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The 2005 European Grand Prix (officially the 2005 Formula 1 Grand Prix of Europe) was a
Formula One Formula One (F1) is the highest class of worldwide racing for open-wheel single-seater formula Auto racing, racing cars sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The FIA Formula One World Championship has been one ...
motor race held on 29 May 2005 at the
Nürburgring The () is a 150,000-person capacity motorsports complex located in the town of Nürburg, Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It features a Grand Prix motor racing, Grand Prix race track built in 1984, and a long configuration, built in the 1920s ...
in
Nürburg Nürburg () is a town in the German district of Ahrweiler, in the state of Rhineland-Palatinate. It is also the name of the local castle, Nürburg Castle, which was built in the High Middle Ages. The castle is made of basalt which usually has ...
,
Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...
. The 59-lap race was the seventh round of the 2005 FIA Formula One World Championship, the 49th running of the
European Grand Prix The European Grand Prix (also known as the Grand Prix of Europe) was a Formula One event that was introduced during the mid-1980s and was held every year from to , except in . During these years, the European Grand Prix was held in a countr ...
, and the 15th European Grand Prix as a standalone event (i.e. not an honorific title awarded to an existing event). It was the second of a series of six races held within eight weeks. The race was won by championship leader
Fernando Alonso Fernando Alonso Díaz (; born 29 July 1981) is a Spanish racing driver who competes in Formula One for Aston Martin in Formula One, Aston Martin. Alonso has won two Formula One World Drivers' Championship titles, which he won in and with ...
for the
Renault Renault S.A., commonly referred to as Groupe Renault ( , , , also known as the Renault Group in English), is a French Multinational corporation, multinational Automotive industry, automobile manufacturer established in 1899. The company curr ...
team.
McLaren McLaren Racing Limited ( ) is a British auto racing, motor racing team based at the McLaren Technology Centre in Woking, Surrey, England. The team is a subsidiary of the McLaren Group, which owns a majority of the team. McLaren is best known a ...
driver
Kimi Räikkönen Kimi-Matias Räikkönen (; born 17 October 1979), nicknamed "the Iceman", is a Finnish racing driver who competed in Formula One between 2001 and 2021 for Sauber, McLaren, Ferrari, Lotus, and Alfa Romeo. Räikkönen won the 2007 Formula One ...
was leading the race at the start of the final lap, but crashed out with a suspension failure caused by a flat-spotted front tyre. Winner Alonso started in sixth position whilst
Nick Heidfeld Nick Lars Heidfeld (; born 10 May 1977) is a German former racing driver, who competed in Formula One from to . Born and raised in Mönchengladbach, North Rhine-Westphalia, Heidfeld began competitive kart racing aged 11. He progressed to Formu ...
took the first and only pole position of his career for the Williams team. He eventually finished second in front of the
Ferrari Ferrari S.p.A. (; ) is an Italian luxury sports car manufacturer based in Maranello. Founded in 1939 by Enzo Ferrari (1898–1988), the company built Auto Avio Costruzioni 815, its first car in 1940, adopted its current name in 1945, and be ...
of
Rubens Barrichello Rubens Gonçalves Barrichello (; born 23 May 1972) is a Brazilian racing driver and sports broadcasting, broadcaster, who competes in the Stock Car Pro Series for Full Time Sports. Nicknamed "Rubinho" (), Barrichello competed in Formula One fro ...
, who completed the podium in third position.


Report


Background

The race saw the return of the
BAR Bar or BAR may refer to: Food and drink * Bar (establishment), selling alcoholic beverages * Candy bar ** Chocolate bar * Protein bar Science and technology * Bar (river morphology), a deposit of sediment * Bar (tropical cyclone), a laye ...
-
Honda commonly known as just Honda, is a Japanese multinational corporation, multinational Conglomerate (company), conglomerate automotive manufacturer headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. Founded in October 1946 by Soichiro Honda, Honda has bee ...
team, who had been suspended for two races following the
San Marino Grand Prix The San Marino Grand Prix () was a Formula One championship race which was run at the Autodromo Internazionale Enzo e Dino Ferrari in the town of Imola, near the Apennine Mountains, Apennine mountains in Italy, between 1981 and 2006. It was nam ...
, due to a fuel tank irregularity. However, due to the 2005
engine An engine or motor is a machine designed to convert one or more forms of energy into mechanical energy. Available energy sources include potential energy (e.g. energy of the Earth's gravitational field as exploited in hydroelectric power ge ...
regulations, they had to use engines from the San Marino race, which had been untouched for five weeks.
Red Bull Racing Red Bull Racing, currently competing as Oracle Red Bull Racing and also known simply as Red Bull or RBR, is a Formula One racing team, List of Formula One constructors#Team's nationality, competing under an Austrian racing licence and based in ...
decided that
Vitantonio Liuzzi Vitantonio "Tonio" Liuzzi (born 6 August 1980) is an Italian former racing driver who competed in Formula One from to . Born and raised in Bari, Liuzzi began competitive kart racing aged nine. After a successful karting career—culminating in ...
would retain his race seat for one round, before
Christian Klien Christian Klien (born 7 February 1983) is an Austrian racing driver who competed in Formula One between and . Born and raised in Hohenems, Klien competed in Formula One for Jaguar, Red Bull and HRT, scoring 14 championship points across 51 ...
would take over for the
Canadian Grand Prix The Canadian Grand Prix () is an annual motor racing event held since 1961. It has been part of the Formula One World Championship since 1967. It was first staged at Mosport Park in Bowmanville, Ontario, as a sports car event, before alterna ...
and onwards.


