2016 GP3 Series

The 2016 GP3 Series was the seventh season of the third-tier of Formula One feeder championship and also seventh season under the moniker of GP3 Series, a motor racing feeder series that runs in support of the 2016 FIA Formula One World Championship and sister series GP2. In keeping with the series' philosophy of updating its technical regulations every three years, the Dallara GP3/13 chassis introduced in the 2013 season was discontinued and Dallara supplied all teams with a new model known as the GP3/16, which will be used until 2018.^[1]

Mecachrome took over as official engine supplier of the series from 2016 onwards, replacing AER after three years but the 3.4-litre V6 naturally-aspirated would remain.

ART Grand Prix started the season as the defending teams' champions, and successfully defended their title, securing the championship after the first race at Monza.^[2] Monegasque driver Charles Leclerc, who drove for ART Grand Prix, won the drivers' title after the first race in the final round in Abu Dhabi.^[3]

The most races were won by runner-up Alexander Albon, who scored 4 race wins, he lost the title by 25 points to his ART Grand Prix teammate Charles Leclerc who took 3 feature race wins; Antonio Fuoco took 2 race wins, Jake Dennis and Nyck de Vries also took 2 podiums each on the top step. Jake Hughes took 2 sprint race wins; he won in Hockenheim and Yas Marina. Jack Aitken, Matthew Parry, and Ralph Boschung each took 1 race win during the season.

Teams and drivers

Teams are allowed to run four cars to compensate for the drop in the number of entries.^[4] The starting grid for any individual race meeting may contain a possible maximum of 28 cars across seven teams.

Driver changes

Entering GP3

Alexander Albon, who finished seventh in the 2015 European Formula 3 season, entered the series, with ART Grand Prix.^[8]
Giuliano Alesi, son of former Formula One driver Jean Alesi, graduated to the series from French F4 with Trident, with backing from Scuderia Ferrari.^[10]
2015 Formula Renault 2.0 Alps runner-up Jake Hughes, 2015 Formula Renault 2.0 NEC runner-up Kevin Jörg and European Formula 3 driver Santino Ferrucci joined the series with newcomers DAMS.
Jake Dennis, who finished third in the 2015 European Formula 3 season, entered the series with Arden International.^[11]
Matevos Isaakyan, who contested the last two rounds of the 2015 season for Koiranen GP, moved to the series full-time with the team.^[16]
2015 Euroformula Open runner-up Konstantin Tereshchenko and 2015 Renault Sport Trophy runner-up Steijn Schothorst joined the series with Campos Racing.^[25]
2015 Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0 and Alps champion Jack Aitken graduated to the series with Arden.
2015 European Formula 3 entrant and 2015–16 MRF Challenge runner-up Tatiana Calderón entered the series with Arden International.^[12]
Nirei Fukuzumi, who finished fourth in Japanese F3 in 2015, stepped up to the series with ART Grand Prix.^[7]
European Formula 3 driver Mahaveer Raghunathan joined the series with Koiranen.
2015 European Formula 3 rookie champion Charles Leclerc, who finished fourth, entered the series with ART, with backing from Scuderia Ferrari.^[6]
2015 MotorSport Vision Formula Three Cup and Asian Le Mans Series runner-up Akash Nandy moved to the series with Jenzer Motorsport.^[19]
McLaren junior driver Nyck de Vries, who finished third in the 2015 Formula Renault 3.5 Series season, joined the series with ART Grand Prix.^[9]

Changing teams

Antonio Fuoco and Sandy Stuvik, who raced with Carlin and Status Grand Prix in 2015 respectively, switched to Trident.^[10]
Ralph Boschung, who raced with Jenzer in 2015, moved to Koiranen.
Óscar Tunjo, who won race at Spielberg with Trident in 2015, switched to Jenzer.^[21]

Leaving GP3

Aleksander Bosak, who competed for Arden International in the 2015 season, switched to Formula V8 3.5 with Pons Racing.^[27]
2015 runner-up Luca Ghiotto left the series to continue his collaboration with Trident in GP2 Series, while Marvin Kirchhöfer, who finished behind Ghiotto also graduated to GP2 with Carlin.^[28]
Jann Mardenborough, who finished ninth for Carlin in 2015, left the series to compete in both Super GT and All-Japan F3.^[29]
Seb Morris, who raced with Status Grand Prix in the 2015 season, left the series to race in British GT with Team Parker Racing.^[30]
2015 season champion Esteban Ocon left the series as the reigning champion is not permitted to continue competing in the series. He joined the DTM with Mercedes-Benz.^[31]

