2005 Monza Feature 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. 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.

The pair had begun their battle in qualifying, with Kovalainen emerging ahead by 0.205s to claim pole position ahead of the German youth. 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.

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. 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.

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. 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.

After one lap the race resumed, with Kovalainen reclaiming the lead, while Nelson Piquet Jr. jumped up to second after cutting the chicane. 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.

That triggered a wave of pit stops as several teams anticipated a SC, although it would never materialise. 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.

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. When Kovalainen rejoined he found his mirrors still full of Rosberg's #9 ART, and was not helped by getting caught behind compatriot Vilander.

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. 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. 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.

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. 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. 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.

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. 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. 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.

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 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:

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

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.