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]

Charles Leclerc (pictured in 2019), the series champion.
ART Grand Prix started the season as the defending teams' champions.

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 edit

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.

Team No. Driver name Rounds
  ART Grand Prix[5] 1   Charles Leclerc[6] All
2   Nirei Fukuzumi[7] All
3   Alexander Albon[8] All
4   Nyck de Vries[9] All
  Trident[5] 5   Antonio Fuoco[10] All
6   Artur Janosz[10] All
7   Giuliano Alesi[10] All
8   Sandy Stuvik[10] All
  Arden International[5] 9   Jake Dennis[11] All
10   Tatiana Calderón[12] All
11   Jack Aitken[13] All
  Koiranen GP[5] 14   Matt Parry[14] All
15   Mahaveer Raghunathan[15] 1
16   Matevos Isaakyan[16] All
17   Ralph Boschung[17] 1–5, 7
  Niko Kari[18] 6
  Jenzer Motorsport[5] 18   Akash Nandy[19] All
19   Richard Gonda[20] 1–2, 4
  Óscar Tunjo[21] 6
  Alessio Lorandi[22] 8–9
20   Óscar Tunjo [21] 1–2
  Arjun Maini[23] 3–9
  Campos Racing[5] 22   Álex Palou[24] All
23   Steijn Schothorst[25] All
24   Konstantin Tereshchenko[25] All
  DAMS[5] 26   Santino Ferrucci[26] All
27   Jake Hughes[26] All
28   Kevin Jörg[26] All

Driver changes edit

Entering GP3
Changing teams
Leaving GP3
Mid-season changes

Team changes edit

  • 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 edit

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

Round Circuit/Location Country Date Supporting
1 R1 Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, Barcelona   Spain 14 May Spanish Grand Prix
R2 15 May
2 R1 Red Bull Ring, Spielberg   Austria 2 July Austrian Grand Prix
R2 3 July
3 R1 Silverstone Circuit, Silverstone   United Kingdom 9 July British Grand Prix
R2 10 July
4 R1 Hungaroring, Budapest   Hungary 23 July Hungarian Grand Prix
R2 24 July
5 R1 Hockenheimring, Hockenheim   Germany 30 July German Grand Prix
R2 31 July
6 R1 Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps, Francorchamps   Belgium 27 August Belgian Grand Prix
R2 28 August
7 R1 Autodromo Nazionale Monza, Monza   Italy 3 September Italian Grand Prix
R2 4 September
8 R1 Sepang International Circuit, Sepang   Malaysia 1 October Malaysian Grand Prix
R2 2 October
9 R1 Yas Marina Circuit, Abu Dhabi   United Arab Emirates 26 November Abu Dhabi Grand Prix
R2 27 November

Calendar changes edit

Results edit

Season summary edit

Round Circuit Pole position Fastest lap[33] Winning driver Winning team Report
1 R1   Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya   Jake Hughes   Charles Leclerc   Charles Leclerc   ART Grand Prix Report
R2   Óscar Tunjo   Alexander Albon   ART Grand Prix
2 R1   Red Bull Ring   Charles Leclerc   Charles Leclerc   Charles Leclerc   ART Grand Prix Report
R2   Ralph Boschung   Ralph Boschung   Koiranen GP
3 R1   Silverstone Circuit   Alexander Albon   Alexander Albon   Alexander Albon   ART Grand Prix Report
R2   Alexander Albon[a]   Antonio Fuoco   Trident
4 R1   Hungaroring   Nyck de Vries   Nyck de Vries[b]   Matt Parry   Koiranen GP Report
R2   Alexander Albon   Alexander Albon   ART Grand Prix
5 R1   Hockenheimring   Alexander Albon   Charles Leclerc   Antonio Fuoco   Trident Report
R2   Jake Hughes   Jake Hughes   DAMS
6 R1   Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps   Charles Leclerc   Charles Leclerc   Charles Leclerc   ART Grand Prix Report
R2   Jack Aitken   Jack Aitken   Arden International
7 R1   Autodromo Nazionale Monza   Charles Leclerc   Jake Hughes   Jake Dennis   Arden International Report
R2   Nyck de Vries   Nyck de Vries   ART Grand Prix
8 R1   Sepang International Circuit   Charles Leclerc   Alexander Albon   Alexander Albon   ART Grand Prix Report
R2   Antonio Fuoco[c]   Jake Dennis   Arden International
9 R1   Yas Marina Circuit   Alexander Albon   Jack Aitken   Nyck de Vries   ART Grand Prix Report
R2   Jake Dennis   Jake Hughes   DAMS

