2016 GP3 Series
The 2016 GP3 Series season will be the seventh season of the GP3 Series, a motor racing feeder series that will be run 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 will be discontinued and Dallara will supply all teams with a new model known as the GP3/16, which will be used until the next cycle begins in 2019.[1]
ART Grand Prix will start the season as the defending teams' champions.
Teams and drivers
Teams will be allowed to run four cars to compensate for the drop in the number of entries.[2] The starting grid for any individual race meeting may contain a possible maximum of 28 cars across seven teams.
| Team | No. | Driver |
|---|---|---|
 ART Grand Prix[3]
|
1 |  Charles Leclerc[4]
|
| 2 |  Nirei Fukuzumi[5]
| |
| 3 |  Alexander Albon[6]
| |
| 4 |  Nyck de Vries[7]
| |
 Trident[3]
|
5 | Antonio Fuoco[8]
|
| 6 |  Artur Janosz[8]
| |
| 7 | Giuliano Alesi[8]
| |
| 8 | Sandy Stuvik[8]
| |
 Arden International[3]
|
9 | Jake Dennis[9]
|
| 10 |  Tatiana Calderón[10]
| |
| 11 | Jack Aitken[11]
| |
| 12 |  TBA
| |
 Koiranen GP[3]
|
14 | Matt Parry[12]
|
| 15 |  Mahaveer Raghunathan[13]
| |
| 16 |  Matevos Isaakyan[14]
| |
| 17 |  Ralph Boschung[15]
| |
| Jenzer Motorsport[3]
|
18 |  Akash Nandy[16]
|
| 19 |  Richard Gonda[17]
| |
| 20 | Óscar Tunjo[18]
| |
| 21 | TBA
| |
 Campos Racing[3]
|
22 | Álex Palou[19]
|
| 23 | Steijn Schothorst[20]
| |
| 24 | Konstantin Tereshchenko[20]
| |
| 25 | TBA
| |
| DAMS[3]
|
26 |  Santino Ferrucci[21]
|
| 27 | Jake Hughes[21]
| |
| 28 | Kevin Jörg[21]
| |
| 29 | TBA
|
Driver changes
- Entering GP3
- Alexander Albon, who finished seventh in the 2015 European Formula 3 season, will enter the series, with ART Grand Prix.[6]
- Giuliano Alesi, son of former Formula One driver Jean Alesi, will join the series from French F4 with Trident, with backing from Scuderia Ferrari.[8]
- 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 will join the series with newcomers DAMS.
- Jake Dennis, who finished third in the 2015 European Formula 3 season, will enter the series with Arden International.[9]
- Matevos Isaakyan, who contested the last two rounds of the 2015 season for Koiranen GP, will enter the series fulltime with the team.[14]
- 2015 Euroformula Open runner-up Konstantin Tereshchenko and 2015 Renault Sport Trophy runner-up Steijn Schothorst will join the series with Campos Racing.[20]
- 2015 Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0 and Alps champion Jack Aitken will join the series with Arden.
- 2015 European Formula 3 entrant and 2015–16 MRF Challenge runner-up Tatiana Calderón will enter the series with Arden International.[10]
- Nirei Fukuzumi, who finished fourth in Japanese F3 in 2015, will step up to the series with ART Grand Prix.[5]
- European Formula 3 driver Mahaveer Raghunathan will join the series with Koiranen.
- 2015 European Formula 3 rookie champion Charles Leclerc, who finished fourth, will step up to the series with ART, with backing from Scuderia Ferrari.[4]
- 2015 MotorSport Vision Formula Three Cup and Asian Le Mans Series runner-up Akash Nandy will enter the series with Jenzer Motorsport.[16]
- McLaren junior driver Nyck de Vries, who finished third in the 2015 Formula Renault 3.5 Series season, will join the series with ART Grand Prix.[7]
- Changing Teams
- Antonio Fuoco and Sandy Stuvik, who raced with Carlin and Status Grand Prix in 2015 respectively, will switch to Trident.[8]
- Ralph Boschung, who raced with Jenzer in 2015, will switch to Koiranen.
