2006 GP2 Series

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 Series
Previous: 2005 Next: 2007

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
Team No. Driver name Rounds
ART Grand Prix 1 Alexandre Prémat All
2 Lewis Hamilton All
Arden International 3 Michael Ammermüller All
4 Nicolas Lapierre 1–5, 8–11
Neel Jani 6–7
Super Nova Racing 5 José María López All
6 Fairuz Fauzy All
iSport International 7 E.J. Viso All
8 Tristan Gommendy 1–5
Timo Glock 6–11
Racing Engineering 9 Adam Carroll All
10 Javier Villa All
Piquet Sports 11 Nelson Piquet, Jr. All
12 Alexandre Sarnes Negrão All
DAMS 14 Ferdinando Monfardini All
15 Franck Perera All
Petrol Ofisi FMS International 16 Luca Filippi 1–3
Giorgio Pantano 4–11
17 Jason Tahincioğlu All
BCN Competicion 18 Hiroki Yoshimoto All
19 Timo Glock 1–5
Luca Filippi 6–11
DPR Direxiv (1–7)
DPR (8–11)		 20 Olivier Pla 1–5, 7
Mike Conway 6
Vitaly Petrov 8–11
21 Clivio Piccione All
Durango 22 Lucas di Grassi All
23 Sergio Hernández All
Campos Racing 24 Adrián Vallés All
25 Félix Porteiro All
Trident Racing 26 Gianmaria Bruni All
27 Andreas Zuber[lower-alpha 1] All

Driver changes
Changed Teams
Entering GP2
Leaving GP2

Midseason changes

Calendar
Round Location Circuit Date Supporting
1 F Cheste, Spain Circuit de Valencia 8 April Stand-alone event
S 9 April
2 F Imola, Italy Autodromo Enzo e Dino Ferrari 22 April San Marino Grand Prix
S 23 April
3 F Nürburg, Germany Nürburgring 6 May European Grand Prix
S 7 May
4 F Montmeló, Spain Circuit de Catalunya 13 May Spanish Grand Prix
S 14 May
5 F Monaco Circuit de Monaco 27 May Monaco Grand Prix
6 F Silverstone, Great Britain Silverstone Circuit 10 June British Grand Prix
S 11 June
7 F Magny-Cours, France Circuit de Nevers Magny-Cours 15 July French Grand Prix
S 16 July
8 F Hockenheim, Germany Hockenheimring 29 July German Grand Prix
S 30 July
9 F Mogyoród, Hungary Hungaroring 5 August Hungarian Grand Prix
S 6 August
10 F Istanbul, Turkey Istanbul Park 26 August Turkish Grand Prix
S 27 August
11 F Monza, Italy Autodromo Nazionale Monza 9 September Italian Grand Prix
S 10 September

Results
Round Circuit Pole Position Fastest Lap[1] Winning Driver Winning Team Report
1 F Circuit de Valencia Nelson Piquet, Jr. Nicolas Lapierre Nelson Piquet, Jr. Piquet Sports Report
S Andreas Zuber[lower-alpha 2] Michael Ammermüller Arden International
2 F Autodromo Enzo e Dino Ferrari Gianmaria Bruni Adrián Vallés[lower-alpha 3] Gianmaria Bruni Trident Racing Report
S Ernesto Viso Ernesto Viso iSport International
3 F Nürburgring Nelson Piquet, Jr. Lewis Hamilton Lewis Hamilton ART Grand Prix Report
S Alexandre Prémat[lower-alpha 4] Lewis Hamilton ART Grand Prix
4 F Circuit de Catalunya Nelson Piquet, Jr. Adrián Vallés Alexandre Prémat ART Grand Prix Report
S Gianmaria Bruni Ernesto Viso iSport International
5 F Circuit de Monaco Lewis Hamilton Lucas di Grassi Lewis Hamilton ART Grand Prix Report
6 F Silverstone Circuit Adam Carroll Lewis Hamilton Lewis Hamilton ART Grand Prix Report
S Lewis Hamilton Lewis Hamilton ART Grand Prix
7 F Circuit de Nevers Magny-Cours José María López Lewis Hamilton Timo Glock iSport International Report
S José María López[lower-alpha 5] Giorgio Pantano Petrol Ofisi FMS International
8 F Hockenheimring Gianmaria Bruni Alexandre Prémat Gianmaria Bruni Trident Racing Report
S Lucas di Grassi[lower-alpha 6] Timo Glock iSport International
9 F Hungaroring Nelson Piquet, Jr. Nelson Piquet, Jr. Nelson Piquet, Jr. Piquet Sports Report
S Nelson Piquet, Jr. Nelson Piquet, Jr. Piquet Sports
10 F Istanbul Racing Circuit Nelson Piquet, Jr. Nelson Piquet, Jr. Nelson Piquet, Jr. Piquet Sports Report
S Lewis Hamilton Andreas Zuber Trident Racing
11 F Autodromo Nazionale Monza Nelson Piquet, Jr. Lewis Hamilton Giorgio Pantano Petrol Ofisi FMS International Report
S Lewis Hamilton Giorgio Pantano Petrol Ofisi FMS International

