The 2015 GP3 Series was the sixth season of the third-tier of Formula One feeder championship and also sixth season under the moniker of GP3 Series, a motor racing feeder series that was run in support of the 2015 FIA Formula One World Championship and sister series GP2. Thirty-one drivers represented eight teams over the course of the season's nine rounds, starting in Spain on 9 May and ending in Abu Dhabi on 29 November. It was the final season for the Dallara GP3/13-AER P57 V6 chassis and engine package that debuted in 2013. A new Dallara-built chassis was introduced for 2016 along with a Mecachrome normally-aspirated V6 engine.

Esteban Ocon, the series champion.
2015 champion Esteban Ocon overtaking Emil Bernstorff

French driver Esteban Ocon (ART Grand Prix) finished the campaign as the drivers' champion after a season-long battle with Trident driver Luca Ghiotto. Despite winning only one race in 2015 – the first race in Barcelona – Ocon took fourteen podium finishes, including a run of nine successive runner-up placings over the mid-course of the season.[1] Ocon ultimately finished eight points clear of Ghiotto, who won a season-high five races. Another five-time winner, Marvin Kirchhöfer, completed the championship top three, some fifty-three points behind team-mate Ocon. The performances of Ocon and Kirchhöfer were more than enough for ART Grand Prix to regain the teams' championship title they had missed out on for the first time in 2014. Five other drivers took race victories during the 2015 season; Arden International pairing Emil Bernstorff and Kevin Ceccon each took two victories, while Jimmy Eriksson, Álex Palou and Óscar Tunjo each took sprint race victories, which were held with partially-reversed grids – an inversion of the top eight finishers in the previous day's feature race.

Teams and drivers

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The following teams competed in the 2015 season:[2]

Team No. Drivers Rounds
  Carlin[2] 1   Antonio Fuoco[3] All
2   Jann Mardenborough[4]         1–5, 7–8
  Adderly Fong[5] 9
3   Mitchell Gilbert[6] All
  ART Grand Prix[2] 4   Alfonso Celis Jr.[7] 1–5, 7–9
5   Marvin Kirchhöfer[8] All
6   Esteban Ocon[9] All
  Status Grand Prix[2][a] 7   Seb Morris[10] All
8   Alex Fontana[11] All
9   Sandy Stuvik[12] All
  Koiranen GP[2] 10   Adderly Fong[13] 1–5, 7
  Matevos Isaakyan[14] 8–9
11   Jimmy Eriksson[15] All
12   Matt Parry[13] All
  Arden International[2]         14   Kevin Ceccon[16] All
15   Emil Bernstorff[17] All
16   Aleksander Bosak[18] All
  Jenzer Motorsport[2] 20   Pål Varhaug[19] All
21   Mathéo Tuscher[20] All
22   Ralph Boschung[20] All
  Campos Racing[21] 23   Zaid Ashkanani[22] All
24   Álex Palou[22] All
25   Samin Gómez[23][b] 1–2, 4
  Christopher Höher[24] 3
  Brandon Maïsano[25] 6
  Konstantin Tereshchenko[26] 7–9
  Trident[2] 26   Artur Janosz[27] All
27   Luca Ghiotto[28] All
28   Óscar Tunjo[29] 1–3
  Beitske Visser[30] 5
  Amaury Bonduel[31] 6
  Michele Beretta[32] 7–9

Driver changes

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Changing teams

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Entering GP3

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Leaving GP3

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Team changes

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Calendar

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In December 2014, the full 2015 calendar was revealed with nine events.[42]

Round Circuit/Location Country Date Supporting
1 R1 Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, Barcelona   Spain 9 May Spanish Grand Prix
R2 10 May
2 R1 Red Bull Ring, Spielberg   Austria 20 June Austrian Grand Prix
R2 21 June
3 R1 Silverstone Circuit, Silverstone   United Kingdom 4 July British Grand Prix
R2 5 July
4 R1 Hungaroring, Budapest   Hungary 25 July Hungarian Grand Prix
R2 26 July
5 R1 Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps, Francorchamps   Belgium 22 August Belgian Grand Prix
R2 23 August
6 R1 Autodromo Nazionale Monza, Monza   Italy 5 September Italian Grand Prix
R2 6 September
7 R1 Sochi Autodrom, Sochi   Russia 11 October Russian Grand Prix
R2
8 R1 Bahrain International Circuit, Sakhir   Bahrain 20 November 6 Hours of Bahrain
R2 21 November
9 R1 Yas Marina Circuit, Abu Dhabi   United Arab Emirates 28 November Abu Dhabi Grand Prix
R2 29 November