Mid-season changes

European Formula 3 driver Arjun Maini replaced Óscar Tunjo at Jenzer Motorsport from the Silverstone round onwards.^[23]
Ralph Boschung was replaced by 2015 SMP F4 Championship winner Niko Kari, for the Spa round, with the team citing financial reasons for the decision.^[18]
Alessio Lorandi joined Jenzer Motorsport for the last two rounds at Sepang and Yas Marina.^[22]

Team changes

After having competed in the series since its inaugural season, Carlin and Status Grand Prix left the championship due to lack of sponsorships.
DAMS, which operates across multiple single-seater championships, left Formula Renault 3.5 Series to join the GP3 series.^[5]
Virtuosi Racing were scheduled to enter, but were removed from the entry list before the season.^[5]

Calendar

On 4 March 2016, the full calendar was revealed with nine rounds taking place.^[32]

Calendar changes

The series will return to the Hockenheimring in support of the German Grand Prix, and will make its début at the Sepang International Circuit.
The rounds at the Sochi Autodrom and the Bahrain International Circuit were discontinued for the 2016 season.

Results

Season summary

Championship standings

Scoring system

Points were awarded to the top 10 classified finishers in the race 1, and to the top 8 classified finishers in the race 2. The pole-sitter in the race 1 also received four points, and two points were given to the driver who set the fastest lap inside the top ten in both the race 1 and race 2. No extra points were awarded to the pole-sitter in the race 2.

Race 1 points

Race 2 points

Points were awarded to the top 8 classified finishers.

Drivers' championship

Notes:

† — Drivers did not finish the race, but were classified as they completed over 90% of the race distance.

Teams' championship

Only three best-finishing cars are allowed to score points in the championship.^[34]

Notes:

† — Drivers did not finish the race, but were classified as they completed over 90% of the race distance.

Footnotes

^ Alexander Albon set the fastest lap, but did not finish in the top 10, so was ineligible to be the point-scorer for the fastest lap. Jake Dennis was the point-scorer instead for setting the fastest lap of those finishing in the top 10.
^ Nyck de Vries set the fastest lap, but did not finish in the top 10, so was ineligible to be the point-scorer for the fastest lap. Jake Dennis was the point-scorer instead for setting the fastest lap of those finishing in the top 10.
^ Antonio Fuoco set the fastest lap, but did not finish in the top 10, so was ineligible to be the point-scorer for the fastest lap. Jake Dennis was the point-scorer instead for setting the fastest lap of those finishing in the top 10.

