This morning it was announced that the German Hilmer motorsport team have been forced to miss this weekend's opening round of the GP2 series season with the future of the team in the series now beginning to be called into question.
The Hilmer team used British driver Nick Yelloly and Nigel Melker in pre-season testing at the Sakhir International Circuit in Bahrain at the beginning of this month, although it seems they were not able to reach an agreement with them as they looked to fill their two GP2 seats.
The team only entered the series in 2013, quickly winning four races over the past two years thanks to the likes of Robin Frijns,Jon Lancaster and Adrian Quaife-Hobbs, although the team struggled last year after finishing 12th out of 13 teams in the series. The team also suffered from a revolving door of drivers across the year, with this problem finding drivers extending over to this year it seems.
For this weekend the GP2 grid will only 24 cars therefore, with the final seat on the grid being filled this morning also. MP motorsport announced this morning they had signed veteran Spanish GP2 racer Sergio Canamasas for the opening weekend only at the moment, although the deal could easily be extended for the rest of the season.
Whilst this morning's news is both bad for the Hilmer motorsport team and the the GP2 series itself, everyone will be hoping the team can return with two competitive drivers in time for the second round of the series supporting the Spanish Grand Prix in early May.
What are your thoughts on this announcement and what it means for the GP2 series itself? Please feel free to comment below.
The Hilmer team used British driver Nick Yelloly and Nigel Melker in pre-season testing at the Sakhir International Circuit in Bahrain at the beginning of this month, although it seems they were not able to reach an agreement with them as they looked to fill their two GP2 seats.
The team only entered the series in 2013, quickly winning four races over the past two years thanks to the likes of Robin Frijns,Jon Lancaster and Adrian Quaife-Hobbs, although the team struggled last year after finishing 12th out of 13 teams in the series. The team also suffered from a revolving door of drivers across the year, with this problem finding drivers extending over to this year it seems.
For this weekend the GP2 grid will only 24 cars therefore, with the final seat on the grid being filled this morning also. MP motorsport announced this morning they had signed veteran Spanish GP2 racer Sergio Canamasas for the opening weekend only at the moment, although the deal could easily be extended for the rest of the season.
Whilst this morning's news is both bad for the Hilmer motorsport team and the the GP2 series itself, everyone will be hoping the team can return with two competitive drivers in time for the second round of the series supporting the Spanish Grand Prix in early May.
What are your thoughts on this announcement and what it means for the GP2 series itself? Please feel free to comment below.
