2005 Italian Grand Prix in third on 86 and Toyota fourth on 78. There were no retirements during the race, a feat that had not been achieved in Formula One with a full field since the 1961 Dutch Grand Prix, and would not be achieved again until the 2011 European Grand Prix. The 2005 United States Grand Prix is also considered to have had no retirements; however, only six cars started due to problems with the supply of Michelin tyres, which led to the mass withdrawal of all teams running on those tyres due to safety issues. Pizzonia replaced Nick Heidfeld for the rest
A1 Grand Prix executive directors Brian Menell and Tony Teixeira were appointed to oversee the sale of franchises for the operation of international teams. Thirty franchises were made available; twenty-three of them were restricted to specified nations, while the other seven were opened to tender for nations that had not been initially targeted. Twenty-five of the franchises were purchased in time for the 2005–06 A1 Grand Prix season, which began on 25 September 2005 with the A1 Grand Prix of Nations Great Britain at the Brands Hatch circuit in Kent, United Kingdom. The first season was planned for 12 rounds (24 races, with