2008 GP2 Series

The 2008 GP2 Series season was the forty-second season of the second-tier of Formula One feeder championship and also fourth season under the GP2 Series moniker. It began on 26 April at Montmeló, Spain and it finished on 14 September at Monza, Italy. This is the first season using a new car design to be used during the following 3 seasons. The series was won by Giorgio Pantano.

2008 GP2 Series
Previous: 2007 Next: 2009
For the Asian-based series, see 2008 GP2 Asia Series season.

Season summary

4th GP2 Series season started in Circuit de Catalunya. Pastor Maldonado took first pole position of the season, but he couldn't use the advantage after a very bad start. Alvaro Parente won in his debut race in the series. In the sprint race, Romain Grosjean was heading for victory until late-race safety car. When the safety car went back to the pits, Grosjean straight-lined chicane and lost momentum. He then blocked Kamui Kobayashi, receiving drive through penalty. Kobayashi won the race while Grosjean was left without points.

At Turkey, Giorgio Pantano won from pole in the feature race. Grosjean won the sprint race which included several accidents on the first lap, as well as two stray dogs on the track. One of them was hit by Bruno Senna whose car was damaged and he had to retire. Luckily Senna escaped without injury. Senna then won at Monaco, on the track where his uncle Ayrton had won six times. In the sprint race, which was held for the first time in Monaco, Mike Conway was victorious. He was heading for third place in feature race before being punted off by Javier Villa on the final lap. He was lucky in the event, as only eight drivers were unlapped, so he ended in eight and therefore for the pole in the sprint.

Magny-Cours feature race was won by Pantano after Grosjean and Senna suffered mechanical retirements. The sprint race started on damp track and few drivers gambled starting with slicks. This worked well for Arden drivers, as Sébastien Buemi won from 21st on the grid. His teammate Yelmer Buurman was second. At Silverstone Pantano won the feature again, and wet sprint race was dominated by Senna.

At Hockenheim Grosjean finished first on the road, but he was later penalized for overtaking under yellow flag, giving Pantano third straight feature race victory. Karun Chandhok won the sprint race from pole. At Hungaroring, Lucas di Grassi who had returned to GP2 in Magny-Cours, won the feature race, while Buemi won the sprint after polesitter Andy Soucek made a small mistake.

The feature race at Valencia ended in dramatic fashion. Pantano was on road for victory before he ran out of fuel on the final lap. Several other drivers suffered same fate, including Senna who could get his car over the finish line but in 9th place. Vitaly Petrov inherited the win. Pantano recovered well in sprint race to take third place while Senna crashed out. di Grassi was the winner.

With four races to go, Pantano led by 13 points on Senna and 20 on di Grassi. Senna took the pole in Spa, but his race was destroyed by drive through penalty for unsafe release by the team in his pit stop. Pantano suffered mechanical glitch during safety car and was dropped to back of the field. He was recovering until he collided with di Grassi on the final lap. Pantano was disqualified for the race and also excluded from the sprint. Grosjean won the feature while Maldonado took his first victory of the season in the sprint, overtaking Jérôme d'Ambrosio on the final lap.

Pantano got perfect start for final weekend with pole, therefore knocking di Grassi out from the championship hunt. A race started in wet conditions and mandatory pit stop was done as late as possible, as the track was ready for slicks. di Grassi won while Pantano ended in 10th after drive through penalty for crossing white line at the pit exit. It didn't matter much: while Senna couldn't finish better than 5th, Pantano clinched the title with one race to go. The sprint race was held in wet conditions as well and won by polesitter Davide Valsecchi.

Teams and drivers

On 19 October 2007, it was announced that the same 13 teams which took part in 2007 would continue into 2008.[1]

