2006 GP2 Series explained

The 2006 GP2 Series season was the second season of the Formula One feeder championship GP2 Series. The season began at Circuit de Valencia, Spain on 8 April 2006 and ended in Monza, Italy on 10 September 2006. The championship was won by ART Grand Prix driver Lewis Hamilton, over Piquet Sports driver Nelson Piquet Jr.

2006 GP2 car modifications

Chassis

The 2006 specification GP2 Car was designed by Dallara Automobili. The 2006 GP2 car featured a biplane rear wing, with the triplane rear wing used in 2005 only to be used at the Monaco race. The front upper and lower wishbones were reinforced, as were the front and rear suspension uprights.

Engine

The 4 litre V8 engine featured internal, cartographic and software upgrades designed to improve performance and fuel consumption.

Gearbox

The 2006 gearbox was manufactured by GearTek, and featured an 8 position barrel, with ratchet body and software upgrades, as well as a new transverse shafts fixing system designed to facilitate improved gear selection.

Tyres

The tyres supplied by Bridgestone for the 2006 season were full-slick, not featuring the four-line grooved slick seen in the 2005 season. Bridgestone supplied a soft, medium, and hard compound tyre, with the tyre choice being made by Bridgestone and the GP2 Series prior to each event. The wet specification tyre remained the same as 2005.

Other parts

Brembo supplied a new development of monobloc brake calipers and disc bells, which were exclusive to GP2. The car also featured internal cooling upgrades, a new water radiator, radiator duct, oil and water heat exchanger, modified oil degasser, new oil and water pipes and new heat exchanger fixing brackets.

Sporting regulations changes

The only change to the sporting regulations for the 2006 season was that drivers would only be awarded a single point for fastest lap in a race, rather than the two points that were awarded in 2005. The driver also had to start the race from his allocated grid position to be eligible to claim the fastest lap.

Season summary

Nelson Piquet Jr. won the first race at Valencia ahead of two rookies, Lewis Hamilton and Adrián Vallés. The latter failed to score in the rest of the season apart from one point for fastest lap at Barcelona. In a sprint race, Vallés was involved in a collision with Adam Carroll who rolled multiple times. The sprint race was won by Michael Ammermüller who had promising start to the season but failed to score during last six weekends.

Gianmaria Bruni and Ernesto Viso then shared victories at Imola, where Hamilton failed to score, after being black-flagged in the feature race and therefore starting the sprint race from back of the grid. Hamilton won both races at Nürburgring, after Piquet took pole position but had a big crash following car failure in the feature race. He also failed to score in the sprint.

Hamilton was on course to win feature race at Barcelona, but he collided with his teammate Alexandre Prémat on the last lap. The Frenchman went on to win with Hamilton second. Viso took his second victory of the season by winning the sprint. Hamilton then won three races in a row, including at Monaco where Nicolas Lapierre and Olivier Pla were injured and did not start. At his home circuit in Silverstone, Hamilton won the feature and then the sprint, where he overtook Clivio Piccione and Piquet in one move.

There were few notable driver changes during the early season. Giorgio Pantano returned to the series with after missing the first three rounds and Timo Glock moved from BCN to iSport between the Monaco and British rounds. Both were serious contenders for race wins for the rest of the season and they shared victories at Magny-Cours. Glock also won at Hockenheim after overtaking José María López on the final lap.

At this point, Hamilton had a 26-point lead over Piquet, but the Brazilian bounced back with a perfect weekend at Hungary, taking pole, two wins and two fastest laps. Hamilton spun in qualifying and started the feature race from back of the grid. He failed to score there but took second place in the wet Sunday sprint.

Piquet's form continued in Turkey, where he won the feature race from pole. Hamilton was second, and in the sprint, he recovered from an early spin to take second place, while Piquet had to settle for fifth. Andreas Zuber took advantage of his front row starting position and won the race.

