The 2006 GP2 season began in Valencia , Spain on April 8, 2006 and ended in Monza , Italy on September 10, 2006 . Briton Lewis Hamilton won the season, Brazilian Nelsinho Piquet finished second.
| 2nd FIA Formula 2 Championship | |
|---|---|
β 2005 Season 2006 2007 βΊ | |
| World champion | |
| Team standings | |
GP2 Car Changes in 2006
Chassis
The specification for the 2006 GP2 was developed by Dallara Automobili . The new car has a biplane rear wing , while the triplane rear wing in 2005 was used only during the race in Monaco . The front upper and lower flaps have been redone, now they are connected to the front and rear suspension.
Engine
The four-liter V8 engine with internal and software modifications allowed to achieve greater performance and lower fuel consumption.
Gearbox
The 2006 gearbox was developed by GearTek , which had eight speeds and shifted to a different gear faster.
Tires
The tires Bridgestone supplied in the 2006 season were slicks, unlike the pseudo slicks used in the 2005 season. Bridgestone used the types soft , medium , and hard ; for each stage, Bridgestone was selected separately. Rain trains were used the same as in 2005.
Other
Brembo exclusively for the GP2 introduced new brakes.
The car also includes a new cooling system, a new radiator, a radiator pipe, etc.
Changes to sports regulations
The only change in the rules of the 2006 season was the rewarding with one point for a fast lap in the race instead of two, as it was in 2005. Racers starting from the pit lane and showing the fastest lap are not taken into account.
Season Overview
Nelsinho Piquet began the season with a high note, winning the first race in Valencia, beating two newcomers Lewis Hamilton and Adrian Valles . None of them could earn a point for the fastest lap. In Sunday's sprint, Valles was involved in a clash with Adam Carroll , who rolled over several times. The race was won by Michael AmmermΓΌller who had a promising start to the season, but in the last six stages he could not earn points.
Gianmaria Bruni and Ernesto Viso shared the victory in Imola, where Hamilton could not win after the black flag in the main race, and in the sprint he started from the back rows and did not earn points. He regained his form well by winning both victories at the Nurburgring, where Piquet had a terrible weekend. He earned the pole position, but had an accident in the main race. He also could not score points in the sprint.
Hamilton was on his way to the next victory in the main race in Barcelona, ββbut on the last lap of the race his partner Alexander Prema crashed into him. The Frenchman won, and Hamilton came second. Viso won his second victory of the season in Sunday's sprint. Then Hamilton won three races in a row, in the only race in Monaco, the French Nicolas Lapierre and Olivier Pla were injured and missed several races. At a home race at Silverstone, Hamilton won the main race, and then in the sprint, where he immediately overtook Clivio Piccione and Piquet.
At the beginning of the season there were several notable changes. Giorgio Pantano returned to the series after skipping several stages, and Timo Glock moved from BCN to iSport between the stage in Monaco and the UK, and the Russian pilot Vitaly Petrov also appeared for the first time in the series. Both were serious rivals in the fight for victory in the rest of the season and they shared victories in Magny-Cours. Glock also won the Sunday sprint in Hockenheim after overtaking Jose Maria Lopez in the final lap.
From that moment, Hamilton had a solid 26-point lead from Pique, but the Brazilian returned to the fight, having spent an ideal weekend in Hungary, he earned a pole, two wins and two fast laps. Hamilton turned around in qualification and in the main race he started from the back rows of the starting field. He could not score points, but earned second place in the rain sprint.
Pique continued to show his form in Turkey, where he won the main race starting from the pole. Hamilton was second, as in the sprint, Hamilton quickly recovered from an early U-turn and came second, while Piquet came fifth. Andreas Zuber started from the front row and won the race.
Hamilton's lead was 10 points before the final stage at Monza. Piquet reduced lead to 8 by taking the pole. Pantano went around them in the main race and established the fastest lap. Pique finished second, Hamilton third, so it seemed that the fate of the title would be decided in the last race. However, Pantano ignored the yellow flags in his fastest lap and did not count his time, the point eventually passed to Hamilton and decided the fate of the title. Pantano started fantastically and from eighth place to first, before entering the first corner and subsequently won the race. Hamilton finished after him, eventually ahead of Pique by 12 points.
