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The Grid.co.uk the national & club motor racing website - est1998 |
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The Grid.co.uk the national & club motor racing website - est1998 |
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For more information about multiple championship winning team, ART Grand Prix, log onto: www.art-grandprix.com 2010 is the inaugural year for GP3 Series, commencing with a strong foundation managed by series organizer Bruno Michel, as a direct feeder into the GP2 and Formula 1. For more information about GP2 Series log onto: www.gp2series.com or GP3 at: www.gp3series.com. More information can be found regarding Alexander Rossi at; www.alexanderrossi.com.
GP2 Images by: Dawn Rossi
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mail your news to editorthegrid@yahoo.co.uk Rossi 4th Overall in GP3 Championship Monza, Italy - September 12
"As a competitor and driver, my ambition is to win," said Rossi after Monza. "Of course I would have liked to win the Drivers's Championship, but you cannot have everything all the time. I have a lot to look forward to and many successes from this year to build from. Additionally, I take with me many other important aspects from this season that will benefit me down the road. It was a privilege to drive for ART Grand Prix and work with such a championship caliber team." In addition to finishing 4th overall in the championship, Rossi had 81 overtakes in the inaugural GP3 season. Known for his racecraft and exciting driving style, he was able to showcase his abilities in 2010 GP3 season, while learning many of the Formula 1 circuits. "For one reason or another I started races further back than we'd hoped," Rossi continued. "The flip side to this is that it allowed me to show my abilities to race and overtake in places where others might not. I have a lot of confidence racing close and in traffic, while working the next move." "ART Grand Prix is delighted to have won the inaugural GP3 Team and Driver Championships, and, although the Driver's title went to Esteban, Alexander played a vital role in terms of his technical input and his results on the circuit," said ART Grand Prix Team Director, Nicolas Todt. "Two wins and three podiums mark him out as a driver with great potential, and he was particularly impressive in traffic, most notably at Barcelona, where he carved through the field and converted this into a win on Sunday, and at Spa, where he finished second after starting 13th. A run of different problems unfortunately kept Alexander out of qualifying contention for much of the season but he was always ready to maximize his chances in race conditions." "While this year did not satisfy all of my expecations, I'm thankful to the entire GP3 organization for delivering such a competitive and preparatory championship as I pursue Formula 1. Throughtout the year I was able to develop many fantastic relationships and this is incredibly important as I move forward in my career." Monza, where the championship finally came to a close, was not the best luck for Rossi. From practice onward, an innate pace seemed to be lacking. Starting 28th on the grid for race one, he was immediately caught up in an incident that could not be avoided when the car directly in front of him failed to get off the line. On Sunday, Rossi started again at the wrong end of the grid, 30th, and worked his way up through traffic to 15th before the checkered flag. Alexander and his management are busy putting together his plans for 2011, with many considerable options. "After my F1 test with BMW Sauber in Jerez in 2009, I want more, preferably as soon as possible," Rossi continued. "I was on pace and confident in that test straight away. I know that I can meet the expectations put in front of me and deliver when given the opportunity. Right now we're looking at some really exciting options for 2011, that we'll be announcing soon."
