2007 Silverstone Sprint Race

The 2007 Silverstone Sprint Race, otherwise known as the 2007 Silverstone GP2 Series Race 2, was the ninth race of the 2007 FIA GP2 Series, staged at the Silverstone Circuit in Silverstone, Northamptonshire, UK, on 8 July 2007. The race would see Adam Carroll claim victory for the first time since his return to the series two weeks previously, having snatched the lead mid-race.

The Feature Race had seen Roldán Rodríguez claim reverse-grid pole for the Sprint by finishing eighth, with Pastor Maldonado set to line-up alongside. In contrast Feature winner Andreas Zuber would start from eighth, with Carroll starting from third and Championship leader Timo Glock starting in twenty-first.

The start would see Rodríguez make a mess of his start, allowing Maldonado to storm into the lead, while Lucas di Grassi and Carroll also fired past. Those two would then fight for second through Maggotts and Becketts, with Carroll completing an impressive move around the outside of the Brazilian to secure second spot.

With that the top three were away, with Rodríguez unable to match their pace in the opening stages. Maldonado, meanwhile, would briefly escape as Carroll and di Grassi fought for second, before Carroll managed to draw the Venezuelan racer back in before the end of the third tour.

Behind, all attention was on Glock, for the German racer was storming back up the field and ran in fourteenth come the end of lap four. Two swift moves on the two Ardens followed, before the German racer was taken out by an overly ambitious Adrian Zaugg as the South African racer tried to repay the favour.

His demise meant di Grassi and Luca Filippi had a perfect opportunity to make good ground in the Championship, although neither was able to make progress from their current spots of third and sixth respectively. Filippi would, however, manage to catch a break when Rodríguez spun out of fourth, although the Italian racer would make no progress on the leaders.

Instead, it was Kazuki Nakajima who took initiative, sweeping onto the tail of di Grassi before easing past the Brazilian at Copse. As he closed up Carroll finally found a way past Maldonado, selling the Venezuelan racer a dummy into Abbey to secure the lead.

With that the race was settled, with Carroll escaping to victory while Maldonado was left to hang on for second to chequered flag, with Nakajima harassing him throughout. The Japanese racer ultimately settled for third ahead of di Grassi, while Mike Conway and Zuber rounded out the scorers as Filippi's pace collapsed late on.

Background
There were no changes to the Silverstone Circuit ahead of the second race of the weekend, while the entry had been modified due to an accident during the Feature Race. Indeed, Nicolas Lapierre was forced to sit out the Sprint Race after slamming the barriers at Chapel, for the impact had damaged his car too much to be repaired. That, however, would not affect the order at the head of the field for the Sprint, with Roldán Rodríguez set to start from pole position for Minardi Piquet.

Silver Saturday
Timo Glock had once again seen his early Championship lead eroded by his closest rivals as he retired for the third race in succession, although he crucially still held the initiative ahead of the Sprint. Indeed, Luca Filippi had only managed to cut the German racer's lead to four points after the eighth race of the campaign, with Lucas di Grassi a point further behind in third. Bruno Senna and Giorgio Pantano were next up as they failed to score, while Feature winner Andreas Zuber had rocketed up to sixth after his triumph.

In the Teams' Championship, meanwhile, Zuber's maximum score had allowed iSport International to open out their lead, the British squad moving thirteen clear at the head of the field. Super Nova Racing were their closest challengers in second, having moved ahead of ART Grand Prix, with the French squad slipping eighteen off the lead in third. Campos Grand Prix and Arden International then completed the top five, while Carlin DPR and BCN Competición had again failed to score.

Entry List
The full entry list for the is displayed below:

Grid
The grid for the Sprint Race was formed from the finishing positions from the Feature Race, with the top eight reversed as per-FIA GP2 Series rules:


 * * Lapierre was unable to start the race due to damage sustained in his accident in the Feature Race.

Results
The final classification of the is displayed below:
 * Italics indicate that a driver set fastest lap.

Milestones

 * Fourth victory for Adam Carroll.
 * Also Carroll's first win since the 2005 Spa Sprint Race.
 * Coloni Motorsport claimed their fifth victory as an entrant.
 * Third and final fastest lap recorded by Kazuki Nakajima.

Standings
Another non-score for Timo Glock had caused the German racer to lose the majority of his Championship lead leaving Silverstone, although he still held a two point advantage at the head of the hunt. Indeed, Lucas di Grassi had only managed to close onto the German's tail rather than overhaul him, while Luca Filippi had remained four points behind having dropped out of the points late on during the Silverstone Sprint. Bruno Senna and Giorgio Pantano, meanwhile, had both failed to score but remained in fourth and fifth, while Adam Carroll had broken into the top ten with victory.

iSport International had retained the initiative in the Teams' Championship leaving Silverstone, having moved onto a tally of 59 points for the campaign. Super Nova Racing had moved closer to their compatriots, leaving their home round twelve behind, while ART Grand Prix had also reduced their deficit to the leaders to sixteen. Behind Campos Grand Prix and Arden International had retained their top five status, while DAMS and Trident Racing had moved closer.

Only point scoring drivers are shown.