April 26th, 2012. One week after the second round of the 2012 GP2 Series season, Venezuela GP Lazarus and the other twelve teams are back at the Bahrain International Circuit for the third round of the season, and for a standalone race weekend.

This third round will take place over just two days including a busy Friday with Free Practice, Qualifying and the Feature Race. The Series sole tyre supplier Pirelli will provide each team with Hard (Prime) and Medium (Option) compounds. The 2012 season has generated some heart-stopping action and drama. Once again, all the ingredients are in place this week to produce the perfect GP2 recipe: young blood eager to succeed, whilst being put to the test racing machinery that will accept nothing but the very best from the drivers.

28 March, 2012. After seven seasons in the GP2 Series, Super Nova Racing bowed out in 2012. In its place stepped a brand new squad, Venezuela GP Lazarus. The team may be new, but it is composed of many familiar faces, including Team Principal Tancredi Pagiaro, known in the paddock from his Minardi Piquet GP days. With Super Nova pulling out so late, Pagiaro had just 40 days to get everything together for the GP2 opener.

“We were in David Sears’ workshop in the first week of March working solidly. I was awake for 20 hours a day,” he says. Pagiaro was already running Lazarus in Auto GP, but the association with Venezuela GP made GP2 a reality.

“Lazarus is my company, but we have a good friend in Venezuela GP. Our project is to stay in GP2 for many years.” A points finish in their first race was a reward for the team.

“I am so happy about this. But the difference is the driver and we must thank Fabrizio for doing such a good job. For me he is the most important factor, but we are a team and we will push forward together.”

March, 07th. Venezuela GP Lazarus driver quickest on day 1 of second pre-season testing

FABRIZIO CRESTANI IN GP2 SERIES WITH VENEZUELA GP LAZARUSNow it’s official: Fabrizio Crestani to join Venezuela GP Lazarus in 2012 season in the GP2 Series! The Italian, born in 1987, will be at the wheel of the Dallara in Jerez on February 28-29th and March, 1th. Venezuela GP Lazarus, a new project.An entire country, Venezuela, is now among the big names of motorsport and for the first time Venezuela will have his team in GP2 Series, with a car livery with the color “Vinotinto” which also characterizes the national football team. Joining GP2 was made possible thanks to a partnership with a consortium of Venezuelan investors. They created a project designed to raise the profile of the industry, which ultimately led to the deal with GP2. Lazarus’ expertise was key to their desire to make Venezuela a force to be reckoned with in motorsport. They now have a common project called Venezuela GP Lazarus in GP2 Series, the category which gives an opportunity to young drivers to showcase their skills in front of F1 teams.Tancredi Pagiaro, Team Principal”I’m really delighted to welcome Fabrizio to the Venezuela GP Lazarus. I know him very well: last year in Auto GP he demonstrated to everyone his potential and I’m sure that also in GP2 will be the same. But now it’s time not to talk but to work very hard together: that’s the only way to achieve good results.”Fabrizio Crestani”First of all, I would like to thank my main sponsor Daiko who had always believed in me since the beginning of my career and the group of Venezuelan investor who made possible the Venezuela GP project. A very special thanks goes to Tancredi Pagiaro, who has always believed in my potential: among us there is a very special feeling, that I never had with other team managers. Now is the time to start: racing in GP2 is a dream come true! I know it will be hard, but I’m impatient to start testing to be competitive right from the start.”

February, 16th 2012. With last week’s announcement of Vitaly Petrov joining the Caterham F1 Team, the number of GP2 graduates racing in Formula One for the 2012 season comes up to 12, representing half of the current grid.

The twelve former GP2 drivers who will race next to the F1 champions, are proof and confirmation that the GP2 Series has met its main objective:  to nurture and train young talents and lead them to the top of motorsport. Since its inception in 2005, the Series has constantly and regularly produced  drivers who have stepped up  to Formula One, starting from GP2 first ever champion Nico Rosberg to the latest crowned ace, 2011 champion Romain Grosjean. In fact, six out of seven GP2 champions are racing in F1 this season, reaffirming GP2 as the natural path to the pinnacle of motorsport.

To this day, fifty-one drivers have been given the opportunity to drive an F1 car as a direct result of their experience in GP2. On top of the twelve drivers signed for the 2012, six GP2 racers have been given the role of F1 reserve drivers. (Furthermore: like her big sister, GP3 Series keeps in line with producing great talents worthy of F1 with its 2011 Champion Valtteri Bottas having been signed as official reserve driver at Williams F1).

GP2 Series has always worked closely with FOM. Thanks to these ties, the Series has always run alongside F1 and in 2012 will share eleven race weekends with the elite of motorsport from Malaysia to Bahrain, through Europe and to Singapore. Being part of this prestigious environment enables the drivers to learn the circuits used by F1, but also introduces these young talents to the F1 paddock who can watch them closely each race.

GP2 laptimes are highly competitive with the final few rows on the F1 grid. Engines which provide over 600hp, no electronic gizmos such as traction control or power steering, plus ground effects and proper Pirelli P Zero slick tyres – the same one used in F1 – make the GP2/11 car powerful and tricky to handle.