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 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 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.

Team	No.	Driver name	Rounds
ART Grand Prix	1	Alexandre Prémat	All
	2	Lewis Hamilton	All
Arden International Ltd[a]	3	Michael Ammermüller	All
	4	Nicolas Lapierre	1–5, 8–11
		Neel Jani	6–7
Super Nova International	5	José María López	All
	6	Fairuz Fauzy	All
iSport International	7	Ernesto 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 Negrão	All
DAMS	14	Ferdinando Monfardini	All
	15	Franck Perera	All
FMS International (1–2) Petrol Ofisi FMS International (3–11)	16	Luca Filippi	1–3
		Giorgio Pantano	4–11
	17	Jason Tahinci	All
BCN Competición	18	Hiroki Yoshimoto	All
	19	Timo Glock	1–5
		Luca Filippi	6–11
DPR (1–2, 8–11) DPR Direxiv (3–7)	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[b]	All

Driver changes

Changed Teams

• Gianmaria Bruni: Durango → Trident Racing
• Adam Carroll: Super Nova International → Racing Engineering
• Fairuz Fauzy: DAMS → Super Nova International
• Sergio Hernández: Campos Racing → Durango
• Neel Jani: Racing Engineering → Arden International Ltd
• José María López: DAMS → Super Nova International
• Ferdinando Monfardini: Coloni Motorsport → DAMS
• Giorgio Pantano: Super Nova International → Petrol Ofisi FMS International
• Clivio Piccione: Durango → DPR
• Ernesto Viso: BCN Competición → iSport International

Entering GP2

• Michael Ammermüller: Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0 & Italian Formula Renault Championship (Jenzer Motorsport) → Arden International Ltd
• Mike Conway: British Formula 3 Championship (Fortec Motorsport) → DPR Direxiv
• Lucas di Grassi: Formula Three Euroseries (Manor Motorsport) → Durango
• Luca Filippi: Italian Formula 3000 (Fisichella Motorsport) → FMS International
• Timo Glock: Champ Car World Series (Rocketsports Racing) → BCN Competición
• Tristan Gommendy: World Series by Renault (Witmeur KTR) → iSport International
• Lewis Hamilton: Formula Three Euroseries (ASM Formule 3) → ART Grand Prix
• Franck Perera: Formula Three Euroseries (Prema Powerteam) → DAMS
• Vitaly Petrov: Formula 1600 Russia (Art Line ProTeam) → DPR
• Félix Porteiro: World Series by Renault (Epsilon by Graff) → Campos Racing
• Jason Tahinci: British Formula Renault Championship (Team JLR) → FMS International
• Adrián Vallés: World Series by Renault (Pons Racing) → Campos Racing
• Javier Villa: Spanish Formula Three Championship (Racing Engineering) → Racing Engineering
• Andreas Zuber: World Series by Renault (Carlin Motorsport) → Trident Racing

Leaving GP2

• Juan Cruz Álvarez: Campos Racing → Top Race V6 Argentina (Catalan Magni Motorsports)
• Can Artam: iSport International → Retirement
• Borja García: Racing Engineering → World Series by Renault (RC Motorsport)
• Heikki Kovalainen: Arden International → Formula One (Mild Seven Renault F1 Team test driver)
• Mathias Lauda: Coloni Motorsport → Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters (Persson Motorsport)
• Giorgio Mondini: DPR → A1 Grand Prix (A1 Team Switzerland)
• Nico Rosberg: ART Grand Prix → Formula One (WilliamsF1 Team)
• Ryan Sharp: DPR → World Touring Car Championship (JAS Motorsport)
• Scott Speed: iSport International → Formula One (Scuderia Toro Rosso)
• Toni Vilander: Coloni Motorsport → Italian GT Championship (Playteam Sara Free)

Midseason changes

• Giorgio Pantano replaced Luca Filippi after Nürburg races.
• Timo Glock replaced Tristan Gommendy after Monaco race.
• Luca Filippi replaced Timo Glock after Monaco race.
• Neel Jani replaced Nicolas Lapierre for Silverstone and Magny-Cours races.
• Mike Conway replaced Olivier Pla for Silverstone races.
• Vitaly Petrov replaced Olivier Pla after Magny-Cours races.

Calendar

Round		Location	Circuit	Date	Supporting
1	F	Cheste, Spain	Circuit de Valencia	8 April	Spanish F3 Championship
	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

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

Round	Location	Circuit	Date	Supporting
F	Stavelot, Belgium	Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps	16 September	Belgian Grand Prix
S			17 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

Round		Circuit	Pole Position	Fastest Lap[2]	Winning Driver	Winning Team	Report
1	F	Circuit de Valencia	Nelson Piquet Jr.	Nicolas Lapierre	Nelson Piquet Jr.	Piquet Sports	Report
	S			Andreas Zuber[c]	Michael Ammermüller	Arden International Ltd
2	F	Autodromo Enzo e Dino Ferrari	Gianmaria Bruni	Adrián Vallés[d]	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[e]	Lewis Hamilton	ART Grand Prix
4	F	Circuit de Catalunya	Nelson Piquet Jr.[f]	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[g]	Giorgio Pantano	Petrol Ofisi FMS International
8	F	Hockenheimring	Gianmaria Bruni	Alexandre Prémat	Gianmaria Bruni	Trident Racing	Report
	S			Lucas di Grassi[h]	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

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

Sprint race points

Points are awarded to the top 6 classified finishers.

Drivers' Championship

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 5 5 3 13 Ret Ret 1 1 44 6 Ernesto Viso 8 2 6 1 6 11 8 1 Ret Ret 8 10 Ret 4 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 17† 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 DNS 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 DNS 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 Tahinci DNS Ret Ret Ret DSQ 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 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.
• 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.^[7]
• 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' Championship

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	4	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 Ltd	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	FMS International (1–2) Petrol Ofisi FMS International (3–11)	16	Ret	Ret	11	5	Ret	Ret	9	7	Ret	5	4	6	1	5	5	3	13	Ret	Ret	1	1	46
		17	DNS	Ret	Ret	Ret	DSQ	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 International	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	17†	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 (1–2, 8–11) DPR Direxiv (3–7)	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	DNS	Ret	13	Ret	5	9	10	14	9
		23	Ret	DNS	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