Traffic and mechanical gremlins both contributed to a disappointing weekend in Imola for Carlin’s Max Chilton, who threatened to crack the top six in qualifying but was unable to mount a challenge in the races.
The young Brit lost his opportunity to set a competitive qualifying time thanks to traffic during the period when his tyres were at their best. He was forced to back off during a flying lap that had been on course to improve him from 11th to sixth and he eventually qualified 18th.
In the feature race he forced his way through to 16th and was challenging Oliver Turvey when his car suffered an undiagnosed fault, dropping him rapidly through the field in the final laps. His eventual 21st-place finish left him poorly positioned for Sunday’s sprint race, but he was able to improve to 15th in that.
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Photos by Drew Gibson and Malcolm Griffiths, GP2 Media Service