Alexander Rossi overcomes a chaotic GP3 Championship weekend Spa-Francorchamps - August 30, 2010 Undaunted by the continually changing weather of this year's Belgium Grand Prix, GP3 driver Alexander Rossi, made his way back to the podium with a 2nd place finish on Sunday securing the team championship for ART Grand Prix. "I like the wet and have a lot of confidence," commented Rossi. "I had a bit of adversity and bad luck to overcome this weekend, so it was good to have a clean run on Sunday, scoring enough points for the team to secure ART Team Championship. I will build on this as we head to the finale in Monza." "Alexander ended the weekend on a high," said ART Grand Prix owner, Nicolas Todt. "After a difficult qualifying session and unpredictable race 1, he drove great in race two with very good overtaking. Alexander played an important role in the title that ART Grand Prix clinched today." In free practice, Rossi began the weekend with an engine problem, surging at intervals under acceleration. Keeping the Californian from showing his full potential as the second to the final GP3 weekend was underway, ending practice 27th. Qualifying was a lottery in terms of tire choice (drys or wets), clean laps and multiple cautions in every sector. At the start of the session it seemed 30 cars on track would help dry the tarmac quickly. This was not the case as rain and yellow flags prevailed and the quicker laps at the beginning of session. Rossi and teammate Guitierrez were handed grid penalties for not slowing enough under yellow. Rossi was thereby relegated to P19 for Race 1. The race 1 start was dry but barely so, as black clouds hovered overhead. After the first lap, Rossi had moved up to 13th. By then, the safety car was called out due to a first lap crash. When the safety car emerged on lap 3, so did the rain. The team decided to keep Rossi out for one more lap, but they lost this gamble as the rain became heavier. On slicks, Rossi negotiated the fourth lap prior to pitting supremely, yet he lost valuable time to those already on wets. Rossi pitted for wets on the next pit pass, leaving the pit exit lane in 22nd. By the time a second safety car came out again (lap 7), Rossi had worked his way up to 8th. The safety car would take the field to the end of the race. During this second safety car period, race officials posted an announcement that Rossi was under investigation for jumping the start from P19. After the race, the stewards imposed a 20-second penalty. In rainy Spa race conditions, the additional time might not have changed much, if anything. But behind the safety car, those 20 seconds constituted an eternity, dropping Rossi out of the points and down to 16th. The removal from 8th place also meant that Rossi would not benefit from the reverse grid starting pole for the next day's race. "The penalty for Race 1 was unfortunate", Rossi said. "Even with pitting one lap late for wets and lining up 19th, I was quite satisfied finishing 8th and having pole on Sunday. With the penalty my performance does not match the result on paper. This was a real disappointment." The second GP3 race started in dry conditions on Sunday morning. Neither the dry weather nor Alexander Rossi's 13th starting spot would last long. By the third lap, Belgian's fickle clouds had burst again. Rossi however was up to sixth in the opening lap. Great teamwork by the ART pit crew allowed Rossi to rejoing in fifth. Then in short order, Rossi first dispatched Dean Smith, then Miki Monras, then points challenger Nico Muller, to finally end up nose-to-tail with the race leader. One should know about Spa that one part of the circuit can be bone dry while it rains cats and dogs on another part of the long Ardennes circuit (4.8 miles). During the two-lap battle for the win, Rossi would get a good look at passing Tambay on the wet parts, only to have to cede the advantage to Adrian on the dry road. Unfortunately for Rossi, the race finished on the dry part. Still, second place from thirteenth during a wet weekend at the demanding Spa circuit allowed Rossi to display the racecraft for which he is known.
Rossi Scores Another GP3 Win in Hungary
“After some misfortune this season it was good to have a nice, clean run on Sunday and grab my second win,” said Rossi. “It was a bit of a relief for everyone involved in my career. We needed it, and the ART car allowed me to do my job. This was the perfect momentum shift for the rest of the season.″ ″Alexander did a good job this weekend following a difficult qualifying″, stated Nicolas Todt, ART Grand Prix Co Owner. ″He drove well and intelligently in race 1, taking a good and important win today in race 2, which is good for the championship. He now has to take big points in race 1, I'm sure he can do it.″ Rossi having prior success at the Hungaroring, finishing 3rd in 2009 while competing in International Formula Master. This past weekend Rossi was looking for a counterpoint to difficult rounds 9 and 10 in Hockenheim just the week before. In Hungary free practice, Rossi was mid-field again, returning to pit lane twice and losing valuable time due to a technical problem. ″After no points in Hockenheim I was a bit concerned for the weekend in free practice″, Rossi added. ″I'm glad we were able to score the points we did this weekend and remain in the fight for 2nd in the championship.” For Saturday qualifying, Rossi was initially right on the pace with the first set of tires. “The car felt very good, and for the first ten minutes I was able to trade fast laps with three or four other drivers,” continued Rossi. “During the second stint and second set of tires I was unable to put in a clean lap without a local yellow or traffic. I was a bit unlucky I suppose, but everyone else had to deal with the same circumstances. “ Rossi finished qualifying a disappointing 13th, 7/10ths off the quick pole time set by Nico Muller. “I was not happy with qualifying but was confident with my ability to make up positions in race traffic,” Rossi said. “Everybody knows that Budapest is a difficult circuit to pass on, but I was confident with my experience from 2009 in Formula Master that I would be able to make the most of the situation, especially going into turn one. “
