2006 Istanbul Feature Race

The 2006 Istanbul Feature Race, otherwise known as the 2006 Istanbul GP2 Series Race 1, was the eighteenth race of the 2006 FIA GP2 Series, staged at Istanbul Park in Istanbul, Marmara, Turkey, on 26 August 2006. The race would see Nelson Piquet Jr. collect his third victory in a row in dominant fashion, as he sought to further enhance his title challenge.

Indeed, for the second Feature Race in succession Piquet was the man to beat, with the Brazilian sweeping to pole position in qualifying. His closest challenger would be José María López, who came within 0.004s of the Brazilian, while Championship leader Lewis Hamilton could only muster fifth.

Piquet was similarly unbeatable at the start, with the #11 Piquet Sports entry blasting off the grid to claim the lead. Behind, López made a miserable start and slipped down the field, with Giorgio Pantano instead seizing second after a battle with Alexandre Prémat into the first corner.

Hamilton, meanwhile, would get elbowed wide at the first corner by the struggling López, although he subsequently recovered to snatch fourth from the Argentine later during the opening tour. The Brit would then attack teammate Prémat for third on the second lap, forcing his way past the #1 ART exiting the final corner.

The early stages saw the race order quickly settle, with Piquet establishing a small but secure margin over Pantano, while Pantano had a similar advantage over Hamilton. Elsewhere, Ernesto Viso was the first of the top eight to make a stop on lap five, only to spin out of the race on his out lap, moments after Gianmaria Bruni had been sidelined by a loose wheel.

Pantano would dart in for his stop two laps later, having just been passed by Hamilton at the start of the lap, hoping to under cut both Hamilton and Piquet. Out front, meanwhile, Hamilton set about closing in on Piquet, with the duo engaging in swapping a barrage of fastest laps.

That exchange would last until Hamilton made his stop on lap fourteen, with the Brit rejoining just ahead of teammate Prémat in seventh, before beginning a steady climb back up the order against those who were yet to stop. Piquet, however, was able to match and indeed better the Brit's pace as Hamilton battled his way through traffic, and duly emerged with a comfortable lead over Hamilton when he stopped a few laps later.

With that the fight for victory was over, with Piquet simply matching Hamilton's pace, before showing his dominance on the day by setting a lap 1.3 seconds quicker without any warning. Instead, attention focused on the fighting in the lower end of the points, with the late stoppers slowly climbing back through the early stoppers in the closing stages.

Yet, even that would have little impact on the final result, with Piquet sweeping across the line to claim his second Grand Slam in as many Feature Races, having led every lap en-route to victory, while also setting the fastest lap. Hamilton was next up in second ahead of Prémat, while Timo Glock battled his way to fourth ahead of Lucas di Grassi and Adam Carroll. Andreas Zuber was next up in seventh, while Alexandre Negrão claimed the final point and reverse grid pole for the Sprint Race.

Background
For the penultimate race meeting of the 2006 season the FIA GP2 Series made a return to the Istanbul Park circuit in Turkey, having been the first FIA series to race at the venue in 2005. Like in 2005, GP2 would be supporting Formula One and the II Petrol Ofisi Türkiye Grand Prix'si, with two GP2 races scheduled on an unchanged Istanbul Park circuit. There were likewise no changes to the entry list, with all drivers who took part in the races in Hungary taking part in Turkey.

Piquet Perfection
A second straight victory and maximum points haul for Nelson Piquet Jr. had ensured that the Brazilian continued his late rally in the title hunt, although he still faced a eleven point deficit leaving Hungary. Indeed, Lewis Hamilton had absorbed most of the damage to his lead by battling up to second in the Sprint, with those two now realistically the only drivers still in the title fight. That was because Alexandre Prémat and Timo Glock were still mathematically in the hunt, but faced 31 and 37 point gaps to Hamilton, with only 40 left to fight for.

In contrast the Teams' Championship was almost over, with ART Grand Prix holding a huge 50 point lead, with only 66 points left to fight for in the final four races. That advantage meant they would win the Championship if they were not outscored by iSport International by five points in the 2006 Istanbul Feature Race. The only other team that could now deny the French squad were Piquet Sports, although they faced a 55 point deficit heading into the final rounds.

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:
 * * Villa started the race from the back of the grid for.

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

 * Fifth pole position for Nelson Piquet Jr.
 * Fifth pole for Piquet GP as an entrant.
 * Piquet claimed his fifth FIA GP2 Series victory.
 * Also Piquet's second Grand Slam.
 * Piquet also set his fourth and final fastest lap.
 * Piquet Sports claimed their fifth win as an entrant.
 * Fifteenth and final podium for Alexandre Prémat.

Standings
A third maximum score in a row for Nelson Piquet Jr. had allowed the Brazilian to once again close the gap atop the Championship, although he still remained a pretender rather than the leader. Indeed, Lewis Hamilton had held onto an eight point lead by finishing second to Piquet, with those two the only drivers capable of taking the crown. Indeed, third placed Alexandre Prémat had had slipped 33 points behind after the first race in Istanbul, with only 27 points left to fight for over the remaining three races.

In the Teams' Championship ART Grand Prix had secured the Championship crown with three races to spare, as they moved onto an unassailable tally of 157 points. Behind, Piquet Sports had moved ahead of iSport International in what was now a fight to finish as runners-up, with the Brazilian registered squad establishing a four point advantage in that fight. Arden International and Trident Racing then completed the top five, with no changes to the rest of the overall order.