Your one-stop guide to the teams and drivers competing in the 2012 GP2 championship.
A guide to the teams and drivers in the 2012 GP2 championship.
Your one-stop guide to the teams and drivers competing in the 2012 GP2 Championship, live on
Sky Sports F1 HD.
Addax Team
The Spanish-based team was founded in 2009, emerging from the ashes of Campos Racing, who left GP2 after winning the title in 2008.
They are the reigning teams champion after a strong 2011 with Charles Pic, now driving for in F1 for Marussia, and Giedo van der Garde, who is the Caterham reserve driver in 2012.
#1 - Johnny Cecotto - VEN
Cecotto is the son of former motorcycle world champion and F1 driver Johnny Cecotto senior.
The 22-year-old has raced in GP2 since 2009 and is entering the season with his fourth team in four season. He switches to Addax from Ocean Racing Technology.
He finished 24th in the drivers' standings in 2011.
#2 - Josef Kral - CZH
The 21-year-old Czech heads into his third season in GP2, still looking for his first win the series. His best result in the series came in the sprint race at Spa in 2011, where he finished third for Arden International.
Kral has tested in Formula One, taking part in the 2010 young drivers test in Abu Dhabi for Hispania.
DAMS
Driot-Arnoux Motrosport was founded in 1988 by Jean-Paul Driot and former Formula One driver Rene Arnoux.
The French team are based near the Le Mans circuit and have a long history in single-seater racing, having been stalwarts of the International Formula 3000 Championship between 1989 and 2001, picking up four teams titles and three drivers' championships.
The team entered GP2 in 2005 and are the reigning champions having guided now Lotus F1 driver Romain Grosjean to the 2011 drivers' title.
The team also ran Kamui Kobayashi, now of Sauber, and ex-Williams driver Kazuiki Nakajimi in GP2.
#3 - Davide Valsecchi - ITA
The Italian moves from Team Air Asia (now Caterham Racing) to DAMS for 2012, having finished eighth in the previous GP2 campaigns.
The 25-year-old made his GP2 debut in 2008, and won the GP2 Asia Series title in 2009-2010.
#4 - Felipe Nasr - BRA
The 19-year-old Brazilian steps up to GP2 from British Formula Three where he won the title in 2011 with Carlin Motorsport.
Despite spending most of his short career in single-seater racing, Nasr proved his adaptability by finishing third in a Riley prototype at the 2012 Daytona 24 Hours.
Racing Engineering
The Spanish team were founded in 1999 and are based near the Jerez circuit.
They competed for in Spanish F3 between 2001 and 2006, dominating the series and winning six straight teams' titles.
They won the 2008 GP2 drivers' title with former Jordan F1 driver Giorgio Pantano.
#5 - Fabio Leimer - SWI
The 22-year-old switches from Rapax for his third season in GP2 after impressing for Racing Engineering during the non-championship rounds at last year's Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.
He won the 2009 International Formula Masters championship which supported the WTCC, which earned him a test with DAMS and a chance to use the Red Bull chassis simulator.
#6 - Nathanael Berthon - FRA
The Frenchman moves to GP2 from the World Series by Renault where he finished 13th in the 2011 championship after taking just one podium for ISR Racing.
He spent the winter driving in New Zealand in the Toyota Racing Series finishing seventh in the series.
iSport International
The British team were founded in 2004 to take part in the inaugural GP2 championship the following year.
The team won the drivers' and teams' championships in 2007 with Timo Glock - while they have also run Bruno Senna, Karun Chandhok and Scott Speed in the series.
#7 - Marcus Ericsson - SWE
The Swedish driver stays with iSport for a second season and will look to improve on the 2011 season which brought just two podium finishes.
The 21-year-old is a former British Formula BMW champion, taking the title in 2007 with Fortec and he also won the 2009 Japanese F3 title.
#8 - Jolyon Palmer - GBR
The son of former F1 driver Jonathon, switches from Arden to iSport after a disappointing 2011 season, where he finished 28th in the standings without taking a point.
He finished second in the 2010 Formula Two championship, taking five victories.
Lotus GP
The ART name disappears from GP2 in 2012, with the team racing under a different name for the third time in as many years.
The ART Grand Prix team was formed in 2005 for the inaugural GP2 season from collaboration between Nicolas Todt and Frederic Vasseur's ASM Formula 3 team.
