2006 GP2 Series

Last updated

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.

Contents

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.[ citation needed ] 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 a 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.

TeamNo.Driver nameRounds
Flag of France.svg ART Grand Prix 1 Flag of France.svg Alexandre Prémat All
2 Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Lewis Hamilton All
Flag of the Netherlands.svg Arden International Ltd [a] 3 Flag of Germany.svg Michael Ammermüller All
4 Flag of France.svg Nicolas Lapierre 1–5, 8–11
Flag of Switzerland (Pantone).svg Neel Jani 6–7
Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Super Nova International 5 Flag of Argentina.svg José María López All
6 Flag of Malaysia.svg Fairuz Fauzy All
Flag of the United Kingdom.svg iSport International 7 Flag of Venezuela.svg Ernesto Viso All
8 Flag of France.svg Tristan Gommendy 1–5
Flag of Germany.svg Timo Glock 6–11
Flag of Spain.svg Racing Engineering 9 Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Adam Carroll All
10 Flag of Spain.svg Javier Villa All
Flag of Brazil.svg Piquet Sports 11 Flag of Brazil.svg Nelson Piquet Jr. All
12 Flag of Brazil.svg Alexandre Negrão All
Flag of France.svg DAMS 14 Flag of Italy.svg Ferdinando Monfardini All
15 Flag of France.svg Franck Perera All
Flag of Italy.svg FMS International (1–2)
Flag of Italy.svg Petrol Ofisi FMS International (3–11)
16 Flag of Italy.svg Luca Filippi 1–3
Flag of Italy.svg Giorgio Pantano 4–11
17 Flag of Turkey.svg Jason Tahinci All
Flag of Spain.svg BCN Competición 18 Flag of Japan.svg Hiroki Yoshimoto All
19 Flag of Germany.svg Timo Glock 1–5
Flag of Italy.svg Luca Filippi 6–11
Flag of the United Kingdom.svg DPR (1–2, 8–11)
Flag of the United Kingdom.svg DPR Direxiv (3–7)
20 Flag of France.svg Olivier Pla 1–5, 7
Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Mike Conway 6
Flag of Russia.svg Vitaly Petrov 8–11
21 Flag of Monaco.svg Clivio Piccione All
Flag of Italy.svg Durango 22 Flag of Brazil.svg Lucas di Grassi All
23 Flag of Spain.svg Sergio Hernández All
Flag of Spain.svg Campos Racing 24 Flag of Spain.svg Adrián Vallés All
25 Flag of Spain.svg Félix Porteiro All
Flag of Italy.svg Trident Racing 26 Flag of Italy.svg Gianmaria Bruni All
27 Flag of the United Arab Emirates.svg Andreas Zuber [b] All

Driver changes

Changed Teams
Entering GP2
Leaving GP2

Midseason changes

Calendar

RoundLocationCircuitDateSupporting
1F Flag of Spain.svg Cheste, Spain Circuit de Valencia 8 April Spanish F3 Championship
S9 April
2F Flag of Italy.svg Imola, Italy Autodromo Enzo e Dino Ferrari 22 April San Marino Grand Prix
S23 April
3F Flag of Germany.svg Nürburg, Germany Nürburgring 6 May European Grand Prix
S7 May
4F Flag of Spain.svg Montmeló, Spain Circuit de Catalunya 13 May Spanish Grand Prix
S14 May
5F Flag of Monaco.svg Monaco Circuit de Monaco 27 May Monaco Grand Prix
6F Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Silverstone, Great Britain Silverstone Circuit 10 June British Grand Prix
S11 June
7F Flag of France.svg Magny-Cours, France Circuit de Nevers Magny-Cours 15 July French Grand Prix
S16 July
8F Flag of Germany.svg Hockenheim, Germany Hockenheimring 29 July German Grand Prix
S30 July
9F Flag of Hungary.svg Mogyoród, Hungary Hungaroring 5 August Hungarian Grand Prix
S6 August
10F Flag of Turkey.svg Istanbul, Turkey Istanbul Park 26 August Turkish Grand Prix
S27 August
11F Flag of Italy.svg Monza, Italy Autodromo Nazionale Monza 9 September Italian Grand Prix
S10 September