Calendar changes

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Results

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Round Circuit Pole position Fastest lap[44] Winning driver Winning team Report
1 R1   Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya   Luca Ghiotto   Esteban Ocon   Esteban Ocon   ART Grand Prix Report
R2   Marvin Kirchhöfer           Marvin Kirchhöfer           ART Grand Prix
2 R1   Red Bull Ring   Luca Ghiotto   Luca Ghiotto   Luca Ghiotto   Trident Report
R2   Luca Ghiotto   Óscar Tunjo   Trident
3 R1   Silverstone Circuit   Marvin Kirchhöfer           Luca Ghiotto   Marvin Kirchhöfer   ART Grand Prix Report
R2   Kevin Ceccon   Kevin Ceccon   Arden International        
4 R1   Hungaroring   Luca Ghiotto   Luca Ghiotto   Luca Ghiotto   Trident Report
R2   Esteban Ocon   Kevin Ceccon   Arden International
5 R1   Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps           Luca Ghiotto   Luca Ghiotto   Emil Bernstorff   Arden International Report
R2   Luca Ghiotto   Luca Ghiotto   Trident
6 R1   Autodromo Nazionale Monza   Luca Ghiotto   Emil Bernstorff   Emil Bernstorff   Arden International Report
R2   Luca Ghiotto   Marvin Kirchhöfer   ART Grand Prix
7 R1   Sochi Autodrom   Esteban Ocon   Esteban Ocon   Luca Ghiotto   Trident Report
R2   Esteban Ocon   Jimmy Eriksson   Koiranen GP
8 R1   Bahrain International Circuit   Esteban Ocon   Luca Ghiotto   Marvin Kirchhöfer   ART Grand Prix Report
R2   Luca Ghiotto   Luca Ghiotto   Trident
9 R1   Yas Marina Circuit   Esteban Ocon   Esteban Ocon   Marvin Kirchhöfer   ART Grand Prix Report
R2   Álex Palou   Álex Palou   Campos Racing

Championship standings

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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
Position  1st   2nd   3rd   4th   5th   6th   7th   8th   9th   10th   Pole   FL 
Points 25 18 15 12 10 8 6 4 2 1 4 2
Race 2 points

Points were awarded to the top 8 classified finishers.

Position  1st   2nd   3rd   4th   5th   6th   7th   8th   FL 
Points 15 12 10 8 6 4 2 1 2

