2006 Monza Sprint Race

The 2006 Monza Sprint Race, formally known as the 2006 Monza GP2 Series Race 2, was the twenty-first race and final race of the 2006 FIA GP2 Series, staged at the Autodromo Nazionale Monza in Monza, Lombardy, Italy, on 10 September 2006. The race, staged in support of the LXXVII Gran Premio Vodafone d'Italia, would see Giorgio Pantano collect his second straight victory on home soil, after a race long fight with freshly crowned Champion Lewis Hamilton.

Indeed, Hamilton had sown up the title with third place and fastest lap in the Feature Race, which Pantano had won ahead of Hamilton's title rival Nelson Piquet Jr. Those three would hence start at the bottom of the top eight due to the reverse-grid rule for the Sprint, while Hiroki Yoshimoto would start from pole position.

The start of the race saw two drivers make stunning starts, with Pantano storming up from eighth into the lead while Hamilton swept into second from sixth. Indeed, both the Italian and the Brit were amazed to find the road simply open up ahead of them, with the rest of the top eight deciding to fight for the middle line into the first corner.

Those two quickly disappeared at the head of the field, leaving a slow starting Clivio Piccione to lead the field as pole sitter Yoshimoto tumbled down to seventh. Behind, Piquet would fight his way up onto the Monegasque's tail with early moves on Alexandre Prémat and Nicolas Lapierre, while Yoshimoto ran just ahead of teammate Luca Filippi.

Two almighty fights developed after the opening laps, with Hamilton throwing everything he had at Pantano, while Piquet harassed Piccione hard for third. It was the latter fight that would be settled first, Piquet throwing himself into a spin to drop back to eighth, while the Pantano-Hamilton bout wore on until Hamilton sent himself into the gravel.

However, unlike Piquet, Hamilton would only lose time rather than places as he scrambled back onto the tarmac, and with ten laps to go still entertained hopes of catching Pantano. Indeed, with five laps to go the Brit was back under the Italian's rearwing, although a failed lunge at the second chicane saw Hamilton flat-spot his tyres and cut the chicane, meaning he had to hand the lead back to Pantano to avoid a penalty.

That ultimately settled the race, with Pantano able to ease into a one second lead in the final laps to secure victory, while Hamilton bowed out of his GP2 career with second place and fastest lap. Piccione likewise ended his GP2 stay with a podium finish in third ahead of Lapierre and Yoshimoto, while Piquet took advantage of incidents for Filippi and Prémat to claim the final point of the season in sixth.

Background
The Autodromo Nazionale Monza was unchanged after the 2006 Monza Feature Race, with the Italian circuit set to host the 2006 season finale having decided the title the day before. However, there would be a change to the entry list ahead of the finale, with Timo Glock forced to withdraw from the race after sustaining a wrist injury in a collision with Adrián Vallés in the Feature. That, however, would not affect the order of the grid at the head of the field, with Hiroki Yoshimoto set to start the race from pole position after claiming eighth in the Feature.

Hamilton History
Lewis Hamilton finally reversed the late charge from Nelson Piquet Jr. over recent races, meaning he could add to his ever decreasing lead. Indeed, the Brit left Istanbul with a ten point lead in the title hunt, meaning he could win the 2006 FIA GP2 Series crown at the 2006 Monza Feature Race if Piquet failed to outscore him by three points in the race. Behind, Alexandre Prémat had seen his hold on third reduced to four points by Timo Glock, while Ernesto Viso held fifth.

In the Teams' Championship ART Grand Prix had already claimed the Championship crown, and had increased their tally to 163 points with two races to go. The fight for second, however, was still alive ahead of the finale, with Piquet Sports leading the fight by three points from iSport International leaving Turkey. Arden International, meanwhile, would fight with Trident Racing for fourth at the finale, having slipped too far back to challenge for second.

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:


 * * Glock was unable to start the race due to a wrist injury he sustained in a collision with Adrián Vallés in the 2006 Monza Feature Race.

Results
The final classification of the is displayed below:
 * Italics indicate that a driver set fastest lap.
 * * Zuber and Porteiro were unable to be classified as they failed to complete 90% of the race distance.

Milestones

 * 44th and final FIA GP2 Series race for José María López, Clivio Piccione, Nelson Piquet Jr., Alexandre Prémat.
 * Hiroki Yoshimoto made his 43rd and final GP2 Series race start.
 * 42nd and final race for Gianmaria Bruni and Jason Tahincioğlu.
 * 39th and final race for Ferdinando Monfardini.
 * 21st and final race for Lewis Hamilton, Félix Porteiro.
 * Final GP2 Series race for Fairuz Fauzy until the 2011 Istanbul Feature Race.
 * Giorgio Pantano scored his third career victory.
 * Coloni Motorsport claimed their fourth win as an entrant.
 * Fourteenth and final podium finish for Hamilton.
 * Hamilton also recorded his seventh fastest lap.
 * Piccione claimed his third and final podium.
 * Lapierre, Yoshimoto and Piquet Jr. claimed their final points finishes.

Standings
The 2006 FIA GP2 Series came to a conclusion with the chequered flag falling at the Autodromo Nazionale Monza on Sunday, with Lewis Hamilton officially declared as the Series' second Champion with 114 points. Nelson Piquet Jr. ended the season in second, having claimed 102 points, while Alexandre Prémat was a distant third on 66. Timo Glock and Giorgio Pantano, after the Italian's late rally, completed the top five, with twenty-three of the thirty drivers to take part in the 2006 campaign having scored points.

In the Teams' Championship ART Grand Prix were formally declared as the Champions for the second year in a row, the French squad having claimed 180 points across the campaign. Piquet Sports ended the season in second on 115 points, while iSport International ended the campaign in third on 101. Arden International and FMS International then completed the top five, with all thirteen teams having scored during the 2006 season.