References

^ "GP3 Series increases number of cars per team". gp3series.com. 13 November 2015. Retrieved 24 November 2015.
^ Smith, Luke (3 September 2016). "ART seals GP3 Series teams' title with five races to spare". NBC Sports. NBCUniversal. Retrieved 4 September 2016.
^ Allen, Peter (26 November 2016). "Leclerc is GP3 champion despite collision as De Vries wins". formulascout.com. Retrieved 14 May 2017.
^ Rook, Aaron (13 November 2015). "GP3 Series teams allowed to run four cars in 2016". Autosport.com. Haymarket Media. Retrieved 13 November 2015.
^ a b c d e f g h i Bradley, Charley (1 October 2015). "DAMS and Virtuosi join 2016 grid as Carlin and Status exit". Motorsport.com. Retrieved 2 October 2015.
^ a b "Charles Leclerc completes ART GP line-up". GP3 Series. GP2 Series Limited. 29 February 2016. Retrieved 29 February 2016.
^ a b "Fukuzumi joins ART Grand Prix". GP3 Series. GP2 Series Limited. 12 February 2016. Retrieved 12 February 2016.
^ a b "Albon named as ART Grand Prix driver for 2016". February 26, 2016. Retrieved February 26, 2016.
^ a b "Nyck de Vries confirmed at ART Grand Prix". GP3 Series. GP2 Series Limited. 24 February 2016. Retrieved 24 February 2016.
^ a b c d e f "Trident announces 2016 GP3 Series roster". GP3 Series. GP2 Series Limited. 1 February 2016. Retrieved 1 February 2016.
^ a b Khorounzhiy, Valentin (11 December 2015). "Dennis enters GP3 with Arden, secures Le Mans drive". Motorsport.com. Retrieved 11 December 2015.
^ a b "Arden International sign Tatiana Calderon for 2016 season". GP3 Series. GP2 Series Limited. 8 February 2016. Retrieved 8 February 2016.
^ "FR2.0 Champion Aitken joins Arden in GP3 title pursuit". GP3 Series. GP2 Series Limited. 25 January 2016. Retrieved 25 January 2016.
^ Allen, Peter (17 December 2015). "Matt Parry sticks with Koiranen for 2016 GP3 season". Paddock Scout. Retrieved 17 December 2015.
^ "Auto GP Formula Open 2016 The Indian Raghunathan (17 Years) At The Start Of The Season". 21 February 2016. Archived from the original on 16 November 2020. Retrieved 24 February 2016. Raghunathan, in addition to Auto GP, will also attend the GP3 with the team Koiranen.
^ a b "Koiranen GP's 2016 program". Koiranen GP. 14 December 2015. Archived from the original on 2015-12-22. Retrieved 14 December 2015.
^ "Boschung completes Koiranen GP line-up". 22 March 2016. Retrieved 23 March 2016.
^ a b Allen, Peter (25 August 2016). "Kari in for Boschung for Spa GP3 round, Tunjo returns". Paddock Scout. Retrieved 26 August 2016.
^ a b "Akash Nandy in der GP3 Series" [Akash Nandy in the GP3 Series]. Jenzer Motorsport (in German). 26 February 2016. Archived from the original on 5 March 2016. Retrieved 26 February 2016.
^ David, Gruz (4 April 2016). "Richard Gonda becomes Jenzer's third signing in GP3". Paddockscout.com. Retrieved 4 April 2016.
^ a b c Khorounzhiy, Valentin (1 April 2016). "Tunjo to make GP3 return with Jenzer". Motorsport.com. Archived from the original on 20 December 2016. Retrieved 1 April 2016.
^ a b "Alessio Lorandi joins Jenzer Motorsport". GP3 Series. 23 September 2016. Retrieved 23 September 2016.
^ a b Khorounzhiy, Valentin (6 July 2016). "Maini in for Tunjo at Jenzer". motorsport.com. Archived from the original on 7 July 2018. Retrieved 6 July 2016.
^ "Adrián Campos capta al mejor socio en la antesala de la Fórmula 1" (in Spanish). El Confidencial. 20 January 2016. Retrieved 20 January 2016.
^ a b c "Campos Racing announce 2016 line up". GP3 Series. GP2 Series Limited. 21 January 2016. Retrieved 21 January 2016.
^ a b c "DAMS puts faith in impressive all-rookie line-up for maiden GP3 Series campaign". GP3 Series. GP2 Series Limited. 28 January 2016. Retrieved 28 January 2016.
^ David, Gruz (25 January 2016). "Visser and Bosak team up with Pons for Formula V8 3.5 season". Paddock Scout. Retrieved 25 January 2016.
^ "Kirchhofer graduates to GP2 with Carlin". Motorsport.com. 8 March 2016. Archived from the original on 9 May 2016. Retrieved 8 March 2016.
^ Simmons, Marcus (26 February 2016). "Jann Mardenborough returns to Formula 3 in Japanese Championship". Autosport. Haymarket. Archived from the original on 3 March 2016. Retrieved 26 February 2016.
^ Ladbrook, Rob (3 February 2016). "GP3 racer Seb Morris joins Bentley's factory British GT effort". Autosport. Haymarket. Retrieved 3 February 2016.
^ "Esteban Ocon completes 2016 DTM line-up for Mercedes". TouringCarTimes.com. Mediaempire Stockholm AB. 11 February 2016. Retrieved 12 February 2016.
^ "GP3 Series 2016 season calendar unveiled". gp3series.com. GP2 Motorsport Limited. 4 March 2016. Retrieved 4 March 2016.
^ "GP3 Fastest laps". results.motorsportstats.com. Motorsport Stats. Archived from the original on 25 July 2020. Retrieved 25 July 2020.
^ Vinel, Benjamin (15 March 2016). "GP3 teams to score points with three cars only". motorsport.com. Archived from the original on 20 December 2016. Retrieved 14 May 2016.

External links

Official website