Jolyon Palmer wins first GP2 race in Monaco

Jolyon Palmer has taken his maiden GP2 victory in Monaco, as the British driver dodged the carnage that ensued behind him. Fellow countryman Max Chilton came home 2nd, with Giedo van der Garde a consistent 3rd for Caterham.

There was total carnage on the opening lap, as two separate incidents were caused, one at turn 1 and another up the hill through turn 2 and towards turn 3. Local star Stephane Richelmi started on pole, however heading into turn 1 the Monegasque driver made contact with James Calado and unfortunately retired from the race. Championship leader Davide Valsecchi suffered a slow getaway at the start, and was subsequently involved in the second much bigger incident up the hill.

The incident was triggered by Johnny Cecotto jr., who spun his Barwa Addax car causing a concertina-effect as the majority of the field stamped on the brakes. Felipe Nasr was seen almost flying over the top of a car, as Davide Valsecchi, Tom Dillmann, Victor Guerin, Ricardo Teixeira and Fabio Onidi all retired in the mayhem. With the track blocked by the many stricken cars, the safety car was deployed for the first time this weekend as the marshals set to clearing up the mess.

The Monaco marshals once again completed a stunning job in clearing the track, as the safety car returned to the pits as the race resumed on lap 4. Across the line Jolyon Palmer lead from fellow countrymen James Calado and Max Chilton. The Lotus of Calado, however, was later shown the black and orange flag after sustaining front wing damage due to the incident with Stephane Richelmi. On lap 10, Calado succumbed to the damage on his car, and eventually pitted for a new front wing.

As the halfway point in the race approached, the number of cars still running in the race began to dwindle as Fabio Leimer and Julian Leal retired from the race. Leimer had made contact with the barrier through the swimming pool section, thus damaging his car whereas Leal had retired due to mechanical issues. James Calado also retired from the race on lap 22, as the British driver returned to the pits for a second time.

With Palmer dominating out in front, Max Chilton began to reel in the iSport International driver. However, it was all too late for Chilton to have a sniff at victory, as Palmer crossed the line to take his maiden GP2 victory around the streets of the Principality.

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