Davide Valsecchi was once again untouchable during today's qualifying session at the Bahrain International Circuit: he put his DAMS car at the top of the timesheets early on and his laptime of 1:41.200 was never bettered. With this result, Valsecchi pockets his second pole position of the 2012 season. Esteban Gutiérrez and Felipe Nasr finished P2 and P3 respectively.
It was slightly cooler as the twenty-six GP2 cars fed onto the track. Johnny Cecotto set the early pace, but on his third lap and on Option Pirelli tyres, Valsecchi dipped under the 1m42s, setting the fastest first and second sectors. Gutiérrez on his third attempt as well was also able to break the 1m42s barrier but ended a tenth shy off the Italian. Rookie Stéphane Richelmi found his way to P3 ahead of Max Chilton, but the pair were pushed back when Nasr moved up to third.
Ten minutes into the session and Series leader Luiz Razia shot to P4, 0.6s behind Valsecchi. The Italian then improved by one tenth for good measure. The proceedings were red flagged following a small collision between Brendon Hartley and Giedo van der Garde. The Caterham racer overtook the Ocean man in the last corner. During the manoeuvre the two cars touched slightly and Hartleys front wing came off. Debris was left on the track thus calling for a quick red flag. Along with the rest of the field, the Kiwi driver re-entered the pits to have his car fixed and was able resume his session.
At the restart, all eyes returned to the timesheets. Marcus Ericsson found some extra pace to move up to P5, but Fabio Leimer also improved and made his way to P4 ahead of Cecotto and Ericsson. No one however could match Valsecchis pace and with three minutes to spare, Gutiérrez, Nasr and Leimer re-entered the pits and chose to end their session early in order to save their tyres. Two minutes later, Ceccoto, Richelmi, Ericsson and Calado did the same.
At the chequered flag, Valsecchi enjoyed his new success while Gutiérrez and Nasr also celebrated their best qualifying ever. Leimer will start from P4 ahead of Cecotto, Richelmi, (Marcus Ericsson will be dropped ten places following a grid penalty picked up in Malaysia Sprint Race), James Calado, Razia, Chilton and Rio Haryanto. (GP2Series.com)
Valsecchi in Bahrain again on pole position for feature race
- Published on 20 Apr 2012 16:39
-
0
- By: Rob Veenstra
.
Trending news
-
Hamilton's brutal self-assessment after third recent penaltyLewis Hamilton delivered a stark self-assessment after a difficult Hungarian Grand Prix, accepting responsibility for...
27 Jul 2026 16:22 -
Why Carlos Sainz is rethinking his Williams futureCarlos Sainz has acknowledged that his ambition to return to winning ways has been pushed back by as much as two year...
27 Jul 2026 15:21 -
Why Fernando Alonso is nowhere near F1 retirementFernando Alonso has signalled his intention to continue racing in Formula 1, stating that enjoyment behind the wheel,...
27 Jul 2026 14:19 -
Why Hamilton openly questioned Ferrari's VSC pit callLewis Hamilton has openly questioned Ferrari's strategic decision-making at the Hungarian Grand Prix, stating tha...
27 Jul 2026 13:18 -
Norris's bold claim after Hungary win reveals champion mindsetLando Norris delivered one of his most complete performances to win the Hungarian Grand Prix and immediately declared...
27 Jul 2026 12:17
Azerbaijan Grand Prix
Local time
-
Friday
Saturday
Sunday
Azerbaijan Grand Prix
Local time
-
Friday
-
Saturday
-
Sunday
-
Friday
-
Saturday
-
Sunday
Test calendar
Circuit de Catalunya - Winter testing
-
Jan 26
I. Hadjar
- 1:18.159
-
-
-
Jan 27
M. Verstappen
- 1:19.578
-
-
-
Jan 28
A. Antonelli
- 1:17.362
-
-
-
Jan 29
G. Russell
- 1:16.445
-
-
-
Jan 30
L. Hamilton
- 1:16.348
-
-
Bahrain International Circuit - Winter testing
-
Feb 11
L. Norris
- 1:34.669
-
-
-
Feb 12
C. Leclerc
- 1:34.273
-
-
-
Feb 13
A. Antonelli
- 1:33.669
-
-
Bahrain International Circuit - Winter testing
-
Feb 18
G. Russell
- 1:33.459
-
-
Feb 19
A. Antonelli
- 1:32.803
-
-
Feb 20
C. Leclerc
- 1:31.992
-
-
World Championship standings 2026
Pos
Driver
Team
Points
Pos
Team
Points
Related news
Give your opinion!
Formula 1 Calendar - 2026
Date
Grand Prix
Circuit
-
Spain
-
Bahrain
-
Bahrain
Formula 1 Calendar - 2026
Date
Grand Prix & Circuit
-
Spain
Circuit de Catalunya
-
Bahrain
Bahrain International Circuit
-
Bahrain
Bahrain International Circuit
6 - Mar 8
Australia
Albert Park
13 - Mar 15
27 - Mar 29
Japan
Circuit Suzuka
10 - Apr 12
Bahrain
Bahrain International Circuit
17 - Apr 19
Saudi Arabia
Jeddah Street Circuit
1 - May 3
United States of America
Miami International Autodrome
22 - May 24
Canada
Gilles Villeneuve
5 - Jun 7
Monaco
Monte Carlo
12 - Jun 14
Spain
Circuit de Catalunya
26 - Jun 28
Austria
Red Bull Ring
3 - Jul 5
United Kingdom
Silverstone
17 - Jul 19
Belgium
Spa-Francorchamps
24 - Jul 26
Hungary
Hungaroring
Driver profile
- Team -
- Points -
- Podiums -
- Grand Prix -
- Country BR
- Date of b. Aug 21 1992 (33)
- Place of b. Brasilia, BR
- Weight 68 kg
- Length 1.75 m
0 members have this team as their favourite
Tweets about Felipe Nasr
Team profile
- Team name DAMS
- Base Ruaudin, France, France
- Nyck de Vries 1
- Marcus Ericsson 1
- Alex Lynn 2
- Sergio Sette Camara 5
- Alexander Albon 5
- Alex Lynn 5
- Nicholas Latifi 6
- Nicholas Latifi 6
- Jolyon Palmer 7
- Oliver Rowland 9
- Nicholas Latifi 10
- Santino Ferrucci 26
- Jake Hughes 27
- Kevin Jörg 28
- 2,211 comments on DAMS
- 1 members have this team as their favourite
- Tweets about DAMS
Replies (0)
Login to reply