2016 Silverstone Feature Race

The 2016 Silverstone Feature Race, otherwise known as the 2016 Silverstone Race 1, was the ninth race of the 2016 FIA GP2 Series, staged at the Silverstone Circuit on the 9 July 2016. The race, staged in support of the 2016 British Grand Prix, would see Pierre Gasly sweep to victory after dragging himself clear of arch-rival and teammate Antonio Giovinazzi.

Norman Nato claimed pole for the ninth race of the season, edging out Pierre Gasly on his 24th birthday. Indeed, Nato would survive a post-quali investigation after allegations that his lap was set during red flag conditions, which were enforced when Oliver Rowland ground to a halt late on.

Background
The GP2 Series headed to the home of British motorracing for its fifth pair of races, once again partnering Formula One for the 2016 edition of the British Grand Prix. Silverstone itself remained unchanged from 2015, with the DRS zones likewise unmodified. There would be a minor revision to the entry list, however, with Nobuharu Matsushita returning to ART Grand Prix after serving his two race ban.

Into the Championship and the leader after the eighth race of the season staged in Austria proved to be Raffaele Marciello, with the Italian ten ahead of second placed Mitch Evans. Norman Nato was next, a point behind the Kiwi, while Artem Markelov was a further point back in fourth, level with Oliver Rowland. Antonio Giovinazzi and Alex Lynn were also above the 50 point mark, with Pierre Gasly, Jordan King and Sergey Sirotkin completing the top ten upon arrival at Silverstone.

In the Teams' Championship it was Russian Time who headed the table at the end of the Austrian weekend, the Russian squad having slithered to a twenty point lead. Racing Engineering had retained second, a point ahead of Prema Racing, with Campos Racing retaining fourth. ART Grand Prix and DAMS were next, level on 72 points but the latter ahead on count-back, while Rapax were sat at the foot of the table on seven.

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

Results
The final qualifying result for the are outlined below:
 * * Sirotkin was forced to start from the pitlane after ignoring a call to visit the weighbridge during the session before his crew worked on his car.
 * † Canamasas was handed a three place grid penalty for unsporting behaviour during Free Practice.
 * ‡ Ghiotto failed to set a time, but was allowed to start at the back of the grid.

Grid

 * * Sirotkin was forced to start from the pitlane after failing to stop at the weighbridge during qualifying.

Results
The final classification of the is displayed below:
 * Bold indicates a driver started from pole.
 * Italics indicate that a driver set fastest lap.
 * * Rowland was handed a five second time penalty for abusing track limits.

Milestones

 * Maiden (and only) pole position for Norman Nato.
 * Maiden victory for Pierre Gasly.
 * Prema Racing claimed their third victory as an entrant in the GP2 Series.

Standings
Victory propelled Pierre Gasly the top of the Championship, the Frenchman having rocketed from eighth to first on one fell swoop. His teammate Antonio Giovinazzi was next, level with Mitch Evans on points but ahead on count-back, with Oliver Rowland just a point back in fourth. Indeed, it was still incredibly tight at the top of the Championship with just seven points separating Gasly in first and Norman Nato in sixth.

The Teams Championship saw Prema Racing move to the top of the standings, the Italian squad's second one-two of the season carrying them to 142 points. Russian Time had made way for them at the top, ending the afternoon on 123, with Racing Engineering still close enough to worry them on 114. Pertamina Campos Racing were next, sat on 93, with ART Grand Prix having moved back into the top five just behind.

Only point scoring drivers and teams are shown.