2005 Hungaroring Sprint Race

The 2005 Hungaroring Sprint Race, otherwise known as the 2005 Budapest GP2 Series Race 2, was the fifteenth race of the 2005 FIA GP2 Series, staged at the Hungaroring in Mogyoród, Pest, Hungary on 31 July 2005. The race would see Alexandre Prémat claim his maiden GP2 victory, in a race staged in support of the XXI Marlboro Magyar Nagydíj.

Alexandre Negrão would start the race from pole position after claiming eighth in the Feature Race, while Prémat would start from fifth. Negrão then threw away his second reverse-grid pole by stalling on the formation lap, allowing Olivier Pla to charge into the lead at the start, albeit having to fend off Ernesto Viso into turn one.

Neel Jani, the winner of the Feature, would also make a strong start and surged from eighth to fifth, slotting in behind Prémat and Nico Rosberg in the two ARTs. The two ARTs then began fighting amongst themselves as Jani was distracted by a resurgent Heikki Kovalainen, while Pla quickly pulled clear of Vison in second.

Indeed, all was not well with Viso's car, with the Venezuelan racer ultimately forced to abandon his hopes of a podium by stopping in the pits on lap four. Tat put Prémat up into second having escaped from Rosberg, although he faced a five second gap to Pla after the #11 DPR's early escape.

Yet, Pla's lead was about to be extinguished, as José María López endured his second race ending spin into the barriers of the weekend, triggering a Safety Car. That put Prémat right onto Pla's tail when the race restarted four laps later, although the #11 DPR surprisingly managed to escape from Prémat when the SC period ended.

However, no sooner had the #11 DPR escaped than the #11 DPR's race was over, with Pla dramatically slowing out of the chicane before stopping on the side of the circuit. A second SC was thrown to cover the removal of a distraught Pla, while Prémat was left at the head of the field.

With that the race was effectively over, with Prémat escaping from teammate Rosberg in the closing moments to claim victory, with the race reaching the 45 minute time limit rather than the 120 km race distance. Behind the two ARTs would be Giorgio Pantano, while Jani valiantly kept Kovalainen and Nicolas Lapierre at bay through the various race interruptions to hold fourth. Clivio Piccione, meanwhile, would be credited with the fastest lap, despite finishing down in sixteenth.

Background
No changes were made to the Hungaroring overnight after the 2005 Hungaroring Feature Race came to a conclusion, with there being likewise no changes to the GP2 Series field. Indeed, José María López was declared fit to race after his heavy impact against the pitwall, with the entire field pushing to take a strong result into the summer break that would follow the race. Regardless, it was Alexandre Negrão who was set to start the race from pole position, sharing the front row with Olivier Pla.

Kovalainen Counter
A podium for Heikki Kovalainen saw the Finn extend his Championship lead after the first battle of the Hungaroring, leaving him ten clear at the head of the hunt. Nico Rosberg could therefore not overhaul the Finn even with a maximum score in the Sprint Race, while Scott Speed had slipped 27 off the lead. Neel Jani, meanwhile, had shot up to fourth with his maiden victory, while Alexandre Prémat had likewise moved into the top five.

In the Teams' Championship it was ART Grand Prix who continued to lead the way, as they became the first team to break through the 100 point barrier. Their closest challengers Arden International had inched towards the mark, although the British squad had slipped fifteen off the lead. Super Nova Racing were next up ahead of iSport International, while Racing Engineering had moved up into the top five.

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

Grid
The grid for the Sprint Race was formed from the finishing positions from the Feature Race, with the top eight reversed as per-FIA GP2 Series rules:

Results
The final classification of the is displayed below:
 * Italics indicate that a driver set fastest lap.

Milestones

 * Maiden victory for Alexandre Prémat.
 * Fourth win for ART Grand Prix as an entrant.
 * Nico Rosberg claimed the tenth podium for ART as an entrant.
 * First fastest lap recorded by Clivio Piccione.

Standings
Status quo had been maintained atop the Championship as the 2005 GP2 Series headed off to its summer break, with Heikki Kovalainen holding a seven point lead. His closest challenger and main rival for the title would be Nico Rosberg when the season resumed, with third placed Scott Speed having slipped 22 points behind the German racer. Alexandre Prémat was next up in fourth after his maiden win, overhauling the 2005 Hungaroring Feature Race winner Neel Jani.

In the Teams' Championship it was ART Grand Prix who would head into the summer break at the head of the hunt, the French squad having become the only team to break the 100 point barrier before the summer. Indeed, Arden International, former leaders, had slipped 23 points off the lead in second, while Super Nova Racing were 53 points off the lead in third. iSport International were next up ahead of Racing Engineering, while Campos Racing were at the foot of the table on three points.