Formula One feeder series GP2 and its offshoot GP2 Asia will merge at the conclusion of the current season to create a single championship. GP2 Asia was launched in 2008, three years after the main series, and ran in the off-season at venues across Asia and the Middle East. Past series champions include Formula One star Kamui Kobayashi and current GP2 points leader Romain Grosjean, who took the Asian crown in both 2008 and 2011. Now the two series will be united, a decision GP2 CEO Bruno Michel explained was prompted by the increased homogony of teams and drivers between the two championships âIn 2011, almost eighty-five percent of the drivers who did the Asia Series this season are taking part of the European series as we are using the GP2/11 car in both categories," said Michel. "This year also marked the fact that for the first time the same thirteen teams entered both series. We talked to them and we decided that it was logical to have one single series from 2012. "We will announce the 2012 calendar and the number of rounds at a later date,â added the Frenchman. The series will officially merge with a non-championship event in support of November's Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. Billed as the 2011 GP2 Final, the event will see all thirteen teams competing for a prize fund and is expected to attract prospective drivers for the 2012 campaign.
Seems a sensible idea to be honest. It would increase the competition because you will have drivers from all over the world now joined together in the GP2 series.