True to his reputation, Alexander jumped from 13th to 7th on the opening
lap of Saturday's race. Despite these gains, however, a new problem
arose. ″Whenever I would put g-loading onto the car, through the
corners, the car had excess roll and would bottom out very heavily”,
Rossi stated. “This made the car very unstable and unpredictable to
drive and we were given a gift when we were able to inherit 8th place.″ Rossi made a good launch from the pole on Sunday next to fellow countryman Josef Newgarden, starting P2. Rossi protected turn 1 and by the end of a brilliant first lap, Rossi had opened up a 1.6 second gap. “This was a different race car compared to Saturday,” Rossi stated. “I must thank my team for doing such a fantastic job overnight. I knew on the warm up lap that I had a good car underneath me and I thank ART for their efforts Saturday evening. Everybody stayed quite late to insure that we would have the best opportunity on Sunday and this showed through ten fold” Having established a healthy lead and controlling the race from start to finish. Alexander won Round 12, five seconds in front of Canadian, Robert Wickens. “It was great to be back on top of the podium again and hear my national anthem,” Rossi admitted. “For the most part it's been a tough year, but this win goes some of the way towards redressing the balance. We have two events left and we plan to carry this momentum forward in order to retake second place in the overall standings”
Rossi Maintains 2nd in GP3 Championship Silverstone, July 11
"After Valencia where a bit of bad luck prevented us from scoring any points, I was hoping to grab more than nine points in Silverstone. It is not enough," Rossi said. "The race weekend, I felt that we were going to be in a real position for pole and challenge more wins, but there was not enough speed." "After Alexander's misfortunes in Valencia, he fought back and found his way back into the points and onto the podium in a very convincing manner. He is rewarded with second position in the championship," said Frederic Vasseur, Team Principal, ART Grand Prix. Friday's first session out, free practice, Rossi lost a bit of track time due to some pit lane adjustments, holding him back for about 4 laps. That afternoon, Rossi qualified 6th, only a tenth slower than the man in second place (Rio Haryanto) but a whole 6/10ths away from his ART team-mate and pole winner, Esteban Gutierrez. "Obviously my P6 qualifying was disappointing," Rossi added. "With a tow from another car I believe a front row was possible. Without a tow that was virtually all the time I could find, the car balance was good, but something's missing. Esteban is in another league at the moment, 6/10ths is quite a lot." Rossi's first race was effectively defined by his grid position, and by a curious problem with the steering. "Almost from the start, the car felt very strange," asserted Rossi. "In left-handers the steering was normal but on right-handers it was completely different. 1 One second it was light, almost finding a dead spot in the steering, and the next second it would return to a normal steering load. This would happen throughout the corners and while it took me a bit to adjust to it, we were able to still fight for position." Alexander placed fifth in that Saturday race, earning him a (reverse) P4 grid slot for Sunday morning. Having found the best set up for the car, Rossi made a good start for race two and was thinking of staying down the inside for Copse, but changed his mind as Bortolotti closed the door, flicking back to the racing line. "As it happened, this cost me momentum as we were four abreast going into Becketts, with Rob Wickens, Nico Muller and Tobias Hegewald, It got to be a bit tight at that point but I made it through and settled into the race."" Rossi said. "In hindsight I am wondering if the move down the inside would have worked, but in a split second sometimes you have to take the conservative alternative." With one lap remaining, Rossi was able to catch the fight for second place between Gutierrez and Bortolotti. He immediately engaged Gutierrez, now fighting for third and the final podium position. Having a great battle, it was Rossi who came on top at the line, only a few 1000ths apart. "It was great to finally get to race Esteban," Rossi added. "That was the first time we'd seen each other on track the whole season. That was the highlight of the weekend and I am glad that I won the battle, it was a great final lap. When you're racing your team- mate you have to make sure that you don't touch, but it can get a bit difficult when he is the person that you want to beat the most." Rossi crossed the line in third place, 0.09 sec ahead of Gutierrez and just behind Bortolotti, who was later penalized for a move on Gutierrez on the final lap. The race win, from a front row start went to Canada's Daniel Morad.