- Óscar Tunjo, who won one race with Trident in 2015, will switch to Jenzer.[18]
- Leaving GP3
- 2015 runner-up Luca Ghiotto will leave the series to compete in GP2 with Trident.
- Aleksander Bosak, who competed for Arden International in the 2015 season, will switch to Formula V8 3.5 with Pons Racing.[22]
- Jann Mardenborough, who finished ninth for Carlin in 2015, will leave the series to compete in both Super GT and All-Japan F3.[23]
- Seb Morris, who raced with Status Grand Prix in the 2015 season, will leave the series to race in British GT with Team Parker Racing.[24]
- 2015 season champion Esteban Ocon will leave the series as the reigning champion is not permitted to continue competing in the series. He will be joining the DTM with Mercedes-Benz.[25]
- Marvin Kirchhöfer will leave the series to join GP2 with Carlin.[26]
Team changes
- After having competed in the series since its inaugural season, Carlin and Status Grand Prix will leave the championship.
- DAMS, which operates across multiple single-seater championships, left Formula Renault 3.5 Series to join the GP3 series.[3]
- Virtuosi Racing were scheduled to enter, but were removed from the entry list before the season.[3]
Calendar
On 4 March 2016, the full calendar was revealed with nine rounds taking place.[27]
| Round | Circuit/Location | Country | Date | Supporting | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Feature | Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, Barcelona | Spain
|
14 May | Spanish Grand Prix |
| Sprint | 15 May | ||||
| 2 | Feature | Red Bull Ring, Spielberg |  Austria
|
2 July | Austrian Grand Prix |
| Sprint | 3 July | ||||
| 3 | Feature | Silverstone Circuit, Silverstone | United Kingdom
|
9 July | British Grand Prix |
| Sprint | 10 July | ||||
| 4 | Feature | Hungaroring, Budapest |  Hungary
|
23 July | Hungarian Grand Prix |
| Sprint | 24 July | ||||
| 5 | Feature | Hockenheimring, Hockenheim |  Germany
|
30 July | German Grand Prix |
| Sprint | 31 July | ||||
| 6 | Feature | Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps, Francorchamps |  Belgium
|
27 August | Belgian Grand Prix |
| Sprint | 28 August | ||||
| 7 | Feature | Autodromo Nazionale Monza, Monza | Italy
|
3 September | Italian Grand Prix |
| Sprint | 4 September | ||||
| 8 | Feature | Sepang International Circuit, Sepang |  Malaysia
|
1 October | Malaysian Grand Prix |
| Sprint | 2 October | ||||
| 9 | Feature | Yas Marina Circuit, Abu Dhabi |  United Arab Emirates
|
26 November | Abu Dhabi Grand Prix |
| Sprint | 27 November | ||||
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.
References
- ^ "GP3 Series increases number of cars per team". gp3series.com. 13 November 2015. Retrieved 24 November 2015.
- ^ 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. 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. Retrieved 14 December 2015.
- ^ "Boschung completes Koiranen GP line-up". 22 March 2016. Retrieved 23 March 2016.
- ^ a b "Akash Nandy in der GP3 Series" [Akash Nandy in the GP3 Series]. Jenzer Motorsport (in German). 26 February 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 Khorounzhiy, Valentin (1 April 2016). "Tunjo to make GP3 return with Jenzer". Motorsport.com. Retrieved 1 April 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.
- ^ Simmons, Marcus (26 February 2016). "Jann Mardenborough returns to Formula 3 in Japanese Championship". Autosport. Haymarket. 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.
- ^ "Kirchhofer graduates to GP2 with Carlin". Motorsport.com. 8 March 2016. Retrieved 8 March 2016.
- ^ "GP3 Series 2016 season calendar unveiled". gp3series.com. GP2 Motorsport Limited. 4 March 2016. Retrieved 4 March 2016.