Teams and Pilots
| Team | No. | Pilot | Stages |
|---|---|---|---|
| ART Grand Prix | one | Alexander Prema | Everything |
| 2 | Lewis Hamilton | Everything | |
| Arden international | 3 | Michael AmmermΓΌller | Everything |
| four | Nicolas Lapierre | 1-5, 8-11 | |
| Neil Yani | 6-7 | ||
| Super nova racing | five | Jose Maria Lopez | Everything |
| 6 | Fairuz Fawzi | Everything | |
| iSport International | 7 | Ernesto Viso | Everything |
| eight | Tristan Gommendi | 1-5 | |
| Timo Glock | 6-11 | ||
| Racing engineering | 9 | Adam Carroll | Everything |
| ten | Javier Villa | Everything | |
| Piquet sports | eleven | Nelsinho Piquet | Everything |
| 12 | Alexandre Negran | Everything | |
| Dams | 14 | Ferdinando Monfardini | Everything |
| 15 | Frank Perera | Everything | |
| Petrol Ofisi FMS International | sixteen | Luca Philippi | 1-3 |
| Giorgio Pantano | 4-11 | ||
| 17 | Jason Tahinchi | Everything | |
| BCN Competicion | 18 | Hiroki Yoshimoto | Everything |
| nineteen | Timo Glock | 1-5 | |
| Luca Philippi | 6-11 | ||
| DPR Direxiv | 20 | Olivier pla | 1-5, 7 |
| Mike Conway | 6 | ||
| Vitaly Petrov | 8-11 | ||
| 21 | Clivio piccione | Everything | |
| Durango | 22 | Lucas di Grassi | Everything |
| 23 | Sergio Hernandez | Everything | |
| Campos racing | 24 | Adrian Valles | Everything |
| 25 | Felix Porteiro | Everything | |
| Trident racing | 26 | Janmaria Bruni | Everything |
| 27 | Andreas Zuber | Everything |
Pilot Transitions
- Team change
- Janmaria Bruni : Durango β Trident Racing
- Ernesto Viso : BCN Competicion β iSport International
- Jose Maria Lopez : DAMS β Super Nova Racing
- Ferdinando Monfardini : Coloni Motorsport β DAMS
- Giorgio Pantano : Super Nova Racing β Petrol Ofisi FMS International
- Clivio Piccione : Durango β DPR Direxiv
- Fairuz Fawzi : DAMS β Super Nova Racing
- Sergio Hernandez : Campos Racing β Durango
- Neil Yani : Racing Engineering β Arden International
- Appearance in GP2
- Michael AmmermΓΌller : Italian Formula Renault / Euro Cup Formula Renault ( Jenzer Motorsport ) β Arden International
- Adrian Valles : World Series Renault ( Pons Racing ) β Campos Racing
- Javier Villa : Spanish Formula 3 ( Racing Engineering ) β Racing Engineering
- Tristan Gommendi : Renault World Series (KTR) β iSport International
- Timo Glock : Champ Car ( Rocketsports Racing ) β iSport International
- Lucas Di Grassi : Euro Series Formula 3 ( Manor Motorsport ) β Durango
- Mike Conway : British Formula 3 ( RΓ€ikkΓΆnen Robertson Racing ) β DPR Direxiv
- Frank Perera : Euro Series Formula 3 ( Prema Powerteam ) β DAMS
- Vitaly Petrov : International Formula Master (Euronova Racing) β DPR Direxiv
- Felix Porteiro : World Series Renault ( Epsilon Euskadi ) β Campos Racing
- Jason Tahinci : British Formula Renault (?) β Petrol Ofisi FMS International
- Luca Philippi : Italian Formula 3000 ( Fisichella Motor Sport ) β Petrol Ofisi FMS International
- Lewis Hamilton : Euro Formula 3 Series ( ASM Formule 3 ) β ART Grand Prix
- Andreas Zuber : World Series Renault ( Carlin Motorsport ) β Trident Racing
- Leaving GP2
- Juan Cruz Alvarez : Campos Racing β TC 2000
- Tony Wilander : Coloni Motorsport β Italian GT Championship
- Borja Garcia : BCN CompeticiΓ³n β World Series Renault (RC Motorsport)
- Heikki Kovalainen : Arden International β Formula 1 ( Renault test pilot)
- Matthias Lauda : Coloni Motorsport β Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters (Persson Motorsport)
- Giorgio Mondini : David Price Racing β Formula 1 (test pilot MF1 Racing )
- Nico Rosberg : ART Grand Prix β Formula 1 ( Williams )
- Scott Speed : iSport International β Formula 1 ( Scuderia Toro Rosso )
- Ryan Sharp : Super Nova Racing β WTCC (JAS Motorsport)
Calendar 2006
| Stage | Location | Track | date | Support race | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| one | Race | Valencia , Spain | Ricardo Tormo Track | April 8th | independent stage |
| Sprint | April 9th | ||||
| 2 | Race | Imola , Italy | Circuit Enzo and Dino Ferrari | April 22 | Grand Prix of San Marino |