Friday drivers

The bottom 6 teams in the 2004 Constructors' Championship were entitled to run a third car in free practice on Friday. These drivers drove on Friday but did not compete in qualifying or the race.


Qualifying

The race marked yet another change in the qualifying system, with the aggregate system being discarded for a single session on Saturday, with cars in full race set-up (including fuel), and running in reverse order to the classification from the previous Grand Prix. This disadvantaged the BAR team significantly, as they were required to be the first two cars on the track.
German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...
Williams driver
Nick Heidfeld Nick Lars Heidfeld (; born 10 May 1977) is a German former racing driver, who competed in Formula One from to . Born and raised in Mönchengladbach, North Rhine-Westphalia, Heidfeld began competitive kart racing aged 11. He progressed to Formu ...
took his only career
pole position In a motorsports race, the pole position is usually the best and "statistically the most advantageous" starting position on the track. The pole position is usually earned by the driver with the best qualifying times in the trials before the ra ...
in front of his home fans, ahead of
McLaren McLaren Racing Limited ( ) is a British auto racing, motor racing team based at the McLaren Technology Centre in Woking, Surrey, England. The team is a subsidiary of the McLaren Group, which owns a majority of the team. McLaren is best known a ...
's
Kimi Räikkönen Kimi-Matias Räikkönen (; born 17 October 1979), nicknamed "the Iceman", is a Finnish racing driver who competed in Formula One between 2001 and 2021 for Sauber, McLaren, Ferrari, Lotus, and Alfa Romeo. Räikkönen won the 2007 Formula One ...
and Heidfeld's teammate Mark Webber.


