GP2 is the brainchild of Bernie Ecclestone and Flavio Briatore, and was introduced in 2005 to fill the gap left by Formula 3000’s collapse.
Like Formula 3000 before it, GP2 is essentially a feeder sport for Formula 1. But where its predecessor dwindled and died due to the vast expense of running a team, GP2 cuts costs by demanding that all teams race with identical cars.
Cost isn’t the only advantage this brings: races are decided purely on driver ability rather than engine power. Little wonder that F1 bosses keep such a close eye on its emerging stars.
The championship has proved a massive success in its first three years, and while elevation to F1 for each season’s winner is by no means guaranteed, Lewis Hamilton, Nico Rosberg and Heikki Kovalainen are all proof of the opportunities success can bring.
The season follows F1’s calendar so that infrastructure can be shared: track, race marshals, medical facilities and so on. But unlike F1, in all but one of the weekends the drivers race twice.
There’s a 180km race on the Saturday afternoon, followed by a 120km sprint on the Sunday morning. And to ensure the races are never a foregone conclusion, the starting grid for the Sunday is decided by reversing the order of the first day’s top eight finishers, forcing the best drivers to battle their way to the front.
The 2008 season begins on April 26 in Barcelona.
