The 2012 GP3 Series season was the third season of the
GP3 Series
The GP3 Series, or GP3 for short, was a single-seater motor racing series launched in 2010 as a feeder series for the GP2 Series, introduced by GP2 organiser Bruno Michel. GP3 followed the entire European leg of the Formula One series and the ...
, a feeder series for the
GP2 Series
The GP2 Series was a form of open wheel motor racing introduced in 2005 following the discontinuation of the long-term Formula One feeder series, Formula 3000. The GP2 format was conceived by Bernie Ecclestone and Flavio Briatore, while Eccle ...
. The season began at
Barcelona
Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within ci ...
on 12 May and concluded at
Autodromo Nazionale Monza
The Monza Circuit ( it, Autodromo Nazionale di Monza, , National Automobile Racetrack of Monza) is a race track near the city of Monza, north of Milan, in Italy. Built in 1922, it was the world's third purpose-built motor racing circuit after ...
on 9 September after eight rounds made up of two races each and all in support of European
Formula One
Formula One (also known as Formula 1 or F1) is the highest class of international racing for open-wheel single-seater formula racing cars sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The World Drivers' Championship, ...
Grands Prix.
The series adopted the points system used by Formula One for the feature race, with points awarded to the top ten drivers and twenty-five points on offer for victory. The points awarded in the sprint race also were changed, with the winner receiving fifteen points and top eight drivers receiving points. The points awarded for pole position and the fastest lap of the race also were doubled.
The winner of the championship was
Mitch Evans
Mitchell William Evans (born 24 June 1994) is a New Zealand professional racing driver. He currently drives for the Jaguar TCS Racing team in Formula E. In 2012, he won the GP3 Series and he raced in the GP2 Series for four years, achieving ...
driving for the MW Arden team, who outscored
Lotus GP driver
Daniel Abt
Daniel Johannes Abt (born 3 December 1992) is a German former racing driver. He has competed in such series as the German Formula Three Championship, the GP3 Series, the GP2 Series, and won the 2009 ADAC Formel Masters championship. He competed i ...
by two points.
2012 was also the final season that the
Dallara GP3/10 chassis package, which débuted in the inaugural season of the series in 2010, was used in competition, as a new chassis package and car, the
Dallara GP3/13, was introduced for 2013.
Teams and drivers
Ten teams and thirty drivers had been due to take part in the 2012 season. However, in April 2012 it was reported that only twenty-seven drivers would take place with
Mücke Motorsport
Mücke Motorsport is an auto racing team based in Germany, which is also known as ADAC Berlin-Brandenburg.
History
Single-seaters
Mücke Motorsport was formed by Peter Mücke in 1998 to run his son Stefan Mücke in the German Formula BMW ADAC ...
missing from the grid.
Driver changes
; Changed teams
*
Conor Daly
Conor J. Daly (born December 15, 1991) is an American professional racing driver who competes in the NTT IndyCar Series, driving the No. 20 Chevrolet for Ed Carpenter Racing, and part-time in the NASCAR Cup Series, driving the No. 50 Chevrolet C ...
, who contested the
2011 season with
Carlin, signed with
Lotus GP.
* After a season with
Status Grand Prix
Status Grand Prix is a former motorsport team registered in Canada.
Team history
Based in Silverstone the team was formed in 2005 to run the A1 Team Ireland franchise in the new A1 Grand Prix series. The team's founders were former Jordan Grand Pr ...
,
António Félix da Costa
António Maria de Mello Breyner Félix da Costa (born 31 August 1991) is a Portuguese professional racing driver for the Porsche Formula E Team and the 2019–20 Formula E Drivers' Champion.
He won the Macau Grand Prix invitational Formula Thre ...
moved to Carlin, a team he competed with at two rounds of the series in
2010
File:2010 Events Collage New.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2010 Chile earthquake was one of the strongest recorded in history; The Eruption of Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland disrupts air travel in Europe; A scene from the opening ceremony of ...
.
*
Matias Laine switched from
Marussia Manor Racing
Manor Motorsport Ltd, currently trading as Manor Endurance Racing Ltd is a British motor racing company that was formed in 1990 by former single-seater champion John Booth. Manor has participated as a team in many motorsport disciplines since ...
to
MW Arden.
*
Tamás Pál Kiss
Tamás Pál Kiss (born 19 May 1991 in Miskolc) is a Hungarian auto racing driver.
