As the cars left the starting grid and streamed
down to the first corner, it was A1 Team Switzerland who got the
best start and led A1 Team France out of the tight hairpin. However,
the best start was definitely made by A1 Team Netherlands who
were up to XX by from sixteenth on the grid by the end of lap
one. The start wasn't without dramas as A1 Team Czech Republic
stalled on his fifth position on the grid and so causing the cars
behind him to take avoiding action.
The pit stops started early with the leader and
second placed A1 Team France coming in at the end of lap two.
This pit stop proved the start of an uncharacteristically troublesome
race for Series point's leader France as a 53 second pit stop
dropped them down the field and this was not helped by the fact
that later in the race the team were given a drive through penalty
for a pit lane infringement.
Unfortunately the first safety car period was
when the race was only three laps old. This was to remove the
cars of A1 Teams USA and Australia that had tangled in turn one
when the American driver tried what proved to be an unsuccessful
overtaking manoeuvre. A1 Team Great Britain didn't have any better
luck than France as a slow pit stop was followed by a second one
on the next lap because the air gun had become wedged in the back
of the car and this obviously had to be removed.
When the safety car came in at the end of lap
six it was A1 Team New Zealand leading helped by the fact they
had yet to make their compulsory pit stop.
Despite the tightness of the track, there was
plenty of overtaking but A1 Team Canada suffered when the racing
was a little too close and they lost their front wing in turn
one only to run over the debris a lap later before having the
opportunity to pit for a new nose which they did at the end of
lap 10.
The second safety car period started on lap 12
when A1 Teams India and Indonesia collided. The cars were removed
and racing began at the end of lap 15 with Brazil leading at this
point although again due to not having pitted. At this point in
the race, A1 Team Ireland's hopes of a finish disappeared after
lying as high as second on lap two and then spending time in the
pits with a problem. On lap 15 Ralph Firman parked the car on
the side of the track after developed a severe handling problem
caused by a broken anti-roll bar.
The crowds witnessed A1 Team Malaysia overtaking
A1 Team South Africa on lap 16 and after the re-start the racing
continued with at one point, three cars abreast trying to go into
a corner with A1 Team Lebanon being the filling in the sandwich.
A1 Team Malaysia were the next culprits to bring out a safety
car after spinning and partly blocking the track on lap 26, narrowly
being missed by A1 Team New Zealand. This period lasted for three
laps with Brazil still leading when the safety car pulled off
at the end of lap 29.
A podium position for A1 Team Germany looked certain
until the car hit a wall on lap 36. However, A1 Team Switzerland
looked set to notch up win number two as when Brazil pitted at
the end of lap 37 they moved into the lead. Jos Verstappen was
in an amazing second place but it was obvious again he was not
going to give up the chance of a win until the chequered flag.
As the cars were on their last lap, Jos took his opportunity and
passed the car with the red and white flag on it which seemed
to be slowing although not enough to allow third place A1 Team
Portugal to get by.
Race winner Jos Verstappen said 'I'm very happy.
I had a fantastic start, and was battling with people all the
way through. Both I and Alvaro made mistakes but I managed to
get past and stay ahead, then Germany went into the wall and I
know Brazil still had to pit.'
Speaking about his courageous overtaking manoeuvre
on the last lap of the Feature race, Verstappen said: 'In the
Sprint race second position was good, but I tried to overtake
and it didn't work out as I wanted. This time I was in the same
position, and Neel was running wide. I used my PowerBoost and
managed to overtake. I'm really pleased for the guys because they
worked very hard and the fans as well. It was quite tough to come
here with a new mechanic and a new race engineer, there were quite
a few things different, but right from the start when I got in
the car, it felt good here and I felt confident.'
A disappointed Neel Jani said: 'It looks like
we always have problems in the race, I had no brakes at all in
the last few laps. What can I say? For sure I am disappointed;
we lost in Dubai through bad strategy and here through brake failure.
I'm not too happy. Out of the last six races we could have won
5. When you have made a mistake it is bad enough but when it isn't
your fault it is even worse. I probably won't sleep very much
tonight.'
Portugal's Alvaro Parente commented: 'I'm very
pleased, especially after qualifying. We had really good pace
in free practice and qualifying was a disappointment. I attacked
the Sprint race and managed to finish eighth, a good position
for the start of the Feature race. It was an interesting fight
and overtaking is hard on a street track like this. It's great
to have so many people watching the race, thanks to the crowd
for their support. I'm delighted for the team who have worked
really hard. Now we have to work for a win.'
A1 Team South Africa finished fifth which equalled
Alex Yoong's record for best finish at a home race. For all their
efforts, Brazil gained the bonus point for the fastest lap being
the only driver to record a sub 1.19 time of 1.18.178 which obviously
is now the official lap record for this circuit at an average
speed of 151.2km/h.
