2005 GP2 Series season

2005 GP2 Series season
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The 2005 GP2 Series season started in Imola, San Marino on April 23, and ended in Manama, Bahrain on September 30. The season was won by the German Nico Rosberg, with the Finn Heikki Kovalainen finishing second.

2005 was the first season of the newly-renamed Formula One feeder series, from Formula 3000 to GP2. The inaugural season didn't feature reigning F3000 champion Vitantonio Liuzzi, because the Italian was driving for Red Bull Racing in Formula One. The series did feature two former F1 drivers, Italians Gianmaria Bruni and Giorgio Pantano, driving for Coloni and SuperNova respectively.

Contents 1 Season summary 2 Teams and drivers 2.1 Driver changes 2.1.1 Midseason changes 3 2005 Schedule 4 Results 5 Championship standings 5.1 Drivers 5.2 Teams 6 References 7 External links

Season summary

In the opening race at Imola, there were a number of mechanical problems and organizers being afraid of troubles in the start, the rolling start was used in both races, though weather was dry. Nicolas Lapierre had taken inaugular pole position but he was out before the race had started due to mechanical problems. The race was won by his team-mate Heikki Kovalainen.

After the first weekend, it was decided that points for fastest lap will only be awarded if driver is classified. This was due to event in Imola sprint race, where Lapierre started with fuel load with he wouldn't been able to finish, set a fastest lap and retired soon after.

At Barcelona, the drivers could finally experience rolling starts. F1 refugee Bruni won the feature race and José María López the sprint race. First four races had been won by four drivers in four teams, highlighting that field had many competitive drivers. Adam Carroll was first one to take second victory after he won at Monaco, where only one race was held.

At Nürburgring, the sprint race was extended from 80 to 120 kilometres. This coincided with F1 dropping second qualifying session on Sunday morning. The sprint race turned to be one of the most exciting of the season, with Monegasque Clivio Piccione winning.

Heikki Kovalainen was top driver in early season, winning three of first five feature races. However, the season took turnaround at Magny-Cours, where ART Grand Prix started going strong. Tactical errors caused them to lose feature race, but Nico Rosberg gave them first win at the sprint. Rosberg went on to win next two feature races, while Olivier Pla won both sprints having started from pole position in both of them.

At the qualifying of Hungaroring race, ART cars were disqualified for illegal position of steering rack. They were sent to back of the grid but it didn't stop them taking point finishes in feature and 1-2 in the sprint, where Alexandre Prémat won his first race. Neel Jani had joined winners' list in feature race.

Prémat won also next race at Istanbul, while championship leading duo Kovalainen and Rosberg finished outside the points. The sprint race started in wet conditions but dried out, so tyre changes were necessary. Kovalainen did that move perfectly and won the race having started 10th. Rosberg jumped from 17th to 3rd.

Kovalainen and Jani won races at Monza but Rosberg took most points with two second places and two fastest laps. Nelson Angelo Piquet then won feature race at Spa-Francorchamps while Rosberg took championship lead from Kovalainen who spun off on last lap while battling for eighth place and pole for Sunday's race. Carroll led the sprint race from the start but following accidents involving Ernesto Viso, Hiroki Yoshimoto and Jani the race was stopped early and only half points were awarded. Viso still ended in 3rd position thanks to countback rule.

The championship was decided in Bahrain which held the only race not supporting F1. Rosberg led Kovalainen by three points and increased lead by taking pole position. Rosberg also won the race and clinched the title as Kovalainen was 3rd. Rosberg then won also the sprint race, becoming first driver in the series to win both races during the event.

Teams and drivers

All of the teams used the Dallara chassis with Renault-badged Mecachrome engines in 2005 in order to keep the field fair.

As this was the inaugural season in the series, car numbers were distributed by a pre-season session held at Circuit Paul Ricard on April 6. The fastest driver got number 1, his team-mate number 2, next best driver number 3 etc.

