The 2005 GP2 Series season was the thirty-ninth season of the second-tier of Formula One feeder championship and also first season under the GP2 Series moniker. The season started in Imola, Italy on 23 April, and ended in Sakhir, Bahrain on 30 September. The season was won by the German Nico Rosberg, with the Finn Heikki Kovalainen finishing second.

2005 was the first season of the newly renamed Formula One feeder series, from Formula 3000 to GP2. The inaugural season did not feature reigning F3000 champion Vitantonio Liuzzi, because the Italian was driving for Red Bull Racing in Formula One. The series did feature two former F1 drivers, Italians Gianmaria Bruni and Giorgio Pantano, driving for Coloni and SuperNova respectively.

Season summary

In the opening race at Imola, there were a number of mechanical problems and with organisers afraid of trouble at the start, the rolling start was used in both races despite the weather being dry. Nicolas Lapierre had taken his inaugural pole position but he was out before the race had started due to mechanical problems. The race was won by his team-mate Heikki Kovalainen.

After the first weekend, it was decided that the points for the fastest lap would only be awarded if the driver was classified. This was due to the event in the Imola sprint race, where Lapierre started with a fuel load with which he wouldn't have been able to finish, set a fastest lap and retired soon after.

At Montmeló, the drivers could finally experience standing starts. F1 refugee Bruni won the feature race and José María López the sprint race. The first four races had been won by four drivers in four teams, highlighting that the field had many competitive drivers. Adam Carroll was the first driver to take a second victory after he won at Monaco, where only one race was held.

At Nürburgring, the sprint race was extended from 80 to 120 kilometres. This coincided with F1 dropping its second qualifying session on Sunday morning. The sprint race turned to be one of the most exciting of the season, with Monegasque Clivio Piccione winning.

Heikki Kovalainen was the top driver early in the season, winning three of the first five feature races. However, the season took a turnaround at Magny-Cours, where ART Grand Prix started going strong. Tactical errors caused them to lose the feature race, but Nico Rosberg gave them their first win at the sprint. Rosberg went on to win the next two feature races, while Olivier Pla won both sprints having started from pole position in both of them.

At the qualifying of the Hungaroring race, ART cars were disqualified for illegal position of their steering rack. They were sent to back of the grid but it didn't stop them taking points finishes in the feature and 1-2 in the sprint race, where Alexandre Prémat won his first race. Neel Jani joined the winners' list in the feature race.

Prémat also won the next race at Istanbul, while championship leading duo Kovalainen and Rosberg finished outside the points. The sprint race started in wet conditions but dried out, so tyre changes were necessary. Kovalainen did that move perfectly and won the race having started 10th. Rosberg jumped from 17th to 3rd.

Kovalainen and Jani won races at Monza but Rosberg took the most points with two second places and two fastest laps. Nelson Piquet Jr. then won the feature race at Spa-Francorchamps while Rosberg took the championship lead from Kovalainen who spun off on the last lap while battling for eighth place and pole for Sunday's race. Carroll led the sprint race from the start but following accidents involving Ernesto Viso, Hiroki Yoshimoto and Jani the race was stopped early and only half points were awarded. Viso still ended in 3rd position thanks to countback rule.

The championship was decided in Bahrain which held the only race not supporting F1. Rosberg led Kovalainen by three points and increased his lead by taking pole position. Rosberg also won the race and clinched the title as Kovalainen was 3rd. Rosberg then also won the sprint race, becoming the first driver in the series to win both races during an event.

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 in 2005 in order to keep the field fair.

As this was the inaugural season in the series, car numbers were distributed by a pre-season session held at Circuit Paul Ricard on 6 April. The fastest driver got number 1, his team-mate number 2, next best driver number 3 etc.

Team	No.	Driver name	Rounds
iSport International	1	Scott Speed	All
	2	Can Artam	All
Hitech Piquet Sports[a]	3	Nelson Piquet Jr.	All
	4	Alexandre Negrão	All
BCN Competición	5	Ernesto Viso	All
	6	Hiroki Yoshimoto	All
Super Nova International	7	Giorgio Pantano	All
	8	Adam Carroll	All
ART Grand Prix	9	Nico Rosberg	All
	10	Alexandre Prémat	All
DPR	11	Olivier Pla	All
	12	Ryan Sharp	1–7
		Giorgio Mondini[b]	8–12
DAMS	14	José María López[c]	All
	15	Fairuz Fauzy[d]	All
Coloni Motorsport	16	Mathias Lauda	All
	17	Gianmaria Bruni	1–9
		Toni Vilander	10–11
		Ferdinando Monfardini	12
Racing Engineering	18	Neel Jani	All
	19	Borja García	All
Campos Racing	20	Juan Cruz Álvarez[e]	All
	21	Sergio Hernández	All
Arden International[f]	22	Heikki Kovalainen	All
	23	Nicolas Lapierre	All
Durango	24	Clivio Piccione	All
	25	Ferdinando Monfardini	1–10
		Gianmaria Bruni	11–12

