GP2 Series: James Calado, GP2 race winner. How does that sound?
James Calado: Awesome! It’s a fantastic feeling. The emotion going over the line was incredible. I really need to thank Racing Steps Foundation and Lotus ART for the opportunity to drive this weekend. Without these guys I wouldn’t be here at all. To be at such a prestigious event and to win is just great. The race went pretty well. I got a good start which was obviously key because around here it’s quite hard to overtake. I pushed quite hard on the first few laps to manage a gap. I saw that Marcus Ericsson was behind me and I knew it was going to be tough because he’s quite experienced with these tyres, but I managed to hold him off. He caught me through the middle of the race. I wasn’t too worried because I knew I had some rear tyres left to push towards the end. He was much quicker than me through sector 1 and half-way through sector 2, but the second half I was much quicker so for him to get close was not really possible. And the last four or five laps I pulled away again and won the race. It’s really nice to win the award from Pirelli is fantastic . It’s a bit of pressure off my shoulders from next year. It will help and I’m looking forward to the start of testing. I can’t wait!
GP2 Series: Talking about Pirelli, how did you manage your tyres so well?
James: In qualifying you can push 100 per cent just like in GP3. The difference however in Gp2 in the race is that you have to manage the tyres. You can’t push. You can only drive at 60 or 70% of what you’re capable of. If you push too early that’s it. You hit a cliff and you lose complete grip. You can’t accelerate, brake. It’s really important you manage it correctly and the one thing Lotus ART are good at is that they’re helping me develop these skills. There’s still a lot to improve for next year but we have six days of testing and we’ve got a lot of work to do to be 100% ready for the first race of the 2012 season.
GP2 Series: Do you realise that now that you’re a race winner, people will be expecting a lot from you for next season?
James: For me, there’s no extra pressure. I’ve just got to do the job. That’s to be as competitive as possible and to try and win races. Finishing second for me is not a good success. It’s good for scoring points in the championship but I always want to win and I’m trying to ignore all this rookie stuff because Formula One at the moment is so competitive that to get there you need to dominate and be really impressive in your first year. I won’t be going to the first race thinking I want to be first rookie. I want to win the race and get a good start for this championship.
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GP2 Series: Marcus, P2 today. Great job.
Marcus Ericsson: Thank you very much.
GP2 Series: Still, you seemed hungry for more...
Marcus: Yeah that was my goal for today. I mean after our strong performance from yesterday I was really looking forward to trying to win the race. But James did a good job. I think I was a bit quicker than him but it’s not easy to overtake here. If a driver does not make a mistake, it’s very difficult to pass him and if you do it it’s still a big risk. So, I’m happy for the team. We’ve had a great weekend here with both drivers. I think everyone is happy. It was a shame we did not win but it was still a good performance.
GP2 Series: What was the most difficult part of the race today?
Marcus: It’s always the first lap. It’s always a bit tricky but I’m always pretty strong at the start. Then I was fighting a bit with Antonio. He was struggling a bit so I waited for him to make a mistake. I got past him. Then I had to push to get closer to James but he made no mistake today so he deserved to win it.
GP2 Series: This result is even greater after a disappointing qualifying I’m sure...
Marcus: Yeah. I was pretty disappointed because with the experience I have and the team I’m in I should be in the top in qualifying. So I was very disappointed but I was determined to show everyone that I could fight back. I think I’ve done that. But next stop will be to better qualified and stay at the stop!
GP2 Series: We know that you will be back in GP2 with iSport next year. What are your goals?
Marcus: It’s great to have everything sorted for next year with iSport. We can already start preparing. It’s a great team and I am very happy to be with them for another year. For sure, it’s going to be my third year in GP2 and I think I have learned enough now to try and win it. That’s our goal to fight for that. So we will do everything we can to win the championship in 2012.
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GP2 Series: Tom, first GP2 race weekend and first podium finish. How does that feel?
Tom Dillmann: It’s great. It’s been a great weekend from free practice till Sprint Race, everything went really well. I’m really happy. I feel really good in the car because it suits my driving style pretty well. And for the first day of test I was quite good and I finished P1 in Barcelona on my second day in a GP2 car. I carried on here with P3 in free practice on my first time in Abu Dhabi so that was good. Unfortunately, qualifying did not go so well. It’s difficult between the traffic and the red flag to put a good lap. But it’s still very good.
GP2 Series: Talking about today’s race and managing the tyres for 22 laps. How difficult was it?
Tom: It went quite well. I think I was maybe a bit too safe at the beginning because I knew there would be a lot of degradation so I lost a bit of time compared to Calado and Ericsson. Mid-race, I had a really good pace. I was catching up Calado and Ericsson at some point. Maybe I was a bit too safe at the beginning to keep the tyres alive. This is also part of the experience to know how much you can push at the beginning.
GP2 Series: What does this podium finish mean to you?
Tom: You know, I did the test and it went really well so I won my ticket for this race and this race went really well so I hope it will help me to be on the grid next year. It’s a really good weekend and solid results. I hope it will help me that I finished on the podium in the category just before Formula One. It’s a great feeling.
GP2 Series: You’re the second best GP3 graduate here today. How did your past season helped you understand the GP2 car?
Tom: I think in terms of tyres, it is quite similar. Both run on Pirelli, so the tyres were not new for me in GP2. I know how to warm them up properly for example. But in the race, it is completely different because you have more power so you really need to take care of the rear tyres. It’s the main difference and of course the race are much longer (Laughs).