 2005 Monza Race 1
| ||
|---|---|---|
 The Autodromo Nazionale Monza made its GP2 Series debut. | ||
| Race Information | ||
| Date | 3 September 2005 | |
| No. | 18 | |
| Event | LXXVI Gran Premio Vodafone d'Italia
| |
| Location | Autodromo Nazionale Monza Monza, Lombardy, Italy | |
| Format | 180 km / 75 min (Feature Race) | |
| Lap length | 5.793 km (3.600 mi) | |
| Distance | 32 laps / 185.376 km (115.187 mi) | |
| Pole position | ||
| Pole Sitter |  Heikki Kovalainen
| |
| Team |  Arden International
| |
| Time | 1:33.739 | |
| Fastest lap | ||
| Driver |  Nico Rosberg
| |
| Team |  ART Grand Prix
| |
| Time | 1:36.315 on lap 10 | |
| Podium | ||
| First | Second | Third |
| Heikki Kovalainen
|
Nico Rosberg
|
 Nelson Piquet Jr.
|
| Winner Team | Arden International
| |
| Time | 53:55.234 | |
| Race Guide | ||
| Previous | Next | |
 2005 Istanbul Sprint Race
|
2005 Monza Sprint Race
| |
The 2005 Monza Feature Race, formally known as the 2005 Monza GP2 Series Race 1, was the eighteenth race of the 2005 FIA GP2 Series, staged at the Autodromo Nazionale Monza in Monza, Lombardy, Italy, on 3 September 2005.[1] The race, held in support of the LXXVI Gran Premio Vodafone d'Italia, would see title protagonists Heikki Kovalainen and Nico Rosberg duel for victory.[2]
The pair had begun their battle in qualifying, with Kovalainen emerging ahead by 0.205s to claim pole position ahead of the German youth.[3] Scott Speed and Alexandre Prémat would share the second row of the grid, while debutante Toni Vilander, who replaced Gianmaria Bruni on the eve of the race, claimed sixteenth.[3]
Kovalainen and Rosberg would not, however, continue their duel at the start of the race, for a rocket start from José María López saw the #15 DAMS shoot between the pair of them.[2] Kovalainen would, however, manage to keep López at bay into the Rettifilo on the brakes to hold the lead, the Argentine ending up being bounced back downt he field, while behind Juan Cruz Álvarez and Olivier Pla smacked into each other as they jinked to avoid a stalled Giorgio Mondini.[2]
Pla was out on the spot with heavy damage which, combined with the stalled cars of Mondini, Vilander and Alexandre Negrão, resulted in the Safety Car being deployed.[2] Pla and Mondini would both end up retiring, while Vilander and Negrão would get into the race after being dragged into the pits and re-fired.[2]
After one lap the race resumed, with Kovalainen reclaiming the lead, while Nelson Piquet Jr. jumped up to second after cutting the chicane.[2] Rosberg, meanwhile, would slip behind teammate Prémat, before hitting his teammate in a bid to get back past which sent the #10 ART Grand Prix skating into the barriers.[2]
That triggered a wave of pit stops as several teams anticipated a SC, although it would never materialise.[2] Out front, meanwhile, Kovalainen would find his early lead steadily dwindle, as Rosberg first blasted past Piquet, before steadily reeling in the Finn to challenge for the lead.[2]
Those two would run nose-to-tail at the head of the field, and would only be split again when Rosberg stopped on lap eight, while Kovalainen pitted a lap later.[2] When Kovalainen rejoined he found his mirrors still full of Rosberg's #9 ART, and was not helped by getting caught behind compatriot Vilander.[2]
Their fight would last until the end of the race, with Kovalainen just able to keep Rosberg at bay through to claim his fifth win of the campaign.[2] Rosberg would claim second and some consolation with fastest lap, while behind Piquet held onto third having barely featured in the second half of the race.[2] Nicolas Lapierre was next up with Adam Carroll and Giorgio Pantano tucked under his rear wing, Neel Jani claimed a lonely seventh, while Ferdinando Monfardini had his best race of the campaign to claim the final point and reverse-grid pole for the Sprint Race.[2]
Background[]
Almost two weeks after the chequered flag fell in Turkey, the FIA GP2 Series followed Formula One to the very well established Autodromo Nazionale Monza in Monza, Lombardy, Italy, for the tenth round of the 2005 season.[1] The flat-out nature of the Monza circuit generated a lot of excitement in the GP2 paddock, with many drivers believing that there would be a lot of overtaking due to the slipstream effect.[4] However, there would be a surprise late change to the entry list, as one of the home protagonists suddenly quit their race seat on the eve of the race weekend.[5]
Bruni Bombshell[]
In the build up to the race there were rumours of discontent emerging from Coloni Motorsport, with their lead driver Gianmaria Bruni having reportedly fallen out with the team.[5] This culminated in the Italian racer leaving the Italian squad on the Wednesday before the Monza weekend, leaving Coloni with a vacant seat in the #17 car.[5] Fortunately, Coloni were able to promote young Finn Toni Vilander from their Italian F3000 team, although Vilander had no prior experience of the Dallara GP2/05.[5]
Turkish Delights[]
Once again, Heikki Kovalainen had undone the damage from a Feature Race to his Championship lead, with the Finn's victory restoring his advantage to seven points. Indeed, a podium finish for Nico Rosberg had only allowed the German youth to pace the Finn leaving Istanbul, with those two set to duel for the crown over the remaining three rounds. Behind Scott Speed had lost more ground to the leaders in third along with Alexandre Prémat, while Adam Carroll had moved back into the top five.
