The newly-crowned champion reflects on an incredible week in Sochi
Thursday 16 October 2014 13:18, UK
I’ll be honest, the thought of racing in Sochi was not hugely appealing – the circuit was one I was least looking forward to this season.
Although I’ve never been to Russia before and it’s always nice to visit new places, the almost full day of travelling and the thought of driving a ‘car park’ track full of second and third gear corners wasn’t too enticing.
I’m returning now with a completely different opinion though and I’ve had a great week in Sochi, of course helped by the fact that I finally clinched the championship! I was really pleasantly surprised by the track as well. Having done it on the simulator before I went I was expecting a very boring circuit but actually straight away in free practice I found it really enjoyable to drive. There is a street feel to it which I love, and there is a challenging mix of corners, difficult braking zones and of course the epic Turn Three, which was easy flat for us in qualifying but in race trim it was right on the edge.
So I arrived in Sochi with the championship hanging in the balance, I needed to gain eight points over Felipe Nasr over the course of the weekend to be crowned champion with a weekend to spare, something that is rarely done in GP2 and hasn’t been done since Grosjean in 2011.
After qualifying I thought my chances of clinching it on Saturday were over. After missing pole and the resulting four points because of traffic in the last two corners I would need to win the Feature Race from my fourth place grid spot with Nasr not scoring to be champion on Saturday.
Well the Feature Race was incredible. I had a great first lap and put in arguably the overtake of my life to move from fifth (I lost a place at the start) to second around the outside of Turn Five. From there I was trying to push Stoffel Vandoorne and fight with him for the win when the Safety Car came out and changed the race. Vandoorne missed the pit entry which ruined his chances of victory and it was left for Mitch Evans and I to fight it out over the remaining laps after the Safety Car.
It was one of the hardest races of the year though. Mitch was really quick and putting me under a lot of pressure and we had to overtake a load of slower guys who were yet to pit. At times it really felt like wacky races out there with cars flying everywhere and with the sun getting ever lower visibility was really difficult as well. When the final guys pitted I led, with Mitch on my tail and just put in five qualifying laps to try to build a gap. In the end it was enough and I took the flag... Winner and champion!
In my whole motorsport career I think this was about the most surreal moment. I was so happy as it was unexpected, but Nasr had a shocking race and was out of the points. Being GP2 Champion has been a target I’ve been aiming at for a while and to win it a round early, by winning a race and in style was the perfect ending to the script. The podium and interviews were a blur – I think I said how unbelievable and incredible the feelings were about 20 times! That truly was my feeling though.
To join such a great list of drivers is incredible. People like Nico Rosberg, Lewis Hamilton, Nico Hulkenberg and Romain Grosjean, even the past two champions Davide Valsecchi and Fabio Leimer who didn’t make F1 I have a huge amount of respect for.
Being a champion is only worth as much as the level of competition you’re up against. I said in my first column of the year how extremely competitive the 2014 field was looking , this year the standard of driving throughout the whole of the grid has been really high and at the sharp end the competition has been fierce. There are a lot of guys who have won races this year and shown what super talents they are as well so to come out on top of this year’s crop makes me feel extremely proud.
I was amazed at the amount of support and messages I received afterwards, it’s great to see GP2 getting the media attention it deserves and I can’t thank everyone who has supported me enough, it really means a lot.
The race on Sunday was a strange feeling. For the first time in a year I was racing with no pressure, nothing to lose. I still aimed to give it my all and get up onto the podium again. Unfortunately I was hit by Raffaele Marciello at the first corner and dropped to the back. The rest of the race was difficult trying to come back through with a slightly damaged car as well. I was pleased to salvage a top ten in the end but it was disappointing to end my point scoring run like that. Still I guess if it had to happen, it was the perfect timing for it!
Over the course of the weekend I was really busy with loads of interviews and photos for the media. It was a small taste of the life of an F1 driver. Obviously looking ahead to the future F1 is now where I need to be. I have a management team working hard to make it happen. I’ve done all I can this year to show that I’m deserving of a race seat and I feel absolutely ready to do a good job if I get the chance.
Now I have just one weekend of my GP2 career remaining in Abu Dhabi in six weeks’ time. It’s a track I have been very strong on in the past and we topped pre-season testing there at the start of the year so I’m aiming to bow out of GP2 in style with a win. A six week gap is a long time to fill and it’s a real bonus to not have to worry about wrapping up the title now. And who knows... there could be something else in the pipeline before the season is out, let’s see what happens.
JP
Follow Jolyon on Twitter: @JolyonPalmer
Jolyon will be a guest on the F1 Show on Friday at 8pm on Sky Sports F1