Race

With an ambient temperature of and a track temperature of , the cars lined up for the start of the race. However, as the lights turned on to signal the start,
Renault Renault S.A., commonly referred to as Groupe Renault ( , , , also known as the Renault Group in English), is a French Multinational corporation, multinational Automotive industry, automobile manufacturer established in 1899. The company curr ...
's
Giancarlo Fisichella Giancarlo "Giano" Fisichella (; born 14 January 1973), also known as Fisico or Fisi, is an Italian racing driver and motorsport executive, who competed in Formula One from to . Fisichella won three Formula One Grands Prix across 14 seasons. Bo ...
signalled that his car had stalled, and the start had to be aborted. As the field set off for another formation lap, Fisichella's car was pushed into the pitlane, and the race distance was reduced by 1 lap to 59. At the start, both Williams' got away from the line slowly, with Heidfeld beaten into the first corner by Räikkönen, and Webber overtaken by both
Jarno Trulli Jarno Trulli (; born 13 July 1974) is an Italian former racing driver and motorsport executive, who competed in Formula One from to . Trulli won the 2004 Monaco Grand Prix with Renault in Formula One, Renault. He regularly competed in Formula ...
and
Juan Pablo Montoya Juan Pablo Montoya Roldán (; born 20 September 1975) is a Colombian racing driver, who competed in Formula One from to , IndyCar between 1999 and 2022, and the NASCAR Cup Series between 2006 and 2024. Montoya won seven Formula One Grand ...
before the first turn. Desperate to keep Trulli behind, Webber braked very late for the corner, and locked his front-right brake. Montoya turned in towards the apex of the corner, but made contact with Webber, who was forced to retire with suspension damage. Montoya's car was undamaged, but he lost several places as a result of being forced off line, and finished the first lap in 13th place. Several other cars were forced to take evasive action, with both
Ferrari Ferrari S.p.A. (; ) is an Italian luxury sports car manufacturer based in Maranello. Founded in 1939 by Enzo Ferrari (1898–1988), the company built Auto Avio Costruzioni 815, its first car in 1940, adopted its current name in 1945, and be ...
s losing a large amount of time, and
Ralf Schumacher Ralf Schumacher (born 30 June 1975) is a German former racing driver and sports broadcasting, broadcaster, who competed in Formula One from to . Schumacher won six Formula One Grands Prix across 11 seasons. Born and raised in North Rhine-Westp ...
breaking his front wing as he ran into the back of another car. During the first lap,
Takuma Sato is a Japanese racing driver, who competes part-time in the IndyCar Series for Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing. Sato competed in Formula One from to . In American open-wheel racing, Sato is a two-time winner of the Indianapolis 500 in 2017 a ...
also damaged his front wing, and along with Schumacher, was forced to pit at the end of the lap, leaving both cars at the back of the field.
Red Bull Racing Red Bull Racing, currently competing as Oracle Red Bull Racing and also known simply as Red Bull or RBR, is a Formula One racing team, List of Formula One constructors#Team's nationality, competing under an Austrian racing licence and based in ...
's
David Coulthard David Marshall Coulthard (born 27 March 1971) is a British former racing driver and sports broadcasting, broadcaster from Scotland who competed in Formula One from to . Nicknamed "DC", Coulthard was runner-up in the Formula One World Drivers' ...
managed to avoid the confusion, and was in 4th place at the end of the first lap after starting 12th. Both
Jordan Jordan, officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, is a country in the Southern Levant region of West Asia. Jordan is bordered by Syria to the north, Iraq to the east, Saudi Arabia to the south, and Israel and the occupied Palestinian ter ...
drivers made good starts also, sitting in 10th and 11th. Räikkönen pushed away to a 1.9 second lead by the end of lap 1. As the Jordans and
Minardi Minardi was an Italian automobile racing team and constructor founded in Faenza in 1979 by Giancarlo Minardi. It competed in the Formula One World Championship from 1985 until 2005 with little success, nevertheless acquiring a loyal following ...
s were forced back down the field by faster cars,
Toyota is a Japanese Multinational corporation, multinational Automotive industry, automotive manufacturer headquartered in Toyota City, Aichi, Japan. It was founded by Kiichiro Toyoda and incorporated on August 28, 1937. Toyota is the List of manuf ...
's Jarno Trulli was handed a drive-through penalty because his mechanics were still on the grid within 15 seconds of the race start. He dropped down from 3rd to 9th upon taking the penalty. On lap 6,
Rubens Barrichello Rubens Gonçalves Barrichello (; born 23 May 1972) is a Brazilian racing driver and sports broadcasting, broadcaster, who competes in the Stock Car Pro Series for Full Time Sports. Nicknamed "Rubinho" (), Barrichello competed in Formula One fro ...
had an excellent battle with
Jenson Button Jenson Alexander Lyons Button (born 19 January 1980) is a British racing driver, who competes in the FIA World Endurance Championship for Jota. Button competed in Formula One from to , and won the World Drivers' Championship in with Brawn; ...
, taking 8th position after attempting to pass through 3 corners. Button lost a small amount of time as a result of the pass, which was enough for Montoya to close up behind and subsequently take 9th place. Barrichello, on a charge, overtook Vitantonio Liuzzi for 7th place on lap 8, but showed he was on light fuel, being the first driver to take their scheduled stop, which dropped him down to 12th position. On the very next lap, Heidfeld took his first stop, showing that his pole position was helped by having less fuel than several of the front-runners. The rest of the field began their pit stop sequences around lap 18, allowing Montoya to leapfrog Liuzzi for 8th place, while Barrichello put in some quick laps to move into an outright 4th position. David Coulthard, who led the race for 1 lap as the pit stop sequence unfolded, was given a drive-through penalty for exceeding the pitlane speed limit. With all the stops complete, Räikkönen retained a 2-second lead over Heidfeld, followed by Alonso, Barrichello, Coulthard,