| Sprint | April 23 | ||||
| 3 | Race | Nurburg , Germany | Nurburgring | the 6th of May | European Grand Prix |
| Sprint | May 7th | ||||
| four | Race | Catalonia , Spain | Circuit Catalunya | may 13 | Grand Prix of Spain |
| Sprint | May 14 | ||||
| five | Race | Monte Carlo , Monaco | Monte Carlo City Route | May 27th | Grand Prix of Monaco |
| 6 | Race | Silverstone , UK | Silverstone track | June 10th | Grand Prix of Great Britain |
| Sprint | June 11 | ||||
| 7 | Race | Magny-Cours , France | Circuit Never Magny-Cours | July 15 | Grand Prix of France |
| Sprint | July 16 | ||||
| eight | Race | Hockenheim , Germany | Hockenheimring | July 29 | Grand Prix of Germany |
| Sprint | July 30th | ||||
| 9 | Race | Budapest , Hungary | Hungaroring | 5th of August | Grand Prix of Hungary |
| Sprint | August 6th | ||||
| ten | Race | Istanbul , Turkey | Istanbul Park | August, 26th | Grand Prix of Turkey |
| Sprint | August 27 | ||||
| eleven | Race | Monza , Italy | Monza National Circuit | 9th of September | Grand Prix of Italy |
| Sprint | 10 September | ||||
Results
| Stage | Track | Pole position | Fast lap | Winner | Team | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| one | Race | Ricardo Tormo Track | Nelsinho Piquet | Nicolas Lapierre | Nelsinho Piquet | Piquet sports |
| Sprint | Nelsinho Piquet | Michael AmmermΓΌller | Arden international | |||
| 2 | Race | Circuit Enzo and Dino Ferrari | Janmaria Bruni | Janmaria Bruni | Janmaria Bruni | Trident racing |
| Sprint | Ernesto Viso | Ernesto Viso | iSport International | |||
| 3 | Race | Nurburgring | Nelsinho Piquet | Lewis Hamilton | Lewis Hamilton | ART Grand Prix |
| Sprint | Janmaria Bruni | Lewis Hamilton | ART Grand Prix | |||
| four | Race | Circuit Catalunya | Nelsinho Piquet | Adrian Valles | Alexander Prema | ART Grand Prix |
| Sprint | Janmaria Bruni | Ernesto Viso | iSport International | |||
| five | Race | Monte Carlo City Route | Lewis Hamilton | Lucas di Grassi | Lewis Hamilton | ART Grand Prix |
| 6 | Race | Silverstone track | Adam Carroll | Lewis Hamilton | Lewis Hamilton | ART Grand Prix |
| Sprint | Lewis Hamilton | Lewis Hamilton | ART Grand Prix | |||
| 7 | Race | Circuit Never Magny-Cours | Jose Maria Lopez | Lewis Hamilton | Timo Glock | iSport International |
| Sprint | Timo Glock | Giorgio Pantano | Petrol Ofisi FMS International | |||
| eight | Race | Hockenheimring | Janmaria Bruni | Alexander Prema | Janmaria Bruni | Trident racing |
| Sprint | Jose Maria Lopez | Timo Glock | iSport International | |||
| 9 | Race | Hungaroring | Nelsinho Piquet | Nelsinho Piquet | Nelsinho Piquet | Piquet sports |
| Sprint | Nelsinho Piquet | Nelsinho Piquet | Piquet sports | |||
| ten | Race | Istanbul Park | Nelsinho Piquet | Nelsinho Piquet | Nelsinho Piquet | Piquet sports |
| Sprint | Lewis Hamilton | Andreas Zuber | Trident racing | |||
| eleven | Race | Monza National Circuit | Nelsinho Piquet | Lewis Hamilton | Giorgio Pantano | Petrol Ofisi FMS International |
| Sprint | Lewis Hamilton | Giorgio Pantano | Petrol Ofisi FMS International | |||
Championship Positions
Personal credit
| Legend to the table The table lists the results of all the Grand Prix of the season. Rows of the table are the pilots or designers ordered by their position in the world championship, and the columns are the stages of the championship. In each cell, the result of the rider is indicated. Additionally, it is indicated by color. Decoding of symbols and colors is presented in the table below.
Bold - Pole Position | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Team Event
| Legend to the table The table lists the results of all the Grand Prix of the season. Rows of the table are the pilots or designers ordered by their position in the world championship, and the columns are the stages of the championship. In each cell, the result of the rider is indicated. Additionally, it is indicated by color. Decoding of symbols and colors is presented in the table below.
Bold - Pole Position | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||