The team enjoyed immediate success winning the 2005 teams' championship and driver's title with Nico Rosberg, before repeating the double in 2006 with Lewis Hamilton.
#9 - James Calado - GBR
The 22-year-old British driver steps up to GP2 from GP3 where he finished second in the championship with Lotus ART.
He was also runner-up in the 2010 British F3 championship.
#10 - Esteban Gutierrez - MEX
The highly-rated Mexican sticks with the team four a fourth season and his second in GP2.
He joined ART Grand Prix for the 2009 F3 Euroseries and also contested selected rounds of that seasons British Championship.
He moved to the newly formed GP3 championship in 2010, securing the title with five victories and nine podiums.
He graduated to GP2 in 2011 and was also test driver for the Sauber F1 team.
Caterham Racing
The team was founded in 2010 by Tony Fernandes, team principal of the Caterham F1 team.
The team's only win to date came on the streets of Monaco in 2011, with Davide Valsecchi driving.
Caterham Racing maintains strong links with their sister F1 team, with drivers acting as reserves for the Formula One team.
#11 - Rodolfo Gonzalez - VEN
The 25-year-old drove for Lotus Racing (now Caterham F1) in the 2010 Abu Dhabi young drivers test and makes use of his links to move to the team for the 2012 season.
This will be his third full season in GP2, and he has so far taken only four points from 38 races in his first two campaigns.
#12 - Giedo van der Garde - NLD
The Dutchman enters his fourth season of GP2 action and switches from Addax International, where he finished fifth in the drivers' standings with last year.
His role with Caterham Racing sees him double up as reserve driver for their Formula One team and he will run in selected FP1 sessions throughout the season.
He was test driver for Spyker F1 in 2007 and Force India in 2008.
Scuderia Coloni
The Italian team are one of the most experienced on the grid and date back to 1982. They entered Formula One between 1987 and 1991, but managed to qualify for just 14 of 82 Grand Prix.
Between 2006 and 2009 the team received support from F1 driver Giancarlo Fisichella and ran under the banner of Fisichella Motorsport.
#14 - Stefano Coletti - MCO
The 22-year-old Monegasque got his first taste of GP2 action in 2009 contesting three rounds, before moving to GP3 for 2010.
Last year he took two wins for Trident Racing on his way to 11th in the standings.
#15 - Fabio Onidi - ITA
After two seasons in Auto GP, the 24-year-old switches to GP2 after contesting the two non-championship rounds at the end of last season for Super Nova.
In 2009 he finished third in both the Euroseries 3000 and the Italian Formula 3000 championships.
Trident Racing
Italian outfit Trident were formed in 2006 specifically to take part in the GP2 series. They made a flying start with three wins in their debut season and a sixth-place finish in the standings.
That remains the team's most successful season and they have not won a race since Mike Conway triumphed at the Nurburgring in 2008.
#16 - Stephane Richelmi - MCO
The 22-year-old heads into his first full season with Trident having got his first taste of GP2 action during last year's races in Italy.
He finished 26th in the 2011 Formula Renault 3.5 standings, taking just six points from 17 races.
#17 - Julian Leal - COL
The 21-year-old switches from Rapax to the Italian team after failing to score a point during last year's series.
He has previous experience of the team having raced for Trident in Auto GP in 2010, picking up one win on his way to ninth in the standings.
His only championship win came in the 2008 Italian Formula 3000 series.
Venezuela GP Lazarus
The Italian team make their debut in the series after replacing Super Nova as the 13th entry in the championship.
The team was founded as Team Lazarus in 2009 and has contested Auto GP, Euroseries 3000 and Italian Formula Three.
#18 - Fabrizio Crestani - ITA
The 24-year-old stays with the team he drove for in Auto GP during 2011, where he picked up one victory.
He got his first taste of GP2 in 2010 replacing Giacomo Ricci at David Price Racing for the final six races.
#19 - Giancarlo Serenelli - VEN
The 30-year-old moves to GP2 after winning the Latin America-based LATAM Challenge Series in three of the previous four seasons.
He will combine his GP2 drive with an Auto GP campaign for Ombra Racing.
Rapax
The Italian team can trace its routes back to the GP Racing team formed in 1997 and Piquet Sports which was formed in 2000. The two teams merged in 2007 to form Minardi by Piquet Sports. During 2009 all remaining ties with Nelson Piquet Snr were severed and the team was rebranded as Rapax for the 2010 GP2 championship.
