GP2 replaced Formula 3000 after its discontinuation and was deliberately designed to lower costs for teams while offering drivers meaningful experience at Formula One circuits. All but three rounds ran as support events at F1 weekends, giving competitors access to grand prix infrastructure and the grand prix atmosphere. A GP3 Series was added in 2010 as a feeder class below GP2.
Each race weekend followed a consistent format: a 45-minute free practice session on Friday, followed by a 30-minute qualifying session that set the grid for Saturday's feature race of approximately 180 kilometres. Sunday's sprint race of 120 kilometres used a reversed top-eight grid, so that Saturday's eighth-place finisher started from pole. Each driver was required to make a mandatory pit stop during the feature race.
The spec Dallara monocoque chassis and 4.0-litre Mecachrome V8 engine — producing around 612 hp at a rev limit of 10,000 rpm — were used by every team from 2005 through 2016, making Mecachrome the sole engine supplier for the entire run of the series. The engine was supplied via lease on a serial-number basis to guarantee equal distribution. Pirelli became the official tyre supplier from 2011 onwards, having replaced Bridgestone, using the same front (245/660-R13) and rear (325/660-R13) compounds as Formula One. O.Z. Racing supplied wheel rims throughout the series' existence; Brembo provided brake calipers. The 2011-generation Dallara GP2/11 chassis was retained through 2017 to control costs, despite periodic plans to replace it earlier. Overall car weight was 688 kg including driver.
The scoring system was revised for 2012 to align more closely with Formula One practice: pole position earned four points, and fastest lap in each race was worth two additional points, raising the maximum score attainable in a round to 48 points.
GP2 became recognised as the most reliable pipeline to Formula One. Nico Rosberg, the 2005 champion, joined Williams for the 2006 F1 season; Lewis Hamilton, who won the 2006 title with ART Grand Prix, moved directly to McLaren and became Formula One world champion in only his second F1 season. Timo Glock followed his 2007 GP2 title with a Toyota seat; Nico Hülkenberg's 2009 championship led to a Williams race drive in 2010. Pastor Maldonado, Romain Grosjean, Davide Valsecchi, Fabio Leimer, Jolyon Palmer, Stoffel Vandoorne and Pierre Gasly are among the further champions who graduated to F1. By the end of the 2016 season, nine of twelve GP2 champions had secured Formula One seats — a 75 percent conversion rate.
Runners-up also reached the top tier in significant numbers: Heikki Kovalainen (2005), Nelson Piquet Jr. (2006) and Lucas di Grassi (2007) all became Renault test drivers before earning race seats, while Sergio Pérez's 2010 runner-up finish helped him land a Sauber drive. As of the 2020 Formula One season, 35 of the 174 drivers who competed in GP2 had raced in Formula One.
The inaugural 2005 season began at Imola in April and was won by Nico Rosberg, who also gave the series its only season using grooved tyres. Lewis Hamilton's dominant 2006 campaign for ART Grand Prix — including a title-clinching second place at Monza — made him the most celebrated GP2 graduate. The 2007 season concluded Timo Glock's title with a win in the Valencia stand-alone round after a close fight with Lucas di Grassi. Giorgio Pantano took the 2008 title for Racing Engineering in the first year of the revised GP2/08 chassis.
The 2009 championship was sealed by Nico Hülkenberg at Monza before the final round, a feat mirroring Hamilton's 2006 campaign. Pastor Maldonado won a record six consecutive feature races during his 2010 title run, clinching ahead of Sergio Pérez. Romain Grosjean, returning to GP2 after losing his 2010 Formula One seat, took the 2011 championship, the last season before the new GP2/11 chassis arrived.
From 2012, GP2 and the former GP2 Asia Series were merged into a single extended calendar. Pierre Gasly won the final GP2 title in 2016 driving for Prema Racing, which also claimed the teams' championship in their debut season.
GP2 established a model for spec feeder championships that combined cost control with credibility. Racing at the same venues and on the same weekends as Formula One gave it unmatched visibility, and the progression of multiple champions directly into competitive F1 machinery validated its quality as a training ground. Its rebranding as FIA Formula 2 in 2017 was a formal acknowledgment of its status as the official gateway to the world's premier single-seater series.
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