2005 San Marino Grand Prix Feature - Season Summary

Season Summary

In the opening race at Imola, there were a number of mechanical problems and organizers being afraid of trouble at the start, so the rolling start was used in both races, though weather was dry. Nicolas Lapierre had taken his inaugular 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 Barcelona, the drivers could finally experience rolling 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 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 point finishes in feature and 1-2 in the sprint, 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 Angelo Piquet 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.