Results of the 2005 A1 Grand Prix of Nations, Brands Hatch, Great Britain
The inaugural A1 Grad Prix race, dubbed the A1 World Cup, took place at the Brands Hatch racing circuit in Great Britain. The 25 country teams competed for the first-ever A1 title, with Nelson Piquet Jr. driving for Brazil and taking home the chequered flag, followed by Will Power for Australia and Salvador Duran for Mexico. The cars were all painted in national colours, making them stunning and easy to follow for the 80,000 fans that showed up to watch the inaugural race.
Qualifying started out a little patchy on Friday, with three flags, but no one expected a flawless start to the new A1 season. With drivers ranging from ex-F1 drivers to inexperienced F1 drivers, there are apt to be some scuffles in the beginning of the season. One incident involved Jos Verstappen, driving for the Netherlands, who had to retire in the Sprint Race, after being hit by the South African car. Verstappen was one of Michael Schumacher's team mates in the past.
Nelson Piquet Jr., the namesake son of famous F1 driver, Nelson Piquet, a three-time F1 Champion, scored a double victory as he came in first in both the Sprint Race and Main Race event of the first A1 Grand Prix weekend. Unlike the F1 Grand Prix, A1 assigns championship points for both races, as well a an unique 'bonus point' for the driver with the fastest lap (which can either be in the Sprint Race of Main Race), giving a maximum of 21 points possible per race weekend. This is exactly what Piquet Jr. managed, giving Brazil the maximum 21 points possible and putting the team off to a good start for the season. In fact, this is a fitting start for a team that is jointly owned by Real Madrid striker Ronaldo and former Formula One champion Emerson Fittipaldi.
Australian driver Will Power had led the race, with 10 laps to go, when Piquet overtook him to clinch the win, clearing showing his driving ability. The race wasn't without incident, as the safety car was called out early on in the race. Lebanon’s driver, Khalil Beschir's car lifted off and rolled into the gravel in a spectacular crash after the Paddock corner. However, the driver was able to escape the crash unhurt, waving to the crowd after getting out of his car.
This puts the country point standing as follows, after the first race (SR= Sprint Race; MR = Main Race; FL = Fastest lap bonus point):
- Brazil 21 points (SR=10, MR=10, FL=1)
- Australia 16 (SR=7,MR=9)
- Mexico 13 (SR=5, MR=8)
- New Zealand (SR=8, MR=7)
- Malaysia 6 (SR=0, MR=6)
- South Africa 5 (SR=0, MR=5)
- Netherlands 4 (SR=0, MR=4)
- Japan 3 (SR=0, MR=3)
- Canada 2 (SR=0, MR=2)
- Germany 1 (SR=0, MR=1)
Top 10 race result from Great Britain (2005)
- Brazil
- Australia
- Mexico
- New Zealand
- Malaysia
- South Africa
- Netherlands
- Japan
- Canada
- Germany
Fastest lap bonus went to Brazil