Championship standings edit

Scoring system edit

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 edit

Pos. Driver CAT
 
RBR
 
SIL
 
HUN
 
HOC
 
SPA
 
MNZ
 
SEP
 
YMC
 
Points
R1 R2 R1 R2 R1 R2 R1 R2 R1 R2 R1 R2 R1 R2 R1 R2 R1 R2
1   Charles Leclerc 1 9 1 Ret 2 3 6 3 5 3 1 6 4 Ret 3 5 Ret 9 202
2   Alexander Albon 6 1 2 2 1 14 7 1 4 Ret 9 10 6 2 1 8 Ret Ret 177
3   Antonio Fuoco 4 3 5 3 3 1 2 10 1 18† 4 2 8 3 8 Ret 16 17 157
4   Jake Dennis 7 4 Ret Ret 12 9 3 7 12 6 2 5 1 4 6 1 2 4 149
5   Jack Aitken 20 19 9 5 13 6 9 6 6 2 5 1 2 5 2 3 3 2 148
6   Nyck de Vries 9 5 3 4 5 8 20 13 2 8 3 8 7 1 13 6 1 11 133
7   Nirei Fukuzumi 3 13 7 Ret 11 7 4 4 Ret 11 Ret 15 5 Ret 7 2 5 3 91
8   Jake Hughes 2 8 8 6 Ret 17 23 19 8 1 Ret Ret 3 10 Ret 12 7 1 90
9   Matt Parry 12 20 6 7 4 16 1 5 3 7 Ret Ret 9 17 9 4 Ret 12 82
10   Arjun Maini 8 19 8 2 7 5 Ret 16 14 6 4 7 14 14 50
11   Ralph Boschung 10 10 4 1 6 12 5 22 15 Ret 18 9 48
12   Santino Ferrucci 15 11 15 10 18 4 15 11 9 4 7 3 19† 11 Ret Ret 9 15 36
13   Steijn Schothorst Ret 22 20 12 14 5 22 20 Ret 17 6 7 13 13 5 10 6 7 36
14   Kevin Jörg 5 7 13 14 15 11 10 9 14 10 11 Ret NC 12 12 11 4 8 26
15   Álex Palou 19 14 16 11 10 2 11 14 16 19† 13 11 11 7 14 19 10 5 22
16   Óscar Tunjo 8 2 14 13 15 DNS 18
17   Matevos Isaakyan 11 6 Ret Ret 21 18 12 8 Ret 13 8 4 Ret Ret 15 14 Ret 16 17
18   Sandy Stuvik 18 15 10 8 7 10 18 18 Ret 12 Ret 17† 12 15 10 20 15 18 9
19   Konstantin Tereshchenko 17 21 18 Ret 20 13 16 17 Ret 15 17 Ret 17 14 17 17 8 6 8
20   Artur Janosz 16 12 11 9 9 15 14 12 11 Ret 12 9 16 8 Ret 16 Ret 19 3
21   Tatiana Calderón 14 18 17 Ret 17 20 21 21 10 9 14 Ret 10 16 Ret 15 Ret Ret 2
22   Giuliano Alesi 22 16 DNS DNS 16 Ret 19 16 Ret 14 10 12 DNS 19 16 13 11 10 1
23   Alessio Lorandi 11 9 12 20 0
24   Akash Nandy 21 23 12 Ret 19 21 17 Ret 13 16 16 13 15 18 Ret 18 13 13 0
25   Richard Gonda 13 17 19 Ret 13 15 0
26   Niko Kari Ret 14 0
27   Mahaveer Raghunathan 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
 