Rossi Encounters the Perfect Storm in Valencia Valencia, Spain
Alexander wasted no time familiarizing himself with the circuit on his first run out during the free Practice session Friday afternoon, working with the team to fine tune the chassis set up during the 30 minutes available and climbing up the time charts to P2, only .22 seconds off quick time. Late in the session, a car stalled near the inside wall of the start/finish straight, bringing out a local yellow. It was there, in the final minutes, that ten cars, including that driven by Rossi improved their lap time. At the completion of the session the steward’s office imposed a three-place grid spot penalty to each one to be served Saturday, Race 1. “The incident in practice was a confusing one and caught out several drivers", Rossi commented. "The stalled car seemed safely on the inside wall and I came out of the throttle enough, but apparently the stewards viewed it differently. There is nothing that you can do to argue the case. The positives that came out of the session were, the car balance felt quite good and the pace was there. I was very confident going into qualifying that a starting position in the top five was attainable, even with the penalty.” Saturday’s morning qualifying session had a new strategy, With ART conserving one set of new tires for the race to hedge against the grid penalty and the impended heat, causing tire degradation. Already short, at thirty minutes, Rossi spent some time waiting in pitlane in order to garner optimal on-track conditions to use the scrub set of tires then return to the pits for a quick change to his new set of Pirelli’s. After he was released, Rossi realized the feedback from the car was not as he hoped which had him playing catch-up once the new rubber was bolted on. With 8 minutes remaining in the session, Alexander was on his first flying lap, when his ART Grand Prix team-mate, Esteban Gutierrez, hit the wall, inducing a red flag and subsequently ending the session. “Qualifying was a real shame, the data showed that I was over 4/10ths up in sectors one and two, entering sector three, it looked as though the lap would have been good enough for the front row – until the red came out", Rossi added. "I was disappointed pulling into pit lane as time expired in the session, thus not allowing me to vault myself up the order. The only thing that I could do was look forward to the race and make up as many positions and score as many points as possible.” Knowing how to put adversity behind him and utilize the tools at his disposal, Alexander was focused straight ahead from P14 on the starting grid late Saturday afternoon. As soon as the lights went out Rossi got a great launch, leaping up the pack and slotting into P8 entering turn 2. As congestion filled the track ahead, the #1 ART Grand Prix entry would be sidelined with a broken piece of suspension. "I was tapped by a blue car on my left front and still not sure who it was", Rossi said. "It wasn’t a huge impact but enough to break the suspension and put me out of the race." Starting, P27, from the back of the grid Sunday morning for Race Two, Rossi made another great start, however after making up several positions to 19th on opening lap, this race would again end prematurely. “I was hit again on the first lap on the same left front corner", Rossi said. The suspension was bent, but I carried on having to hold the wheel at a 90 deg and horizontal just to keep the car on the road! I passed a few more cars but then the suspension broke completely and that was it." "It was a rough weekend for Alexander that had been compromised in qualifying", Nicolas Todt, Co-Owner of ART Grand prix commented. "Starting in the middle of the field is not easy and it put an early end to Alexander's race when he's been pushed out by another driver. Every successful driver has to experience some difficult weekends and I'm sure he will bounce back quickly, strait away at Silverstone in two weeks." "It is frustrating when you know you have the tools to perform, but cannot execute for one reason or another", Rossi said. "We made some significant brake changes on Saturday night to enhance the performance under braking and I was quite pleased with the result during the beginning of Sunday’s race. I'm really looking forward to a redeeming weekend at the upcoming rounds in Silverstone. As always, my focus will be on securing the maximum amount of points from the event, especially now as I lye third in the driver’s championship. Having a weekend like this is never fun for those involved, but nevertheless it is very motivating and makes the victories that much sweeter.” Rossi 2nd in GP3 Championship, scoring podium and valuable points in Turkey America's Alexander Rossi scores another GP3 podium and