Barcelona

Lotus GP secured another podium finish at this weekend’s Spanish round of the 2012 GP2 Series Championship, courtesy of James Calado. After taking second spot in practice, James went on to secure a sensational pole position, his maiden pole in the series, in the opening minutes of the session. Under scorching conditions, James put in a determined lap that his more experienced rivals were unable to better, leaving second placed man two tenths of a second behind.

Unfortunately, he didn’t get the best of starts but managed to hang onto the lead. However, pit strategy that saw him change all four tyres together with driving to combat tyre wear, saw him slip back to second place at the end, his maiden rostrum finish in a GP2 feature race. The difference between changing two tyres and 4 tyres during a pit stop is estimated to be between 1.5 and 2 seconds.

Starting seventh for race two, the young Englishman fought brilliantly to finish fourth, his second podium finish of the weekend just a fraction of a second out of reach.

Meanwhile, teammate Esteban Gutiérrez did not have a good weekend in comparison. Finishing 18th in practice, the Mexican went on to qualify down in eleventh place, due to yellow flags ruining both of his fast laps. Up until that moment he had set the two fastest sector times and was on his way to pole position. He moved up a place to secure the final point of the day in the feature race, setting the fastest lap in the process. A stronger race two saw him move up three places after winning some strong on track battles to eventually cross the line in P7.

With this result, James Calado moves up to third place in the championship with 69 points, ten ahead of his teammate in fifth place on 59. The team still sits second in the teams championship with 128 points to their credit.

James Calado:

Qualifying was tough because we did not know what to expect with the car’s handling on the soft tyre because we had never used it before. We thought they would last one lap which proved to be the case and I was lucky to put everything together right on the first lap. This first pole position, it was a fantastic feeling. I had an average start and it was tight going into the first corner but I managed to keep the lead. I opened up a gap and maintained it. We pitted early and I think it was a good decision but Van der Garde only changed two tyres and maybe it made the difference. Anyway, he came out ahead of us and then I had to try to attack him, to defend my position because Coletti was fast and I had to save my tyres. I think I managed it quite well and I am happy with this first podium in a feature race. On Sunday, I tried everything to get around Valsecchi and get another podium but it was just impossible. But the most important is that the car was really good and well balanced, we got some very good points for me and for the team and I can't wait to race in Monaco.

Esteban Gutiérrez:

We had the pace, a fantastic car and the determination to succeed but the unexpected can always happen and that's what ruined our qualifying session with yellow flags on both my fast laps. I hoped we could turn our luck around in the race but I struggled a bit with tyre temperatures at the beginning of the race, I had slower cars ahead of me and it was difficult to overtake. I was able to push hard with my second set of tyres and a clean track. I clocked the fastest lap and got two points for that, which gives me an idea of the result we could have secured with a bit of luck in qualifying. I had a great start in the sprint race and gained as many positions as I could but then I had to make a compromise to save my tyres. At the end of the day, five points is better than nothing and more importantly we know we can fight for pole and win. Let's hope luck will be on my side from now on and that we will be able to get the results we deserve in Monaco.

Frédéric Vasseur:

The greatest satisfaction of the weekend comes from the collective success on all levels: performance, use of the tyres, the results; all together. James displayed perfectly the potential of Lotus GP with his first pole position and then two very good races. Esteban was incredibly fast in qualifying but yellow flags cut his wings twice and he suffered the consequences throughout the weekend, because being down in the middle of the pack, he got into a false rhythm in the race and his results did not portray his real talent, but it Is a given.