In the Teams' Championship there had been very little change to the overall order, with ART Grand Prix still holding a healthy 33 point lead. Indeed, Arden International had only been able to chip away at the French squad's advantage by two points in the Istanbul Sprint, and hence would need a strong result in Monza if they were to remain a threat. Behind, Super Nova Racing had only managed to pace the leaders, and would likely fall out of the Championship hunt in Italy if they failed to outscore ART.
Entry List[]
The full entry list for the 2005 Monza Feature Race is displayed below:
Practice[]
Qualifying[]
Qualifying for the inaugural GP2 Series race would be staged via a thirty minute session on Friday afternoon, ahead of the Feature Race on Saturday.[3] All 24 drivers would venture onto the circuit during the session, and were allowed to complete as many laps as they could to set their qualifying time.[3] There was also a free choice of tyres, although drivers could not exceed their allocation of Bridgestone tyres.[3]
Report[]
Results[]
The final qualifying result for the 2005 Monza Feature Race are outlined below:
| 2005 Monza Feature Race Qualifying Result | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pos. | No. | Name | Team | Time | Gap | Ave. Speed | Grid |
| 1st | 22 | Heikki Kovalainen
|
Arden International
|
1:33.725 | — | 222.510 km/h | 1 |
| 2nd | 9 | Nico Rosberg
|
ART Grand Prix
|
1:33.930 | +0.205s | 222.024 km/h | 2 |
| 3rd | 1 |  Scott Speed
|
iSport International
|
1:34.851 | +1.126s | 219.869 km/h | 3 |
| 4th | 10 | Alexandre Prémat
|
ART Grand Prix
|
1:35.137 | +1.412s | 219.208 km/h | 4 |
| 5th | 14 |  José María López
|
DAMS
|
1:35.160 | +1.435s | 219.155 km/h | 5 |
| 6th | 3 | Nelson Piquet Jr.
|
Hitech/Piquet Racing
|
1:35.224 | +1.499s | 219.007 km/h | 6 |
| 7th | 23 | Nicolas Lapierre
|
Arden International
|
1:35.232 | +1.507s | 218.989 km/h | 7 |
| 8th | 25 | Ferdinando Monfardini
|
Durango
|
1:35.258 | +1.533s | 218.929 km/h | 8 |
| 9th | 18 |  Neel Jani
|
 Racing Engineering
|
1:35.410 | +1.685s | 218.580 km/h | 9 |
| 10th | 7 | Giorgio Pantano
|
Super Nova Racing
|
1:35.463 | +1.738s | 218.459 km/h | 10 |
| 11th | 19 | Borja García
|
Racing Engineering
|
1:35.593 | +1.868s | 218.162 km/h | 11 |
| 12th | 5 |  Ernesto Viso
|
BCN Competición
|
1:35.721 | +1.996s | 217.870 km/h | 12 |
| 13th | 21 | Sergio Hernández
|
Campos Racing
|
1:35.744 | +2.019s | 217.818 km/h | 13 |
| 14th | 6 |  Hiroki Yoshimoto
|
BCN Competición
|
1:35.821 | +2.096s | 217.643 km/h | 14 |
| 15th | 12 | Giorgio Mondini
|
David Price Racing
|