Championship standings

Drivers
Pos Driver VAL
 IMO
 NÜR
 CAT
 MON
 SIL
 MAG
 HOC
 HUN
 IST
 MNZ
 Points
1 Lewis Hamilton 2 6 DSQ 10 1 1 2 4 1 1 1 19 5 2 3 10 2 2 2 3 2 114
2 Nelson Piquet Jr. 1 4 5 2 Ret 19† 4 2 12† 4 5 4 2 13 DNS 1 1 1 5 2 6 102
3 Alexandre Prémat 9 Ret 4 Ret 2 17 1 3 3 6 Ret 2 3 19 Ret 6 3 3 7 5 Ret 66
4 Timo Glock 16 8 7 4 17 Ret 11 10 Ret 2 6 1 4 3 1 2 5 4 4 Ret DNS 58
5 Giorgio Pantano 9 7 Ret 5 4 6 1 4 5 3 13 Ret Ret 1 1 44
6 Ernesto Viso 8 2 6 1 6 11 8 1 Ret Ret 8 10 Ret 5 4 4 4 Ret 13 Ret 8 42
7 Gianmaria Bruni 6 5 1 Ret Ret 16 Ret 17 Ret Ret 15 Ret Ret 1 6 Ret 8 Ret 15 Ret 9 33
8 Adam Carroll 14 Ret Ret 12 3 5 10 12 Ret 3 2 20 14 6 8 7 Ret 6 3 Ret Ret 33
9 Nicolas Lapierre 4 3 3 7 5 2 Ret Ret Ret 20 7 Ret Ret 14 6 6 4 32
10 José María López 5 Ret Ret 19† 4 3 Ret Ret NC Ret 14 3 Ret 7 2 8 Ret 9 11 Ret Ret 30
11 Michael Ammermüller 7 1 2 Ret 10 6 3 8 7 Ret Ret 12 8 9 Ret Ret 11 13 Ret 12 Ret 25
12 Clivio Piccione Ret Ret Ret 16 11 8 16† Ret 4 7 3 13 Ret 8 Ret Ret Ret Ret Ret 7 3 18
13 Alexandre Negrão 13 7 Ret 11 7 7 7 18 Ret Ret 12 5 Ret 16 9 5 Ret 8 Ret Ret Ret 13
14 Andreas Zuber Ret 13 Ret 8 14 Ret Ret 11 5 Ret Ret Ret 18 Ret 14 14 9 7 1 Ret NC 12
15 Hiroki Yoshimoto Ret 12 8 3 8 4 Ret Ret Ret Ret 18† 9 Ret 23† Ret Ret Ret Ret 19 8 5 12
16 Franck Perera 11 14 Ret 14 Ret 15 13 Ret 2 Ret 10 Ret 12 14 11 9 Ret 12 8 15† 15† 8
17 Lucas di Grassi 17 16† Ret Ret 18 13 12 9 11 Ret EX 7 6 Ret Ret 13 Ret 5 9 10 14 8
18 Adrián Vallés 3 Ret 9 Ret Ret 14 18 16 Ret 9 Ret 15 13 18 Ret Ret 7 Ret 14 Ret 11 7
19 Luca Filippi Ret Ret 11 5 Ret Ret Ret 9 Ret Ret 21 16 12 Ret 10 Ret 4 7 7
20 Tristan Gommendy Ret 11 Ret 17 13 12 5 5 Ret 6
21 Ferdinando Monfardini 12 Ret 12 9 Ret 10 6 6 9 Ret DNS 8 Ret Ret 12 11 6 18† 12 Ret Ret 6
22 Félix Porteiro Ret Ret 10 6 16 Ret 17 Ret 6 8 DSQ 18 10 12 18 Ret 12 19† Ret Ret NC 5
23 Sergio Hernández Ret Ret Ret 13 12 Ret Ret 13 8 10 EX 14 11 10 NC Ret Ret 11 10 13 Ret 1
24 Fairuz Fauzy 15 10 Ret 15 19 9 Ret 14 10 12 7 Ret 15 22 10 16 Ret Ret Ret 14 10 0
25 Neel Jani NC Ret 11 7 0
26 Javier Villa 18 9 13 18 9 20 14 15 Ret 14 13 17 16 11 13 Ret 15† 15 16 9 Ret 0
27 Olivier Pla 10 15 Ret 20† 15 Ret DSQ 20 Ret 16 9 0
28 Vitaly Petrov 15 15 15 10 16 18 Ret 12 0
29 Mike Conway 11 11 0
30 Jason Tahincioğlu Ret Ret Ret Ret DNS 18 15 19 Ret 13 16 Ret 17 17 17 Ret 14 17 17 11 13 0
Pos Driver VAL
 IMO
 NÜR
 CAT
 MON
 SIL
 MAG
 HOC
 HUN
 IST
 MNZ
 Points
Key
ColourResult
GoldWinner
Silver2nd place
Bronze3rd place
GreenOther points position
Blue Other classified position
Not classified, finished (NC)
PurpleNot classified, retired (Ret)
Red Did not qualify (DNQ)
Did not pre-qualify (DNPQ)
BlackDisqualified (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)

