Vandoorne wins Monaco GP2 opener

McLaren Formula 1 protege Stoffel Vandoorne claimed his third straight GP2 feature race victory of the season at Monaco, after making a bold tire strategy work.

Vandoorne led home polesitter Alexander Rossi by a commanding 6.2 seconds, as the pair made super-soft tires last for half of the 40-lap duration.

From second on the grid, Raffaele Marciello started on the option tire and moved into the lead around the outside of the first corner, but his time in the sun was fleeting. The Ferrari junior began to suffer degradation early and was caught by the soft-shod Rossi and Vandoorne, while Arthur Pic – who, like Marciello, started on the super-softs –soon joined them.

Marciello pitted on lap nine, releasing Rossi and Vandoorne and the pair built an advantage at the front of the field. When Mitch Evans clashed with Nick Yelloly at the chicane while trying to take seventh on lap 20, a virtual safety car was called.

Rossi and Vandoorne capitalized, pitting for the super-softs, but making the compound survive the second half of the race represented a gamble.

Vandoorne leap-frogged Rossi in pitlane, and the pair managed to make the tires last without any great stress, championship leader Vandoorne in particular.

Their cause was aided by Julian Leal and Sergio Canamasas gaining track position through the same strategy to delay Pic, who could have otherwise challenged the leaders later in the race, on his harder tires.

Leal jumped Pic during the pit stops and they were seven seconds behind Vandoorne initially, only for Canamasas to also pass Pic at the first corner while his super-softs were fresh.

The gap grew as Leal and Canamasas's tires faded but Pic couldn't find a way back past. However, Leal received a 10-second time penalty for an unsafe release in the pits that resulted in contact with Sergey Sirotkin, which promoted Canamasas to the final podium position.

Pic took fourth, ahead of Sirotkin, Leal and Richie Stanaway, while Marciello eventually finished eighth, securing pole for the sprint race.

Marciello's early lead came after the race was delayed by two aborted starts, the first due to Nobuharu Matsushita, who was due to start 11th, stalling. It created chaotic scenes as cars tried to squeeze past, many of them also stalling and requiring a push from marshals.

Drivers were allowed to retake their original grid positions, other than Pierre Gasly, who lost his 12th place and began from pitlane having been deemed to have jumped the start.

Gasly eventually finished 14th, one place behind DAMS teammate Alex Lynn.

Originally on Autosport.com