Team	#	Driver	Rounds
iSport International	1	Scott Speed	All
	2	Can Artam	All
Hitech/Piquet Racing	3	Nelson Angelo Piquet	All
	4	Alexandre Sarnes Negrão	All
BCN Competicion	5	Ernesto Viso	All
	6	Hiroki Yoshimoto	All
Super Nova Racing	7	Giorgio Pantano	All
	8	Adam Carroll	All
ART Grand Prix	9	Nico Rosberg	All
	10	Alexandre Prémat	All
David Price Racing	11	Olivier Pla	All
	12	Ryan Sharp	1–7
		Giorgio Mondini	8–12
DAMS	14	José María López	All
	15	Fairuz Fauzy	All
Coloni Motorsport	16	Mathias Lauda	All
	17	Gianmaria Bruni	1–9
		Toni Vilander	10–11
		Ferdinando Monfardini	12
Racing Engineering	18	Neel Jani	All
	19	Borja García	All
Campos Racing	20	Juan Cruz Álvarez	All
	21	Sergio Hernandez	All
Arden International	22	Heikki Kovalainen	All
	23	Nicolas Lapierre	All
Durango	24	Clivio Piccione	All
	25	Ferdinando Monfardini	1–10
		Gianmaria Bruni	11–12

Driver changes

Entering GP2

• Juan Cruz Álvarez: World Series by Nissan (Gabord Competicion) → Campos Racing
• Can Artam: International Formula 3000 (Coloni Motorsport & Super Nova Racing) → iSport International
• Gianmaria Bruni: Formula One (Minardi Cosworth) → Coloni Motorsport
• Adam Carroll: British Formula Three Championship (P1 Racing) → Super Nova Racing
• Fairuz Fauzy: British Formula Three Championship (Menu F3 Motorsport & P1 Racing) → DAMS
• Borja García: Spanish Formula Three Championship (Racing Engineering) → Racing Engineering
• Sergio Hernandez: Spanish Formula Three Championship (Adrian Campos Motorsport) & World Series by Nissan (Saulnier Racing) → Campos Racing
• Neel Jani: Formula Renault V6 Eurocup (DAMS) → Racing Engineering
• Heikki Kovalainen: World Series by Nissan (Pons Racing) → Arden International
• Mathias Lauda: International Formula 3000 (CMS Performance) & Superfund Euro Formula 3000 (Traini Corse) → Coloni Motorsport
• Nicolas Lapierre: Formula Three Euroseries (Signature) → Arden International
• José María López: International Formula 3000 (CMS Performance) & Formula Renault V6 Eurocup (DAMS) → DAMS
• Ferdinando Monfardini: International Formula 3000 (Spero I.E.) → Durango
• Alexandre Sarnes Negrão: Formula Three Sudamericana (Piquet Sports) → Hitech/Piquet Racing
• Giorgio Pantano: Formula One (Jordan Ford) → Super Nova Racing
• Clivio Piccione: British Formula Three Championship (Carlin Motorsport) → Durango
• Nelson Angelo Piquet: British Formula Three Championship (Piquet Sports) → Hitech/Piquet Racing
• Olivier Pla: World Series by Nissan (RC Motorsport & Carlin Motorsport) → David Price Racing
• Alexandre Prémat: Formula Three Euroseries (ASM Formule 3) → ART Grand Prix
• Nico Rosberg: Formula Three Euroseries (Team Rosberg) → ART Grand Prix
• Ryan Sharp: Formula Renault V6 Eurocup (Jenzer Motorsport) → David Price Racing
• Scott Speed: Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0 & Formula Renault 2.0 Germany (Motopark Academy) → iSport International
• Toni Vilander: Italian Formula Three Championship (Coloni F3) & Formula Three Euroseries (Coloni F3) → David Price Racing
• Ernesto Viso: [British Formula Three Championship (P1 Racing) & International Formula 3000 (Durango) → BCN Competición
• Hiroki Yoshimoto: World Series by Nissan (Gabord Competicion) → BCN Competición

Midseason changes

• Giorgio Mondini replaced Ryan Sharp for Hungarian races
• Toni Vilander replaced Gianmaria Bruni for Italian races.
• Gianmaria Bruni replaced Ferdinando Monfardini for Belgian races.
• Ferdinando Monfardini replaced Toni Vilander for Bahrain races.

2005 Schedule

There were 23 races in the 2005 GP2 Series championship at 12 different circuits. Eleven race weekends had one race on Saturday and another on Sunday, the exception being the race at Circuit de Monaco where there was only one race on the weekend. The season began on April 23, 2005 and concluded on September 25, 2005.