Polesitter for the feature race on bold. Driver in italics has been awarded point for fastest lap.

Notes
  • Drivers who did not finish the race but were classified are marked with †.
  • Lewis Hamilton was disqualified during the first race at Imola for passing the safety car. Team ART Grand Prix's statement on this is that he was following the Campos Racing cars which led him past the car. (archive )
  • Olivier Pla was disqualified in Montmeló from 8th place for car being under weight limit
  • Durango cars were excluded from second Silverstone race for illegal rear wing which caused di Grassi's accident in first race.
  • Felix Porteiro was disqualified from 2nd place in Silverstone sprint race for illegal position of steering rack.

Teams
Pos Team Car
No.		 VAL
 IMO
 NÜR
 CAT
 MON
 SIL
 MAG
 HOC
 HUN
 IST
 MNZ
 Points
1 ART Grand Prix 1 9 Ret 4 Ret 2 17 1 3 3 6 Ret 2 3 19 Ret 6 3 3 7 5 Ret 180
2 2 6 DSQ 10 1 1 2 4 1 1 1 19 5 2 3 10 2 2 2 3 2
2 Piquet Sports 11 1 4 5 2 Ret 19† 4 2 12† 4 5 4 2 13 DNS 1 1 1 5 2 6 115
12 13 7 Ret 11 7 7 7 18 Ret Ret 12 5 Ret 16 9 5 Ret 8 Ret Ret Ret
3 iSport International 7 8 2 6 1 6 11 8 1 Ret Ret 8 10 Ret 5 4 4 4 Ret 13 Ret 10 101
8 Ret 11 Ret 17 13 12 5 5 Ret 2 6 1 4 3 1 2 5 4 4 Ret DNS
4 Arden International 3 7 1 2 Ret 10 6 3 8 7 Ret Ret 12 8 9 Ret Ret 11 13 Ret 12 Ret 57
4 4 3 3 7 5 2 Ret Ret Ret NC Ret 11 7 20 7 Ret Ret 14 6 6 4
5 Petrol Ofisi FMS International 16 Ret Ret 11 5 Ret Ret 9 7 Ret 5 4 6 1 4 5 3 13 Ret Ret 1 1 46
17 Ret Ret Ret Ret DNS 18 15 19 Ret 13 16 Ret 17 17 17 Ret 14 17 17 11 13
6 Trident Racing 26 6 5 1 Ret Ret 16 Ret 17 Ret Ret 15 Ret Ret 1 6 Ret 8 Ret 15 Ret 9 45
27 Ret 13 Ret 8 14 Ret Ret 11 5 Ret Ret Ret 18 Ret 14 14 9 7 1 Ret NC
7 Racing Engineering 9 14 Ret Ret 12 3 5 10 12 Ret 3 2 20 14 6 8 7 Ret 6 3 Ret Ret 33
10 18 9 13 18 9 20 14 15 Ret 14 13 17 16 11 13 Ret 15† 15 16 9 Ret
8 Super Nova Racing 5 5 Ret Ret 19† 4 3 Ret Ret NC Ret 14 3 Ret 7 2 8 Ret 9 11 Ret Ret 30
6 15 10 Ret 15 19 9 Ret 14 10 12 7 Ret 15 22 10 16 Ret Ret Ret 14 10
