2006 Monaco GP2 Series round

Last updated
Flag of Monaco.svg    2006 Monaco GP2 round
Round details
Round 5 of 11 rounds in the
2006 GP2 Series
Monte Carlo Formula 1 track map.svg
Location Circuit de Monaco, Monte Carlo, Monaco
Course Permanent racing facility
3.340 km (2.08 mi)
Feature race
Date 27 May 2006
Laps 45
Pole position
Driver Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Lewis Hamilton ART Grand Prix
Time 1:20.430
Podium
First Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Lewis Hamilton ART Grand Prix
Second Flag of France.svg Franck Perera DAMS
Third Flag of France.svg Alexandre Prémat ART Grand Prix
Fastest lap
Driver Flag of Brazil.svg Lucas di Grassi Durango
Time 1:22.563 (on lap 24)
Sprint race

The 2006 Monaco GP2 round was a GP2 Series motor race held on 21 May 2006 at the Circuit de Monaco in Monte Carlo, Monaco. It was the third race of the 2006 GP2 Series. The race was used to support the 2006 Monaco Grand Prix.

Contents

Report

Qualifying

Indeed, Hamilton was the man to beat in qualifying as he set a new GP2 lap record in the Principality, claiming pole with a 1:20.430. Franck Perera was his closest challenger in second, a quarter of a second behind, while Gianmaria Bruni and Alexandre Prémat shared the second row. [1]

Feature race

There would be no heading Hamilton at the start of the race either, with the #2 ART Grand Prix car shooting into the lead as the lights went out. Perera was hence left to hold second in the Brit's wake into Sainte Devote, while poor starts for Bruni and Prémat let Olivier Pla leap into third.

Behind, however, the start would be more confused, with Tristan Gommendy striking José María López, which sent the Frenchman literally flying into Nicolas Lapierre. Javier Villa was also removed by the out of control trio, while Bruni, Alexandre Negrão and Championship leader Nelson Piquet Jr. were all delayed.

Remarkably, despite four cars being abandoned on track, and a further retirement for Adam Carroll later around the opening tour, there would be no Safety Car, with stunningly quick work from the marshals clearing the circuit under yellow flags. That meant that Hamilton could make his escape during the early laps, although Perera would exchange a barrage of fastest laps with the Brit as the race settled down.

That fight was effectively over by lap thirteen when Perera stopped, with Hamilton making his stop three laps later and resuming with the race lead. Perera was split from the Brit's tail by a yet to stop Andreas Zuber, although Hamilton's lead over the Frenchman had been cut to three seconds from ten before the stops.

Once Zuber pitted Perera was clear to attack Hamilton, although he never closed to within three seconds despite the fact that the lead duo had begun to catch the tail of the field. Indeed, Hamilton and Perera would go on to lap everyone up and including sixth on track, although Hamilton would be denied the fastest lap point as a result.

That point would go to Lucas di Grassi, with the Brazilian setting the best lap of the race moments before he punted Jason Tahincioğlu out of the way, the Turkish racer having formed a rolling roadblock for most of the race. Elsewhere, Ernesto Viso battled from the back into the points, only to be taken out by Ferdinando Monfardini after the Italian racer made a very late lunge to try and pass Michael Ammermüller into the Nouvelle Chicane.

With that the race was run, with Hamilton claiming victory by eight seconds from Perera, while Prémat was a distant third. Home racer Clivio Piccione secured fourth ahead of late-stopper Zuber, while Félix Porteiro was a lap down in sixth. Ammermüller was next up ahead of Sergio Hernández, the last scorer, while di Grassi denied Hamilton a Grand Slam by finishing with fastest lap down in eleventh. [2]

Classification

Qualifying

Pos.No.DriverTeamTimeGapGrid
12 Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Lewis Hamilton ART Grand Prix 1:20.4301
215 Flag of France.svg Franck Perera DAMS 1:20.717+0.2872
326 Flag of Italy.svg Gianmaria Bruni Trident Racing 1:21.155+0.7253
41 Flag of France.svg Alexandre Prémat ART Grand Prix 1:21.227+0.7974
520 Flag of France.svg Olivier Pla DPR Direxiv 1:21.277+0.8475
621 Flag of Monaco.svg Clivio Piccione DPR Direxiv 1:21.386+0.9566
79 Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Adam Carroll Racing Engineering 1:21.542+1.1127
824 Flag of Spain.svg Adrián Vallés Campos Racing 1:21.616+1.1868
925 Flag of Spain.svg Félix Porteiro Campos Racing 1:21.679+1.2499
1027 Flag of the United Arab Emirates.svg Andreas Zuber Trident Racing 1:21.744+1.31410
1122 Flag of Brazil.svg Lucas di Grassi Durango 1:21.926+1.49611
1211 Flag of Brazil.svg Nelson Piquet Jr. Piquet Sports 1:21.940+1.51012
1310 Flag of Spain.svg Javier Villa Racing Engineering 1:22.075+1.64513
144 Flag of France.svg Nicolas Lapierre Arden International 1:22.112+1.68214
155 Flag of Argentina.svg José María López Super Nova International 1:22.296+1.86615
168 Flag of France.svg Tristan Gommendy iSport International 1:22.377+1.94716
1719 Flag of Germany.svg Timo Glock BCN Competición 1:22.428+1.99817
1816 Flag of Italy.svg Giorgio Pantano Petrol Ofisi FMS International 1:22.474+2.04418
1914 Flag of Italy.svg Ferdinando Monfardini DAMS 1:22.620+2.19019
203 Flag of Germany.svg Michael Ammermüller Arden International 1:22.702+2.27220
216 Flag of Malaysia.svg Fairuz Fauzy Super Nova International 1:23.231+2.80121
2223 Flag of Spain.svg Sergio Hernández Durango 1:23.418+2.98822
2312 Flag of Brazil.svg Alexandre Negrão Piquet Sports 1:23.569+3.13923
247 Flag of Venezuela.svg Ernesto Viso iSport International 1:24.130+3.70024
2518 Flag of Japan.svg Hiroki Yoshimoto BCN Competición 1:24.335+3.90525
2617 Flag of Turkey.svg Jason Tahinci Petrol Ofisi FMS International 1:25.997+5.56726
107% time: 1:26.060
Source: [3]

Championship standings after the round

References

  1. "Hamilton streets ahead in Monaco". crash.net. Archived from the original on 9 December 2020. Retrieved 17 December 2020.
  2. "Monaco 2006: Hamilton in cruise mode". crash.net. Archived from the original on 8 December 2020. Retrieved 17 December 2020.
  3. "2006 Monaco GP2 Qualifying Results". Motorsportstats.com. Retrieved 27 August 2024.
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2006 Catalunya GP2 Series round
GP2 Series
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2005 Monaco GP2 Series round
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