Hamilton led by ten points before final weekend in Monza. Piquet cut the lead to eight by taking pole. Pantano beat both of them in the feature race and set the fastest lap as well. Piquet finished second and Hamilton third, meaning that the championship would be decided in final race. However, Pantano was deemed to have ignored yellow flags on his fastest lap so that time was disallowed, giving a point to Hamilton who now clinched the title. Pantano made a fantastic start in the sprint and went from 8th to 1st before first corner, and went on to win the race. Hamilton followed and took 2nd, beating Piquet by 12 points in the end.

Teams and drivers

All of the teams used the Dallara GP2/05 chassis with Renault-badged 4.0 litre (244 cu in) naturally-aspirated Mecachrome V8 engines order and with tyres supplied by Bridgestone.

TeamDriver nameRounds
ART Grand Prix1 Alexandre PrématAll
2 Lewis HamiltonAll
Arden International Ltd3 Michael AmmermüllerAll
4 Nicolas Lapierre1–5, 8–11
Neel Jani6–7
Super Nova International5 José María LópezAll
6 Fairuz FauzyAll
iSport International7 Ernesto VisoAll
8 Tristan Gommendy1–5
Timo Glock6–11
Racing Engineering9 Adam CarrollAll
10 Javier VillaAll
Piquet Sports11 Nelson Piquet Jr.All
12 Alexandre NegrãoAll
DAMS14nowrap Ferdinando MonfardiniAll
15 Franck PereraAll
FMS International (1–2)
Petrol Ofisi FMS International (3–11)
16 Luca Filippi1–3
Giorgio Pantano4–11
17 Jason TahinciAll
BCN Competición18 Hiroki YoshimotoAll
19 Timo Glock1–5
Luca Filippi6–11
DPR (1–2, 8–11)
DPR Direxiv (3–7)
20 Olivier Pla1–5, 7
Mike Conway6
Vitaly Petrov8–11
21 Clivio PiccioneAll
Durango22 Lucas di GrassiAll
23 Sergio HernándezAll
Campos Racing24 Adrián VallésAll
25 Félix PorteiroAll
Trident Racing26 Gianmaria BruniAll
27 Andreas ZuberAll

Driver changes

Changed Teams
Entering GP2
Leaving GP2

Midseason changes

Calendar

RoundLocationCircuitDateSupporting
1 Cheste, SpainCircuit de Valencia8 AprilSpanish F3 Championship
9 April
2F Imola, ItalyAutodromo Enzo e Dino Ferrari22 AprilSan Marino Grand Prix
S23 April
3F Nürburg, GermanyNürburgring6 MayEuropean Grand Prix
S7 May
4F Montmeló, SpainCircuit de Catalunya13 MaySpanish Grand Prix
S14 May
5F MonacoCircuit de Monaco27 MayMonaco Grand Prix
6F Silverstone, Great BritainSilverstone Circuit10 JuneBritish Grand Prix
S11 June
7F Magny-Cours, FranceCircuit de Nevers Magny-Cours15 JulyFrench Grand Prix
S16 July
8F Hockenheim, GermanyHockenheimring29 JulyGerman Grand Prix
S30 July
9F Mogyoród, HungaryHungaroring5 AugustHungarian Grand Prix
S6 August
10F Istanbul, TurkeyIstanbul Park26 AugustTurkish Grand Prix
S27 August
11F Monza, ItalyAutodromo Nazionale Monza9 SeptemberItalian Grand Prix
S10 September

The following rounds were included on the provisional calendars published by the FIA but were cancelled:

RoundLocationCircuitDateSupporting
Stavelot, BelgiumCircuit de Spa-Francorchamps16 SeptemberBelgian Grand Prix
17 September
February 2006, the FIA announced the GP2 Spa round would not be part of the 2006 GP2 Season, since the local authorities had started major repair work in Spa-Francorchamps.[1]

