2005 Monaco Feature Race

The 2005 Monaco Feature Race, formally known as the 2005 Monaco GP2 Series Race, was the fifth race of the 2005 FIA GP2 Series, staged at the Circuit de Monaco in Monte Carlo, Monaco, on 21 May 2005. The race, held in support of the LXIII Grand Prix de Monaco, was the first GP2 Series race to be held on the Monegasque circuit, and would see a thrilling truel for victory in the closing stages between Adam Carroll, Gianmaria Bruni and Nico Rosberg.

Qualifying for the battle of the Principality had seen Heikki Kovalainen sweep to his maiden GP2 Series pole position, defeating Bruni by 0.059s. Indeed, it would be an intense half-hour of running with multiple incidents, with Ernesto Viso crashing out, while Nelson Piquet Jr. and Can Artam came together at Mirabeau.

There would be more drama at the start of the race, with Viso and Ferdinando Monfardini both stalling on the grid, forcing the start to be abandoned. They were hence pushed into the pits as the rest of the field were sent around to complete another formation lap, although Viso was so keen to get back onto the circuit that he charged out of the pits with the red light on, and earned himself a disqualification.

There would be more stallers at the second attempted restart, with Olivier Pla, Juan Cruz Álvarez and Giorgio Pantano all stranded. However, the lights had gone out and the race officially got underway, with everyone managing to squeeze past the stranded trio and into Sainte Devote without issue.

Indeed, with five fewer cars heading into the infamous right hander it proved to be a very clean start, with Kovalainen escaping into the lead, while Bruni lunged ahead of Carroll to hold second. Those three would soon establish a gap over the rest of the field, with Kovalainen himself securing a comfortable lead.

Unfortunately for Kovalainen his hopes of a Monaco win were dashed by a poor stop, an issue with the left front wheel during his mandated stop on lap 21 costing him a lot of time. Carroll hence instantly jumped ahead of the delayed Finn, while Bruni managed to gain a lap on the #22 Arden before making his stop on lap 31.

That twelve lap difference between stops would prove pivotal in the fight for victory, as Carroll was able to undercut Bruni and claim the lead when the #17 Coloni emerged from the pits. However, Bruni would quickly latch onto the back of the #8 Super Nova, while both would be drawn in by a charging Rosberg as the laps ticked away.

The fight for the lead would break out with six laps to go, with Carroll having to fight traffic while keeping Bruni and Rosberg at bay. However, there would only ever be half-chances for the pursuing duo, with Carroll briefly getting Sergio Hernández between himself and Bruni on the penultimate tour.

That factor would settle the race, with Carroll able to maintain his lead through to the chequered flag to secure his second victory, becoming the first driver to win two GP2 Series races. Bruni was a frustrated second ahead of de facto home hero Rosberg, while Scott Speed claimed fourth ahead of a battle hardened Kovalainen. Mathias Lauda was a lap down in sixth ahead of Can Artam, while Hernández earned a point after Alexandre Negrão spun out of eighth place late on.

Background
The inaugural GP2 Series Championship would arrive in Monte Carlo, Monaco and the Circuit de Monaco for its third round of the 2005 season, once again supporting the Formula One World Championship. However, unlike previous rounds, the GP2 Series would only have one race at the Principality, with time constraints due to the addition of the Formula Renault 3.5 Series and Formula 3 Euro Series to the F1 undercard meaning there was only time for F2 to complete its normal Feature Race. Regardless, there would be little change to the GP2 field, with no changes to either the entry list or the cars ahead of the race weekend.

Spanish Successes
Count-back had kept Heikki Kovalainen at the head of the Championship after the fourth round of the season, with the Finnish racer leaving Barcelona with twenty points to his credit. Indeed, Scott Speed had risen up to move level with the Finn at the head of the hunt, but was considered to be in second place having zero wins to Kovalainen's one. Gianmaria Bruni was next up, two off the lead, José María López a point further back in fourth, while Adam Carroll rounded out the top five as the only driver to have scored in every race to that point.

In the Teams' Championship it was still Arden International who headed the charge, the British squad leaving Spain with 24 points to their credit. Their closest challengers come the end of the Spanish weekend were iSport International, four off the lead, while Coloni Motorsport had claimed third on eighteen. DAMS were next up ahead of ART Grand Prix, while Campos Racing and Durango were still yet to score.

Entry List
The full entry list for the is displayed below:

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. 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. There was also a free choice of tyres, although drivers could not exceed their allocation of Bridgestone tyres.

Results
The final qualifying result for the are outlined below:

Grid

 * * Monfardini was unable to start the race due to an engine failure on the formation lap.
 * † Viso started the race from the pitlane after stalling on the original grid.
 * ‡ Yoshimoto was unable to start the race due to a mechanical failure before the race.

Results
The final classification of the is displayed below:
 * Bold indicates a driver started from pole.
 * Italics indicate that a driver set fastest lap.
 * * García, Piquet and Negrão were all still classified despite retiring as they had completed 90% of the race distance.
 * † Viso was disqualified for ignoring a red light at the end of the pitlane.
 * ‡ Yoshimoto was withdrawn from the race due to a series of mechanical issues.

Milestones

 * Maiden pole position for Heikki Kovalainen.
 * Second career victory for Adam Carroll.
 * Carroll became the first driver to win two GP2 Series races.
 * Super Nova Racing claimed their second victory as an entrant.
 * Maiden podium finish for Nico Rosberg.
 * Mathias Lauda, Can Artam and Sergio Hernández claimed their maiden points finishes.
 * First points finish for Campos Racing as an entrant.
 * Kovalainen recorded his first fastest lap.

Standings
Championship leader Heikki Kovalainen remained undefeated at the head of the Championship after the fifth race of the campaign, and would leave Monte Carlo with 28 points to his credit. That meant he was two ahead of Gianmaria Bruni at the end of the Monegasque weekend, while Scott Speed had slipped three off the lead and dropped to third. Adam Carroll, meanwhile, had continued his upward climb up the table and moved to fourth, with José María López completing the top five.

Arden International retained command in the Teams' Championship leaving Monte Carlo, with the British squad holding 32 points and a three point lead. Coloni Motorsport were their closest challenger in second, with a two point margin of their own over iSport International in third. Super Nova Racing and ART Grand Prix then completed the top five, while Campos Racing were on the board for the first time, leaving Durango as the only non-scores.

Only point scoring drivers are shown.