Category Single seaters Inaugural season 2010 Teams 7 | Country International Drivers 28 | |
 | ||
The GP3 Series, or GP3 for short, is a single seater motor racing series launched in 2010 as a feeder series for the GP2 Series, introduced by GP2 organiser Bruno Michel.
Contents
- GP3 Series cars
- Dallara GP310
- Dallara GP313
- Dallara GP316
- Specifications
- Race weekend
- 20102011
- 2012 onwards
- Teams and drivers
- Champions
- Drivers graduated to GP2
- Drivers graduated to Formula One
- 2010
- 2011
- 2012
- 2013
- 2014
- 2015
- 2016
- 2017
- Television rights
- References
GP3 follows the entire European leg of the Formula One series and the GP2 series as a support race for the two. In 2012, the series visited the Monaco street circuit after 2 years of attempts, as they were always unable to beforehand due to lack of room. Like the GP2 series, GP3 gives drivers the experience of the Grand Prix environment, and takes advantage of the infrastructure, such as marshals and medical facilities, in place for the Formula One events.
Many drivers have since stepped up to GP2 since the series began, with the 2010 champion Esteban Gutiérrez, Pål Varhaug and ninth-place finisher Stefano Coletti being the first to do so for the 2011 season. 2011 champion Valtteri Bottas did not follow suit however, and instead joined Williams F1 as a reserve driver. Meanwhile, James Calado, Rio Haryanto, Simon Trummer, Tom Dillmann and Nigel Melker all joined GP2 for the 2012 season. Other drivers who have graduated to other series are James Jakes who moved to the IndyCar Series for 2011, Josef Newgarden to the Indy Lights series in 2011 and Alexander Rossi and Robert Wickens who moved to the Formula Renault 3.5 Series in 2011 and Lewis Williamson in 2012.
In the series' short history, nine drivers have gone on to compete, or are competing in Formula One currently after GP3. These include former champions Gutiérrez, Kvyat, Bottas and Ocon for Sauber, Red Bull Racing, Williams and Manor respectively, Jean-Éric Vergne and Carlos Sainz Jr. for Toro Rosso.
GP3 Series cars
The GP3 Series car is a standardised car used by all of the competing teams.
Dallara GP3/10
For the 2010-2012 seasons, the GP3 series used the GP3/10 chassis.
Dallara GP3/13
For the 2013-2015 seasons, the GP3 series used the GP3/13 chassis.
Dallara GP3/16
The series uses another new chassis for the 2016 season, and will continued to be used until 2019.
Specifications
Race weekend
A race weekend features one 45-minute practice session on Friday, and one 30-minute qualifying session on Saturday, followed by two races. The qualifying session is a straight fight for the fastest laptime, and determines the order of the grid for Saturday's Race 1.
Race 2 is on Sunday. The grid is decided by the Saturday result with top 8 being reversed, so the driver who finished 8th on Saturday will start from pole position and the winner will start from 8th place.
The distance of each race is decided prior to the event, however, should 30 minutes elapse before the designated number of laps are completed the lead driver will be shown the chequered flag.
2010–2011
With this points system, the most number of points anyone can score in one round is 20 by claiming pole position, winning both races with the fastest lap in each race.
No driver ever did manage to get maximum points with this system. The closest drivers who have done so are Esteban Gutiérrez at the 2010 British round, who managed pole position for the feature race, won the feature race and got the fastest lap, and then came third in the sprint race, which equals a total of 17 points. Valtteri Bottas at the 2011 Hungarian round achieved pole position and won the feature race, and then came second in the sprint race, also totaling 17 points.
2012 onwards
With this points system, the most number of points anyone can score in one round is 48 by claiming pole position, winning both races with the fastest lap in each race.
So far throughout the new points system, no driver has achieved the maximum amount of points in a single round. In the Hungarian round of 2012, António Félix da Costa became first driver to win both races of the weekend.
Teams and drivers
GP3 Series has ten European teams and thirty drivers representing the Series. Manor Racing, Atech CRS GP and Carlin represent Great Britain, whilst flying the French flag is GP2 Series 2009 Champions ART Grand Prix and Tech 1 Racing. MW Arden in association with ex-Formula One driver Mark Webber race under an Australian license. Spaniard Addax Team, German RSC Mücke Motorsport in association with Ralf Schumacher, Irish-Canadian Status Grand Prix, and Swiss team Jenzer Motorsport complete the lineup.