Results

RoundCircuitPole PositionFastest Lap[2] Winning DriverWinning TeamReport
1 Circuit de Valencia Nelson Piquet Jr. Nicolas Lapierre Nelson Piquet Jr. Piquet SportsReport
Andreas Zubernowrap Michael Ammermüller Arden International Ltd
2F Autodromo Enzo e Dino Ferrari Gianmaria Bruni Adrián Vallés Gianmaria Bruni Trident RacingReport
S Ernesto Viso Ernesto Viso iSport International
3F Nürburgring Nelson Piquet Jr. Lewis Hamilton Lewis Hamilton ART Grand PrixReport
S Alexandre Prémat Lewis Hamilton ART Grand Prix
4F Circuit de Catalunyanowrap Nelson Piquet Jr. Adrián Vallés Alexandre Prémat ART Grand PrixReport
S Gianmaria Bruni Ernesto Viso iSport International
5F Circuit de Monaco Lewis Hamilton Lucas di Grassi Lewis Hamilton ART Grand PrixReport
6F Silverstone Circuit Adam Carroll Lewis Hamilton Lewis Hamilton ART Grand PrixReport
S Lewis Hamilton Lewis Hamilton ART Grand Prix
7F Circuit de Nevers Magny-Coursnowrap José María López Lewis Hamilton Timo Glock iSport InternationalReport
Snowrap José María López Giorgio Pantano Petrol Ofisi FMS International
8F Hockenheimring Gianmaria Bruni Alexandre Prémat Gianmaria Bruni Trident RacingReport
S Lucas di Grassi Timo Glock iSport International
9F Hungaroring Nelson Piquet Jr. Nelson Piquet Jr. Nelson Piquet Jr. Piquet SportsReport
S Nelson Piquet Jr. Nelson Piquet Jr. Piquet Sports
10F Istanbul Racing Circuit Nelson Piquet Jr. Nelson Piquet Jr. Nelson Piquet Jr. Piquet SportsReport
S Lewis Hamilton Andreas Zuber Trident Racing
11F Autodromo Nazionale Monza Nelson Piquet Jr. Lewis Hamilton Giorgio Pantanonowrap Petrol Ofisi FMS InternationalReport
S Lewis Hamilton Giorgio Pantano Petrol Ofisi FMS International

Championship standings

Scoring systemPoints 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 one point is given to the driver who set the fastest lap in the feature and sprint races. The driver also had to start the race from his allocated grid position to be eligible to claim the fastest lap and 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 
Points10865432121
Sprint race pointsPoints are awarded to the top 6 classified finishers.
Position 1st  2nd  3rd  4th  5th  6th  FL 
Points6543211

Drivers' Championship

PosDriverVAL
IMO
NÜR
CAT
MON
SIL
MAG
HOC
HUN
IST
MNZ
Points
1 Lewis Hamilton26DSQ101124111195231022232114
2 Nelson Piquet Jr.1452Ret19†4212†454213†DNS111526102
3 Alexandre Prémat9Ret4Ret2171336Ret2319Ret63375Ret66
4 Timo Glock1687417Ret1110Ret2614312544RetDNS58
5 Giorgio Pantano97Ret546155313RetRet1144
6 Ernesto Viso826161181RetRet810Ret4444Ret13Ret842
7 Gianmaria Bruni651RetRet16Ret17RetRet15RetRet16Ret8Ret15Ret933
8 Adam Carroll14RetRet12351012Ret322014687Ret63RetRet33
9 Nicolas Lapierre433752RetRetRet207RetRet1466432
10 José María López5RetRet19†43RetRetNCRet143Ret728Ret911RetRet30
11 Michael Ammermüller712Ret106387RetRet1289RetRet1113Ret12Ret25
12 Clivio PiccioneRetRetRet1611816†Ret47313Ret8RetRetRetRetRet7318
13 Alexandre Negrão137Ret1177718RetRet125Ret1695Ret8RetRetRet13
14 Andreas ZuberRet13Ret814RetRet115RetRetRet18Ret1414971RetNC12
15 Hiroki YoshimotoRet128384RetRetRetRet17†9Ret23†RetRetRetRet198512
16 Franck Perera1114Ret14Ret1513Ret2Ret10Ret1214119Ret12815†15†8
17 Lucas di Grassi1716†RetRet181312911RetEX76DNSRet13Ret5910148
18 Adrián Vallés3Ret9RetRet141816Ret9Ret151318RetRet7Ret14Ret117
19 Luca FilippiRetRet115RetRetRet9RetRet211612Ret10Ret477
20 Tristan GommendyRet11Ret17131255Ret6
2112Ret129Ret10669RetDNS8RetRet1211618†12RetRet6
22 Félix PorteiroRetRet10616Ret17Ret68DSQ18101218Ret1219†RetRetNC5
23 Sergio HernándezRetDNSRet1312RetRet13810EX141110NCRetRet111013Ret1
24 Fairuz Fauzy1510Ret15199Ret1410127Ret15221016RetRetRet14100
25 Neel JaniNCRet1170
26 Javier Villa18913189201415Ret141317161113Ret15†15169Ret0
27 Olivier Pla1015Ret20†15RetDSQ20Ret1690
28 Vitaly Petrov151515101618Ret120
29 Mike Conway11110
30 Jason TahinciDNSRetRetRetDSQ181519Ret1316Ret171717Ret14171711130
PosDriverVAL
IMO
NÜR
CAT
MON
SIL
MAG
HOC
HUN
IST
MNZ
Points