The calendar was as follows:

Round		Location	Circuit	Date	Supporting
1	R1	Imola, Italy	Autodromo Enzo e Dino Ferrari	April 23	San Marino Grand Prix
	R2			April 24
2	R1	Catalunya, Spain	Circuit de Catalunya	May 7	Spanish Grand Prix
	R2			May 8
3	R	Montecarlo, Monaco	Circuit de Monaco	May 21	Monaco Grand Prix
4	R1	Nürburg, Germany	Nürburgring	May 28	European Grand Prix
	R2			May 29
5	R1	Magny-Cours, France	Circuit de Nevers Magny-Cours	July 2	French Grand Prix
	R2			July 3
6	R1	Silverstone, UK	Silverstone Circuit	July 9	British Grand Prix
	R2			July 10
7	R1	Hockenheim, Germany	Hockenheimring	July 23	German Grand Prix
	R2			July 24
8	R1	Budapest, Hungary	Hungaroring	July 30	Hungarian Grand Prix
	R2			July 31
9	R1	Istanbul, Turkey	Istanbul Racing Circuit	August 20	Turkish Grand Prix
	R2			August 21
10	R1	Monza, Italy	Autodromo Nazionale Monza	September 3	Italian Grand Prix
	R2			September 4
11	R1	Spa, Belgium	Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps	September 10	Belgian Grand Prix
	R2			September 11
12	R1	Sakhir, Bahrain	Bahrain International Circuit	September 29	Stand-alone event
	R2			September 30

Results

Round		Circuit	Pole Position	Fastest Lap	Winning Driver	Winning Team	Report
1	R1	Autodromo Enzo e Dino Ferrari	Nicolas Lapierre	Ernesto Viso	Heikki Kovalainen	Arden International	Report
	R2			Nicolas Lapierre	Adam Carroll	Super Nova Racing
2	R1	Circuit de Catalunya	Scott Speed	Nico Rosberg	Gianmaria Bruni	Coloni Motorsport	Report
	R2			Ryan Sharp	José María López	DAMS
3	R	Circuit de Monaco	Heikki Kovalainen	Heikki Kovalainen	Adam Carroll	Super Nova Racing	Report
4	R1	Nürburgring	Giorgio Pantano	Scott Speed	Heikki Kovalainen	Arden International	Report
	R2			Scott Speed	Clivio Piccione	Durango
5	R1	Circuit de Nevers Magny-Cours	Alexandre Prémat	Gianmaria Bruni	Heikki Kovalainen	Arden International	Report
	R2			Gianmaria Bruni	Nico Rosberg	ART Grand Prix
6	R1	Silverstone Circuit	Nico Rosberg	Alexandre Prémat	Nico Rosberg	ART Grand Prix	Report
	R2			Scott Speed	Olivier Pla	David Price Racing
7	R1	Hockenheimring	Nico Rosberg	Nico Rosberg	Nico Rosberg	ART Grand Prix	Report
	R2			Nico Rosberg	Olivier Pla	David Price Racing
8	R1	Hungaroring	Neel Jani	Hiroki Yoshimoto	Neel Jani	Racing Engineering	Report
	R2			Clivio Piccione	Alexandre Prémat	ART Grand Prix
9	R1	Istanbul Racing Circuit	Nico Rosberg	Scott Speed	Alexandre Prémat	ART Grand Prix	Report
	R2			Olivier Pla	Heikki Kovalainen	Arden International
10	R1	Autodromo Nazionale Monza	Heikki Kovalainen	Nico Rosberg	Heikki Kovalainen	Arden International	Report
	R2			Nico Rosberg	Neel Jani	Racing Engineering
11	R1	Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps	Gianmaria Bruni	Adam Carroll	Nelson Angelo Piquet	Hitech/Piquet Racing	Report
	R2			Adam Carroll	Adam Carroll	Super Nova Racing
12	R1	Bahrain International Circuit	Nico Rosberg	Alexandre Prémat	Nico Rosberg	ART Grand Prix	Report
	R2			Scott Speed	Nico Rosberg	ART Grand Prix

