05-02-05

2002 RED BULL DRIVER SEARCH WINNER SPEED STEPS UP ON THE GP2 PODIUM

New York City, New York — Red Bull Driver Search winner Scott Speed showed once again why his name has been on everyone’s lips, and deserves to be on the side of a Formula 1 car. Speed raced from sixth at the start to take third at the finish of the first-ever GP2 Series race this weekend at San Marino in Italy.

The GP2 series has replaced the International F3000 series as the closest step to Formula 1, with 24 hungry racers working to prove that they should be racing in the world’s most advanced racing category, Formula 1.

The GP2 Series races on the same tracks and on the same weekends as Formula 1 in Europe, staging an hour-long race on Saturday with two mandatory pit stops, and a second race with a sprint format on Sunday morning. The grid for the second race is formed in a novel fashion, with the top eight finishers from the first race being inverted at the front of the field for the sprint race.

Speed was due to start from sixth on the gird for the second race, but the American’s engine had problems before the start of the race and forced him to retire to the pits and watch the race instead of competing in it.

“Making it to the podium in the very first GP2 race isn’t bad, although of course I am here to win,” smiled Speed. “I was happy to make up some positions after starting back in sixth, so that was positive for us.”

Starting it’s fourth year, this unparalleled motorsports program—the Red Bull Driver Search—has gone from a mere idea, to realizing its goal of having an American race in Formula 1; Scott Speed is on the cusp of achieving this feat.


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