2007 Monza Feature Race

The 2007 Monza Feature Race, otherwise known formally as the 2007 Monza GP2 Series Race 1, was the sixteenth race of the 2007 FIA GP2 Series, staged at the Autodromo Nazionale Monza in Monza, Lombardy, Italy on 8 September 2007. The race would see Giorgio Pantano claim pole, fastest lap and victory on home soil to claim his first Grand Slam in GP2, that kept him just in the hunt for the Championship.

Indeed, Pantano would prove to be unbeatable before the Feature Race, setting the fastest lap in practice before storming to pole position by a third of a second. His closest challenger on Friday would prove to be Lucas di Grassi, although his effort was matched to the nearest thousandth by Vitaly Petrov, while Championship leader Timo Glock could only muster eighth.

Pantano would go on to make a perfect start when the lights went out on Saturday, sweeping away from di Grassi, who held off the attentions of Petrov. Behind, however, there would be chaos as the field braked for the Rettifilo for the first time, with Glock at the epicentre.

Indeed, as the German racer hit the brakes he and Adrian Zaugg drifted into one-another's paths, resulting in the South African racer getting pitched into a spin. Zaugg was subsequently hit by Mike Conway and Olivier Pla leaving all three with heavy damage, while Glock scampered across the grass and dropped to the back of the field.

That incident triggered a Safety Car, leaving Pantano in the lead ahead of di Grassi, Kazuki Nakajima and Petrov, while Glock appeared in seventeenth. After a quick clean up the race resumed with Pantano again sprinting clear, while Nakajima opted to make an early stop a couple of laps later.

With Pantano setting a succession of fastest laps out front several drivers made early stops, with di Grassi and Petrov the next of the lead group to stop. Yet, even with fresh rubber none could match Pantano's pace out front, although as the race approached half-distance a collision left his victory bid in the lurch.

Indeed, a clumsy collision between Andreas Zuber and Roldán Rodríguez while they were stuck behind Markus Niemelä left the Spaniard beached on a kerb at the second chicane, triggering another Safety Car. Fortunately for Pantano his engineer was quick to call him in and get his pitstop done, meaning he would rejoin the fray without losing the lead.

After that the race resumed for a second time, with Pantano again sprinting clear, while di Grassi held onto second ahead of Alexandre Negrão. However, it was not long before a third SC was called upon, with Andy Soucek going off track and rejoining right in the path of Zuber, leaving the Emirate registered racer with nowhere to go but into the back of the #21 DPR.

After the third intervention the race resumed once more, with Pantano powering away while di Grassi secured a seemingly comfortable second. Glock, meanwhile, would making incredible progress through the field, and was up to fourth at the start of the penultimate tour when di Grassi suddenly lost power and dropped to the back of the field.

With that the race was run, with Pantano sweeping across the line to claim victory, despite a marked drop in his pace down the back straight. Filippi was next up in second, while Glock inherited third with di Grassi's demise to enhance his Championship lead over his main rival. Bruno Senna, Karun Chandhok, Javier Villa and Sébastien Buemi were next up, while Ricardo Risatti survived a spin on cold tyres to claim eighth and reverse-grid pole for the Sprint Race.

Background
A little under a fortnight after the chequered flag fell in Istanbul the FIA GP2 Series unloaded in the paddock at the Autodromo Nazionale Monza for the ninth round of the season, tucked in the park in Monza, Lombardy, Italy. Supporting the LXXVIII Gran Premio Santander d'Italia, there would be no changes to the Italian circuit since GP2's last visit at the end of the 2006 season, although Bridgestone had opted to bring a harder compound for the weekend. Elsewhere, DPR had decided to rest the trapped nerve plagued Christian Bakkerud, re-signing Olivier Pla to their squad for the trip to Italy.

Istanbul Intent
Victory for Timo Glock was enough to restore the German racer to the top of the GP2 Championship leaving Turkey, as well as establish a two point lead over his main rival. Indeed, Lucas di Grassi's first non-score in eleven races may have proved costly to his title ambitions, although he still remained a major pretender regardless. Indeed, Luca Filippi was free falling away from the fight in third, 29 points off the lead, with Giorgio Pantano and Kazuki Nakajima in a similar situation in fourth and fifth.

In the Teams' Championship, meanwhile, iSport International had successfully extended their advantage at the top of the field, having moved onto 94 points for the campaign. With three rounds to go their lead stood at 22 points over ART Grand Prix, with the French squad the main resistance to iSport as the British squad attempted to usurp their crown. Behind, Super Nova Racing had held third, Campos Grand Prix had moved up to fourth, while BCN Competición and Carlin DPR had again failed to claim points.

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

Qualifying
Qualifying for the inaugural GP2 Series race would be staged via a thirty minute session on Friday afternoon, ahead of the Feature Race on Saturday. All 24 drivers would venture onto the circuit during the session, and were allowed to complete as many laps as they could to set their qualifying time. There was also a free choice of tyres, although drivers could not exceed their allocation of Bridgestone tyres.

Results
The final qualifying result for the are outlined below:
 * * Soucek failed to set a time within 107% of the fastest lap, but was allowed to start at the stewards' discretion.

Results
The final classification of the is displayed below:
 * Bold indicates a driver started from pole.
 * Italics indicate that a driver set fastest lap.
 * * Nakajima was disqualified from the race for causing a collision with Tung, and would serve a ten place grid penalty in the Sprint Race.
 * † Soucek was handed a ten place grid penalty for the Sprint Race for causing a collision with Zuber.
 * ‡ Rodríguez was awarded a ten place grid penalty for the Sprint Race for causing a collision with Zuber.

Milestones

 * Olivier Pla made his first FIA GP2 Series start since the 2006 Magny-Cours Sprint Race.
 * Giorgio Pantano secured his first pole position since the 2005 Nürburgring Feature Race.
 * Pantano claimed his fifth victory.
 * Pantano secured his first and only Grand Slam and maiden Hattrick.
 * Campos Grand Prix secured their second win as an entrant.
 * Ricardo Risatti claimed his maiden and only points finish.
 * Pantano recorded his maiden fastest lap.

Standings
Timo Glock would head into the second race at Monza with his Championship enhanced and, briefly, unassailable after his podium finish, which left him eight clear at the head of the hunt. Lucas di Grassi had therefore lost ground in second after his penultimate lap glitch, while Giorgio Pantano had kept himself in the hunt in third after his maximum score, but faced a huge 23 point deficit. Behind, Luca Filippi had slipped to fourth ahead of Kazuki Nakajima, while Ricardo Risatti had become the season's 25th scorer.

In the Teams' Championship iSport International had broken through the 100 point barrier after the opening bout in Monza, with Glock's podium having left them on exactly 100 points. That translated into a healthy 26 point lead over second placed ART Grand Prix, while behind Campos Grand Prix had ascended to third after Pantano's triumph. Super Nova Racing had made way for their Spanish rivals and slipped to fourth, while DAMS had held station in fifth.

Only point scoring drivers are shown.