HOC
 
SPA
 
MNZ
 
SEP
 
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 edit

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

Pos. Team CAT
 
RBR
 
SIL
 
HUN
 
HOC
 
SPA
 
MNZ
 
SEP
 
YMC
 
Points
R1 R2 R1 R2 R1 R2 R1 R2 R1 R2 R1 R2 R1 R2 R1 R2 R1 R2
1   ART Grand Prix 1 1 1 2 1 3 4 1 2 3 1 6 4 1 1 2 1 3 588
3 5 2 4 2 7 6 3 4 8 3 8 5 2 3 5 5 9
6 9 3 Ret 5 8 7 4 5 11 9 10 6 Ret 7 6 Ret 11
2   Arden International 7 4 9 5 12 6 3 6 6 2 2 1 1 4 2 1 2 2 297
14 18 17 Ret 13 9 9 7 10 6 5 5 2 5 6 3 3 4
20 19 Ret Ret 17 20 21 21 12 9 Ret Ret 10 16 Ret 15 Ret Ret
3   Trident 4 3 5 3 3 1 2 10 1 12 4 2 8 3 8 13 11 10 170
16 12 10 8 7 10 14 12 11 14 10 9 12 8 10 16 15 17
18 15 11 9 9 15 18 16 Ret Ret 12 12 16 15 16 20 16 18
4   DAMS 2 7 8 6 15 4 10 9 8 1 7 3 3 10 12 11 4 1 152
5 8 13 10 18 11 15 11 9 4 11 Ret 19† 11 Ret 12 7 8
15 11 15 14 Ret 17 23 19 14 10 Ret Ret NC 12 Ret Ret 9 15
5   Koiranen GP 10 6 4 1 4 12 1 5 3 7 8 4 9 9 9 4 Ret 12 147
11 10 6 7 5 16 5 8 15 13 Ret 14 18 17 15 14 Ret 16
12 20 Ret Ret 21 18 12 22 Ret Ret Ret Ret Ret Ret
6   Jenzer Motorsport 8 2 12 13 8 19 8 2 7 5 15 13 14 6 4 7 12 13 68
13 17 14 Ret 19 21 13 15 13 16 16 16 15 18 11 9 13 14
21 23 19 Ret 17 Ret Ret DNS Ret 18 14 20
7   Campos Racing 17 14 16 11 10 2 11 14 16 15 6 7 11 7 5 10 6 5 66
19 21 18 12 14 5 16 17 Ret 17 13 11 13 13 14 17 8 6
Ret 22 20 Ret 20 13 22 20 Ret Ret 17 Ret 17 14 17 19 10 7
Pos. Team R1 R2 R1 R2 R1 R2 R1 R2 R1 R2 R1 R2 R1 R2 R1 R2 R1 R2 Points
CAT
 
RBR
 
SIL
 
HUN
 
HOC
 
SPA
 
MNZ
 
SEP
 
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.

Footnotes edit

  1. ^ 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.
  2. ^ 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.
  3. ^ 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 edit