Driver changes

Entering GP2

• Juan Cruz Álvarez: World Series by Nissan (Gabord Competición) → Campos Racing
• Can Artam: International Formula 3000 (Coloni Motorsport & Super Nova Racing) → iSport International
• Gianmaria Bruni: Formula One (Minardi Cosworth) → Coloni Motorsport
• Adam Carroll: British Formula 3 Championship (P1 Racing) → Super Nova International
• Fairuz Fauzy: British Formula 3 Championship (Menu F3 Motorsport & P1 Racing) → DAMS
• Borja García: Spanish Formula Three Championship (Racing Engineering) → Racing Engineering
• Sergio Hernández: Spanish Formula Three Championship (Adrian Campos Motorsport) & World Series by Nissan (Saulnier Racing) → Campos Racing
• Neel Jani: Formula Renault V6 Eurocup (DAMS) → Racing Engineering
• Heikki Kovalainen: World Series by Nissan (Pons Racing) → Arden International
• Mathias Lauda: International Formula 3000 (CMS Performance) & Superfund Euro Formula 3000 (Traini Corse) → Coloni Motorsport
• Nicolas Lapierre: Formula Three Euroseries (Signature) → Arden International
• José María López: International Formula 3000 (CMS Performance) & Formula Renault V6 Eurocup (DAMS) → DAMS
• Ferdinando Monfardini: International Formula 3000 (Spero I.E.) → Durango
• Alexandre Sarnes Negrão: Formula Three Sudamericana (Piquet Sports) → Hitech Piquet Sports
• Giorgio Pantano: Formula One (Jordan Ford) → Super Nova International
• Clivio Piccione: British Formula 3 Championship (Carlin Motorsport) → Durango
• Nelson Piquet Jr.: British Formula 3 Championship (Piquet Sports) → Hitech Piquet Sports
• Olivier Pla: World Series by Nissan (RC Motorsport & Carlin Motorsport) → DPR
• Alexandre Prémat: Formula Three Euroseries (ASM Formule 3) → ART Grand Prix
• Nico Rosberg: Formula Three Euroseries (Team Rosberg) → ART Grand Prix
• Ryan Sharp: Formula Renault V6 Eurocup (Jenzer Motorsport) → DPR
• Scott Speed: Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0 & Formula Renault 2.0 Germany (Motopark Academy) → iSport International
• Toni Vilander: Italian Formula Three Championship (Coloni F3) & Formula Three Euroseries (Coloni F3) → Coloni Motorsport
• Ernesto Viso: [British Formula 3 Championship (P1 Racing) & International Formula 3000 (Durango) → BCN Competición
• Hiroki Yoshimoto: World Series by Nissan (Gabord Competición) → BCN Competición

Midseason changes

• Giorgio Mondini replaced Ryan Sharp for Hungarian races
• Toni Vilander replaced Gianmaria Bruni for Italian races.
• Gianmaria Bruni replaced Ferdinando Monfardini for Belgian races.
• Ferdinando Monfardini replaced Toni Vilander for Bahrain races.

Calendar

There were 23 races in the 2005 GP2 Series championship at 12 different circuits. Eleven race weekends had one race on Saturday and another on Sunday, the exception being the race at Circuit de Monaco where there was only one race on the weekend. The season began on 23 April 2005 and concluded on 25 September 2005.

