The 2005 GP2 Series season was the thirty-ninth season of the second-tier of Formula One feeder championship and also first season under the GP2 Series moniker. The season started in Imola, Italy on 23 April, and ended in Sakhir, 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

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In the opening race at Imola, there were a number of mechanical problems and with organisers afraid of trouble at the start, the rolling start was used in both races despite the weather being 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 Montmeló, the drivers could finally experience standing 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 its 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 points finishes in the feature and 1-2 in the sprint race, 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 Piquet Jr. 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

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All of the teams used the Dallara GP2/05 chassis with Renault-badged 4.0 litre (244 cu in) naturally-aspirated Mecachrome V8 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 name Rounds
  iSport International 1   Scott Speed All
2   Can Artam All
  Hitech Piquet Sports[a] 3   Nelson Piquet Jr. All
4   Alexandre Negrão All
  BCN Competición 5   Ernesto Viso All
6   Hiroki Yoshimoto All
  Super Nova International 7   Giorgio Pantano All
8   Adam Carroll All
  ART Grand Prix 9   Nico Rosberg All
10   Alexandre Prémat All
  DPR 11   Olivier Pla All
12   Ryan Sharp 1–7
  Giorgio Mondini[b] 8–12
  DAMS 14   José María López[c] All
15   Fairuz Fauzy[d] 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[e] All
21   Sergio Hernández All
  Arden International[f] 22   Heikki Kovalainen All
23   Nicolas Lapierre All
  Durango 24   Clivio Piccione All
25   Ferdinando Monfardini 1–10
  Gianmaria Bruni 11–12

Driver changes

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Entering GP2

Midseason changes

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Calendar

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

Results

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

Championship standings

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Scoring system

Points are awarded to the top 8 classified finishers in the Feature race, and to the top 6 classified finishers in the Sprint race. The pole-sitter in the feature race will also receive two points, and two points are given to the driver who set the fastest lap in the feature and sprint races. The driver also has to drive 90% of race laps. No extra points are awarded to the pole-sitter in the sprint race.

Feature race points
Position  1st   2nd   3rd   4th   5th   6th   7th   8th   Pole   FL 
Points 10 8 6 5 4 3 2 1 2 2
Sprint race points

Points are awarded to the top 6 classified finishers.

Position  1st   2nd   3rd   4th   5th   6th   FL 
Points 6 5 4 3 2 1 2

Drivers' Championship

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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 Piquet Jr. 14† 6 5 2 11† 5 3 Ret DSQ DNS 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 DNS 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 DNS 6 2 13 DNS 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 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 DNS 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
Key
Colour Result
Gold Winner
Silver 2nd place
Bronze 3rd place
Green Other points position
Blue Other classified position
Not classified, finished (NC)
Purple Not classified, retired (Ret)
Red Did not qualify (DNQ)
Did not pre-qualify (DNPQ)
Black Disqualified (DSQ)
White Did not start (DNS)
Race cancelled (C)
Blank Did not practice (DNP)
Excluded (EX)
Did not arrive (DNA)
Withdrawn (WD)
Text formatting Meaning
Bold Pole position point(s)
Italics Fastest lap point(s)

Notes:

  • † – Drivers did not finish the race, but were classified as they completed more than 90% of the race distance.
  • ‡ – Sprint race at Spa was stopped early and half points were awarded.

Teams' Championship

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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
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 International 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 Sports 3 14† 6 5 2 11† 5 3 Ret DSQ DNS Ret 3 8 15† 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 DNS 13 10 Ret Ret 6 7 Ret Ret 10 8 4 4 36
15 17† 12 12 7 Ret 14 10 14 10 Ret DNS Ret 16 Ret 13 Ret 15 14 11 13 15 11 10
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
17 4 4 1 Ret 2 8 Ret 18 11 7 11 NC 14 10 8 Ret 9 15 8 14 13 Ret 11
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
6 Ret 9 Ret 17 DNS 11 DNS 6 2 13 DNS 12 Ret 13 17 8 10 10 16 Ret 17 7 6
10   DPR 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 NC 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 20† Ret 7 Ret 20† 15 18
Pos Team Car
No.
IMO
 
CAT
 
MON
 
NÜR
 
MAG
 
SIL
 
HOC
 
HUN
 
IST
 
MNZ
 
SPA
 
BHR
 
Points

Notes

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  1. ^ Hitech Piquet Sports competed under a British licence. However, before the Istanbul round, it was announced that this partnership had ended and that Piquet Sports would manage the team for the rest of the season. Despite this, team would continue carrying the Hitech name until the end of the season.[1]
  2. ^ Mondini is a Swiss driver who competed under an Italian racing licence.
  3. ^ López is an Argentine driver who competed under a French racing licence. López competed under a Argentine racing license at the Catalunya round.
  4. ^ Fauzy is a Malaysian driver who competed under a British racing licence.
  5. ^ Álvarez is an Argentine driver who competed under a Spanish racing licence.
  6. ^ Arden International competed under a Dutch licence.
  7. ^ Nelson Piquet Jr. set the fastest lap, but was disqualified after the competition as his team had broken the regulations and changed all four of his tyres twice during the race. The points were given to Gianmaria Bruni instead.[3]
  8. ^ Nico Rosberg recorded the fastest time in qualifying, but was disqualified when the front suspension and steering of her car were found to be illegal. Neel Jani was recognised as the pole-sitter for the race.
  9. ^ Alexandre Prémat set the fastest lap, but did not finish the race so the points were given to Adam Carroll.

References

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  1. ^ "Piquet Sports and Hitech Split". Autosport.com. Retrieved 30 August 2022.
  2. ^ "GP2 Fastest laps". results.motorsportstats.com. Motorsport Stats. Retrieved 14 January 2021.
  3. ^ "Piquet loses points following Race 2 disqualification". Auto123.com. Retrieved 14 January 2021.
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