Fourth for di Grassi at Monza
Lucas di Grassi kept his GP2 championship hopes alive with
a charging fourth place in the Sunday sprint race at Monza.
The Renault Driver Development squad member was heading for
second place in the Saturday race when he had gear selection
problems on the penultimate lap. He finished the race in 14th,
but a penalty for another driver meant he started 13th on
Sunday.
He made a good start with the ART entry and kept out of trouble,
gradually picking up places in what turned out to be a very
entertaining and closely fought event. He made it up to fourth
place, but concerned about a repeat of Saturday's problems,
was not able to challenge Bruno Senna for third.
Lucas scored three valuable points, but he lost three more
in the title fight as victory went to rival Timo Glock.
‘I had some electrical problems during the race, with
the dash and with the gears, and for the last few laps I preferred
to go easy on the gears and the car, so the I didn't have
the same problem as yesterday. The team did a very good job,
they stayed until 3am fixing the gearbox. It was not their
fault, it was a problem with the parts. So I really have to
thank them.
‘It was the most I could do. I started 13th, so to
finish fourth was a good result. I knew that Glock was going
to be strong. Yesterday it was such a shame that I lost second
place. I got three points and at least I proved that I am
still in the fight for the championship. It's far from over,
and we're going to fight until the end.'
The next event is next weekend at Spa, a track Lucas is familiar
with from F3.
‘The car had a very good pace in Turkey and here, and
we should have scored big points here. For sure we're going
to be near the front in Spa. It's a great track, it's very
technical, and I think the car will be good there.'
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