good points toward driver championship and his ART Grand Prix team, finishing 3rd and 4th in Turkey. After difficulties in practice and qualifying, very little of the demanding, undulating and exhilarating Istanbul Park Circuit seemed immune from the creativity and racecraft of the 18-year-old from California. Rossi demonstrated his ability to overtake, be it the dusty and cramped pit-wall inside Turn One, the outside of the flat-out kink on the back straight or the congested braking area of the chicane in the opening laps, Rossi made the absolute most of his 9th place grid spot and continued to show his craft, leaving Turkey 2nd in the GP3 Championship after 4 rounds. Rossi working the final chicane at Istanbul Park As in Barcelona, where he stormed from 28th to 8th in Race One, such passes for Rossi were necessary again in Turkey, even if they did bring the usual downsides of pushing; flat-spotted tires and damaged wing peripherals. Struggling with set up and pace in free practice and qualifying left Rossi 9th on the grid for Saturday's race. "I really had to push for points this weekend, from the onset the pace was good enough", said Alexander. "My ART team and my engineer worked very hard and we made significant progress, but I still have some work to do before next rounds. The Valencia test in a couple of weeks will be good to sort things and improve upon. I am very happy to leave Turkey in a strong championship position, thanks to my ART team." In round 3 on Saturday, Rossi finished 4th, reflexing his way through to sixth at the first corner. Sixth became fifth on that opening lap, after making a well judged pass inside Dean Smith at the Turn Seven right-hander. Three laps later, Rossi lined up for the tight, inside line for Turn One and past the Canadian, Daniel Morad for 4th, with little room along pit wall. Rossi on podium with 3rd place finish at Istanbul Park Starting fifth in Sunday's race, Rossi conceded a position to Felipe Guimaraes at Turn One as the field again funneled into congestion, but quickly overtook the Addax driver. As both cars approached the flat-in-top right-hand kink, Rossi held the outside line, and now lined up for an inside approach to the chicane. Rossi braking with a fraction of margin, while keeping the ART car tight, he grabbed P5. One lap later, Rossi gained massively on Daniel Morad out of Turn 8, winning the corner for 4th postion in a braking match at the final chicane. Rossi went on to overtake Nico Muller on lap 8 for third position. It was pit wall again, the one that Rossi used the day before, as Alexander perfectly timed his braking and turn-in on the final corner, running fractionally wide on exit, setting up the move for P3. "We had more pace today," says Alexander. "By the time I was in third, it was too late to do anything about the two guys in front, but I feel we had a great outcome from a difficult weekend, scoring 9 points. I'm now looking forward to the two-day test at Valencia." Rossi's 2nd in Championship to ART team-mate Esteban Gutierrez, who leads championship by 5 points, with 22.The next rounds of the GP3 Championship takes place on the streets of Valenica, Spain June 25, 26 and 27, alongside GP2 and Formula 1. 2010 is the inaugural year for GP3 Series, commencing with a strong foundation managed by series organizer Bruno Michel, as a direct feeder into the GP2 and Formula 1. For more information about GP2 Series log onto: www.gp2series.com or GP3 at: www.gp3series.com. More information can be found regarding Alexander Rossi at; www.alexanderrossi.com. Team Rossi Motorsports manager, Pieter Rossi can be reached at; pete@teamrossimotorsports.com. Press and Publicity, please contact, Peter Windsor at: peter@peterwindsor.com Rossi 2010 Partners include; CS&A, Alaska Coffee Roasting, North Miami Travel, Intervision, Norlie International, Meyers Investment Group, Racing Legends Motorsports, National Breast Cancer Foundation, Sierra Timberline, Century Equipment Company, Alan K. Wong M.D., Performance Drink, Kial James Design, AlpineStars, McSweeney and Associates, Big O Tire of Grass Valley, John Deere Credit, Real Life Fitness, Grass Valley Sign and G. Russell Enterprises. Alexander Rossi in 40 Seconds: From 109 Formula car starts, 18-year old Alexander has netted 35 wins, 53 podiums, 32 poles and current win percentage of 32.11%.2009 BMW / Sauber F1 Team, Jerez Spain Testing, 2009 International Formula Master Rookie Champion, 4 overall and 3 wins.2008 Formula BMW World Final Winner and 2008 Formula BMW Americas Champion with 11 wins 10 poles and 11 fastest laps. Rossi holds Formula BMW America series record with 14 wins to his credit and 11 pole positions.2007 Formula BMW USA Championship Alexander finished 3 in overall in points with 3 wins and 5 podiums.