Felipe Massa Felipe Massa (; born 25 April 1981) is a Brazilian racing driver, who competes in the Stock Car Pro Series for TMG Racing, TMG and in the IMSA SportsCar Championship for Riley Technologies, Riley. Massa competed in Formula One from to , and w ...
,
Michael Schumacher Michael Schumacher (; born 3 January 1969) is a German former racing driver, who competed in Formula One from to and from to . Schumacher won a record-setting seven Formula One World Drivers' Championship titles, tied by Lewis Hamilton in ...
and Montoya. On lap 30, Räikkönen appeared to lose concentration, going wide through the Ford
chicane A chicane () is a serpentine curve in a road, added by design rather than dictated by geography. Chicanes add extra turns and are used both in motor racing and on roads and streets to slow traffic for safety. For example, one form of chicane is ...
, allowing Heidfeld into the lead for one lap before the German had to pit. As he ran off-road, Räikkönen damaged his
bargeboard A bargeboard or rake fascia is a board fastened to each projecting gable of a roof to give it strength and protection, and to conceal the otherwise exposed end grain of the horizontal timbers or purlins of the roof. The word ''bargeboard'' is pr ...
. The mistake allowed Alonso to gain 4 seconds. Heidfeld rejoined in 3rd after his second pit stop, and Barrichello, also on a 3-stop strategy, retained 4th. A few laps later whilst lapping
Jacques Villeneuve Jacques Joseph Charles Villeneuve (; born 9 April 1971) is a Canadian former racing driver, who competed in IndyCar from 1994 PPG Indy Car World Series, 1994 to 1995 PPG Indy Car World Series, 1995, and Formula One from to . Villeneuve won t ...
, who ignored blue flags, Räikkönen locked his front-right tyre and ran wide, causing a "flat spot" and losing a small amount of time to Alonso. Due to the 2005 regulations, Räikkönen was unable to change the tyre and continue in the race, causing severe problems later in the race. Ralf Schumacher became only the second retirement of the race, losing his car at the Ford chicane, and spinning into the gravel trap. On lap 36, Räikkönen held a 15.2 second lead back to Alonso, who had an 8-second gap back to Heidfeld, followed by Barrichello, Coulthard, Massa, Michael Schumacher and Montoya. Räikkönen was able to continue posting competitive lap times and retain his lead over Alonso, but had to take his second pit stop on lap 43, handing Alonso the lead and a chance to decrease the gap. Alonso set the fastest lap of the race on lap 44, but then lost around 7 seconds after running off the road at the Dunlop hairpin. All of the front-runners pitted and held their positions, while Fisichella was able to move ahead of Montoya after some good laps. Meanwhile, Massa, in 6th position, ran off the road and lost a large amount of time, also damaging his tyres. With 8 laps remaining, Räikkönen held a 7.4 second lead over Alonso, and had victory in sight, but the tyre damage was causing major vibrations throughout the car and suspension, causing him trouble under braking and through corners. Alonso, with a clearly faster car at that stage, was able to close the gap quickly, and with 2 laps left, he had reduced it to just 2.7 seconds. Räikkönen's tyre began showing signs of imminent failure, and the vibrations in the car became increasingly severe. The McLaren team decided not to change the tyre, instead opting to go for the victory. As Räikkönen started the final lap of the race, he was 1.5 seconds ahead of Alonso, and there was a chance for Alonso to perhaps catch the Finnish driver. However, under braking for turn 1, Räikkönen's suspension broke under the increasing pressure, sending him spinning narrowly past Jenson Button and into the gravel trap, ending his race. Alonso was able to take the last lap easily, winning the race ahead of Heidfeld and Barrichello. It was Alonso's fourth win for the season, increasing his championship lead to 32 points ahead of Räikkönen and Trulli. The failure on the final lap had denied Räikkönen his third successive victory. Heidfeld's third podium for the year meant he moved into fourth place in the championship standings. David Coulthard picked up a valuable fourth place for Red Bull, followed by Michael Schumacher, Fisichella, Montoya and Trulli. Felipe Massa finished 14th after his front wing failed with four laps remaining, damaging his left-front tyre, forcing him to pit to change both. Trulli and Coulthard were not the only ones to receive penalties, as
Tiago Monteiro Tiago Vagaroso da Costa Monteiro (; born 24 July 1976) is a Portuguese professional racing driver. He competed in Formula One between 2005 and 2006 for the Jordan Grand Prix, Midland and Spyker MF1 teams – all different iterations of the s ...
and
Christijan Albers Christijan Albers () (born 16 April 1979) is a Dutch former professional racing driver. After success in the DTM he drove in Formula One from until the 2007 British Grand Prix, shortly after which he was dropped by the Spyker F1 team. In 200 ...
were issued drive-through penalties for ignoring blue flags.


Classification


Qualifying


Race

* Fisichella started the race from the pitlane.


Championship standings after the race

;Drivers' Championship standings ;Constructors' Championship standings *Note: Only the top five positions are included for both sets of standings.


See also

* 2005 Nürburgring GP2 Series round


References

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European Grand Prix The European Grand Prix (also known as the Grand Prix of Europe) was a Formula One event that was introduced during the mid-1980s and was held every year from to , except in . During these years, the European Grand Prix was held in a countr ...
European Grand Prix
European Grand Prix The European Grand Prix (also known as the Grand Prix of Europe) was a Formula One event that was introduced during the mid-1980s and was held every year from to , except in . During these years, the European Grand Prix was held in a countr ...
European Grand Prix The European Grand Prix (also known as the Grand Prix of Europe) was a Formula One event that was introduced during the mid-1980s and was held every year from to , except in . During these years, the European Grand Prix was held in a countr ...