ART Grand Prix
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| ART Grand Prix | |
|---|---|
| Motor racing team | |
| Founded | 2005 |
| Country |  France |
| Team Principal | Frederic Vasseur |
| Current series | GP2 |
| Former series | None |
| Drivers' titles | 2 |
| Teams' titles | 2 |
ART Grand Prix is a French motor racing team that competes in formula single-seaters in Europe. It was founded in 2005.
Contents |
[edit] Creation
ART Grand Prix was created in a collaborative project between Frederic Vasseur, the principal of ASM Formule 3, and Nicolas Todt, the son of Ferrari's CEO Jean Todt. Vasseur wanted to expand his championship-winning Formula 3 team into the newly-created GP2 Series that supports Grands Prix in Europe, while Nicolas Todt had expressed an interest in team management. He had become involved in motorsport as a driver manager, and was notable for representing Felipe Massa. Todt took charge of the new team's commercial and promotional interests, while Vasseur managed the day-to-day running of the operation. ART is based at the ASM workshops at Villeneuve-la-Guyard in the département of Yonne, France.
[edit] Immediate success
In ART Grand Prix's debut season, it employed F3 Euroseries graduates Alexandre Prémat, of France, and Nico Rosberg, of Germany. Against drivers who had prior experience at this level, from Formula 3000, Rosberg became the inaugural GP2 Drivers' Champion. He showed consistency, with points scoring results at every race meeting, and his championship challenge became stronger as the year progressed. Prémat was 4th in the championship, which was enough to provide ART with the Teams' Championship title. Rosberg's increasingly rapid rise to the top continued when he graduated to Formula One with Williams.
Prémat remained with ART in 2006, and was joined by Britain's Lewis Hamilton. He was a logical choice, having dominated the F3 Euroseries with ASM Formule 3, ART's sister team. Hamilton took an impressive title in his debut season, though his performances faltered slightly mid-season against an increased challenge from the eventual runner-up, Nelson Angelo Piquet. Prémat was a consistent and reliable number two to Hamilton; his third position in the Drivers' Championship contributed to ART's second consecutive Teams' title.
[edit] Results
Key:
- D.C. = Drivers' Championship position.
- T.C. = Teams' Championship position.
| GP2 Championship Results | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Drivers | Wins | Points | D.C. | T.C. | |
| 2006 |  |
Lewis Hamilton | 5 | 114 | 1st | 1st |
| |
Alexandre Prémat | 1 | 66 | 3rd | ||
| 2005 |  |
Nico Rosberg | 5 | 120 | 1st | 1st |
| |
Alexandre Prémat | 2 | 67 | 4th | ||
[edit] Reference
Premat renews with ART. autosport.com (5. January, 2006).
Hamilton confirmed at ART. autosport.com (19. January, 2006).
[edit] External links
- ART grand prix official website
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