Career
Karting
Kiss made his karting début in 1998 when he was seven years old. During ten years he scored three titles in Hungarian Championships
Formula Ren ...
, who raced for
Tech 1 Racing
Tech 1 Racing is a racing team based in Toulouse, France. They currently compete in the World Series by Renault and Eurocup Mégane Trophy.
Tech 1 also operate the Panis Racing LMP2 entry to the European Le Mans Series and the Ultimate LMP2 Pro ...
, joined
Atech CRS GP.
*
Marlon Stöckinger
Marlon Alexander Stöckinger (born April 4, 1991) is a Filipino former racing driver, who raced for Status Grand Prix in the 2012 GP3 Series. He is the first Filipino to win a formula race in Europe.
Stöckinger was the 2006 Asian Karting Cha ...
left
Atech CRS GP to join Status Grand Prix.
*
Aaro Vainio
Aaro Vainio (born 2 October 1993 in Espoo
Espoo (, ; sv, Esbo) is a city and municipality in the region of Uusimaa in the Republic of Finland. It is located on the northern shore of the Gulf of Finland, bordering the cities of Helsinki, ...
moved from
Tech 1 Racing
Tech 1 Racing is a racing team based in Toulouse, France. They currently compete in the World Series by Renault and Eurocup Mégane Trophy.
Tech 1 also operate the Panis Racing LMP2 entry to the European Le Mans Series and the Ultimate LMP2 Pro ...
to Lotus GP.
; Entering/Re-Entering GP3 Series
*
Daniel Abt
Daniel Johannes Abt (born 3 December 1992) is a German former racing driver. He has competed in such series as the German Formula Three Championship, the GP3 Series, the GP2 Series, and won the 2009 ADAC Formel Masters championship. He competed i ...
joined the series, driving for Lotus GP, after a season in the
Formula 3 Euro Series
The Formula 3 Euro Series was a European-based junior single seater formula for Formula Three chassis that was launched (in its current form) in 2003 as a merger of the French Formula Three Championship and German Formula Three Championship. The ...
.
*
Alex Brundle
Alex Brundle (born 7 August 1990) is a British Auto racing, racing driver and broadcaster who currently competes in the FIA World Endurance Championship with Inter Europol Competition. He was the 2016 European Le Mans Series champion (LMP3) and ...
competes in the series for
Carlin, moving from the
FIA Formula Two Championship
The FIA Formula 2 Championship is a second-tier single-seater championship organised by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). Held on road racing, racing circuits, the championship was introduced in 2017, following the rebrandi ...
.
He was joined by
British Formula 3
The British Formula Three Championship was an international motor racing series that took place primarily in the United Kingdom with a small number of events in mainland Europe. It was a junior-level feeder formula that used small single seate ...
driver
William Buller.
*
Auto GP
Auto GP, sometimes referred to as the Auto GP World Series and formerly known as both Euro Formula 3000 and the Euroseries 3000, was a European formula racing series.
The series' roots can be traced back to 1999 and the Italian Formula 3000 serie ...
champion
Kevin Ceccon
Kevin Ceccon (born 24 September 1993 in Clusone) is a professional racing driver from Italy.
Career
Karting
Prior to his single–seater career, Ceccon enjoyed a long and successful spell in the junior karting ranks. In 2005 he achieved a fif ...
and Irish
Fujitsu V8 Supercar Series
The Dunlop Super2 Series (formerly known as Dunlop Series, Fujitsu V8 Supercars Series, HPDC V8 Supercars Series, Konica Minolta V8 Supercars Series and Konica V8 Supercars/Lites Series) is an Australian touring car racing competition, specifical ...
driver
Robert Cregan signed with
Ocean Racing Technology
Ocean Racing Technology (ORT) was a racing team that took part in both the GP2 Main Series and the GP2 Asia Series Championships. The team, owned by Tiago Monteiro and José Guedes, was formed at the end of the 2008 season after being purchased f ...
for his series debut.
* Cypriot-born
British Formula Renault
British Formula Renault Championship referred to one of two Formula Renault championships that were held in the United Kingdom. The main series was Renault Sport UK's Formula Renault 2.0 UK championship which was held from 1989 to 2011 and was g ...
driver
Tio Ellinas
Eftihios "Tio" Ellinas (born 27 January 1992 in Larnaca, Cyprus) is a Cypriot race car driver. Ellinas began racing go-karts at the age of seven, and from 2003 - 2009 won 10 kart racing championships in Cyprus, in 2005 winning the ROK Cup Intern ...
joined Marussia Manor Racing.