ART's, Rossi Grabs first GP3 Victory at Spain Opener Barcelona, Spain - May 9, 2010
After problems in qualifying on Saturday, Alexander started the feature race from 28th position (last row) for this inaugural, historic race start. As the lights went out, the 18-year-old Californian immediately showed his class. In an incident-strewn opening lap, Alexander overtook 13 cars. Over the race distance, he worked his way up to finish eighth, carving the pack on the 4.655km (2.893m) Circuit de Catalunya. Finishing 8th meant, starting from pole for Sunday’s sprint race – and Alexander maximized his opportunity. Rossi led the pack cleanly into Turn 1 and methodically pulled away from the field, winning by over 10 seconds. In easing his way to victory, he set fastest lap and the quickest lap of the GP3 weekend. Standing in the center of the podium beneath the US flag, the 2008 Formula BMW America and World Champion could also reflect on a great opening GP3 weekend for his Paris-based ART Grand Prix team. The ART crew worked all night on Saturday preparing race cars for their first and historic GP3 victory. “What a great day both for us and the team,” said Rossi. "We had a lot of ground to make up after failing to complete the qualifying session. After that, I just focused on making up lost ground. I enjoyed the race on Saturday afternoon, the car was great to drive. It was my goal to finish 8th or better and we accomplished that. On Sunday, my ART team gave me another great race car and owe them a big thank you for working all night, preparing my car." “Alexander did a fantastic race today, starting from pole position and leading the whole race", said Nicolas Todt, co-owner of ART Grand Prix. "After a difficult qualifying, he reacted well in race one and did the job in race two. It’s a strong result for the team and for him. I’m sure more successes will come.” Gutierrez currently lies 3rd in GP3 Championship with 10 points and Rossi 4th with 8 points.
Recovering from Penalty - Rossi Carves the pack to Finish 5th in Bahrain
“On Sunday the car was good to drive", commented Rossi. “We made some significanchanges Saturday evening after race one, hoping to mitigate understeer and excessive tire degradation. The changes worked as the car balance really suited my driving style and for the first time the tires wore very well on a long run. I was quite happy, as we were finally able to show the pace and apply pressure the whole race. This is what we had been striving for. ” Although the GP2 Asia series was returning to the Bahrain International Circuit (BIC), the newly designed circuit layout, created for Formula 1, was a first for all of the drivers. Usually quick to learn new circuits, Rossi wasted no time in free practice, finishing the session 4th overall and 7/100ths off of the quickest time. In qualifying, Rossi completed the first stint and entered pit lane 5th. Struggling with handling problems after a pitlane adjustment, Rossi was unable to best his time previously posted, leaving him to fall to 10th on the timesheets. This coupled with the added 10 position grid penalty tacked on from the last event in Bahrain, the California native lined up 20th for the final feature race of the GP2 Asia 2009-2010 season. With two days of racing, Rossi gained a total of fifteen positions, as Saturday’s feature race saw a starting line-up of P20 and a finish of P11. While, Sunday’s sprint race Rossi lined-up P11 and crossed the line P5. “For a multitude of reasons, I started at the rear of the grid several times during this GP2 Asia series,” Alexander smiled. “Fortunately, I enjoy racing and I'm very confident working my way through the pack. There is a lot of patience and strategy involved, and I believe I was able to put up good performances on track. At the same time starting toward the back is usually costly in points." “I am thankful to Meritus for the opportunity that they have afforded me,” Rossi commented. “The team had an outstanding closing weekend with Luca winning on Saturday and the pace that I had in Sunday’s sprint race. Peter and Raad are great to work with and their commitment to the sport is unlike anything I have seen. The whole team has taught me an immense amount and will remain with me throughout my career.” “I'm currently fully focused on my GP3 campaign with ART Grand Prix. The first test went extremely well, with my goal to build on that at the end of the month. I am very prepared and it is important to maintain this momentum throughout the next couple pre-season tests.”
