2016 GP3 Series

The2016 GP3 Series was the seventh season of the third-tier of Formula One feeder championship and also seventh season under the moniker ofGP3 Series, amotor racing feeder series that runs in support of the2016 FIA Formula One World Championship and sister seriesGP2. In keeping with the series' philosophy of updating its technical regulations every three years, theDallara GP3/13 chassis introduced in the2013 season was discontinued andDallara supplied all teams with a new model known as theGP3/16, which will be used until 2018.^[1]

Charles Leclerc (pictured in 2019), the series champion.

Mecachrome took over as official engine supplier of the series from 2016 onwards, replacingAER 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 driverCharles 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-upAlexander Albon, who scored 4 race wins, he lost the title by 25 points to hisART Grand Prix teammateCharles Leclerc who took 3 feature race wins;Antonio Fuoco took 2 race wins,Jake Dennis andNyck de Vries also took 2 podiums each on the top step.Jake Hughes took 2 sprint race wins; he won inHockenheim andYas Marina.Jack Aitken,Matthew Parry, andRalph Boschung each took 1 race win during the season.

Teams and drivers

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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
	17	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
	20	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

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Entering GP3

Alexander Albon, who finished seventh in the2015 European Formula 3 season, entered the series, withART Grand Prix.^[8]
Giuliano Alesi, son of former Formula One driverJean Alesi, graduated to the series fromFrench F4 withTrident, with backing fromScuderia Ferrari.^[10]
2015 Formula Renault 2.0 Alps runner-up Jake Hughes,2015 Formula Renault 2.0 NEC runner-upKevin Jörg andEuropean Formula 3 driverSantino Ferrucci joined the series with newcomersDAMS.
Jake Dennis, who finished third in the 2015 European Formula 3 season, entered the series withArden International.^[11]
Matevos Isaakyan, who contested the last two rounds of the 2015 season forKoiranen GP, moved to the series full-time with the team.^[16]
2015 Euroformula Open runner-upKonstantin Tereshchenko and2015 Renault Sport Trophy runner-upSteijn Schothorst joined the series withCampos Racing.^[25]
2015 Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0 andAlps championJack Aitken graduated to the series with Arden.
2015 European Formula 3 entrant and2015–16 MRF Challenge runner-upTatiana Calderón entered the series withArden International.^[12]
Nirei Fukuzumi, who finished fourth inJapanese 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 championCharles Leclerc, who finished fourth, entered the series with ART, with backing fromScuderia Ferrari.^[6]
2015MotorSport Vision Formula Three Cup andAsian Le Mans Series runner-up Akash Nandy moved to the series withJenzer Motorsport.^[19]
McLaren junior driverNyck de Vries, who finished third in the2015 Formula Renault 3.5 Series season, joined the series with ART Grand Prix.^[9]

Changing teams

Antonio Fuoco andSandy Stuvik, who raced withCarlin andStatus 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 toFormula V8 3.5 withPons Racing.^[27]
2015 runner-upLuca Ghiotto left the series to continue his collaboration withTrident inGP2 Series, whileMarvin Kirchhöfer, who finished behind Ghiotto also graduated to GP2 withCarlin.^[28]
Jann Mardenborough, who finished ninth for Carlin in 2015, left the series to compete in bothSuper GT andAll-Japan F3.^[29]
Seb Morris, who raced with Status Grand Prix in the 2015 season, left the series to race inBritish GT with Team Parker Racing.^[30]
2015 season championEsteban Ocon left the series as the reigning champion is not permitted to continue competing in the series. He joined theDTM withMercedes-Benz.^[31]

Mid-season changes

European Formula 3 driverArjun Maini replacedÓscar Tunjo at Jenzer Motorsport from the Silverstone round onwards.^[23]
Ralph Boschung was replaced by2015 SMP F4 Championship winnerNiko 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

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After having competed in the series since itsinaugural season, Carlin and Status Grand Prix left the championship due to lack of sponsorships.
DAMS, which operates across multiple single-seater championships, leftFormula 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

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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
1	R2	Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya,Barcelona	Spain	15 May	Spanish Grand Prix
2	R1	Red Bull Ring,Spielberg	Austria	2 July	Austrian Grand Prix
2	R2	Red Bull Ring,Spielberg	Austria	3 July	Austrian Grand Prix
3	R1	Silverstone Circuit,Silverstone	United Kingdom	9 July	British Grand Prix
3	R2	Silverstone Circuit,Silverstone	United Kingdom	10 July	British Grand Prix
4	R1	Hungaroring,Budapest	Hungary	23 July	Hungarian Grand Prix
4	R2	Hungaroring,Budapest	Hungary	24 July	Hungarian Grand Prix
5	R1	Hockenheimring,Hockenheim	Germany	30 July	German Grand Prix
5	R2	Hockenheimring,Hockenheim	Germany	31 July	German Grand Prix
6	R1	Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps,Francorchamps	Belgium	27 August	Belgian Grand Prix
6	R2	Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps,Francorchamps	Belgium	28 August	Belgian Grand Prix
7	R1	Autodromo Nazionale Monza,Monza	Italy	3 September	Italian Grand Prix
7	R2	Autodromo Nazionale Monza,Monza	Italy	4 September	Italian Grand Prix
8	R1	Sepang International Circuit,Sepang	Malaysia	1 October	Malaysian Grand Prix
8	R2	Sepang International Circuit,Sepang	Malaysia	2 October	Malaysian Grand Prix
9	R1	Yas Marina Circuit,Abu Dhabi	United Arab Emirates	26 November	Abu Dhabi Grand Prix
9	R2	Yas Marina Circuit,Abu Dhabi	United Arab Emirates	27 November	Abu Dhabi Grand Prix
Sources:^[33]^[34]