Championship standings

Drivers

Pos Driver SMR ESP MON EUR FRA GBR GER HUN TUR ITA BEL BHR Points 1 Nico Rosberg 8 Ret 9 4 3 3 4 7 1 1 4 1 4 5 2 17 3 2 2 3 5 1 1 120 2 Heikki Kovalainen 1 3 3 Ret 5 1 Ret 1 3 2 3 5 6 2 5 10 1 1 5 15† 9 3 Ret 105 3 Scott Speed 3 Ret 2 3 4 16 12 15 18 4 2 4 3 Ret 19 5 4 Ret 15 4 4 Ret 19 67.5 4 Alexandre Prémat 7 2 10 Ret Ret 4 Ret 9 Ret 3 5 2 9 4 1 1 14 Ret 18 Ret 12 2 3 67 5 Adam Carroll 5 1 7 6 1 Ret 2 4 6 21† 8 Ret 11 9 9 7 2 5 6 8 1 9 8 53 6 Giorgio Pantano 13 Ret 13 14 Ret 2 7 10 7 12 7 6 2 3 3 2 8 6 3 NC 11 5 5 49 7 Neel Jani 6 15 4 5 Ret 6 13† 5 4 5 6 Ret 22 1 4 Ret Ret 7 1 16 18 16 13 48 8 Nelson Angelo Piquet 14 6 5 2 11† 5 3 Ret DSQ Ret Ret 3 8 Ret 10 4 6 3 Ret 1 14 Ret 15 46 9 José María López 2 11 6 1 Ret 13 14 2 Ret 9 Ret 13 10 Ret Ret 6 7 Ret Ret 10 8 4 4 36 10 Gianmaria Bruni 4 4 1 Ret 2 8 Ret 18 11 7 11 NC 14 10 8 Ret 9 Ret 16 Ret 14 35 11 Nicolas Lapierre DNS Ret 11 9 Ret 12 Ret 3 5 10 Ret 9 7 12 6 Ret 13 4 Ret Ret 23 6 20 21 12 Ernesto Viso 10 DNS Ret Ret DSQ Ret 11 11 8 15 13 DSQ 12 6 Ret 14 12 Ret Ret 2 3 8 2 21 13 Olivier Pla 9 5 Ret Ret 9 Ret 8 Ret 9 8 1 8 1 7 Ret 9 17 Ret Ret 11 10 Ret DNS 20 14 Borja García Ret 10 Ret 10 10 Ret EX Ret 12 17 9 7 5 11 Ret 3 5 Ret 10 6 2 19 17 17.5 15 Clivio Piccione 15 Ret Ret 8 Ret 7 1 8 DSQ 6 Ret Ret 17 Ret 16 Ret 11 11 14 12 19 13 7 14 16 Hiroki Yoshimoto Ret 9 Ret 17 DNS 11 Ret 6 2 13 Ret 12 Ret 13 17 8 10 10 16 Ret 17 7 6 14 17 Ferdinando Monfardini Ret DNS Ret 11 DNS Ret 6 12 17† 14 10 Ret 15 Ret 11 Ret Ret 8 4 Ret 11 5 18 Juan Cruz Álvarez Ret 7 Ret 12 Ret 18† 15 Ret DSQ 11 Ret 10 Ret Ret 7 15 Ret 12 17 5 6 10 12 4.5 19 Alexandre Negrão Ret 13 8 15 12† Ret Ret Ret 13 19 16 Ret 18 8 15 12 19 Ret 13 7 7 12 9 4 20 Sergio Hernández 11 8 Ret 18 8 15 5 13 14 16 12 Ret 19 Ret 18 Ret NC Ret 7 Ret 20 15 18 3 21 Mathias Lauda 12 Ret Ret 13 6 10 Ret 16 15 20 15 14 21 Ret 14 16 18 13 12 9 24 14 21 3 22 Can Artam 16 Ret Ret Ret 7 17 Ret 17 16 18 14 Ret 20 14 12 11 16 9 9 Ret 22 17 16 2 23 Ryan Sharp Ret 14 Ret 16 Ret 9 9 19 Ret Ret NC 11 13 2 24 Fairuz Fauzy 17 12 12 7 Ret 14 10 14 10 Ret Ret Ret 16 Ret 13 Ret 15 14 11 13 15 11 10 0 25 Toni Vilander 15 8 14 13 0 26 Giorgio Mondini Ret Ret 13 Ret Ret Ret Ret 21 18 22 0 Pos Driver SMR ESP MON EUR FRA GBR GER HUN TUR ITA BEL BHR Points

Colour Result Gold Winner Silver 2nd place Bronze 3rd place Green Finished, in points Blue Finished, no points Not classified (NC) Purple Did not finish (Ret) Red Did not qualify (DNQ) Did not pre-qualify (DNPQ) Black Disqualified (DSQ) White Did not start (DNS) Withdrew (WD) Race cancelled (C) Blank Did not participate Excluded (EX)

• Polesitter for feature race in bold.
• Driver in italics has been awarded two points for fastest lap.
• Drivers who did not finish the race but were classified are marked with †.

Note: Sprint race at Spa was stopped early and half points were awarded.

