Nico Hulkenberg (ART Grand Prix) and Giedo van der Garde (iSport International) both won races in the sixth round of the Bridgestone-supported GP2 Series at the Hungaroring, on Bridgestones soft compound racing slick.
High track temperatures were experienced throughout the weekend yet the tyres showed a lower wear rate than usual. However, the soft compound was the most suitable allocation for Budapest. To manage degradation and maintain the performance of the rear tyres, car set-up proved as important as ever.
In Saturdays 42 lap feature race, Hulkenberg claimed his third consecutive victory in GP2, overtaking race leader Lucas di Grassi (Fat Burner Racing Engineering) just after di Grassi exited the pit lane from his tyre change on lap 12. Maiden pole sitter di Grassi finished second, with Javier Villa (Super Nova Racing) in third place. Hulkenberg set the fastest lap just two laps from the end of the race and was consistent with his lap times, showing his ability to maintain tyre performance.
Sundays 28 lap sprint race provided van der Garde with his first ever GP2 win, the Dutchman taking the lead at the start from Davide Rigon (Trident Racing) and managing to hold off Luca Filippi (Super Nova Racing) for the duration of the race. Rigon then went off on the first lap after a collision with Pastor Maldonado (ART Grand Prix) who was later issued with a drive through penalty. Filippi finished behind van de Garde and set the quickest lap time, with di Grassi completing the podium line-up.
Hulkenberg still leads the drivers championship, now on 57 points. Romain Grosjean (Barwa Addax Team) is on 45 with team-mate Vitaly Petrov in third with 41. ART Grand Prix has taken the lead of the teams championship with 88 points from Barwa Addax Team on 86. Super Nova Racing is in third position with 42. The seventh round of the GP2 Series will be held on Valencias street circuit on 21-23 August, on Bridgestones soft compound GP2 tyre.
Quote from Hirohide Hamashima – Director of Bridgestone Motorsport Tyre Development
We have seen a reasonable level of wear and degradation from the soft compound GP2 tyre here this weekend. After the races the appearance of the tyres was good. Bridgestone is therefore pleased with the decision to change the GP2 compound allocation for Budapest from super soft to soft. In race one, Hulkenberg gave another strong performance and managed his tyres very well. His team, ART Grand Prix, planned the best timing of the tyre change. Congratulations also to iSports Giedo van der Garde for his win in the sprint race, his first GP2 victory.