Rossi Endures Bahrain Debut Bahrain International Circuit, Bahrain – 26-27 Feb 2010
Entering the weekend 3rd in championship points, Malaysia Qi MeritusMahara driver, Alexander Rossi, had high hopes of his debut on the 6.3 kilometer circuit, as he was anxious to put to use the time spent preparing in a U.K. simulator the week previous and looking to gain valuable points and data leading up to the series season finale serving as support to Formula 1. In many respects for Rossi, this weekend was one 'to remember and forget', as an abnormal course of events kept the 18 year old from California from scoring points or finishing either round. For a championship winning driver, like Rossi these memorable events and experiences are motivating tools that happen to even the best drivers, and serve as situations in which to learn from. "In practice we struggled with brake temperature, but the team sorted that with no problem for qualifying", Rossi commented. "Bahrain is very hard on tires and the complex Bridgestone’s have a small window. I was unable to maximize my 2nd set of tyres in qualifying and my posted time from the 1st set was not enough as the track improved as the qualifying session went on." Starting 15th for the 34 lap feature race, Rossi had a strong pace from the onset, moving his way up the racing order into 2nd place by lap 10 before pitting for rear tires. Rossi re-entered the circuit in 9th. Shortly into the 2nd stint the front tyres began degrading quickly. Having difficulty with steering input, contact with an exit kerb resulted in damage to the floor, reducing downforce and creating extreme understeer. Rossi took a defensive approach to hold position, but by lap 25 his pace had declined by almost 3 seconds, dropping him back to 17th position. The team called him to the pits for tyres, one lap later, on lap 26, the team retired the car due to safety reasons. The following day, Rossi started 24th for the sprint race and immediately had pace to race up front, having climbed to 12th position by the end of lap 2. On the next lap, while overtaking Fabio Leimer to the outside of Turn 1, Rossi clipped his front wing on Leimer’s rear tire in the braking zone. With lack of front wing and downforce, deceleration became difficult and Rossi slid into William Bratt, ending the race for them both. After the race, Rossi was called to the steward’s office to review an on track manuveur with Leimer. Indicating that Rossi had not allowed enough room to race and forced Leimer four wheels over the white line, Stewards imposed a 10 grid spot penalty to Rossi for race 7 in Bahrain. Leimer continued without any further impediment. "The sprint race was really unfortunate, because we had the pace to up front", Rossi added. "I've never had two DNF's in a weekend, and an added penalty was so disappointing, this sport can be brutal. Fortunately, I've learned how to cope with setbacks and will serve me well going forward. I need to thank the whole Meritus team who worked really hard for me all weekend, giving 150%. I really enjoy working with all of them. Even though I will serve a 10 grid spot penalty in race 7 in Bahrain, I know what's needed from the car and what has to happen in qualifying." Without scoring a point in last event, Rossi has moved to 7th overall in the championship but is expected to improve on this at the next round. Next event for 2009-2010 GP2 Asia championship takes place at the Bahrain International Circuit, March 12 -14 alongside Formula 1.