  1. ^ "GP3 Series increases number of cars per team". gp3series.com. 13 November 2015. Retrieved 24 November 2015.
  2. ^ Smith, Luke (3 September 2016). "ART seals GP3 Series teams' title with five races to spare". NBC Sports. NBCUniversal. Retrieved 4 September 2016.
  3. ^ Allen, Peter (26 November 2016). "Leclerc is GP3 champion despite collision as De Vries wins". formulascout.com. Retrieved 14 May 2017.
  4. ^ Rook, Aaron (13 November 2015). "GP3 Series teams allowed to run four cars in 2016". Autosport.com. Haymarket Media. Retrieved 13 November 2015.
  5. ^ 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.
  6. ^ a b "Charles Leclerc completes ART GP line-up". GP3 Series. GP2 Series Limited. 29 February 2016. Retrieved 29 February 2016.
  7. ^ a b "Fukuzumi joins ART Grand Prix". GP3 Series. GP2 Series Limited. 12 February 2016. Retrieved 12 February 2016.
  8. ^ a b "Albon named as ART Grand Prix driver for 2016". February 26, 2016. Retrieved February 26, 2016.
  9. ^ a b "Nyck de Vries confirmed at ART Grand Prix". GP3 Series. GP2 Series Limited. 24 February 2016. Retrieved 24 February 2016.
  10. ^ a b c d e f "Trident announces 2016 GP3 Series roster". GP3 Series. GP2 Series Limited. 1 February 2016. Retrieved 1 February 2016.
  11. ^ a b Khorounzhiy, Valentin (11 December 2015). "Dennis enters GP3 with Arden, secures Le Mans drive". Motorsport.com. Retrieved 11 December 2015.
  12. ^ a b "Arden International sign Tatiana Calderon for 2016 season". GP3 Series. GP2 Series Limited. 8 February 2016. Retrieved 8 February 2016.
  13. ^ "FR2.0 Champion Aitken joins Arden in GP3 title pursuit". GP3 Series. GP2 Series Limited. 25 January 2016. Retrieved 25 January 2016.
  14. ^ Allen, Peter (17 December 2015). "Matt Parry sticks with Koiranen for 2016 GP3 season". Paddock Scout. Retrieved 17 December 2015.
  15. ^ "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.
  16. ^ a b "Koiranen GP's 2016 program". Koiranen GP. 14 December 2015. Archived from the original on 2015-12-22. Retrieved 14 December 2015.
  17. ^ "Boschung completes Koiranen GP line-up". 22 March 2016. Retrieved 23 March 2016.
  18. ^ a b Allen, Peter (25 August 2016). "Kari in for Boschung for Spa GP3 round, Tunjo returns". Paddock Scout. Retrieved 26 August 2016.
  19. ^ 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.
  20. ^ David, Gruz (4 April 2016). "Richard Gonda becomes Jenzer's third signing in GP3". Paddockscout.com. Retrieved 4 April 2016.
  21. ^ 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.
  22. ^ a b "Alessio Lorandi joins Jenzer Motorsport". GP3 Series. 23 September 2016. Retrieved 23 September 2016.
  23. ^ 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.
  24. ^ "Adrián Campos capta al mejor socio en la antesala de la Fórmula 1" (in Spanish). El Confidencial. 20 January 2016. Retrieved 20 January 2016.
  25. ^ a b c "Campos Racing announce 2016 line up". GP3 Series. GP2 Series Limited. 21 January 2016. Retrieved 21 January 2016.
  26. ^ 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.
  27. ^ David, Gruz (25 January 2016). "Visser and Bosak team up with Pons for Formula V8 3.5 season". Paddock Scout. Retrieved 25 January 2016.
  28. ^ "Kirchhofer graduates to GP2 with Carlin". Motorsport.com. 8 March 2016. Archived from the original on 9 May 2016. Retrieved 8 March 2016.
  29. ^ 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.
  30. ^ Ladbrook, Rob (3 February 2016). "GP3 racer Seb Morris joins Bentley's factory British GT effort". Autosport. Haymarket. Retrieved 3 February 2016.
  31. ^ "Esteban Ocon completes 2016 DTM line-up for Mercedes". TouringCarTimes.com. Mediaempire Stockholm AB. 11 February 2016. Retrieved 12 February 2016.
  32. ^ "GP3 Series 2016 season calendar unveiled". gp3series.com. GP2 Motorsport Limited. 4 March 2016. Retrieved 4 March 2016.
  33. ^ "GP3 Fastest laps". results.motorsportstats.com. Motorsport Stats. Archived from the original on 25 July 2020. Retrieved 25 July 2020.
  34. ^ 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 edit