Team No. Driver name Rounds
iSport International 1 Karun Chandhok[2] All
2 Bruno Senna[2] All
ART Grand Prix 3 Luca Filippi[3] 1–5
Sakon Yamamoto[4] 6–10
4 Romain Grosjean[5] All
Barwa International Campos Team 5 Vitaly Petrov[6] All
6 Ben Hanley[6] 1–3
Lucas di Grassi[7] 4–10
Super Nova Racing 7 Christian Bakkerud[8] 1, 3
Andy Soucek[9][10] 2, 4–10
8 Álvaro Parente[8] All
DAMS 9 Jérôme d'Ambrosio[11] All
10 Kamui Kobayashi[12] All
Racing Engineering 11 Javier Villa All
12 Giorgio Pantano[13] All
Trust Team Arden 14 Sébastien Buemi[14] All
15 Yelmer Buurman[15] 1–5
Luca Filippi[16] 6–10
Durango 16 Davide Valsecchi[17] 1–2, 5–10
Marcello Puglisi[18] 3
Ben Hanley[19] 4
17 Alberto Valerio[17] All
FMS International 18 Roldán Rodríguez[20] All
19 Adrián Vallés[21] 1
Adam Carroll[22] 2–3
Marko Asmer[23] 4–10
Trident Racing 20 Mike Conway[24] All
21 Ho-Pin Tung[25] All
Piquet Sports 22 Andreas Zuber[26][N 1] All
23 Pastor Maldonado[27] All
David Price Racing 24 Giacomo Ricci[28] 1–2
Andy Soucek[29] 3
Michael Herck[30] 4–10
25 Diego Nunes[30] All
BCN Competición 26 Paolo Maria Nocera[31] 1
Adrián Vallés[22] 2–10
27 Miloš Pavlović[32] 1–3
Carlos Iaconelli[33] 4–10

Schedule and results
Round Location Circuit Date Pole Position Fastest Lap Winning Driver Winning Team Report
1 F Montmeló, Spain Circuit de Catalunya 26 April Pastor Maldonado Álvaro Parente Álvaro Parente Super Nova Racing Report
S 27 April Kamui Kobayashi Kamui Kobayashi DAMS
2 F Istanbul, Turkey Istanbul Park 10 May Giorgio Pantano Andreas Zuber Giorgio Pantano Racing Engineering Report
S 11 May Romain Grosjean Romain Grosjean ART Grand Prix
3 F Monaco Circuit de Monaco 23 May Pastor Maldonado Bruno Senna Bruno Senna iSport International Report
S 24 May Mike Conway Mike Conway Trident Racing
4 F Magny-Cours, France Circuit de Magny-Cours 21 June Bruno Senna Giorgio Pantano Giorgio Pantano Racing Engineering Report
S 22 June Kamui Kobayashi Sébastien Buemi Trust Team Arden
5 F Silverstone, Great Britain Silverstone Circuit 5 July Bruno Senna Giorgio Pantano Giorgio Pantano Racing Engineering Report
S 6 July Vitaly Petrov Bruno Senna iSport International
6 F Hockenheim, Germany Hockenheimring 19 July Giorgio Pantano Giorgio Pantano Giorgio Pantano Racing Engineering Report
S 20 July Sébastien Buemi Karun Chandhok iSport International
7 F Mogyoród, Hungary Hungaroring 2 August Romain Grosjean Pastor Maldonado Lucas di Grassi Campos Grand Prix Report
S 3 August Lucas di Grassi Sébastien Buemi Trust Team Arden
8 F Cheste, Spain Valencia Street Circuit 23 August Giorgio Pantano Pastor Maldonado Vitaly Petrov Campos Grand Prix Report
S 24 August Lucas di Grassi Lucas di Grassi Campos Grand Prix
9 F Stavelot, Belgium Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps 6 September Bruno Senna Romain Grosjean Romain Grosjean ART Grand Prix Report
S 7 September Pastor Maldonado Pastor Maldonado Piquet Sports
10 F Monza, Italy Autodromo Nazionale Monza 13 September Giorgio Pantano Pastor Maldonado Lucas di Grassi Campos Grand Prix Report
S 14 September Giorgio Pantano Davide Valsecchi Durango

The original calendar was released on 25 March 2008 and had a standalone event on the 31 May – 1 June at the Valencia's Ricardo Tormo circuit. However, on the 18 April 2008, it was confirmed that a deal had been agreed for a GP2 event to run alongside the new European GP at the Valencia Street Circuit instead of the original date at the Ricardo Tormo circuit.

Also, for the first time in the history of GP2, two races were held at Monaco.

All of the races supported the Formula One Grands Prix indicated by the relevant flags, except the round at Valencia which supported the 2008 European Grand Prix.