Calendar changes

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The series will return to theHockenheimring in support of theGerman Grand Prix, and will make its début at theSepang International Circuit.
The rounds at theSochi Autodrom and theBahrain International Circuit were discontinued for the 2016 season.

Results

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Season summary

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Round		Circuit	Pole position	Fastest lap^[35]	Winning driver	Winning team	Report
1	R1	Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya	Jake Hughes	Charles Leclerc	Charles Leclerc	ART Grand Prix	Report
1	R2	Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya		Óscar Tunjo	Alexander Albon	ART Grand Prix	Report
2	R1	Red Bull Ring	Charles Leclerc	Charles Leclerc	Charles Leclerc	ART Grand Prix	Report
2	R2	Red Bull Ring		Ralph Boschung	Ralph Boschung	Koiranen GP	Report
3	R1	Silverstone Circuit	Alexander Albon	Alexander Albon	Alexander Albon	ART Grand Prix	Report
3	R2	Silverstone Circuit		Alexander Albon^[a]	Antonio Fuoco	Trident	Report
4	R1	Hungaroring	Nyck de Vries	Nyck de Vries^[b]	Matt Parry	Koiranen GP	Report
4	R2	Hungaroring		Alexander Albon	Alexander Albon	ART Grand Prix	Report
5	R1	Hockenheimring	Alexander Albon	Charles Leclerc	Antonio Fuoco	Trident	Report
5	R2	Hockenheimring		Jake Hughes	Jake Hughes	DAMS	Report
6	R1	Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps	Charles Leclerc	Charles Leclerc	Charles Leclerc	ART Grand Prix	Report
6	R2	Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps		Jack Aitken	Jack Aitken	Arden International	Report
7	R1	Autodromo Nazionale Monza	Charles Leclerc	Jake Hughes	Jake Dennis	Arden International	Report
7	R2	Autodromo Nazionale Monza		Nyck de Vries	Nyck de Vries	ART Grand Prix	Report
8	R1	Sepang International Circuit	Charles Leclerc	Alexander Albon	Alexander Albon	ART Grand Prix	Report
8	R2	Sepang International Circuit		Antonio Fuoco^[c]	Jake Dennis	Arden International	Report
9	R1	Yas Marina Circuit	Alexander Albon	Jack Aitken	Nyck de Vries	ART Grand Prix	Report
9	R2	Yas Marina Circuit		Jake Dennis	Jake Hughes	DAMS	Report
Source:^[36]

Championship standings

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Scoring system

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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.^[37]

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.^[37]

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		HOC		SPA		MNZ		SEP		YMC		Points
Pos.	Driver	R1	R2	R1	R2	R1	R2	R1	R2	R1	R2	R1	R2	R1	R2	R1	R2	R1	R2	Points
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
Pos.	Driver	CAT		RBR		SIL		HUN		HOC		SPA		MNZ		SEP		YMC		Points
Sources:^[37]^[38]

Key
Colour	Result
Gold	Winner
Silver	2nd place
Bronze	3rd place
Green	Other points position
Blue	Other classified position
Blue	Not classified, finished (NC)
Purple	Not classified, retired (Ret)
Red	Did not qualify (DNQ)
Red	Did not pre-qualify (DNPQ)
Black	Disqualified (DSQ)
White	Did not start (DNS)
White	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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Only three best-finishing cars are allowed to score points in the championship.^[39]

Pos.	Team	CAT		RBR		SIL		HUN		HOC		SPA		MNZ		SEP		YMC		Points
Pos.	Team	R1	R2	R1	R2	R1	R2	R1	R2	R1	R2	R1	R2	R1	R2	R1	R2	R1	R2	Points
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
Pos.	Team	CAT		RBR		SIL		HUN		HOC		SPA		MNZ		SEP		YMC		Points
Sources:^[37]^[38]

Key
Colour	Result
Gold	Winner
Silver	2nd place
Bronze	3rd place
Green	Other points position
Blue	Other classified position
Blue	Not classified, finished (NC)
Purple	Not classified, retired (Ret)
Red	Did not qualify (DNQ)
Red	Did not pre-qualify (DNPQ)
Black	Disqualified (DSQ)
White	Did not start (DNS)
White	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

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^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.