Teams

Pos	Team	Car No.	SMR		ESP		MON	EUR		FRA		GBR		GER		HUN		TUR		ITA		BEL		BHR		Points
1	ART Grand Prix	9	8	Ret	9	4	3	3	4	7	1	1	4	1	4	5	2	17	3	2	2	3	5	1	1	187
		10	7	2	10	Ret	Ret	4	Ret	9	Ret	3	5	2	9	4	1	1	14	Ret	18	Ret	12	2	3
2	Arden International	22	1	3	3	Ret	5	1	Ret	1	3	2	3	5	6	2	5	10	1	1	5	15†	9	3	Ret	126
		23	DNS	Ret	11	9	Ret	12	Ret	3	5	10	Ret	9	7	12	6	Ret	13	4	Ret	Ret	23	6	20
3	Super Nova Racing	7	13	Ret	13	14	Ret	2	7	10	7	12	7	6	2	3	3	2	8	6	3	NC	11	5	5	102
		8	5	1	7	6	1	Ret	2	4	6	21†	8	Ret	11	9	9	7	2	5	6	8	1	9	8
4	iSport International	1	3	Ret	2	3	4	16	12	15	18	4	2	4	3	Ret	19	5	4	Ret	15	4	4	Ret	19	69.5
		2	16	Ret	Ret	Ret	7	17	Ret	17	16	18	14	Ret	20	14	12	11	16	9	9	Ret	22	17	16
5	Racing Engineering	18	6	15	4	5	Ret	6	13†	5	4	5	6	Ret	22	1	4	Ret	Ret	7	1	16	18	16	13	65.5
		19	Ret	10	Ret	10	10	Ret	EX	Ret	12	17	9	7	5	11	Ret	3	5	Ret	10	6	2	19	17
6	Hitech/Piquet Racing	3	14	6	5	2	11†	5	3	Ret	DSQ	Ret	Ret	3	8	Ret	10	4	6	3	Ret	1	14	Ret	15	50
		4	Ret	13	8	15	12†	Ret	Ret	Ret	13	19	16	Ret	18	8	15	12	19	Ret	13	7	7	12	9
7	DAMS	14	2	11	6	1	Ret	13	14	2	Ret	9	Ret	13	10	Ret	Ret	6	7	Ret	Ret	10	8	4	4	36
		15	17	12	12	7	Ret	14	10	14	10	Ret	Ret	Ret	16	Ret	13	Ret	15	14	11	13	15	11	10
8	BCN Competición	5	10	DNS	Ret	Ret	DSQ	Ret	11	11	8	15	13	DSQ	12	6	Ret	14	12	Ret	Ret	2	3	8	2	35
		6	Ret	9	Ret	17	DNS	11	Ret	6	2	13	Ret	12	Ret	13	17	8	10	10	16	Ret	17	7	6
9	Coloni Motorsport	16	12	Ret	Ret	13	6	10	Ret	16	15	20	15	14	21	Ret	14	16	18	13	12	9	24	14	21	34
		17	4	4	1	Ret	2	8	Ret	18	11	7	11	NC	14	10	8	Ret	9	15	8	14	13	Ret	11
10	David Price Racing	11	9	5	Ret	Ret	9	Ret	8	Ret	9	8	1	8	1	7	Ret	9	17	Ret	Ret	11	10	Ret	DNS	22
		12	Ret	14	Ret	16	Ret	9	9	19	Ret	Ret	NC	11	13	Ret	Ret	13	Ret	Ret	Ret	Ret	21	18	22
11	Durango	24	15	Ret	Ret	8	Ret	7	1	8	DSQ	6	Ret	Ret	17	Ret	16	Ret	11	11	14	12	19	13	7	21
		25	Ret	DNS	Ret	11	DNS	Ret	6	12	17†	14	10	Ret	15	Ret	11	Ret	Ret	8	4	Ret	16	Ret	14
12	Campos Racing	20	Ret	7	Ret	12	Ret	18†	15	Ret	DSQ	11	Ret	10	Ret	Ret	7	15	Ret	12	17	5	6	10	12	7.5
		21	11	8	Ret	18	8	15	5	13	14	16	12	Ret	19	Ret	18	Ret	NC	Ret	7	Ret	20	15	18
Pos	Team	Car No.	SMR		ESP		MON	EUR		FRA		GBR		GER		HUN		TUR		ITA		BEL		BHR		Points

References

External links

• GP2 Series & GP2 Asia Series

GP2 Series / GP2 Asia Series / GP3 Series GP2 Series: 2005 • 2006 • 2007 • 2008 • 2009 • 2010 • 2011 • 2012 (List of drivers) GP2 Asia Series: 2008 • 2008–09 • 2009–10 • 2011 (List of drivers) GP3 Series: 2010 • 2011 • 2012 (List of drivers)