2007 Silverstone Feature Race

The 2007 Silverstone Feature Race, otherwise known as the 2007 Silverstone GP2 Series Race 1, was the eighth race of the 2007 FIA GP2 Series, staged at the Silverstone Circuit in Silverstone, Northamptonshire, UK, on 7 July 2007. The race would see Andreas Zuber claim a clean sweep of pole position, fastest lap and victory, becoming the eighth different winner of the season.

Zuber got his weekend underway in brilliant fashion, sweeping to pole position in qualifying ahead of Mike Conway of Super Nova Racing. Lucas di Grassi and Kazuki Nakajima would then share the second row, while Championship leader Timo Glock would start from fifth.

The start of the race, which came at the second attempt after Andy Soucek stalled, would see Zuber sweep into the lead from pole, with Conway and di Grassi likewise holding station in second and third. Glock, meanwhile, would take advantage of a slow starting Nakajima to secure fourth, with Adam Carroll following the German through into Copse.

The opening stages saw Zuber open out a slender lead over Conway, while behind Glock sized up a move on title rival di Grassi for third. The German racer duly caught di Grassi sleeping entering Abbey on lap four, dancing around the outside of the #2 ART Grand Prix with a move that also allowed Carroll to pass the Brazilian.

With that the pitstop phase was unexpectedly opened, with Bruno Senna abandoning his set of Bridgestones first while running at the back of the field. Giorgio Pantano and Nicolas Lapierre were also early pit callers, while Glock was the first of the leaders to stop on lap eleven.

Glock's stop prompted Zuber and Conway, who had escaped from the #5 iSport, to pit on the following tour, while Carroll gambled on a longer stint. Indeed, with those who had pitted on cold tyres the Brit appeared to have the pace to make the tactic work, with his lead over Zuber holding at 32 seconds.

As that battle on the timing screens evolved Glock sauntered back into the pits, initially unnoticed by his pitcrew after suffering an electrical issue. Indeed, the German racer would lose a whole lap as Carroll swept into the pits for his stop on lap seventeen, with the Brit ultimately storming back into the fray in third, right on the tail of compatriot Conway in second.

Yet, a few laps later and Carroll's hopes of a podium were over, for he would be slapped with a drive-through penalty for speeding in the pitlane. That would ultimately elevate Nakajima into third, albeit only after quick-fire retirements for Pantano and Lapierre, the latter having initially been thought to have spun into the barriers after hitting oil from the former's engine failure. Glock would also drop out soon after, his electrical issues forcing him into retirement while running at the back of the field.

With that the race was run, with Zuber cruising to victory with a comfortable margin over Conway in second, also claiming fastest lap. Nakajima duly resisted di Grassi to claim his maiden podium finish in third, while Carroll ended the day in sixth behind Luca Filippi after serving his penalty. Pastor Maldonado then claimed seventh after a quiet race, while Roldán Rodríguez claimed the final point and pole for the Sprint Race.

Background
A week after the battle of Magny-Cours the FIA GP2 Series arrived at the Silverstone Circuit for its fifth round of the season, with the Northamptonshire circuit unchanged for the Series' third visit. There would, however, be a change to the entry list ahead of the trip to the UK, with Filipe Albuquerque taking over from the injured Ernesto Viso at Racing Engineering. The Portuguese would make his GP2 debut with backing from Red Bull and at the behest of Racing Engineering boss Alfonso d'Orleans who personally asked Albuquerque to race for them.

Magny-Cours Marvels
The Championship lead had remained in Timo Glock's hands as the weekend in France came to a conclusion, although the German racer's failure to score in either race meant his advantage had been reduced. Luca Filippi was next up in second, eight off the lead, while Lucas di Grassi ended the weekend ten behind, as none of Glock's major challengers managed to capitalise on the German's poor weekend. Bruno Senna and Giorgio Pantano then completed the top five, while Michael Ammermüller had added his name to the scoresheet in nineteenth.

iSport International had likewise managed to retain their lead in-spite of their most difficult weekend of the campaign, leaving Magny-Cours with a ten point advantage in the Teams' Championship. ART Grand Prix had remained their closest challengers in second, ten behind, while Super Nova Racing were up to third, a further two behind. Campos Grand Prix and Arden International then completed the top five, while points had again eluded DPR and BCN Competición.

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:
 * * Hirate and Soucek were both handed five place grid penalties for ignoring yellow flags during qualifying.
 * † Senna failed to set a time within 107% of the fastest lap, but was allowed to start the race at the stewards' discretion.

Grid

 * * Soucek started the race from the pitlane after stalling on the first attempted start.

Results
The final classification of the is displayed below:
 * Bold indicates a driver started from pole.
 * Italics indicate that a driver set fastest lap.
 * * Glock set the fastest lap in the race (1:30.952) but was unable to claim the bonus point as he failed to finish.

Milestones

 * Debut race for Filipe Albuquerque.
 * Maiden and only pole position for Andreas Zuber.
 * Zuber claimed his second career victory.
 * This was also Zuber's first and only Hattrick.
 * iSport International claimed their sixth victory as an entrant.
 * Maiden podium finishes for Mike Conway and Kazuki Nakajima.
 * Zuber recorded his maiden fastest lap.

Standings
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 race winner Andreas Zuber had rocketed up to sixth.

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.

Only point scoring drivers are shown.