1:35.857 | +2.132s | 217.561 km/h | 15 |
| 16th | 17 | Toni Vilander
|
Coloni Motorsport
|
1:35.944 | +2.219s | 217.364 km/h | 16 |
| 17th | 11 | Olivier Pla
|
David Price Racing
|
1:36.044 | +2.319s | 217.137 km/h | 17 |
| 18th | 20 | Juan Cruz Álvarez
|
Campos Racing
|
1:36.119 | +2.394s | 216.968 km/h | 18 |
| 19th | 24 |  Clivio Piccione
|
Durango
|
1:36.365 | +2.640s | 216.414 km/h | 19 |
| 20th | 2 | Can Artam
|
iSport International
|
1:36.427 | +2.702s | 216.275 km/h | 20 |
| 21st | 4 | Alexandre Negrão
|
Hitech/Piquet Racing
|
1:36.551 | +2.826s | 215.997 km/h | 21 |
| 22nd | 16 |  Mathias Lauda
|
Coloni Motorsport
|
1:36.897 | +3.172s | 215.226 km/h | 22 |
| 23rd | 15 |  Fairuz Fauzy
|
DAMS
|
1:36.933 | +3.208s | 215.416 km/h | 23 |
| 24th | 8 | Adam Carroll
|
Super Nova Racing
|
1:37.396 | +3.671s | 214.123 km/h | 24 |
| 107% Time: 1:40.285[6] | |||||||
| Source:[6] | |||||||
Grid[]
| Pos. | Pos. | |
|---|---|---|
| Driver | Driver | |
| ______________ | ||
| Row 1 | 1 | ______________ |
| Heikki Kovalainen | 2 | |
| ______________ | Nico Rosberg | |
| Row 2 | 3 | ______________ |
| Scott Speed | 4 | |
| ______________ | Alexandre Prémat | |
| Row 3 | 5 | ______________ |
| José María López | 6 | |
| ______________ | Nelson Piquet Jr. | |
| Row 4 | 7 | ______________ |
| Nicolas Lapierre | 8 | |
| ______________ | Ferdinando Monfardini | |
| Row 5 | 9 | ______________ |
| Neel Jani | 10 | |
| ______________ | Giorgio Pantano | |
| Row 6 | 11 | ______________ |
| Borja García | 12 | |
| ______________ | Ernesto Viso | |
| Row 7 | 13 | ______________ |
| Sergio Hernández | 14 | |
| ______________ | Hiroki Yoshimoto | |
| Row 8 | 15 | ______________ |
| Giorgio Mondini | 16 | |
| ______________ | Toni Vilander | |
| Row 9 | 17 | ______________ |
| Olivier Pla | 18 | |
| ______________ | Juan Cruz Álvarez | |
| Row 10 | 19 | ______________ |
| Clivio Piccione | 20 | |
| ______________ | Can Artam | |
| Row 11 | 21 | ______________ |
| Alexandre Negrão | 22 | |
| ______________ | Mathias Lauda | |
| Row 12 | 23 | ______________ |
| Fairuz Fauzy | 24 | |
| ______________ | Adam Carroll |
Race[]
Report[]
Results[]
The final classification of the 2005 Monza Feature Race is displayed below:
| 2005 Monza Feature Race Race Result | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pos. | No. | Name | Team | Laps | Race Time | Strat. | Fastest lap | Pts. |
| 1st | 22 | Heikki Kovalainen
|
Arden International
|
32 | 53:55.234 |  -
|
1:36.865 | 12 |
| 2nd | 9 | Nico Rosberg
|
ART Grand Prix
|
32 | +1.163s | -
|
1:36.315 | 10 |
| 3rd | 3 | Nelson Piquet Jr.