Champions
*Stoneman started season with Marussia Manor Racing.
Drivers graduated to GP2
Notes:
Drivers graduated to Formula One
Notes:
2010
The 2010 GP3 Series was the inaugural season of the Series. The championship was contested over sixteen races held at eight rounds, beginning on May 8 at Circuit de Catalunya and ending on September 12 at Autodromo Nazionale Monza. The title was clinched by ART Grand Prix driver Esteban Gutiérrez at the final round by taking pole position, who won the championship 17 points clear of Robert Wickens in second, who was a further 18 points ahead of third place driver Nico Müller.
2011
The season began at Istanbul Park on 7 May and concluded at Autodromo Nazionale Monza on 11 September after eight rounds made up of two races each and all in support of European Formula 1 Grands Prix. The title was claimed by Valtteri Bottas who was only 7 points ahead of his teammate James Calado in second, while Nigel Melker finished 17 points adrift in third. This was to be ART Grand Prix's second championship in as many seasons.
2012
The season began on the 12th of May at Catalunya, Barcelona, and finished at the Autodromo Nazionale Monza on the 9th of September. It supported the entire European leg of the 2012 Formula One Season again and included the series' first visit to Monte Carlo, Monaco.
Going into the final round of the season, four drivers were in with a chance of winning the championship, but ultimately a move on the penultimate lap gave Mitch Evans the title with 151.5 points, only beating Daniel Abt by just two points on 149.5 while António Félix da Costa finished off the top three with 132 points. The teams title was also won during the last round by Lotus GP, their third title in as many seasons.
2013
The season began on the 11th of May at Catalunya, Barcelona, and finished at the Yas Marina Circuit, Abu Dhabi on the 3rd November. It followed most of the European leg of the 2013 Formula One season again other than Monte Carlo, Monaco and for the first time it hosted a non-European race at the last round in Abu Dhabi.
The title was clinched by Daniil Kvyat at the final round with 168 points, beating Facu Regalia by 30 points on 138 while Conor Daly finished off the top three with 126 points. The teams title was won by ART Grand Prix, their fourth title in as many seasons.
2014
The season began on the 10th of May at Catalunya, Barcelona, and finished at the Yas Marina Circuit, Abu Dhabi on the 23rd November. It once again followed most of the European leg of the 2014 Formula One season other than Monte Carlo, Monaco and the only non-European race at the last round in Abu Dhabi.
The title was clinched by Alex Lynn at the final round with 207 points, beating Dean Stoneman by 44 points on 163 while Marvin Kirchhöfer finished off the top three with 161 points. For the first time, the teams title was won by Carlin, becoming the first team other than ART Grand Prix to take the teams title.
2015
The season began on the 9th of May at Catalunya, Barcelona, and finished at the Yas Marina Circuit, Abu Dhabi on the 29th November. It was contested over 18 races at nine rounds. There were nine teams with three cars each. Esteban Ocon won the title by 8 points despite winning only one race compared to second placed Luca Ghiotto winning five races. Ocon did however finish on the podium 14 times. The teams title was won by ART Grand Prix, their fifth title.
2016
The season began on the 14th of May at Catalunya, Barcelona, and finished at the Yas Marina Circuit, Abu Dhabi on the 27th November. It was contested over 18 races at nine rounds. There were seven teams with three to four cars each, with DAMS making its debut. The title was clinched by Charles Leclerc at the final round with 202 points, beating Alexander Albon by 25 points on 177 while Antonio Fuoco finished off the top three with 157 points. The teams title was won by ART Grand Prix at Monza, their sixth title.
2017
The season will begin on the 13th May at Catalunya, Barcelona and will finish at the Yas Marina Circuit, Abu Dhabi on the 26th November. It will be contested at 18 races at nine rounds.
Television rights
The television rights are held by the Formula One Management, which also manages the rights to Formula One. In February 2012, it was announced that Sky Sports F1 had secured the broadcasting rights to the GP3 series and will broadcast every race live in the United Kingdom and Ireland for the 2012 season.