Notes:

Teams' Championship

PosTeamCar
No.
VAL
IMO
NÜR
CAT
MON
SIL
MAG
HOC
HUN
IST
MNZ
Points
1 ART Grand Prix19Ret4Ret2171336Ret2319Ret63375Ret180
226DSQ101124111195231022232
2 Piquet Sports111452Ret19†4212†454213†DNS111526115
12137Ret1177718RetRet125Ret1695Ret8RetRetRet
3 iSport International7826161181RetRet810Ret4444Ret13Ret10101
8Ret11Ret17131255Ret2614312544RetDNS
4 Arden International Ltd3712Ret106387RetRet1289RetRet1113Ret12Ret57
4433752RetRetRetNCRet117207RetRet14664
5 FMS International (1–2)
Petrol Ofisi FMS International (3–11)
16RetRet115RetRet97Ret546155313RetRet1146
17DNSRetRetRetDSQ181519Ret1316Ret171717Ret1417171113
6 Trident Racing26651RetRet16Ret17RetRet15RetRet16Ret8Ret15Ret945
27Ret13Ret814RetRet115RetRetRet18Ret1414971RetNC
7 Racing Engineering914RetRet12351012Ret322014687Ret63RetRet33
1018913189201415Ret141317161113Ret15†15169Ret
8 Super Nova International55RetRet19†43RetRetNCRet143Ret728Ret911RetRet30
61510Ret15199Ret1410127Ret15221016RetRetRet1410
9 BCN Competición18Ret128384RetRetRetRet17†9Ret23†RetRetRetRet198522
191687417Ret1110RetRet9RetRet211612Ret10Ret47
10 DPR (1–2, 8–11)
DPR Direxiv (3–7)
201015Ret20†15RetDSQ20Ret1111169151515101618Ret1218
21RetRetRet1611816†Ret47313Ret8RetRetRetRetRet73
11 DAMS1412Ret129Ret10669RetDNS8RetRet1211618†12RetRet14
151114Ret14Ret1513Ret2Ret10Ret1214119Ret12815†15†
12 Campos Racing243Ret9RetRet141816Ret9Ret151318RetRet7Ret14Ret1112
25RetRet10616Ret17Ret68DSQ18101218Ret1219†RetRetNC
13 Durango221716†RetRet181312911RetEX76DNSRet13Ret5910149
23RetDNSRet1312RetRet13810EX141110NCRetRet111013Ret
PosTeamCar
No.
VAL
IMO
NÜR
CAT
MON
SIL
MAG
HOC
HUN
IST
MNZ
Points

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Belgian GP officially off the 2006 calendar. 22 November 2023. Motorsport.com.
  2. Web site: GP2 Fastest laps . results.motorsportstats.com . Motorsport Stats . 25 July 2020 . 3 September 2020 . https://web.archive.org/web/20200903193842/https://results.motorsportstats.com/series/gp2-series/season/gp2-series-2006/stats/fastest-laps . dead .
  3. Web site: Bruni takes clean sweep in Imola Race 1. 9 August 2022. McLaren.com. 7 August 2007. https://web.archive.org/web/20070807184216/http://www.mclaren.com/theteam/lewis/sanmarino.php. bot: unknown.