The GP2 Series draws to a close with the season finale staged
for the very first time at the Marina Bay circuit in Singapore.
A relatively new track to the Formula One race calendar,
Singapore was introduced in 2008 as the first night race in F1
history. The Marina Bay street circuit has since proved to be a
huge hit making it an obvious choice for the twelfth and final
round of the 2012 GP2 Series, bringing to an end a memorable 2012
championship.
With the Pirelli soft and super soft compounds at the teams'
disposal in Singapore, pit stop strategy will, as always, be a
crucial decision in the battle to collect the last remaining
championship points of the season. Only the Valencia street circuit
contains more corners than that of Singapore and whilst only two of
the corners are fast, high humidity and ambient Asian temperatures
will create demanding conditions, not only for the drivers but for
the cars and tyres too. And with just a 30-minute practice session
to learn the track Singapore looks set to host the GP2 season
finale in spectacular style.
Rodolfo Gonzalez "I feel like I have learnt a lot this season
with Caterham Racing and I am ready and raring to get out there and
see what this track is really like! It will be the first time any
of us GP2 drivers have driven here and it will be interesting to
see how everyone gets on. Anything can happen during the race so my
main aim must be to get the best qualifying position possible to
give ourselves the best opportunity of scoring points and finishing
well. It is quite a bumpy track with a lot of tight corners so it
will be hard on the tyres, especially the rears. Keeping it on
track and preserving the tyres will be fundamental but after a lot
of laps in the simulator I feel quite confident that I know the
track layout and am looking forward to getting out there and giving
it everything I've got."
Giedo van der Garde "It is a pity that this is our last race as
I believe we have finally found the ideal setup and have a car that
is very competitive. However, due to incidents and bad luck the
last few race results have not reflected this. But this is a new
track for everyone and I look forward to seeing what we can get out
of it here. I think our basic setup will work well - it will be a
matter of learning the track quickly but for me I don't think it
will be a big problem, and if we can qualify in the top five I will
be happy as we can do a lot from there. The most important thing is
to score maximum points so we can continue the fight for P3 in the
championship."
Caterham Racing Team Manager Phill Spencer "There is an air of
excitement as we head into our final round of the season in
Singapore. This is a new venue for GP2 and with no previous data
for the circuit we are all on a level playing field and it will be
interesting to see who can learn the track the fastest. The
humidity here is intense and will affect everybody but as long we
all stay hydrated the team is used to it and I see no reason why we
can't do well. The drivers are fit and looking forward to this new
challenge so I am optimistic we can finish the season on a high
note and give the Asian crowds a good show."
Caterham Racing Chief Engineer Humphrey Corbett "I am confident
we can give both our drivers a good car for the final round of our
season, regardless of the fact we have never raced here before.
Since the track is ordinarily used as a road it will evolve a lot
during the weekend and will be very green to start with. With this
in mind we must be careful not to fall into the trap of adjusting
the car too much after the first session. It is a very bumpy track
with high downforce and a difficult track for the drivers to learn,
however Giedo and Rodolfo have been working hard in preparation.
The Friday practice session will be about collecting as much data
as possible and with just a few short hours between our first run
and qualifying, time will be tight and drivers will need to stay
fully focused. We need a clean qualifying lap to put us in the best
position for race one and from there stay clear of the barriers!
It's all or nothing now!"
GP2 Schedule
Friday
15:45 - 16:15 Practice
Friday
20:00 - 20:30 Qualifying
Saturday
16:00 - 17:05 Race One 34 laps
Sunday
17:10 - 18:00 Race Two 24 laps