Drivers' championship

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Pos. Driver CAT
 
RBR
 
SIL
 
HUN
 
SPA
 
MNZ
 
SOC
 
BHR
 
YMC
 
Points
R1 R2 R1 R2 R1 R2 R1 R2 R1 R2 R1 R2 R1 R2 R1 R2 R1 R2
1   Esteban Ocon 1 7 3 DSQ 6 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 3 2 4 3 253
2   Luca Ghiotto 2 8 1 3 4 7 1 4 5 1 Ret 3 1 8 4 1 5 4 245
3   Marvin Kirchhöfer 5 1 6 2 1 8 3 5 3 Ret 4 1 9 7 1 6 1 7 200
4   Emil Bernstorff 3 5 4 4 2 6 4 Ret 1 Ret 1 Ret 3 6 2 4 2 6 194
5   Jimmy Eriksson 6 2 20† 10 5 4 6 6 13 16 5 5 8 1 5 7 3 5 118
6   Antonio Fuoco 8 4 2 Ret 18 23 8 Ret 4 Ret Ret 11 6 4 9 5 7 2 88
7   Kevin Ceccon 7 6 Ret DNS 7 1 7 1 Ret 13 3 4 Ret DNS 14 18 Ret 10 77
8   Matt Parry 13 9 13 7 3 5 5 3 Ret Ret DSQ Ret 7 Ret 11 3 6 24 67
9   Jann Mardenborough         4 3 5 13 17 15 Ret 17 Ret 12 5 3 7 Ret 58
10   Álex Palou 12 20 14 Ret Ret 13 19 18 7 5 7 10 4 9 Ret 10 8 1 51
11   Ralph Boschung Ret 14 8 8 8 3 13 8 9 8 9 7 11 DNS 10 9 12 11 28
12   Alfonso Celis Jr. 10 10 15 Ret 13 11 18 15 6 3 13 12 8 8 Ret 19 24
13   Mathéo Tuscher 14 13 12 DSQ 10 9 10 9 Ret 4 6 6 Ret Ret 12 Ret 16 14 22
14   Artur Janosz 15 12 21 9 9 17 16 Ret 12 7 16 Ret 10 5 6 12 10 9 20
15   Óscar Tunjo 16 11 9 1 11 10 17
16   Alex Fontana 9 16 10 6 19 18 14 13 10 6 8 16 19 11 19 19 15 13 16
17   Sandy Stuvik 18 17 7 Ret 22 20 22 14 Ret 17 11 8 16 17 13 Ret 17 16 7
18   Seb Morris Ret 24 19 5 15 12 12 12 Ret 14 DSQ Ret 14 10 16 Ret 13 15 6
19   Pål Varhaug 21 18 11 Ret 16 19 9 7 Ret 10 Ret 14 Ret 14 Ret Ret 11 8 5
20   Aleksander Bosak 19 23 16 15 14 16 17 19 8 Ret 15 Ret Ret 20 Ret 16 18 23 4
21   Matevos Isaakyan Ret 14 9 12 2
22   Mitchell Gilbert 22† 22 Ret 11 20 21 11 10 11 11 10 9 12 15 15 11 14 17 1
23   Adderly Fong 17 21 17 12 12 14 15 11 15 9 15 18 Ret 22 0
24   Zaid Ashkanani 11 15 18 14 21 22 20 16 14 18 13 15 20 19 17 13 19 21 0
25   Brandon Maïsano 12 13 0
26   Amaury Bonduel 14 12 0
27   Michele Beretta 18 13 20 15 20 18 0
28   Beitske Visser Ret 15 0
29   Konstantin Tereshchenko 17 16 18 17 Ret 20 0
30   Samin Gómez 20 19 Ret 16 21 Ret 0
31   Christopher Höher 23 24 0
Pos. Driver R1 R2 R1 R2 R1 R2 R1 R2 R1 R2 R1 R2 R1 R2 R1 R2 R1 R2 Points
CAT
 
RBR
 
SIL
 
HUN
 
SPA
 
MNZ
 
SOC
 
BHR
 
YMC
 
Key
Colour Result
Gold Winner
Silver 2nd place
Bronze 3rd place
Green Other points position
Blue Other classified position
Not classified, finished (NC)
Purple Not classified, retired (Ret)
Red Did not qualify (DNQ)
Did not pre-qualify (DNPQ)
Black Disqualified (DSQ)
White Did not start (DNS)
Race cancelled (C)
Blank Did not practice (DNP)
Excluded (EX)
Did not arrive (DNA)
Withdrawn (WD)
Text formatting Meaning
Bold Pole position point(s)
Italics Fastest lap point(s)
Notes
  • † — Drivers did not finish the race, but were classified as they completed over 90% of the race distance.

