The 2011 Auto GP season review

For its second year Auto GP took over the World Touring Car Championship support slot vacated by Formula 2, and with increased television exposure attracted grids of 14-16 cars for its seven-round calendar.

It was a varied field made up of talented youngsters like Kevin Ceccon and Adrien Tambay, experienced old hands like Luca Filippi and Adam Carroll plus rich enthusiasts such as Giuseppe Cipriani. In all, 21 drivers started at least one race.

GP2 outfits DAMS and Super Nova were joined by former F1-support paddock partners Durango and Campos Racing, while the A1GP-based Lola chassis once again showed itself to be a resilient old warhorse, capable of embracing some robust wheel-banging action without hurting its performance, which was further boosted for 2011 by the addition of a few subtle aerodynamic tweaks.

The series kicked off with seven different winners in the opening seven races. That streak was finally ended by Samuele Buttarelli at Donington Park in July, but the Italian teenager was never really a factor in the championship battle.

Giovanni Venturini initially led the way for Durango, but a double non-score at Brno holed his charge beneath the waterline and left Ombra Racing's Ceccon, Super Nova driver Filippi and DAMS man Sergei Afanasiev to dispute the prize.

Ultimately Filippi's rejuvenation in GP2, which led to him skipping the Oschersleben round of Auto GP in favour of racing GP2 for Coloni in Hungary, caused him to concede the title to 18-year-old Ceccon (who's managed by Coloni team boss Paolo Coloni).

The Auto GP top 10 in focus

1. Kevin Ceccon (Ombra)
Points: 130
Wins: 1
Other podiums: 4
Poles: 0
Fastest laps: 3

Graduated from the European F3 Open and Italian F3, where he'd spent the previous two seasons (winning the penultimate Open race of 2010), with distinction. By no means one of the pre-season favourites, Robert Kubica's close friend leapt into title contention with a bizarre win at the Hungaroring - the ubiquitous safety car cock-up meaning he almost lapped the field! Showed his potential for 2012 by bagging a top-eight finish for Coloni at the non-championship GP2 event at Yas Marina, where he also made his F1 test debut for Toro Rosso the following week. One to watch.

2. Luca Filippi (Super Nova)
Points: 127
Wins: 1
Other podiums: 5
Poles: 1
Fastest laps: 4

A veteran of over 100 GP2 races, budget problems meant Filippi was forced to lower his sights for the 2011 season and hope that a successful Auto GP campaign would act - as it did for 2010 champ Romain Grosjean - as a springboard back into the F1 feeder series. As expected, he was usually the quickest man in the races, even if fortune didn't always smile on him or his Super Nova team. Given that he only missed out on the title by three points, it's safe to say he would have been champion had he not skipped a round to in order to race in GP2.

3. Sergei Afanasiev (DAMS)
Points: 117
Wins: 3
Other podiums: 1
Poles: 1
Fastest laps: 1

The outgoing F2 graduate forced himself into the title reckoning with a string of podium finishes in the middle of the season. But stalling on the grid ahead of the final race undid all that good work. He nevertheless showed himself to be a forceful racer with a good turn of speed. With Lukoil money behind him, he could have a bright future ahead of him.

4. Adrien Tambay (DAMS/Campos)
Points: 114
Wins: 1
Other podiums: 4
Poles: 1
Fastest laps: 0

Patrick's son enjoyed his best season at this level, regularly running near the front of the pack, even if he never formed an integral part of the title fight. Missed the Donington round after falling out of favour with DAMS, but returned in style with Campos by claiming second at Oscherleben on his first outing with the team. Worked hard to earn his win at the Mugello finale, withstanding tremendous pressure from Filippi.

5. Fabio Onidi (Lazarus)
Points: 99
Wins: 1
Other podiums: 2
Poles: 0
Fastest laps: 0

A true veteran of this series, having competed in it during its previous guise of Euroseries 3000, Onidi used his experience to bag a win at the Monza season opener. Endured a very quiet middle part of the season after injuring his wrist at Donington, but returned to prominence with a strong second at Valencia and a third at Mugello. Raced for Super Nova at the Yas Marina GP2 event.

6. Fabrizio Crestani (Lazarus)
Points: 92
Wins: 0
Podiums: 4
Poles: 1
Fastest laps: 0

Another veteran of the Italian F3000 scene, but unlike his team-mate Onidi, it took Crestani a little while to find his form in the Lola-Zytek. Drove well at Brno to score a second (to Filippi) and a fourth, and followed that up with a double podium finish in difficult conditions at Donington. Ended the season on a high by taking a third in the final race at Mugello.

7. Rio Haryanto (DAMS)
Points: 82
Wins: 1
Other podiums: 2
Poles: 1
Fastest laps: 2

Indonesia's brightest racing prospect combined a season of racing for Manor in GP3 with an almost full campaign of Auto GP with DAMS. There's not a lot of common ground between the two series, so it was hardly surprising that the 2009 Formula BMW Pacific champion struggled to make much of an impression in the early rounds. But it all came together at Brno where he bagged second after a lightning start, a feat he repeated in Valencia, where he went on to dominate the race. Definitely a good learning year as he eyes a step into GP2 next year.

8. Samuele Buttarelli (TP Formula)
Points: 81
Wins: 2
Other podiums: 2
Poles: 0
Fastest laps: 0

Teenaged Italian stepped up from the domestic F3 series with one of Auto GP's less-fancied teams. Took a podium on his debut and was the first driver to record two wins in 2011 thanks to a dominant victory at Brno and a lights-to-flag win at Donington. Never looked like winning again after that, but did grab third at Valencia.

9. Giovanni Venturini (Durango)
Points: 76
Wins: 2
Other podiums: 1
Poles: 1
Fastest laps: 0

Formula Renault graduate burst out of the blocks with a narrow win over Filippi in the season opener at Monza and retained the points lead with a string of points finishes. But a double non-score at Brno following a first-lap clash knocked the wind out of his sails and his win at a sodden Oschersleben was his only notable performance for the rest of the season.

10. Adam Carroll (Campos)
Points: 64
Wins: 1
Other podiums: 3
Poles: 1
Fastest laps: 1

After his hopes of securing a full-time IndyCar ride disappeared, the man that delivered the A1GP title for Ireland and has won GP2 races as well, was left without a drive. Was picked up by Campos midway through the season and made an instant impression by securing pole for his debut at Donington. Missed Oschersleben to race in GP2, but was back on the podium on his return at Valencia. Finally claimed the win he'd been threatening at the Mugello finale. Can someone find this man the budget to showcase his talents at the level it deserves?

The rest

Talented but underfinanced South African A1GP and GP2 race-winner Adrian Zaugg turned out for Super Nova for the season opener. He took fastest lap on his way to seventh and was never seen again. Equally talented and financially constrained Brit Jon Lancaster joined Super Nova for two rounds, scoring a brilliant win in the rain at Donington.

He then injured his ankle training for a triathlon and was forced to miss the rest of the season. Promising young Estonian Kevin Korjus stood in for Haryanato at DAMS at Oschersleben and picked up a fifth place, which helped DAMS secure the teams' championship for the second year running.