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

RoundLocationCircuitDateSupporting
F Flag of Belgium (civil).svg Stavelot, Belgium Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps 16 September Belgian Grand Prix
S17 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
1F Flag of Spain.svg Circuit de Valencia Flag of Brazil.svg Nelson Piquet Jr. Flag of France.svg Nicolas Lapierre Flag of Brazil.svg Nelson Piquet Jr. Flag of Brazil.svg Piquet Sports Report
S Flag of the United Arab Emirates.svg Andreas Zuber [c] Flag of Germany.svg Michael Ammermüller Flag of the Netherlands.svg Arden International Ltd
2F Flag of Italy.svg Autodromo Enzo e Dino Ferrari Flag of Italy.svg Gianmaria Bruni Flag of Spain.svg Adrián Vallés [d] Flag of Italy.svg Gianmaria Bruni Flag of Italy.svg Trident Racing Report
S Flag of Venezuela.svg Ernesto Viso Flag of Venezuela.svg Ernesto Viso Flag of the United Kingdom.svg iSport International
3F Flag of Germany.svg Nürburgring Flag of Brazil.svg Nelson Piquet Jr. Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Lewis Hamilton Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Lewis Hamilton Flag of France.svg ART Grand Prix Report
S Flag of France.svg Alexandre Prémat [e] Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Lewis Hamilton Flag of France.svg ART Grand Prix
4F Flag of Spain.svg Circuit de Catalunya Flag of Brazil.svg Nelson Piquet Jr. [f] Flag of Spain.svg Adrián Vallés Flag of France.svg Alexandre Prémat Flag of France.svg ART Grand Prix Report
S Flag of Italy.svg Gianmaria Bruni Flag of Venezuela.svg Ernesto Viso Flag of the United Kingdom.svg iSport International
5F Flag of Monaco.svg Circuit de Monaco Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Lewis Hamilton Flag of Brazil.svg Lucas di Grassi Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Lewis Hamilton Flag of France.svg ART Grand Prix Report
6F Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Silverstone Circuit Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Adam Carroll Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Lewis Hamilton Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Lewis Hamilton Flag of France.svg ART Grand Prix Report
S Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Lewis Hamilton Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Lewis Hamilton Flag of France.svg ART Grand Prix
7F Flag of France.svg Circuit de Nevers Magny-Cours Flag of Argentina.svg José María López Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Lewis Hamilton Flag of Germany.svg Timo Glock Flag of the United Kingdom.svg iSport International Report
S Flag of Argentina.svg José María López [g] Flag of Italy.svg Giorgio Pantano Flag of Italy.svg Petrol Ofisi FMS International
8F Flag of Germany.svg Hockenheimring Flag of Italy.svg Gianmaria Bruni Flag of France.svg Alexandre Prémat Flag of Italy.svg Gianmaria Bruni Flag of Italy.svg Trident Racing Report
S Flag of Brazil.svg Lucas di Grassi [h] Flag of Germany.svg Timo Glock Flag of the United Kingdom.svg iSport International
9F Flag of Hungary.svg Hungaroring Flag of Brazil.svg Nelson Piquet Jr. Flag of Brazil.svg Nelson Piquet Jr. Flag of Brazil.svg Nelson Piquet Jr. Flag of Brazil.svg Piquet Sports Report
S Flag of Brazil.svg Nelson Piquet Jr. Flag of Brazil.svg Nelson Piquet Jr. Flag of Brazil.svg Piquet Sports
10F Flag of Turkey.svg Istanbul Racing Circuit Flag of Brazil.svg Nelson Piquet Jr. Flag of Brazil.svg Nelson Piquet Jr. Flag of Brazil.svg Nelson Piquet Jr. Flag of Brazil.svg Piquet Sports Report
S Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Lewis Hamilton Flag of the United Arab Emirates.svg Andreas Zuber Flag of Italy.svg Trident Racing
11F Flag of Italy.svg Autodromo Nazionale Monza Flag of Brazil.svg Nelson Piquet Jr. Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Lewis Hamilton Flag of Italy.svg Giorgio Pantano Flag of Italy.svg Petrol Ofisi FMS International Report
S Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Lewis Hamilton Flag of Italy.svg Giorgio Pantano Flag of Italy.svg Petrol Ofisi FMS International

Championship standings

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 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 points

Points are awarded to the top 6 classified finishers.