Teams' championship

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Pos. Team No. CAT
 
RBR
 
SIL
 
HUN
 
SPA
 
MNZ
 
SOC
 
BHR
 
YMC
 
Points
R1 R2 R1 R2 R1 R2 R1 R2 R1 R2 R1 R2 R1 R2 R1 R2 R1 R2
1   ART Grand Prix 4 10 10 15 Ret 13 11 18 15 6 3 13 12 8 8 Ret 19 477
5 5 1 6 2 1 8 3 5 3 Ret 4 1 9 7 1 6 1 7
6 1 7 3 DSQ 6 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 3 2 4 3
2   Trident 26 15 12 21 9 9 17 16 Ret 12 7 16 Ret 10 5 6 12 10 9 282
27 2 8 1 3 4 7 1 4 5 1 Ret 3 1 8 4 1 5 4
28 16 11 9 1 11 10 Ret 15 14 12 18 13 20 15 20 18
3   Arden International         14 7 6 Ret DNS 7 1 7 1 Ret 13 3 4 Ret DNS 14 18 Ret 10 275
15 3 5 4 4 2 6 4 Ret 1 Ret 1 Ret 3 6 2 4 2 6
16 19 23 16 15 14 16 17 19 8 Ret 15 Ret Ret 20 Ret 16 18 23
4   Koiranen GP 10 17 21 17 12 12 14 15 11 15 9 15 18 Ret 14 9 12 187
11 6 2 20† 10 5 4 6 6 13 16 5 5 8 1 5 7 3 5
12 13 9 13 7 3 5 5 3 Ret Ret DSQ Ret 7 Ret 11 3 6 24
5   Carlin 1 8 4 2 Ret 18 23 8 Ret 4 Ret Ret 11 6 4 9 5 7 2 147
2 4 3 5 13 17 15 Ret 17 Ret 12 5 3 7 Ret Ret 22
3 22† 22 Ret 11 20 21 11 10 11 11 10 9 12 15 15 11 14 17
6   Jenzer Motorsport 20 21 18 11 Ret 16 19 9 7 Ret 10 Ret 14 Ret 14 Ret Ret 11 8 55
21 14 13 12 DSQ 10 9 10 9 Ret 4 6 6 Ret Ret 12 Ret 16 14
22 Ret 14 8 8 8 3 13 8 9 8 9 7 11 DNS 10 9 12 11
7   Campos Racing 23 11 15 18 14 21 22 20 16 14 18 13 15 20 19 17 13 19 21 51
24 12 20 14 Ret Ret 13 19 18 7 5 7 10 4 9 Ret 10 8 1
25 20 19 Ret 16 23 24 21 Ret 12 13 17 16 18 17 Ret 20
8   Status Grand Prix 7 Ret 24 19 5 15 12 12 12 Ret 14 DSQ Ret 14 10 16 Ret 13 15 29
8 9 16 10 6 19 18 14 13 10 6 8 16 19 11 19 19 15 13
9 18 17 7 Ret 22 20 22 14 Ret 17 11 8 16 17 13 Ret 17 16
Pos. Team No. R1 R2 R1 R2 R1 R2 R1 R2 R1 R2 R1 R2 R1 R2 R1 R2 R1 R2 Points
CAT
 
RBR
 
SIL
 
HUN
 
SPA
 
MNZ
 
SOC
 
BHR
 
YMC
 

Footnotes

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  1. ^ Status Grand Prix competed under a Canadian license.
  2. ^ Gómez competed under a state Venezuelan racing licence.

