
With CANON EOS-1D X • EF500mm f/4L IS USM
160 ISO • 500mm • 1/800 @ F8.0
#YOURSAY
FAN
ZONE
The best of Twitter and Instagram
from the paddock and the fans
21
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GP3 GAME ZONE
FANCY A challenge?
Answer our trivia question and Name That Race teaser.
GP3 TRIVIA
NAME THAT RACE
23
#GP3TRIVIA
#NTRGP3
WHERE ARE THEY NOW?
MAIDEN F1 PODIUM
FOR FORMER GP3
CHAMPION KVYAT
2
013 GP3 Champion Daniil
Kvyat had a memorable
Hungarian Grand Prix
after achieving his first
podium in Formula 1 with a
superb second place. The Red
Bull Racing star’s previous best
result was fourth from his one
and half season’s racing in the
pinnacle of motorsport. Kvyat
is the second youngest driver in
history to claim a podium finish
in Formula 1 and also the first
Russian driver to make it onto
the prestigious rostrum. The
former MW Arden driver shone
from the beginning of the
weekend and he’ll be looking to
capitalise on the car’s improved
form in the remainder of the
year.
It was not such a positive
weekend for 2011 GP3 title
winner Valtteri Bottas. The Finn
was running in fourth after an
excellent start, but suffered a
right rear puncture at the safety
Valtteri Bottas (Williams Mercedes)
Daniil Kvyat
(Red Bull Racing Renault)
Robert Visoiu (Rapax)
car re-start in the latter stages.
The Williams Martini Racing
ace eventually brought his car
home in 13th.
25
Another GP3 champion was
also enjoying some welldeserved champagne… Alex
Lynn. The DAMS rookie was
looking menacing from the
Alex Lynn
(DAMS)
get-go this weekend in Budapest. The Brit
laid down his marker with pole position and
then came through the field to secure his
debut GP2 feature race victory. Unfortunately
he finished one place outside of the points in
the Sprint race the following day.
Former GP3 race winner Rio Haryanto had
another solid and consistent weekend. The
hugely popular Indonesian pocketed 18 points
for Campos Racing and becomes the nearest
challenger to GP2 Series leader Stoffel
Vandoorne.
The Hungaroring proved to be a happy hunting
ground yet again for multiple GP3 race winner
Robert Visoiu. After a few difficult races, the
Romanian was back in the mix, adding six
hard fought points to his tally. This was of
course the circuit where he produced his
second GP3 win.
GP3 graduates Nick Yelloly, Richie Stanaway
and Mitch Evans left Budapest with no
points to their name and will be looking to
bounce back after the summer break in
Spa-Francorchamps. n