2005 GP2 Series

The 2005 GP2 Series season started in Imola, Italy on 23 April, and ended in Manama, Bahrain on 30 September. 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 did not 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.

Season summary

In the opening race at Imola, there were a number of mechanical problems and organizers being afraid of trouble at the start, so the rolling start was used in both races, though weather was dry. Nicolas Lapierre had taken his inaugural 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 the points for the fastest lap would only be awarded if the driver was classified. This was due to the event in the Imola sprint race, where Lapierre started with a fuel load with which he wouldn't have 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. The first four races had been won by four drivers in four teams, highlighting that the field had many competitive drivers. Adam Carroll was the first driver to take a 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 the top driver early in the season, winning three of the first five feature races. However, the season took a turnaround at Magny-Cours, where ART Grand Prix started going strong. Tactical errors caused them to lose the feature race, but Nico Rosberg gave them their first win at the sprint. Rosberg went on to win the next two feature races, while Olivier Pla won both sprints having started from pole position in both of them.

At the qualifying of the Hungaroring race, ART cars were disqualified for illegal position of their 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 joined the winners' list in the feature race.

Prémat also won the 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 the most points with two second places and two fastest laps. Nelson Angelo Piquet then won the feature race at Spa-Francorchamps while Rosberg took the championship lead from Kovalainen who spun off on the 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 his lead by taking pole position. Rosberg also won the race and clinched the title as Kovalainen was 3rd. Rosberg then also won the sprint race, becoming the first driver in the series to win both races during an 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 6 April. The fastest driver got number 1, his team-mate number 2, next best driver number 3 etc.

Team	No.	Driver	Rounds
iSport International	1	Scott Speed	All
iSport International	2	Can Artam	All
Hitech/Piquet Racing	3	Nelson Angelo Piquet	All
Hitech/Piquet Racing	4	Alexandre Sarnes Negrão	All
BCN Competicion	5	Ernesto Viso	All
BCN Competicion	6	Hiroki Yoshimoto	All
Super Nova Racing	7	Giorgio Pantano	All
Super Nova Racing	8	Adam Carroll	All
ART Grand Prix	9	Nico Rosberg	All
ART Grand Prix	10	Alexandre Prémat	All
David Price Racing	11	Olivier Pla	All
	12	Ryan Sharp	1–7
	12	Giorgio Mondini	8–12
DAMS	14	José María López	All
DAMS	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
Racing Engineering	19	Borja García	All
Campos Racing	20	Juan Cruz Álvarez	All
Campos Racing	21	Sergio Hernández	All
Arden International	22	Heikki Kovalainen	All
Arden International	23	Nicolas Lapierre	All
Durango	24	Clivio Piccione	All
	25	Ferdinando Monfardini	1–10
	25	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 3 Championship (P1 Racing) → Super Nova Racing
Fairuz Fauzy: British Formula 3 Championship (Menu F3 Motorsport & P1 Racing) → DAMS
Borja García: Spanish Formula Three Championship (Racing Engineering) → Racing Engineering
Sergio Hernández: 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 3 Championship (Carlin Motorsport) → Durango
Nelson Angelo Piquet: British Formula 3 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 3 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.

Calendar

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 23 April 2005 and concluded on 25 September 2005.

The calendar was as follows:

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

Results

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

Championship standings

Drivers

Pos	Driver	IMO		CAT		MON	NÜR		MAG		SIL		HOC		HUN		IST		MNZ		SPA		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	15†	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	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
12	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
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	NC	11	Ret	10	NC	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	20†	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	IMO		CAT		MON	NÜR		MAG		SIL		HOC		HUN		IST		MNZ		SPA		BHR		Points

Colour	Result
Gold	Winner
Silver	Second place
Bronze	Third place
Green	Points finish
Blue	Non-points finish
Blue	Non-classified finish (NC)
Purple	Retired (Ret)
Red	Did not qualify (DNQ)
Red	Did not pre-qualify (DNPQ)
Black	Disqualified (DSQ)
White	Did not start (DNS)
	Withdrew (WD)
	Race cancelled (C)
Blank	Did not practice (DNP)
	Did not arrive (DNA)
	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.	IMO		CAT		MON	NÜR		MAG		SIL		HOC		HUN		IST		MNZ		SPA		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
1	ART Grand Prix	10	7	2	10	Ret	Ret	4	Ret	9	Ret	3	5	2	9	4	1	1	14	Ret	18	Ret	12	2	3	187
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
2	Arden International	23	DNS	Ret	11	9	Ret	12	Ret	3	5	10	Ret	9	7	12	6	Ret	13	4	Ret	Ret	23†	6	20	126
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
3	Super Nova Racing	8	5	1	7	6	1	Ret	2	4	6	21†	8	Ret	11	9	9	7	2	5	6	8	1	9	8	102
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
4	iSport International	2	16†	Ret	Ret	Ret	7	17	Ret	17	16	18	14	Ret	20	14	12	11	16	9	9	Ret	22†	17	16	69.5
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
5	Racing Engineering	19	Ret	10	Ret	10	10†	Ret	EX	Ret	12	17	9	7	5	11	Ret	3	5	Ret	10	6	2	19	17	65.5
6	Hitech/Piquet Racing	3	14†	6	5	2	11†	5	3	Ret	DSQ	Ret	Ret	3	8	15†	10	4	6	3	Ret	1	14	Ret	15	50
6	Hitech/Piquet Racing	4	Ret	13	8	15	12†	Ret	Ret	Ret	13	19	16†	Ret	18	8	15	12	19	Ret	13	7	7	12	9	50
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
7	DAMS	15	17†	12	12	7	Ret	14	10	14	10	Ret	Ret	Ret	16	Ret	13	Ret	15	14	11	13	15	11	10	36
8	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	36
8	Coloni Motorsport	17	4	4	1	Ret	2	8	Ret	18	11	7	11	NC	14	10	8	Ret	9	15	8	14	13	Ret	11	36
9	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
9	BCN Competición	6	Ret	9	Ret	17	DNS	11	Ret	6	2	13	Ret	12	Ret	13	17	8	10	10	16	Ret	17	7	6	35
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
10	David Price Racing	12	Ret	14	Ret	16	Ret	9	9	19	Ret	Ret	NC	11	13	Ret	Ret	13	Ret	Ret	Ret	Ret	21†	18	22	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
11	Durango	25	Ret	DNS	Ret	11	DNS	Ret	6	12	17†	14	10	Ret	15	Ret	11	Ret	Ret	8	4	Ret	16	Ret	14	21
12	Campos Racing	20	Ret	7	Ret	12	Ret	18†	15	Ret	NC	11	Ret	10	NC	Ret	7	15	Ret	12	17†	5	6	10	12	7.5
12	Campos Racing	21	11	8	Ret	18†	8	15	5	13	14	16	12	Ret	19	Ret	18†	Ret	20†	Ret	7	Ret	20†	15	18	7.5
Pos	Team	Car No.	IMO		CAT		MON	NÜR		MAG		SIL		HOC		HUN		IST		MNZ		SPA		BHR		Points

References

External links

GP2 Series & GP2 Asia Series

v t e GP2, GP2 Asia and GP3 Series seasons
GP2 Series	2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 Rebranded as the FIA Formula 2 Championship
GP3 Series	2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 Rebranded as the FIA Formula 3 Championship
GP2 Asia Series	2008 2008–09 2009–10 2011
Lists of drivers	List of GP2 Series drivers GP2 race winners GP2 driver records List of GP3 Series drivers List of GP2 Asia Series drivers