References

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  1. ^ "Palou wins race as Esteban Ocon crowned 2015 champion". crash.net. Crash Media Group. 29 November 2015. Retrieved 14 May 2017.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h "GP3 Series announce line up for 2013–15". GP3Series.com. GP2 Series Limited. 1 October 2012. Archived from the original on 4 October 2012. Retrieved 1 October 2012.
  3. ^ a b "Fuoco to Carlin for GP3". GP3 Series. GP2 Series Limited. 23 January 2015. Retrieved 23 January 2015.
  4. ^ a b "Mardenborough completes Carlin GP3 line-up". GP3 Series. GP2 Series Limited. 18 March 2015. Retrieved 18 March 2015.
  5. ^ Allen, Peter (26 November 2015). "Mardenborough replaced by Fong at Carlin for GP3 finale". Paddock Scout. Retrieved 26 November 2015.
  6. ^ a b "Carlin add Gilbert to GP3 line-up". GP3 Series. GP2 Motorsport Limited. 13 February 2015. Retrieved 13 February 2015.
  7. ^ a b "ART GP announce Alfonso Celis.Jr as first driver for 2015". GP3 Series. GP2 Motorsport Limited. 9 January 2015. Retrieved 9 January 2015.
  8. ^ Simmons, Marcus (3 March 2015). "GP3 racer Marvin Kirchhofer to race in European F3 as well in 2015". Autosport. Haymarket. Retrieved 3 March 2015. Kirchhofer will also remain in GP3 for a second season with ART Grand Prix, and that this programme will take priority when there are any date clashes.
  9. ^ a b Simmons, Marcus (11 March 2015). "Esteban Ocon completes move into GP3 with ART". Autosport. Haymarket. Retrieved 11 March 2015.
  10. ^ a b "McLaren AUTOSPORT BRDC Award finalist Seb Morris to GP3 with Status". Autosport. Haymarket. 9 March 2015. Retrieved 9 March 2015.
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  12. ^ a b "Sandy Stuvik completes Status Gp3 line-up". GP3 Series. GP2 Series Limited. 10 March 2015. Retrieved 10 March 2015.
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  14. ^ Allen, Peter (18 November 2015). "Matevos Isaakyan gets GP3 chance with Koiranen in Bahrain". Paddock Scout. Retrieved 18 November 2015.
  15. ^ "Jimmy Eriksson joins Koiranen GP for 2014 campaign". GP3 Series. GP2 Motorsport Limited. 6 March 2014. Archived from the original on 11 March 2014. Retrieved 6 March 2014.
  16. ^ a b "Arden International confirms Ceccon for 2015 GP3 Series". GP3 Series. GP2 Series Limited. 4 March 2015. Retrieved 4 March 2015.
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  22. ^ a b c d Rook, Aaron (12 February 2015). "Alex Palou and Zaid Ashkanani Join Campos Racing in GP3". thecheckeredflag.co.uk. The Checkered Flag. Retrieved 12 February 2015.
  23. ^ Allen, Peter (7 May 2015). "Samin Gomez secures GP3 return with Campos Racing". Paddock Scout. Retrieved 7 May 2015.
  24. ^ "Campos Racing add Hoeher to Silverstone round line-up". GP3 Series. GP2 Motorsport Limited. 1 July 2015. Retrieved 1 July 2015.
  25. ^ Allen, Peter (1 September 2015). "Brandon Maisano joins Campos GP3 squad for Monza". PaddockScout. Retrieved 1 September 2015.
  26. ^ Allen, Peter (7 October 2015). "Konstantin Tereshchenko to do Sochi GP3 round with Campos". PaddockScout. Retrieved 7 October 2015.
  27. ^ a b "Trident adds Artur Janosz to GP3 line-up". GP3 Series. GP2 Motorsport Limited. 2 March 2015. Retrieved 2 March 2015.
  28. ^ Costa, Massimo (9 January 2015). "Ghiotto e Trident trovano l'accordo" [Agreement between Ghiotto and Trident]. ItaliaRacing.net (in Italian). Inpagina. Retrieved 9 January 2015.
  29. ^ a b Khorounzhiy, Valentin (16 March 2015). "Oscar Tunjo secures GP3 drive with Trident". PaddockScout. Retrieved 16 March 2015.
  30. ^ "Trident set to field Beitske Visser". GP3 Series. GP2 Motorsport limited. 19 August 2015. Retrieved 20 August 2015.
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  32. ^ Allen, Peter (8 October 2015). "Michele Beretta Joins Trident GP3 Team for Sochi". Paddock Scout.com. Retrieved 13 October 2015.
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  34. ^ Hensby, Paul (12 February 2015). "Briton Stoneman joins Red Bull Stable". thecheckeredflag.co.uk. The Checkered Flag. Retrieved 12 February 2015.
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  36. ^ David, Gruz (16 March 2015). "GP3 graduate Niederhauser enters Lamborghini Super Trofeo". PaddockScout. Retrieved 16 March 2015.
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  38. ^ "Robert Visoiu completes Rapax 2015 line up". GP2 Series. GP2 Motorsport Limited. 6 March 2015. Archived from the original on 9 March 2015. Retrieved 6 March 2015.
  39. ^ "Bristol Sport racing driver Dino Zamparelli ready to take on Porsche Carrera Cup challenge". Bristol Post. Local World. 9 January 2015. Archived from the original on 12 January 2015. Retrieved 12 January 2015.
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