OVERCOMING ADVERSITY AT 'YAS' - ROSSI 3RD IN GP2 ASIA CHAMPIONSHIP STANDINGS
Despite an adversity filled weekend at 'Yas', Rossi and Meritus collected valuable championship points, exiting the weekend with Rossi now 3rd in the driver's standings as GP2 Asia heads to the Bahrain International Circuit later this month. Rossi was pleased with his Meritus entry from the outset, qualifying 5th just 3/10ths shy of pole. However, a technical infraction with a setting on the rear wing element was assessed by the FIA stewards after the session resulting in Rossi being relegated to 24th on grid for race one. “The MeritusQi car balance was really good, we just struggled to find clean laps and some luck in qualifying,” Alexander commented. “In qualifying, I was quick from the start but suffered a delay when the FIA collected me to the weighbridge while pitting for my second set of tires. This was a random check but cost about 3 minutes. The team made efforts to get me out as quickly as possible and accidentally set in too much wing, causing the technical penalty imposed later in parc ferme. Mistakes happen, but the whole MeritusQi team worked really hard for me all weekend and I'm very thankful for the opportunity they gave me.” Alexander, having a brilliant start and determined to recover from the qualifying penalty, tore through the field on the opening lap of race one advancing from 24th on the grid to 14th. Rossi continued his fantastic run throughout the race crossing the finish line in 6th place. “It was great to race through the pack and overtake in race one" Rossi smiled. "The car balance was very good and I was able to position myself where I needed to overtake for position. I knew we were deficient in top speed, with the car struggling to pull in the higher gears. This made it very important to get the best run off the corner as possible.” Results of race one set the starting order for race two with the top eight finishers inverting. From third on the grid, Rossi made a very good start to take second place into to Turn 1. This was short lived; however, as a safety car was immediately deployed for a multi-car accident further back in the field. At the restart, two cars overtook Rossi, placing him in 4th. From this point onward Rossi's pace progressively declined, forcing him to defend for the 21-lap sprint race to finish 9th. "Running 2nd, I saw the safety car as an opportunity to overtake Michael Herck for the lead,” said Rossi. "It turns out we did not have the pace in race two and the car was laboring in 4th, 5th and 6th gear. I kept pushing and defended as much as possible, buying time, but the pace was not there. It is disappointing because we had a shot at a win today. It is behind me now and we must only focus on the solution and the next event in Bahrain." "It was a hard weekend, but we earned three points and Alexander Rossi climbed to third in the driver’s classification with 10 points," says Peter Thompson, President and team founder. "I am very proud of our Malaysian team and want to thank the drivers, engineers and mechanics for their dedication and hard work all week end." The next round of the championship takes place at the Bahrain International Circuit, February 25-27. A new circuit for Rossi, he will train this week in a simulator belonging to Wirth Research in the U.K. "There were many ups and downs in Abu Dhabi,” says Alexander. “The whole Meritus team is extremely talented group of people. I am very thankful for Peter Thompson giving me the opportunity this weekend. MeritusQi Racing is a championship winning team with a lot of experience and the ability to recover. I have no doubt that things will be smooth and sorted for Bahrain."
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Monza
weekend brought the ultra-competitive GP3 Championship season to a
close. For America's Alexander Rossi, he celebrated 4th overall in
driver's standings, two wins in Barcelona and Budapest and three podiums
while assisting his team, ART Grand Prix with the inaugural GP3 Team
Championship. These statistics continued to underline Rossi's potential
and his pursuit to Formula 1. 
After
a difficult start to the weekend, ART Grand Prix driver, Alexander Rossi
grinds it out, scoring his 2nd convincing GP3 Series victory, Sunday
from pole. The American led the entire event capitalizing on pole
position for round 12 after finishing 8th in round 11 while supporting
Formula 1 in Budapest, Hungary.
Sunday
in Silverstone, led to a dramatic ending for race two of the GP3 Series
as Alexander Rossi returned to the podium, crossing the line in third
place, 0.09 sec ahead of Esteban Gutierrez and just behind Mirko
Bortolotti. Having finished Saturday's race also in the points with a
fifth place finish, Rossi leaves the British Grand Prix second in the
GP3 Series Drivers' Championship. 
ART
Alexander
Rossi scored a resounding victory in the opening weekend of the new GP3
series in Barcelona on Sunday, May 9.
Race
One of the 2010 Formula 1 Championship season set the stage for the GP2
Asia closing rounds. MalaysiaQi MeritusMahara rookie driver, Alexander
Rossi, ended his campaign on a charge, carving through the field during
Sunday’s sprint race to finish fifth, just 0.864s behind series champion
Davide Valescchi.
With
preparations already underway for the Formula 1 season opener, March
12-14, GP2 Asia held race 5 and 6 this past weekend at the Bahrain
International Circuit (BIC), built in 2003. 
Alexander
Rossi returned to the Yas Marina Circuit in Abu Dhabi this past weekend
to race under the lights for round two of the GP2 Asia Series. The event
marked Rossi's race debut for team MalaysiaQI-Meritus Mahara.