2006 Silverstone Sprint Race

The 2006 Silverstone Sprint Race, otherwise known as the 2006 Silverstone GP2 Series Race 2, was the eleventh race of the 2006 FIA GP2 Series, staged at the Silverstone Circuit in Silverstone, Northamptonshire, UK, on 11 June 2006. The race, held in support of the LIX Foster's British Grand Prix, would see Lewis Hamilton claim his fifth and final GP2 Series victory in typically dominant fashion having climbed up the field in the first half of the race.

Hamilton would start the Sprint from eighth place after claiming victory in the Feature Race, as Félix Porteiro started from pole position. However, there would be several revisions to the grid before the start, with the two Durangos excluded from taking part, Ferdinando Monfardini ruled out by injury, and Alexandre Prémat and Timo Glock suffering engine issues on the grid which sent them to the pitlane.

The latter's issue caused the first attempted start to be abandoned, with the field completing an additional formation lap with now just 21 cars on the grid. When the race did start it was pole sitter Porteiro who darted into the lead ahead of Clivio Piccione, while Giorgio Pantano put Nelson Piquet Jr. on the grass to hold third.

Behind, Hamilton engaged compatriot Adam Carroll in a lap long duel for fifth, the latter having gained two positions by default from the pre-race demise Glock and Prémat. Hamilton eventually grabbed the position with a brave lunge into Priory at the end of the lap, before chasing off after Pantano who had been overtaken by Piquet later around the opening tour.

The race soon settled, before an accident on lap four saw Michael Ammermüller slam into temporary teammate Neel Jani after contact with Franck Perera. After a brief intervention the race resumed, with Hamilton firing past Pantano into Copse, while Piquet harassed Piccione for second.

Indeed, Piquet was so focused in attacking Piccione for second that he failed to notice the approaching Hamilton, who duly emerged in second when a lunge from Piquet dragged Piccione wide. Four laps later and the Brit was on the tail of Porteiro to challenge for the lead, with a drawn-out move out of Abbey through to Brooklands finally getting the #2 ART ahead.

With that Hamilton was away, escaping from Porteiro at an impressive rate to leave the Spaniard running in a seemingly safe second. Behind, Piquet would slip back behind Pantano after his fight with Piccione failed, while Carroll swept up to third after a succession of strong moves in Hamilton's wake.

Hamilton, meanwhile, would build a ten second lead en-route to victory, with fastest lap ensuring he claimed a maximum score in the Sprint to enhance his Championship lead. Porteiro claimed second ahead of Carroll, while Piccione, Pantano and Piquet finished nose-to-tail to round out the points.

After the race, however, there would be a revision to the finishing order, with Porteiro thrown out of the final classification after his car was found to have an illegally mounted steering rack. His exclusion hence put Carroll into second, Piccione onto the podium, and Glock up sixth after he managed to get into the fray from the pitlane.

Background
There were no changes made to the Silverstone Circuit after the Feature Race overnight on Saturday, although there were changes to the entry list. Indeed, the two Durango entries of Lucas di Grassi and Sergio Hernández had been banned from competing in the Sprint, after both were found to have illegal repairs made to their rear wings, one of which had caused di Grassi's wing to fail in the Feature. They would be joined on the sidelines by Ferdinando Monfardini, who failed a pre-race medical examination after a heavy accident in the Feature.

Home Help
Lewis Hamilton had enhanced his Championship lead with his fourth victory of the campaign, moving onto 60 points as the season reached half-distance. That left him sixteen ahead of Nelson Piquet Jr. in second, while Alexandre Prémat was sat a further eight behind in third. Ernesto Viso and Michael Ammermüller were next up despite failing to score in the Silverstone Feature, while Giorgio Pantano had become the 23rd unique scorer in 2006.

In the Teams' Championship it was another impressive Saturday's running for ART Grand Prix, as they again enhanced their tally to 96 points. Their lead had likewise grown to 46 points over Arden International, with a further two points separating the British squad from Piquet Sports. iSport International and Trident Racing then completed the top five, with Durango remaining at the foot of the table, knowing that they would not be taking part in the Silverstone Sprint.

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:


 * * Prémat started the race from the pitlane after an engine issue en-route to the grid.
 * † Glock started the race from the back of the grid after an engine issue on the first attempted start.

Results
The final classification of the is displayed below:
 * Italics indicate that a driver set fastest lap.
 * * The race distance was originally set at 24 laps (123.384 km).
 * † Porteiro was excluded from the results of the race after his car was found to have an illegally mounted steering rack.

Milestones

 * Fifth and final victory for Lewis Hamilton.
 * ART Grand Prix claimed their thirteenth victory as an entrant.

Standings
Lewis Hamilton had extended his Championship lead with his fifth win of the campaign as the halfway point came and went, ending the opening half with a healthy 21 point margin. Nelson Piquet Jr. was the Brit's closest challenger in second, having been the only man other than Hamilton to head the hunt in 2006, while Alexandre Prémat occupied third on 36. Ernesto Viso and Michael Ammermüller were next up ahead of Nicolas Lapierre, while Lucas di Grassi was the last of the scorers in 23rd.

In the Teams' Championship it was ART Grand Prix who continued to head the charge by an impressive margin, with more than double the number of points than their closest challengers. Indeed, the French squad had smashed past the 100 point barrier in Silverstone, leaving them 53 points clear ahead of Arden International in second. Arden themselves were level on points with Piquet Sports, but ahead on countback, while Durango remained at the foot of the table having sat out the Silverstone Sprint.