2006 Nürburgring Feature Race

The 2006 Nürburgring Feature Race, otherwise known as the 2006 Nürburgring GP2 Series Race 1, was the fifth race of the 2006 FIA GP2 Series, staged at the Nürburgring in Nürburg, Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany, on 6 May 2006. The race would see Lewis Hamilton claim his maiden GP2 victory, despite having to serve a drive-through penalty mid-race.

Qualifying had seen Nelson Piquet Jr. sweep to his second pole position of the campaign, enhancing his early Championship lead. Franck Perera was his closest challenger in second, almost half a second off, while Hamilton would start from third alongside Hiroki Yoshimoto.

However, after dominating qualifying Piquet would make a miserable start, plummeting down the order as Hamilton streak past to claim the lead. Perera too would comparatively limp off the grid and tumble back into the field, with Yoshimoto instead the man to challenge Hamilton into the first corner.

Indeed, Hamilton seemed somewhat surprised by the Japanese racer's appearance on the inside, and hence relented the lead to Yoshimoto as they hit the brakes. However, Hamilton would get a better exit and powered back ahead of the #18 BCN Competición entry, with José María López closing onto Yoshimoto's tail. Elsewhere, Piquet settled down in eighth after his poor start, while Perera limped off at the second corner with a mechanical failure.

The early laps saw the order quickly settle, with Hamilton sweeping away out front, while López eventually forced his way past Yoshimoto. Elsewhere, Piquet would be one of the first stoppers when he stopped on lap five, albeit after Alexandre Prémat and Nicolas Lapierre had stopped on lap two, in a bid to try and undercut the leaders.

Unfortunately for Piquet the ploy would not work, for he rejoined by Ernesto Viso, who spent several laps resisting the Brazilian's attempts to get past before finally relenting on lap twelve. That came after Hamilton and stopped and rejoined from his stop on lap eleven in third, with Yoshimoto and Adam Carroll the lead drivers of those who had yet to stop.

Carroll would be the last man to stop on lap sixteen having assumed the lead, handing Hamilton the initiative again, only for the Brit to be slapped with a drive-through penalty for speeding in the pitlane. He served the penalty three laps later and only dropped to second, behind teammate Prémat who had shuffled to the front after his early stop.

The ten lap tyre difference would ultimately settle the race, for Hamilton was able to lap a second faster that the Frenchman, allowing him to demolish Prémat's lead. On lap 21 Hamilton was tucked under the sister ART's rear wing, and despite resisting for two laps, Prémat was ultimately powerless to prevent Hamilton charging down the inside into the complex to reclaim the lead.

With that the race was run, with Hamilton claiming fastest lap en-route to an ominously dominant victory, twenty seconds clear of Prémat. Carroll completed the podium after his later stop, while López claimed fourth ahead of Lapierre and Viso. Alexandre Negrão was next up ahead of Yoshimoto, who secured pole for the Sprint, while Piquet's race ended five laps early with a puncture that sent the #11 Piquet Sports entry into the barriers.

Background
Two weeks after trip to Imola the GP2 Series class of 2006 arrived at the Nürburgring in Nürburg, Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany for its third race meeting of the campaign. Again supporting Formula One and the European Grand Prix, the field would use the increasingly familiar GP-Strecke layout at the infamous circuit, which was unchanged from 2005. Likewise, there had been no changes to the entry list ahead of the trip to Germany, with the same 26 drivers set to race as had in Imola.

Viso Vamos
Nelson Piquet Jr. rounded out the second weekend of the season with a small but secure margin in the Championship, having moved onto 25 points for the campaign as one of only two drivers to have scored in every race. He hence held a seven point lead over Gianmaria Bruni in second, while Ernesto Viso, the only other driver with a 100% scoring record, had moved into third on sixteen. The Venezuelan racer was, however, level on points with both Michael Ammermüller and Nicolas Lapierre, with thirteen drivers on the scoresheet.

Arden International had held their lead in the Teams' Championship as the Imola weekend came to a close, although their advantage had been reduced to seven points. Piquet Sports were their closest challengers courtesy of Piquet Jr.'s efforts, while Trident Racing were up to third, two ahead of iSport International. Elsewhere, BCN Competición had moved up the order after another double-score, while FMS International were on the board in ninth.

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:
 * * Ammermüller served a ten place grid penalty for causing a collision at the 2006 Imola Sprint Race under Safety Car conditions.

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

Milestones

 * 25th start for Gianmaria Bruni.
 * Maiden victory for Lewis Hamilton.
 * Also the first fastest lap recorded by Hamilton.
 * ART Grand Prix secured their eighth win as an entrant.

Standings
Nelson Piquet Jr. had retained his lead in the Championship after the Nürburgring Feature Race, with 27 points keeping him seven clear at the head of the pack. His closest challenger was now pre-season favourite Lewis Hamilton after the Brit's maiden victory left him seven behind the Brazilian, level on points with Nicolas Lapierre. Ernesto Viso and Gianmaria Bruni then completed the top five, while Adam Carroll and Alexandre Negrão were the latest drivers to add their name to the scoresheet.

In the Teams' Championship it was still Arden International who led the charge after the fifth race of the campaign, although their advantage had been cut back. This time it was ART Grand Prix who had done the damage, moving to within three of the Anglo squad, having started the afternoon in fifth. Their ascent carried them past Piquet Sports, iSport International and Trident Racing, while Racing Engineering were on the board in ninth.

Only point scoring drivers and teams are shown.