Championship standings

Drivers
Pos Driver CAT
 IST
 MON
 MAG
 SIL
 HOC
 HUN
 VAL
 SPA
 MNZ
 Points
1 Giorgio Pantano 4 3 1 4 Ret Ret 1 Ret 1 3 1 Ret 14 5 14† 3 DSQ EX 10 5 76
2 Bruno Senna 2 4 15 Ret 1 5 Ret 5 6 1 4 3 3 3 9 Ret 11 Ret 5 9 64
3 Lucas di Grassi 2 4 2 2 5 Ret 1 10 4 1 20† 5 1 11 63
4 Romain Grosjean 5 13 2 1 Ret 10 Ret Ret 5 8 2 4 17 12 3 Ret 1 9 4 3 62
5 Pastor Maldonado 12 Ret Ret Ret 2 Ret 3 7 Ret 15† 6 17 5 18† 2 Ret 3 1 2 4 60
6 Sébastien Buemi 7 2 6 3 Ret 11 Ret 1 4 DNS Ret 8 7 1 6 Ret 5 4 3 7 50
7 Vitaly Petrov 6 Ret 5 2 Ret 15 4 18† 10 5 Ret 11 Ret 9 1 15† 4 3 Ret Ret 39
8 Álvaro Parente 1 7 Ret 8 5 3 9 Ret 16 Ret 3 6 16 Ret 16† Ret 2 Ret Ret 12 34
9 Andreas Zuber 3 Ret 3 Ret 11 17 5 8 7 11 11† 2 2 7 Ret Ret DSQ Ret Ret 10 32
10 Karun Chandhok 9 Ret 4 12 3 Ret 7 Ret 3 Ret 8 1 4 DNS 15† Ret 10 7 11 Ret 31
11 Jérôme d'Ambrosio Ret 15 Ret Ret 9 7 6 Ret 9 12 Ret 10 9 Ret 5 2 8 2 7 6 21
12 Mike Conway Ret 8 9 5 8† 1 8 6 14 4 Ret 9 6 11 Ret 8 7 Ret 13 Ret 20
13 Roldán Rodríguez Ret Ret 12 13 6 4 Ret 16 11 Ret 18 15 19 Ret Ret 10 21† Ret 6 2 14
14 Andy Soucek 19 Ret 13 6 13 Ret 12 Ret 7 Ret 8 2 7 Ret 6 Ret 9 18 14
15 Davide Valsecchi 10 5 DNS DNS 19 6 Ret 13 Ret 13 NC 7 Ret 6 8 1 11
16 Kamui Kobayashi 8 1 Ret 9 Ret 18 Ret 9 Ret 7 Ret 18 11 8 Ret 6 9 14 Ret 13 10
17 Javier Villa 14 6 7 15 14 13 14 10 13 Ret 10† 5 13 6 Ret 5 17 8 Ret EX 8
18 Ho-Pin Tung Ret 14 11 Ret 7 2 Ret 14 18 Ret 13 7 Ret 14 Ret 9 15 10 Ret 8 7
19 Luca Filippi 11 Ret 16 14 Ret 12 10 3 8 Ret Ret Ret 15 Ret 8 13 19 Ret Ret Ret 6
20 Yelmer Buurman Ret 10 14 Ret 12 8 12 2 15 10 5
21 Adrián Vallés 18 11 10 Ret 4 16 15 12 22 14† 15 Ret Ret 19 11 Ret 13 13 WD WD 5
22 Diego Nunes 15 16 13 10 15 9 11 Ret 17 Ret Ret Ret 12 15 10 4 12 Ret Ret 16 3
23 Sakon Yamamoto 12† NC 10 4 Ret Ret 18 Ret Ret Ret 3
24 Ben Hanley Ret 9 17 6 16 14 Ret Ret 1
25 Adam Carroll 8 Ret Ret Ret 1
26 Alberto Valerio 13 Ret 18 7 Ret Ret 18 17 21 9 9 14 DNS 17 Ret 12 Ret Ret 12 15 0
27 Christian Bakkerud Ret DNS 10 Ret 0
28 Carlos Iaconelli 16 13 DNS Ret 16 16 Ret Ret 13 11 Ret 12 14 14 0
29 Marko Asmer 17 11 20 13 14 12 18 Ret DNS Ret 16 Ret Ret Ret 0
30 Michael Herck Ret 15 23 DNS 17 Ret Ret 17 12 14 14 11 Ret 17 0
31 Giacomo Ricci 16 Ret Ret 11 0
32 Miloš Pavlović DNS 12 Ret 16 DNS DNS 0
33 Marcello Puglisi 17 19 0
34 Paolo Maria Nocera 17 Ret 0
Pos Driver CAT
 IST
 MON
 MAG
 SIL
 HOC
 HUN
 VAL
 SPA
 MNZ
 Points
ColourResult
GoldWinner
Silver2nd place
Bronze3rd place
GreenPoints finish
BlueNon-points finish
Non-classified finish (NC)
PurpleRetired (Ret)
RedDid not qualify (DNQ)
Did not pre-qualify (DNPQ)
BlackDisqualified (DSQ)
WhiteDid not start (DNS)
Withdrew (WD)
Race cancelled (C)
Blank Did not participate (DNP)
Excluded (EX)