|
Hitech/Piquet Racing
|
32 | +12.304s | -
|
1:37.101 | 6 |
| 4th | 23 | Nicolas Lapierre
|
Arden International
|
32 | +29.980s | -
|
1:37.395 | 5 |
| 5th | 8 | Adam Carroll
|
Super Nova Racing
|
32 | +35.951s | -
|
1:37.184 | 4 |
| 6th† | 7 | Giorgio Pantano
|
Super Nova Racing
|
32 | +37.920s | -
|
1:36.664 | 3 |
| 7th | 18 | Neel Jani
|
Racing Engineering
|
32 | +45.949s | -
|
1:38.129 | 2 |
| 8th | 25 | Ferdinando Monfardini
|
Durango
|
32 | +53.315s | -
|
1:37.690 | 1 |
| 9th | 2 | Can Artam
|
iSport International
|
32 | +1:09.035 | -
|
1:38.423 | |
| 10th | 6 | Hiroki Yoshimoto
|
BCN Competición
|
32 | +1:09.816 | -
|
1:37.818 | |
| 11th | 24 | Clivio Piccione
|
Durango
|
32 | +1:11.614 | -
|
1:37.538 | |
| 12th | 20 | Juan Cruz Álvarez
|
Campos Racing
|
32 | +1:20.367 | -
|
1:37.435 | |
| 13th | 16 | Mathias Lauda
|
Coloni Motorsport
|
32 | +1:31.089 | -
|
1:39.072 | |
| 14th | 15 | Fairuz Fauzy
|
DAMS
|
32 | +1:31.778 | -
|
1:38.852 | |
| 15th | 17 | Toni Vilander
|
Coloni Motorsport
|
30 | +2 Laps | -
|
1:36.732 | |
| Ret | 21 | Sergio Hernández
|
Campos Racing
|
5 | Collision |
|
1:38.389 | |
| Ret | 5 | Ernesto Viso
|
BCN Competición
|
5 | Collision |
|
1:37.879 | |
| Ret | 19 | Borja García
|
Racing Engineering
|
4 | Collision |
|
1:47.125 | |
| Ret | 4 | Alexandre Negrão
|
Hitech/Piquet Racing
|
4 | Collision |
|
1:38.703 | |
| Ret | 14 | José María López
|
DAMS
|
2 | Damage |
|
2:40.543 | |
| Ret | 1 | Scott Speed
|
iSport International
|
2 | Gearbox |
|
2:04.202 | |
| Ret | 10 | Alexandre Prémat
|
ART Grand Prix
|
2 | Collision |
|
2:32.664 | |
| Ret | 11 | Olivier Pla
|
David Price Racing
|
0 | Collision |
|
— | |
| Ret | 12 | Giorgio Mondini
|
David Price Racing
|
0 | Stalled |
|
— | |
| Source:[6] | ||||||||
- Bold indicates a driver started from pole.
- Italics indicate that a driver set fastest lap.
- † Pantano set the fastest lap, but her performance was revoked by a decision of the jury.[7]
Milestones[]
- Debut race for Toni Vilander.
- Second and final pole position for Heikki Kovalainen.
- Kovalainen claimed his fifth and final GP2 Series victory.
- Fifth win for Arden International.
Standings[]
Heikki Kovalainen ended the first part of the Monza weekend having enhanced his Championship lead, as he moved nine clear, more than a Sprint race's worth of points. Indeed, Nico Rosberg had only managed to keep pace with the Finn after the first Monza battle, but would start ahead of the Finn in the Sprint. Scott Speed was next up ahead of Alexandre Prémat, while Adam Carroll retained his spot in the top five from last on the grid.
In the Teams' Championship ART Grand Prix had remained, unsurprisingly, in the lead of the Championship, although their advantage had been reduced. Indeed, Arden International, the French squad's main rivals, had reduced the gap to 26 points after the first battle of Monza, and would likely have to outscore the French squad again in the Sprint to maintain their title ambitions. Behind Super Nova Racing, iSport International and Racing Engineering had all lost ground, while Durango had moved back ahead of BCN Competición.
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References[]
Images and Videos:
References:
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 'GP2 schedule to mimic F1 date changes.', crash.net, (Crash Media Group, 09/07/2005), https://www.crash.net/gp2/news/66258/1/gp2-schedule-to-mimic-f1-date-changes, (Accessed 16/09/2020)
- ↑ 2.00 2.01 2.02 2.03 2.04 2.05 2.06 2.07 2.08 2.09 2.10 2.11 2.12 2.13 'Monza 2005: Kovalainen wins under pressure.', crash.net, (Crash Media Group, 03/09/2005), https://www.crash.net/gp2/race-report/66829/1/monza-2005-kovalainen-wins-under-pressure, (Accessed 21/09/2020)
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 'Kovalainen takes Monza pole, extends lead.', crash.net, (Crash Media Group, 02/09/2005), https://www.crash.net/gp2/news/66823/1/kovalainen-takes-monza-pole-extends-lead, (Accessed 21/09/2020)
- ↑ 'Crash.net preview - Monza GP2.', crash.net, (Crash Media Group, 02/09/2005), https://www.crash.net/gp2/preview/66818/1/crashnet-preview-monza-gp2, (Accessed 21/09/2020)
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 'Bruni quits Coloni, Vilander steps up.', crash.net, (Crash Media Group, 02/09/2005), https://www.crash.net/gp2/news/66819/1/bruni-quits-coloni-vilander-steps-up, (Accessed 21/09/2020)
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; no text was provided for refs namedResults - ↑ https://web.archive.org/web/20171229231442/http://classic.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/46714