Position 1st  2nd  3rd  4th  5th  6th   FL  
Points6543211

Drivers' Championship

PosDriver VAL
Flag of Spain.svg
IMO
Flag of Italy.svg
NÜR
Flag of Germany.svg
CAT
Flag of Spain.svg
MON
Flag of Monaco.svg
SIL
Flag of the United Kingdom.svg
MAG
Flag of France.svg
HOC
Flag of Germany.svg
HUN
Flag of Hungary.svg
IST
Flag of Turkey.svg
MNZ
Flag of Italy.svg
Points
1 Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Lewis Hamilton 26DSQ101124111195231022232114
2 Flag of Brazil.svg Nelson Piquet Jr. 1452Ret19†4212†454213†DNS111526102
3 Flag of France.svg Alexandre Prémat 9Ret4Ret2171336Ret2319Ret63375Ret66
4 Flag of Germany.svg Timo Glock 1687417Ret1110Ret2614312544RetDNS58
5 Flag of Italy.svg Giorgio Pantano 97Ret546155313RetRet1144
6 Flag of Venezuela.svg Ernesto Viso 826161181RetRet810Ret4444Ret13Ret842
7 Flag of Italy.svg Gianmaria Bruni 651RetRet16Ret17RetRet15RetRet16Ret8Ret15Ret933
8 Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Adam Carroll 14RetRet12351012Ret322014687Ret63RetRet33
9 Flag of France.svg Nicolas Lapierre 433752RetRetRet207RetRet1466432
10 Flag of Argentina.svg José María López 5RetRet19†43RetRetNCRet143Ret728Ret911RetRet30
11 Flag of Germany.svg Michael Ammermüller 712Ret106387RetRet1289RetRet1113Ret12Ret25
12 Flag of Monaco.svg Clivio Piccione RetRetRet1611816†Ret47313Ret8RetRetRetRetRet7318
13 Flag of Brazil.svg Alexandre Negrão 137Ret1177718RetRet125Ret1695Ret8RetRetRet13
14 Flag of the United Arab Emirates.svg Andreas Zuber Ret13Ret814RetRet115RetRetRet18Ret1414971RetNC12
15 Flag of Japan.svg Hiroki Yoshimoto Ret128384RetRetRetRet17†9Ret23†RetRetRetRet198512
16 Flag of France.svg Franck Perera 1114Ret14Ret1513Ret2Ret10Ret1214119Ret12815†15†8
17 Flag of Brazil.svg Lucas di Grassi 1716†RetRet181312911RetEX76DNSRet13Ret5910148
18 Flag of Spain.svg Adrián Vallés 3Ret9RetRet141816Ret9Ret151318RetRet7Ret14Ret117
19 Flag of Italy.svg Luca Filippi RetRet115RetRetRet9RetRet211612Ret10Ret477
20 Flag of France.svg Tristan Gommendy Ret11Ret17131255Ret6
21 Flag of Italy.svg Ferdinando Monfardini 12Ret129Ret10669RetDNS8RetRet1211618†12RetRet6
22 Flag of Spain.svg Félix Porteiro RetRet10616Ret17Ret68DSQ18101218Ret1219†RetRetNC5
23 Flag of Spain.svg Sergio Hernández RetDNSRet1312RetRet13810EX141110NCRetRet111013Ret1
24 Flag of Malaysia.svg Fairuz Fauzy 1510Ret15199Ret1410127Ret15221016RetRetRet14100
25 Flag of Switzerland (Pantone).svg Neel Jani NCRet1170
26 Flag of Spain.svg Javier Villa 18913189201415Ret141317161113Ret15†15169Ret0
27 Flag of France.svg Olivier Pla 1015Ret20†15RetDSQ20Ret1690
28 Flag of Russia.svg Vitaly Petrov 151515101618Ret120
29 Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Mike Conway 11110
30 Flag of Turkey.svg Jason Tahinci DNSRetRetRetDSQ181519Ret1316Ret171717Ret14171711130
PosDriver VAL
Flag of Spain.svg
IMO
Flag of Italy.svg
NÜR
Flag of Germany.svg
CAT
Flag of Spain.svg
MON
Flag of Monaco.svg
SIL
Flag of the United Kingdom.svg
MAG
Flag of France.svg
HOC
Flag of Germany.svg
HUN
Flag of Hungary.svg
IST
Flag of Turkey.svg
MNZ
Flag of Italy.svg
Points
Key
ColourResult
GoldWinner
Silver2nd place
Bronze3rd place
GreenOther points position
BlueOther classified position
Not classified, finished (NC)
PurpleNot classified, retired (Ret)
RedDid not qualify (DNQ)
Did not pre-qualify (DNPQ)
BlackDisqualified (DSQ)
WhiteDid not start (DNS)
Race cancelled (C)
BlankDid not practice (DNP)
Excluded (EX)
Did not arrive (DNA)
Withdrawn (WD)
Text formattingMeaning
Bold Pole position point(s)
Italics Fastest lap point(s)

Notes:

Teams' Championship

PosTeamCar
No.
VAL
Flag of Spain.svg
IMO
Flag of Italy.svg
NÜR
Flag of Germany.svg
CAT
Flag of Spain.svg
MON
Flag of Monaco.svg
SIL
Flag of the United Kingdom.svg
MAG
Flag of France.svg
HOC
Flag of Germany.svg
HUN
Flag of Hungary.svg
IST
Flag of Turkey.svg
MNZ
Flag of Italy.svg
Points
1 Flag of France.svg ART Grand Prix 19Ret4Ret2171336Ret2319Ret63375Ret180
226DSQ101124111195231022232
2 Flag of Brazil.svg Piquet Sports 111452Ret19†4212†454213†DNS111526115
12137Ret1177718RetRet125Ret1695Ret8RetRetRet
3 Flag of the United Kingdom.svg iSport International 7826161181RetRet810Ret4444Ret13Ret10101
8Ret11Ret17131255Ret2614312544RetDNS
4 Flag of the Netherlands.svg Arden International Ltd 3712Ret106387RetRet1289RetRet1113Ret12Ret57
4433752RetRetRetNCRet117207RetRet14664
5 Flag of Italy.svg FMS International (1–2)
Flag of Italy.svg Petrol Ofisi FMS International (3–11)
16RetRet115RetRet97Ret546155313RetRet1146
17DNSRetRetRetDSQ181519Ret1316Ret171717Ret1417171113
6 Flag of Italy.svg Trident Racing 26651RetRet16Ret17RetRet15RetRet16Ret8Ret15Ret945
27Ret13Ret814RetRet115RetRetRet18Ret1414971RetNC
7 Flag of Spain.svg Racing Engineering 914RetRet12351012Ret322014687Ret63RetRet33
1018913189201415Ret141317161113Ret15†15169Ret
8 Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Super Nova International 55RetRet19†43RetRetNCRet143Ret728Ret911RetRet30
61510Ret15199Ret1410127Ret15221016RetRetRet1410
9 Flag of Spain.svg BCN Competición 18Ret128384RetRetRetRet17†9Ret23†RetRetRetRet198522
191687417Ret1110RetRet9RetRet211612Ret10Ret47
10 Flag of the United Kingdom.svg DPR (1–2, 8–11)
Flag of the United Kingdom.svg DPR Direxiv (3–7)
201015Ret20†15RetDSQ20Ret1111169151515101618Ret1218
21RetRetRet1611816†Ret47313Ret8RetRetRetRetRet73
11 Flag of France.svg DAMS 1412Ret129Ret10669RetDNS8RetRet1211618†12RetRet14
151114Ret14Ret1513Ret2Ret10Ret1214119Ret12815†15†
12 Flag of Spain.svg Campos Racing 243Ret9RetRet141816Ret9Ret151318RetRet7Ret14Ret1112
25RetRet10616Ret17Ret68DSQ18101218Ret1219†RetRetNC
13 Flag of Italy.svg Durango 221716†RetRet181312911RetEX76DNSRet13Ret5910149
23RetDNSRet1312RetRet13810EX141110NCRetRet111013Ret
PosTeamCar
No.
VAL
Flag of Spain.svg
IMO
Flag of Italy.svg
NÜR
Flag of Germany.svg
CAT
Flag of Spain.svg
MON
Flag of Monaco.svg
SIL
Flag of the United Kingdom.svg
MAG
Flag of France.svg
HOC
Flag of Germany.svg
HUN
Flag of Hungary.svg
IST
Flag of Turkey.svg
MNZ
Flag of Italy.svg
Points

Notes

  1. Arden International competed under a Dutch licence.
  2. Zuber is an Austrian driver who competed under an Emirati racing licence.
  3. Andreas Zuber set the fastest lap, but he started from the pitlane, so the points were given to Nelson Piquet Jr. [3]
  4. Adrián Vallés set the fastest lap, but he started from the pitlane, so the points were given to Gianmaria Bruni. [4]
  5. Alexandre Prémat set the fastest lap, but he started from the pitlane, so the points were given to Gianmaria Bruni. [5]
  6. Lewis Hamilton recorded the fastest time in qualifying, but received a penalty for disregarding yellow flags. Nelson Piquet Jr. was recognised as the pole-sitter for the race. [6]
  7. José María López did not finish the race so the points were given to Timo Glock.
  8. Lucas di Grassi did not finish the race so the points were given to José María López.

References

  1. "Belgian GP officially off the 2006 calendar". Motorsport.com. Retrieved 22 November 2023.
  2. "GP2 Fastest laps". results.motorsportstats.com. Motorsport Stats. Archived from the original on 3 September 2020. Retrieved 25 July 2020.
  3. "Valencia 2006: Ammermuller wins, Carroll rolls". crash.net. Crash Media Group. 9 April 2006. Retrieved 25 July 2020.
  4. "Imola 2006: Bruni on his own". crash.net. Crash Media Group. 22 April 2006. Retrieved 25 July 2020.
  5. "Nurburgring 2006: Hamilton does 'Ring double". crash.net. Crash Media Group. 7 May 2006. Retrieved 25 July 2020.
  6. "Hamilton loses pole due to penalty". Autosport.com. Retrieved 30 August 2022.
  7. "Bruni takes clean sweep in Imola Race 1". McLaren.com. Archived from the original on 7 August 2007. Retrieved 9 August 2022.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)