The calendar was as follows:

Round		Location	Circuit	Date	Supporting
1	F	Imola, Italy	Autodromo Enzo e Dino Ferrari	23 April	San Marino Grand Prix
	S			24 April
2	F	Montmeló, Spain	Circuit de Catalunya	7 May	Spanish Grand Prix
	S			8 May
3	F	Monaco	Circuit de Monaco	21 May	Monaco Grand Prix
4	F	Nürburg, Germany	Nürburgring	28 May	European Grand Prix
	S			29 May
5	F	Magny-Cours, France	Circuit de Nevers Magny-Cours	2 July	French Grand Prix
	S			3 July
6	F	Silverstone, UK	Silverstone Circuit	9 July	British Grand Prix
	S			10 July
7	F	Hockenheim, Germany	Hockenheimring	23 July	German Grand Prix
	S			24 July
8	F	Mogyoród, Hungary	Hungaroring	30 July	Hungarian Grand Prix
	S			31 July
9	F	Istanbul, Turkey	Istanbul Racing Circuit	20 August	Turkish Grand Prix
	S			21 August
10	F	Monza, Italy	Autodromo Nazionale Monza	3 September	Italian Grand Prix
	S			4 September
11	F	Stavelot, Belgium	Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps	10 September	Belgian Grand Prix
	S			11 September
12	F	Sakhir, Bahrain	Bahrain International Circuit	29 September	Stand-alone event
	S			30 September

Results

Round		Circuit	Pole Position	Fastest Lap[2]	Winning Driver	Winning Team	Report
1	F	Autodromo Enzo e Dino Ferrari	Nicolas Lapierre	Ernesto Viso	Heikki Kovalainen	Arden International	Report
	S			Nicolas Lapierre	Adam Carroll	Super Nova International
2	F	Circuit de Catalunya	Scott Speed	Nico Rosberg	Gianmaria Bruni	Coloni Motorsport	Report
	S			Ryan Sharp	José María López	DAMS
3	F	Circuit de Monaco	Heikki Kovalainen	Heikki Kovalainen	Adam Carroll	Super Nova International	Report
4	F	Nürburgring	Giorgio Pantano	Scott Speed	Heikki Kovalainen	Arden International	Report
	S			Scott Speed	Clivio Piccione	Durango
5	F	Circuit de Nevers Magny-Cours	Alexandre Prémat	Gianmaria Bruni	Heikki Kovalainen	Arden International	Report
	S			Nelson Piquet Jr.[g]	Nico Rosberg	ART Grand Prix
6	F	Silverstone Circuit	Nico Rosberg	Alexandre Prémat	Nico Rosberg	ART Grand Prix	Report
	S			Scott Speed	Olivier Pla	DPR
7	F	Hockenheimring	Nico Rosberg	Nico Rosberg	Nico Rosberg	ART Grand Prix	Report
	S			Nico Rosberg	Olivier Pla	DPR
8	F	Hungaroring	Neel Jani[h]	Hiroki Yoshimoto	Neel Jani	Racing Engineering	Report
	S			Clivio Piccione	Alexandre Prémat	ART Grand Prix
9	F	Istanbul Racing Circuit	Nico Rosberg	Scott Speed	Alexandre Prémat	ART Grand Prix	Report
	S			Olivier Pla	Heikki Kovalainen	Arden International
10	F	Autodromo Nazionale Monza	Heikki Kovalainen	Nico Rosberg	Heikki Kovalainen	Arden International	Report
	S			Nico Rosberg	Neel Jani	Racing Engineering
11	F	Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps	Gianmaria Bruni	Alexandre Prémat[i]	Nelson Piquet Jr.	Hitech Piquet Sports	Report
	S			Adam Carroll	Adam Carroll	Super Nova International
12	F	Bahrain International Circuit	Nico Rosberg	Alexandre Prémat	Nico Rosberg	ART Grand Prix	Report
	S			Scott Speed	Nico Rosberg	ART Grand Prix

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 two points are given to the driver who set the fastest lap in the feature and sprint races. The driver also has to drive 90% of race laps. No extra points are awarded to the pole-sitter in the sprint race.

Feature race points

Sprint race points

Points are awarded to the top 6 classified finishers.