Bold – Pole
Italics – Fastest Lap

Teams
Pos Team Car
No.		 CAT
 IST
 MON
 MAG
 SIL
 HOC
 HUN
 VAL
 SPA
 MNZ
 Points
1 Barwa Int. Campos Team 5 6 Ret 5 2 Ret 15 4 18† 10 5 Ret 12 Ret 9 1 15† 4 3 Ret Ret 103
6 Ret 9 17 6 16 14 2 4 2 2 5 Ret 1 10 4 1 20† 5 1 11
2 iSport International 1 9 Ret 4 12 3 Ret 7 Ret 3 Ret 8 1 4 DNS 15† Ret 10 7 11 Ret 95
2 2 4 15 Ret 1 5 Ret 5 6 1 4 3 3 3 9 Ret 11 Ret 5 8
3 Piquet Sports 22 3 Ret 3 Ret 11 Ret 5 8 7 11 11† 2 2 7 Ret Ret DSQ Ret Ret 10 92
23 12 Ret Ret Ret 2 Ret 3 7 Ret 15† 6 18 5 18† 2 Ret 3 1 2 4
4 Racing Engineering 11 14 6 7 15 14 13 14 10 13 Ret 10† 5 13 6 Ret 5 17 8 Ret EX 84
12 4 3 1 4 Ret Ret 1 Ret 1 3 1 Ret 14 5 14† 3 DSQ EX 10 5
5 ART Grand Prix 3 11 Ret 16 14 Ret 12 10 3 8 Ret 12† NC 10 4 Ret Ret 18 Ret Ret Ret 70
4 5 13 2 1 Ret 10 Ret Ret 5 8 2 4 17 12 3 Ret 1 9 4 3
6 Trust Team Arden 14 7 2 6 3 Ret 11 Ret 1 4 DNS Ret 8 7 1 6 Ret 5 4 3 7 56
15 Ret 10 14 Ret 12 8 12 2 15 10 Ret Ret 15 Ret 8 13 19 Ret Ret Ret
7 Super Nova Racing 7 Ret DNS 19 Ret 10 Ret 13 Ret 12 Ret 7 Ret 8 2 7 Ret 6 Ret 9 18 47
8 1 7 Ret 8 5 3 9 Ret 16 Ret 3 6 16 Ret 16† Ret 2 Ret Ret 12
8 DAMS 9 Ret 15 Ret Ret 9 7 6 Ret 9 12 Ret 11 9 Ret 5 2 8 2 7 6 31
10 8 1 Ret 9 Ret 18 Ret 9 Ret 7 Ret 18 11 8 Ret 6 9 14 Ret 13
9 Trident Racing 20 Ret 8 9 5 8† 1 8 6 14 4 Ret 9 6 11 Ret 8 7 Ret 13 Ret 27
21 Ret 14 11 Ret 7 2 Ret 14 18 Ret 13 7 Ret 14 Ret 9 15 10 Ret 9
10 FMS International 18 Ret Ret 12 13 6 4 Ret 16 11 Ret 18 16 19 Ret Ret 10 21† Ret 6 2 15
19 18 11 8 Ret Ret Ret 17 11 20 13 14 13 18 Ret DNS Ret 16 Ret Ret Ret
11 Durango 16 10 5 DNS DNS 17 Ret Ret Ret 19 6 Ret 14 Ret 13 NC 7 Ret 6 8 1 11
17 13 Ret 18 7 Ret Ret 18 17 21 9 9 15 DNS 17 Ret 12 Ret Ret 12 15
12 BCN Competición 26 17 Ret 10 Ret 4 16 15 12 22 14† 15 Ret Ret 19 11 Ret 13 13 WD WD 5
27 DNS 12 Ret 16 DNS DNS 16 13 DNS Ret 16 17 Ret Ret 13 11 Ret 12 14 14
13 David Price Racing 24 16 Ret Ret 11 13 6 Ret 15 12 DNS 17 Ret Ret 17 12 14 14 11 Ret 17 4
25 15 16 13 10 15 9 11 Ret 17 Ret Ret Ret 12 15 10 4 12 Ret Ret 16
Pos Team Car
No.		 CAT
 IST
 MON
 MAG
 SIL
 HOC
 HUN
 VAL
 SPA
 MNZ
 Points
ColourResult
GoldWinner
Silver2nd place
Bronze3rd place
GreenPoints finish
BlueNon-points finish
Non-classified finish (NC)
PurpleRetired (Ret)
RedDid not qualify (DNQ)
Did not pre-qualify (DNPQ)
BlackDisqualified (DSQ)
WhiteDid not start (DNS)
Withdrew (WD)
Race cancelled (C)
Blank Did not participate (DNP)
Excluded (EX)
  • Pole-winners in bold; feature race pole-winners are awarded two points, whereas no points are given for the reverse-grid pole winner in the sprint race.
  • Drivers who achieve fastest lap in italics; earn one point, if classified in the top ten.
  • Drivers who didn't finish the race but were classified are marked with †.