Having raced in GP2 since the series started they won both the teams' and drivers' titles in 2010 with Pastor Maldonado.
#20 - Ricardo Teixeira - AGO
The 27-year-old holds duel Portuguese-Angolan nationality and will race under the Angolan flag in GP2 this year due to sponsor commitments.
Since graduating to the British F3 National Class in 2005, he has not taken a victory or even finished on the podium in any series.
He competed in GP2 in 2009 with Trident finishing 26th in the standings, before moving to Formula 2 in 2010 where he finished 16th.
Teixeria spent 2011 as test driver for Team Lotus (now Caterham F1).
#21 - Tom Dillmann - FRA
The Frenchman moves to GP2 after a busy 2011, during which he raced in GP3, F3 Euroseries, FIA F3 International Trophy, German F3 and the non-championship GP2 support races in Abu Dhabi.
He has a history of racing in a variety of championships over the course of a season but did manage to win the 2010 German F3 title.
Arden International
The team was formed in 1997 by Christian Horner, now team principal at Red Bull Racing, to help further his career as a racing driver. He continues to act as team principal for Adren alongside Gary Horner.
The team has contested GP2 since the series started and came close to winning the drivers' and teams' titles with Heikki Kovalainen in 2005.
Arden won the International Formula 3000 title every year between 2002 and 2004 before the series folded.
They also ran the A1 Team Great Britain squad during the championships inaugural season.
#22 - Simon Trummer - SWI
After two seasons in GP3, the 22-year-old moves steps up to GP2 with Arden after driving for sister outfit MW Arden in 2011.
After a disappointing season, the Swiss took two fifths and a fourth place finish during the final three races of the 2010 GP3 season.
#23 - Luiz Razia - BRA
After winning the South American F3 title in 2006, the Brazilian switched to the Euroseries 3000, finishing third in his debut season.
He made his GP2 debut in 2009 with Fisichella Motorsport, taking one win.
He was test driver for Virgin Racing in 2010, and had the same role at Team Lotus in 2011 as part of his role with the team's GP2 outfit.
Ocean Racing Technology
The team was founded in 2008 after former F1 driver Tiago Monteiro purchased the BCN Competicion squad along with Jose Guedes. The pair revamped the team, moving their base to the Algarve, hiring new staff and essentially reforming the team.
The team took its first and to-date only GP2 win in 2010 in Barcelona.
#24 - Jon Lancaster - GBR
After a competing in Auto GP (four races) and Formula 2 (two races) in 2011, the 23-year-old makes his GP2 debut in 2012.
He has also contested Eurocup and French Formula Renault 2.0, F3 Euro Series and Formula Renault 3.5 during his career.
#25 - Nigel Melker - NLD
After finishing third in the GP3 championship and fourth in the F3 Euroseries last year, the Dutchman graduates to GP2 this season.
His rise through the ranks has been extraordinary having only moved to single-seater racing in 2008, with two seasons in Formula Renault before moving to GP3 in 2010.
Carlin Motorsport
The British team was formed in 1996 and competes in GP2, GP3, World Series by Renault and British F3.
The team has enjoyed great success in British F3 during the last decade winning all but two of the team's titles between 2001 and 2010.
For 2012 the team have entered a partnership with Marussia and will run in a livery similar to the Russian-marques F1 team.
#26 - Max Chilton - GBR
After an average karting career, the 20-year-old moved to T-Cars in 2005 and got his career back on track.
In 2007 he moved to British F3 with Arena International who ran his brother Tom in the BTCC. In 2009 a move to Carlin led to a fourth-place finish in the British F3 standings and he graduated to GP2 with Ocean Racing Technology.
After a disappointing season he rejoined Carlin in 2011, but finished 20th in the GP2 standings.
#27 - Rio Haryanto - IDN
The 19-year-old Indonesian driver makes his GP2 debut this year after contesting the GP3 championship with Marussia Manor Racing and Auto GP with DAMS in 2011, finishing seventh in both championships.
He began his single-seater career in 2008 competing in Asia Formula Renault and Formula Asia. In 2009 he clinched the Formula BMW Pacific title and earned a call up to GP3.
Given his links with Manor and Marussia he has been linked with a move to Formula One and tested for Virgin Racing at the 2010 young driver test in Abu Dhabi.