Drivers' Championship

Pos Driver IMO CAT MON NÜR MAG SIL HOC HUN IST MNZ SPA‡ BHR Points 1 Nico Rosberg 8 Ret 9 4 3 3 4 7 1 1 4 1 4 5 2 17 3 2 2 3 5 1 1 120 2 Heikki Kovalainen 1 3 3 Ret 5 1 Ret 1 3 2 3 5 6 2 5 10 1 1 5 15† 9 3 Ret 105 3 Scott Speed 3 Ret 2 3 4 16 12 15 18 4 2 4 3 Ret 19 5 4 Ret 15 4 4 Ret 19 67.5 4 Alexandre Prémat 7 2 10 Ret Ret 4 Ret 9 Ret 3 5 2 9 4 1 1 14 Ret 18 Ret 12 2 3 67 5 Adam Carroll 5 1 7 6 1 Ret 2 4 6 21† 8 Ret 11 9 9 7 2 5 6 8 1 9 8 53 6 Giorgio Pantano 13† Ret 13 14 Ret 2 7 10 7 12 7 6 2 3 3 2 8 6 3 NC 11 5 5 49 7 Neel Jani 6 15 4 5 Ret 6 13† 5 4 5 6 Ret 22 1 4 Ret Ret 7 1 16 18 16 13 48 8 Nelson Piquet Jr. 14† 6 5 2 11† 5 3 Ret DSQ DNS Ret 3 8 15† 10 4 6 3 Ret 1 14 Ret 15 46 9 José María López 2 11 6 1 Ret 13 14 2 Ret 9 DNS 13 10 Ret Ret 6 7 Ret Ret 10 8 4 4 36 10 Gianmaria Bruni 4 4 1 Ret 2 8 Ret 18 11 7 11 NC 14 10 8 Ret 9 Ret 16 Ret 14 35 11 Ernesto Viso 10 DNS Ret Ret DSQ Ret 11 11 8 15 13 DSQ 12 6 Ret 14 12 Ret Ret 2 3 8 2 21 12 Nicolas Lapierre DNS Ret 11 9 Ret 12 Ret 3 5 10 Ret 9 7 12 6 Ret 13 4 Ret Ret 23† 6 20 21 13 Olivier Pla 9 5 Ret Ret 9 Ret 8 Ret 9 8 1 8 1 7 Ret 9 17 Ret Ret 11 10 Ret DNS 20 14 Borja García Ret 10 Ret 10 10† Ret EX Ret 12 17 9 7 5 11 Ret 3 5 Ret 10 6 2 19† 17 17.5 15 Clivio Piccione 15 Ret Ret 8 Ret 7 1 8 DSQ 6 Ret Ret 17 Ret 16 Ret 11 11 14 12 19 13 7 14 16 Hiroki Yoshimoto Ret 9 Ret 17 DNS 11 DNS 6 2 13 DNS 12 Ret 13 17 8 10 10 16 Ret 17 7 6 14 17 Ferdinando Monfardini Ret DNS Ret 11 DNS Ret 6 12 17† 14 10 Ret 15 Ret 11 Ret Ret 8 4 Ret 11 5 18 Juan Cruz Álvarez Ret 7 Ret 12 Ret 18† 15 Ret DSQ 11 Ret 10 NC Ret 7 15 Ret 12 17† 5 6 10 12 4.5 19 Alexandre Negrão Ret 13 8 15 12† Ret Ret Ret 13 19 16† Ret 18 8 15 12 19 Ret 13 7 7 12 9 4 20 Sergio Hernández 11 8 Ret 18† 8 15 5 13 14 16 12 Ret 19 Ret 18† Ret 20† Ret 7 Ret 20† 15 18 3 21 Mathias Lauda 12 Ret Ret 13 6 10 Ret 16 15 20 15 14 21 Ret 14 16 18 13 12 9 24† 14 21 3 22 Can Artam 16† Ret Ret Ret 7 17 Ret 17 16 18 14 Ret 20 14 12 11 16 9 9 Ret 22† 17 16 2 23 Ryan Sharp Ret 14 Ret 16 Ret 9 9 19 Ret Ret NC 11 13 2 24 Fairuz Fauzy 17† 12 12 7 Ret 14 10 14 10 Ret DNS Ret 16 Ret 13 Ret 15 14 11 13 15 11 10 0 25 Toni Vilander 15 8 14 13 0 26 Giorgio Mondini Ret Ret 13 Ret Ret Ret Ret 21† 18 22 0 Pos Driver IMO CAT MON NÜR MAG SIL HOC HUN IST MNZ SPA BHR Points

Key Colour Result Gold Winner Silver 2nd place Bronze 3rd place Green Other points position Blue Other classified position Not classified, finished (NC) Purple Not classified, retired (Ret) Red Did not qualify (DNQ) Did not pre-qualify (DNPQ) Black Disqualified (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)

Notes:

• † – Drivers did not finish the race, but were classified as they completed more than 90% of the race distance.
• ‡ – Sprint race at Spa was stopped early and half points were awarded.