Notes
  1. Zuber is an Austrian driver who raced this year under Emirati racing license.

References
  1. "Current teams confirmed for 2008". autosport.com. 2007-10-19. Archived from the original on 2009-05-22. Retrieved 2007-11-14.
  2. "Chandhok and Senna sign for iSport". autosport.com. 2007-12-19. Retrieved 2007-12-19.
  3. "Filippi confirmed at ART for 2008". autosport.com. 2007-12-17. Retrieved 2007-12-17.
  4. "ART replace Filippi with Yamamoto". autosport.com. 2008-07-15. Retrieved 2008-07-16.
  5. "Grosjean to race for ART in 2008". autosport.com. 2007-12-11. Retrieved 2007-12-17.
  6. "Campos sign Hanley to partner Petrov". autosport.com. 2008-01-10. Retrieved 2008-01-10.
  7. "Di Grassi in GP2 return with Campos". autosport.com. 2008-06-09. Retrieved 2008-06-09.
  8. "Super Nova confirm Parente, Bakkerud". autosport.com. 2008-02-07. Archived from the original on 2009-05-22. Retrieved 2008-02-07.
  9. "Soucek replaces injured Bakkerud". autosport.com. 2008-05-06. Retrieved 2008-05-06.
  10. "Soucek secures Super Nova drive". autosport.com. 2008-06-17. Retrieved 2008-06-17.
  11. "D'Ambrosio completes Dams line-up". autosport.com. 2007-12-14. Retrieved 2007-12-17.
  12. "Kobayashi to race for DAMS". autosport.com. 2007-11-23. Retrieved 2007-12-17.
  13. "Racing Engineering sign Pantano". autosport.com. 2008-02-01. Retrieved 2008-02-01.
  14. "Buemi lands Arden seat for 2008". autosport.com. 2007-12-13. Retrieved 2007-12-17.
  15. "Buurman signes for Arden seat for 2008 & 2009". f1today.nl. 2007-01-24. Archived from the original on 2012-07-31. Retrieved 2007-01-24.
  16. "Filippi replaces Buurman at Arden". autosport.com. 2008-07-17. Retrieved 2008-07-17.
  17. "Durango confirm 2008 line-up". autosport.com. 2007-12-13. Retrieved 2007-12-17.
  18. "Puglisi to stand in for Valsecchi". autosport.com. 2008-05-15. Retrieved 2008-05-16.
  19. "Hanley grabs last-gasp Durango drive". autosport.com. 2008-06-20. Retrieved 2008-06-20.
  20. "FMS International sign Rodriguez". autosport.com. 2008-04-21. Retrieved 2008-04-21.
  21. "Valles to race for FMS in 2008". autosport.com. 2007-12-21. Retrieved 2007-12-21.
  22. "Carroll: Simple to say yes". crash.net. 2008-05-07. Retrieved 2008-05-07.
  23. "Asmer to race in GP2 with FMS". autosport.com. 2008-06-10. Retrieved 2008-06-10.
  24. "Conway Joins Trident". pitpass.com. 2007-12-20. Retrieved 2007-12-20.
  25. "Tung joins Trident for second season". autosport.com. 2008-01-10. Retrieved 2008-01-10.
  26. "Zuber joins Minardi Piquet". GPUpdate.net. 2008-01-11. Retrieved 2011-01-28.
  27. "Maldona confirma su fichaje por Piquet Sport" (in Spanish). GPUpdate.net. 2008-01-26. Retrieved 2011-01-28.
  28. "Ricci to replace Herck at DPR". autosport.com. 2008-04-22. Retrieved 2008-04-22.
  29. "Soucek to stand in for Herck at DPR". autosport.com. 2008-05-19. Retrieved 2008-05-19.
  30. "DPR sign Herck and Nunes for '08". autosport.com. 2008-02-28. Retrieved 2008-02-28.
  31. "Paolo Maria Nocera joins BCN Competicion for 2008". motorsport.com. 2007-12-22. Archived from the original on 2008-01-25. Retrieved 2007-12-22.
  32. "BCN confirma fichaje de Pavlovic y Tahinci" (in Spanish). GPUpdate.net. 2008-01-14. Retrieved 2011-01-28.
  33. "BCN resorts to Iaconelli". crash.net. 2008-06-18. Retrieved 2008-06-20.
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