The game was a sequel to Crammond's earlier Formula One Grand Prix, released in 1991. Where that title had been known as World Circuit in North America, the sequel was released as Grand Prix II in that market. Crammond developed the game largely alone, which was unusual in a mid-1990s industry increasingly dominated by large development teams.
Grand Prix 2 was the first serious racing simulation to model all three axes of vehicle movement, meaning cars could become airborne during impacts. Earlier titles such as Stunts had featured airborne vehicle behavior but were not serious racing simulations. The game also introduced image mapping over three-dimensional car models to display liveries — a technique that had first appeared in Papyrus Design Group's 1993 IndyCar Racing.
The FIA license covered the complete 1994 season, including all 16 circuits and 28 drivers across 14 teams. However, the specific liveries and driver lineup reflected the 1994 German Grand Prix rather than the full season, for two reasons. First, the German Grand Prix was the race at which all teams ran non-tobacco advertising liveries, making it the easiest point in the season to license uniformly. Second, both Ayrton Senna and Roland Ratzenberger had been killed at the 1994 San Marino Grand Prix, so using the German Grand Prix as the reference point allowed those drivers to be excluded without misrepresenting the championship as it stood at that race. Nigel Mansell was also absent, having not been Williams' regular second driver following Senna's death. Some circuits reflected safety-related track modifications made during the season, while others did not.
Grand Prix 2 covered every element of a Formula One weekend: practice sessions, qualifying, and the race. A full championship mode simulated the entire 16-race season. Unlike many racing titles of the era, Grand Prix 2 included no arcade mode, but offered seven configurable driving aids — steering assistance, braking assistance, automatic reorientation after crashes, indestructibility, racing line display, automatic gear shifts, and traction control — that players could enable or disable independently. Higher difficulty settings progressively restricted which aids were available.
A Quickrace function allowed players to bypass qualifying and jump directly into a race, with customizable lap count and starting grid position. The player could select any of the 28 race seats and displace the original driver. Multiplayer support covered hotseat and modem-linked LAN play, with computer-controlled simulation of other players' cars while a given player took their turn.
The game replicated mechanical failures including engine, gearbox, and electronic breakdowns, with cars continuing to circulate visibly damaged before eventually retiring to the pits or stopping trackside. This was described as the first simulation to model visual car failures in this way. Multiple camera angles were available, including a simulated television broadcast perspective. Car setups were adjustable across a wide range of parameters. Wet weather conditions were not included.
Grand Prix 2 sold 500,000 copies globally within two months of its July 1996 release. By mid-January 1997 that figure had reached 750,000, driven substantially by European sales. The game received a Platinum sales award from the Verband der Unterhaltungssoftware Deutschland, recognizing at least 200,000 units sold across Germany, Austria, and Switzerland. Total worldwide sales reached 1.5 million copies by late 2000, contributing to what PC Gamer US described as "one of the most successful PC racing franchises in history."
Critical reception was exceptional. GameSpot's Jim Varner gave it 9.5 out of 10, calling it "unquestionably the best racing game yet made for the PC" and praising the way the driving aid system allowed the same title to function as either a serious simulation or an accessible arcade experience. PC Zone scored it 95%. Next Generation, while never publishing a full review, named it the 46th best game of all time shortly after release. PC Gamer UK ranked Grand Prix 2 and its predecessor together as the seventh best computer game of all time in 1997. The game was nominated for Computer Games Strategy Plus's 1996 Racing Simulation of the Year award, losing to NASCAR Racing II.
A modding community formed around Grand Prix 2 soon after release, with dedicated modders reverse-engineering the game's executable to enable changes to liveries, driver names, track layouts, and even the racing series represented. In January 2025, a community-created update known as the x86 mod was released, enabling the game to run natively in modern Windows without the DOSBox emulation layer previously required. New features included a moveable steering wheel, a widescreen format, animated tires, and subsequently added menu music and updated television graphics.
In December 2025, the current incarnation of MicroProse acquired the rights to the Grand Prix franchise and announced plans to rerelease all four games on Steam in collaboration with Geoff Crammond. Because the Formula One license is held by Electronic Arts, the rereleased versions will carry fictional sponsors and team names, with Grand Prix 2 retitled Geoff Crammond Racing 2. Steam Workshop support for community content is planned for launch.