Teams' Championship

Pos	Team	Car No.	IMO		CAT		MON	NÜR		MAG		SIL		HOC		HUN		IST		MNZ		SPA‡		BHR		Points
1	ART Grand Prix	9	8	Ret	9	4	3	3	4	7	1	1	4	1	4	5	2	17	3	2	2	3	5	1	1	187
		10	7	2	10	Ret	Ret	4	Ret	9	Ret	3	5	2	9	4	1	1	14	Ret	18	Ret	12	2	3
2	Arden International	22	1	3	3	Ret	5	1	Ret	1	3	2	3	5	6	2	5	10	1	1	5	15†	9	3	Ret	126
		23	DNS	Ret	11	9	Ret	12	Ret	3	5	10	Ret	9	7	12	6	Ret	13	4	Ret	Ret	23†	6	20
3	Super Nova International	7	13†	Ret	13	14	Ret	2	7	10	7	12	7	6	2	3	3	2	8	6	3	NC	11	5	5	102
		8	5	1	7	6	1	Ret	2	4	6	21†	8	Ret	11	9	9	7	2	5	6	8	1	9	8
4	iSport International	1	3	Ret	2	3	4	16	12	15	18	4	2	4	3	Ret	19	5	4	Ret	15	4	4	Ret	19	69.5
		2	16†	Ret	Ret	Ret	7	17	Ret	17	16	18	14	Ret	20	14	12	11	16	9	9	Ret	22†	17	16
5	Racing Engineering	18	6	15	4	5	Ret	6	13†	5	4	5	6	Ret	22	1	4	Ret	Ret	7	1	16	18	16	13	65.5
		19	Ret	10	Ret	10	10†	Ret	EX	Ret	12	17	9	7	5	11	Ret	3	5	Ret	10	6	2	19†	17
6	Hitech Piquet Sports	3	14†	6	5	2	11†	5	3	Ret	DSQ	DNS	Ret	3	8	15†	10	4	6	3	Ret	1	14	Ret	15	50
		4	Ret	13	8	15	12†	Ret	Ret	Ret	13	19	16†	Ret	18	8	15	12	19	Ret	13	7	7	12	9
7	DAMS	14	2	11	6	1	Ret	13	14	2	Ret	9	DNS	13	10	Ret	Ret	6	7	Ret	Ret	10	8	4	4	36
		15	17†	12	12	7	Ret	14	10	14	10	Ret	DNS	Ret	16	Ret	13	Ret	15	14	11	13	15	11	10
8	Coloni Motorsport	16	12	Ret	Ret	13	6	10	Ret	16	15	20	15	14	21	Ret	14	16	18	13	12	9	24†	14	21	36
		17	4	4	1	Ret	2	8	Ret	18	11	7	11	NC	14	10	8	Ret	9	15	8	14	13	Ret	11
9	BCN Competición	5	10	DNS	Ret	Ret	DSQ	Ret	11	11	8	15	13	DSQ	12	6	Ret	14	12	Ret	Ret	2	3	8	2	35
		6	Ret	9	Ret	17	DNS	11	DNS	6	2	13	DNS	12	Ret	13	17	8	10	10	16	Ret	17	7	6
10	DPR	11	9	5	Ret	Ret	9	Ret	8	Ret	9	8	1	8	1	7	Ret	9	17	Ret	Ret	11	10	Ret	DNS	22
		12	Ret	14	Ret	16	Ret	9	9	19	Ret	Ret	NC	11	13	Ret	Ret	13	Ret	Ret	Ret	Ret	21†	18	22
11	Durango	24	15	Ret	Ret	8	Ret	7	1	8	DSQ	6	Ret	Ret	17	Ret	16	Ret	11	11	14	12	19	13	7	21
		25	Ret	DNS	Ret	11	DNS	Ret	6	12	17†	14	10	Ret	15	Ret	11	Ret	Ret	8	4	Ret	16	Ret	14
12	Campos Racing	20	Ret	7	Ret	12	Ret	18†	15	Ret	DSQ	11	Ret	10	NC	Ret	7	15	Ret	12	17†	5	6	10	12	7.5
		21	11	8	Ret	18†	8	15	5	13	14	16	12	Ret	19	Ret	18†	Ret	20†	Ret	7	Ret	20†	15	18
Pos	Team	Car No.	IMO		CAT		MON	NÜR		MAG		SIL		HOC		HUN		IST		MNZ		SPA		BHR		Points