9 BCN Competición 18 Ret 12 8 3 8 4 Ret Ret Ret Ret 18† 9 Ret 23† Ret Ret Ret Ret 19 8 5 22
19 16 8 7 4 17 Ret 11 10 Ret Ret 9 Ret Ret 21 16 12 Ret 10 Ret 4 7
10 DPR Direxiv (1–7)
DPR (8–11)		 20 10 15 Ret 20† 15 Ret DSQ 20 Ret 11 11 16 9 15 15 15 10 16 18 Ret 12 18
21 Ret Ret Ret 16 11 8 16† Ret 4 7 3 13 Ret 8 Ret Ret Ret Ret Ret 7 3
11 DAMS 14 12 Ret 12 9 Ret 10 6 6 9 Ret DNS 8 Ret Ret 12 11 6 18† 12 Ret Ret 14
15 11 14 Ret 14 Ret 15 13 Ret 2 Ret 10 Ret 12 14 11 9 Ret 12 8 15† 15†
12 Campos Racing 24 3 Ret 9 Ret Ret 14 18 16 Ret 9 Ret 15 13 18 Ret Ret 7 Ret 14 Ret 11 12
25 Ret Ret 10 6 16 Ret 17 Ret 6 8 DSQ 18 10 12 18 Ret 12 19† Ret Ret NC
13 Durango 22 17 16† Ret Ret 18 13 12 9 11 Ret EX 7 6 Ret Ret 13 Ret 5 9 10 14 9
23 Ret Ret Ret 13 12 Ret Ret 13 8 10 EX 14 11 10 NC Ret Ret 11 10 13 Ret
Pos Team Car
No.		 VAL
 IMO
 NÜR
 CAT
 MON
 SIL
 MAG
 HOC
 HUN
 IST
 MNZ
 Points

Notes
  1. Zuber is an Austrian driver who raced this year under Emirati racing license.
  2. Andreas Zuber set the fastest lap, but he started from the pitlane, so the points were given to Nelson Piquet, Jr..[2]
  3. Adrián Vallés set the fastest lap, but he started from the pitlane, so the points were given to Gianmaria Bruni.[3]
  4. Alexandre Prémat set the fastest lap, but he started from the pitlane, so the points were given to Gianmaria Bruni.[4]
  5. José María López did not finish the race so the points were given to Timo Glock.
  6. Lucas di Grassi did not finish the race so the points were given to José María López.

References
  1. "GP2 Fastest laps". results.motorsportstats.com. Motorsport Stats. Retrieved 25 July 2020.
  2. "Valencia 2006: Ammermuller wins, Carroll rolls". crash.net. Crash Media Group. 9 April 2006. Retrieved 25 July 2020.
  3. "Imola 2006: Bruni on his own". crash.net. Crash Media Group. 22 April 2006. Retrieved 25 July 2020.
  4. "Nurburgring 2006: Hamilton does 'Ring double". crash.net. Crash Media Group. 7 May 2006. Retrieved 25 July 2020.
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