*
European F3 Open
The Euroformula Open Championship (formerly the Spanish Formula Three Championship, European F3 Open Championship) is a junior formula racing series based in Spain. It was one of six national and international Formula Three championships in Europe ...
runner-up
David Fumanelli
David Cleto Fumanelli (21 April 1992, Milan) is an Italian racing driver and racing coach.
Single Seater Career
Formula Renault 2.0
Fumanelli, after just two years of national karting races, made his single-seater debut in 2008 in his native It ...
made his series debut, driving for MW Arden.
* After missing the 2011 racing season,
Carmen Jordá drives for the Ocean Racing Technology team.
*
Jakub Klášterka returned to motorsport after two-year absence, joining
Jenzer Motorsport
Jenzer Motorsport is an auto racing team based in Switzerland. Founded in 1993 by Andreas Jenzer the team is currently competing in FIA Formula 3, Italian F4 and F4 Spanish and has had a number of drivers who would turn out to be successful in ...
.
*
Formula Three Sudamericana
Formula 3 Sudamericana was a South American Formula Three championship. It was inaugurated in 1987 and primarily held races in Brazil and Argentina, with a small number of events held in other countries across the continent. Its most notable gr ...
champion
Fabiano Machado
Fabiano Machado (born 28 May 1986) is a Brazilian professional racing driver.
Career
Karting
Machado began karting in 2003 and raced primarily in his native Brazil for the majority of his career.
Formula Three Sudamericana
Machado graduated to ...
entered the series with Marussia Manor Racing.
*
Italian Formula Abarth champion
Patric Niederhauser
Patric Niederhauser (born 8 October 1991 in Münsingen) is a professional racing driver from Switzerland and a current Audi Factory Driver. He was the champion of the Formula Abarth Italian Series.
Career
Karting
Niederhauser began karting in ...
and fellow Formula Abarth driver
Robert Visoiu
The name Robert is an ancient Germanic given name, from Proto-Germanic "fame" and "bright" (''Hrōþiberhtaz''). Compare Old Dutch ''Robrecht'' and Old High German ''Hrodebert'' (a compound of ''Hrōþ, Hruod'' ( non, Hróðr) "fame, glory ...
moved into the GP3 Series, continuing their association with Jenzer Motorsport. Both combine GP3 with an
Italian Formula Three
The Italian Formula Three Championship was the Formula Three racing competition in Italy.
History
Formula Three has traditionally been regarded as the first major stepping stone for F1 hopefuls - it is typically the first point in a driver's care ...
program with
BVM and
Ghinzani Arco Motorsport respectively.
* Formula Abarth graduate
Vicky Piria
Vittoria "Vicky" Piria (born 11 November 1993 in Milan) is an Italian-British racing driver who currently races in Formula Renault Eurocup and W Series.
Career
Karting
Piria grew up in Perugia in Umbria, she began karting in 2003 and raced p ...
became the series' first female driver, after signing for
Trident Racing
Trident Racing is a motor racing team that competes in single-seater formula racing. It was founded in 2006 in order to compete in the GP2 championship, which was Europe's second highest-ranking single-seater formula below Formula One. Trident is ...
.
She was joined in the team by fellow Formula Abarth driver
Antonio Spavone
Antonio Spavone (born 2 June 1994) is an Italian racing driver and entrepreneur.
Career
Karting
Spavone was born in Naples. He began karting in 2005 and raced primarily in his native Italy for the majority of this part of career, working his ...
, who also competing in
Auto GP World Series in 2012.
* British Formula Renault driver
Alice Powell signed with Status Grand Prix,
and was joined in the team by British Formula 3 Rookie champion
Kotaro Sakurai
is a Japanese racing driver. Sakurai raced under Filipino license in Formula BMW Pacific and in the GP3 Series.
Career
Karting
Sakurai began his racing career in karting at the age of nine and raced in Japan and Australia.
Formula BMW Pacifi ...
.
*
F2000 Series and
Formula Enterprise driver
Ethan Ringel
Ethan R. Ringel (born August 12, 1994 in Windermere, Florida, United States) is an American racing driver. He competed in the 2012 GP3 Series season for Atech CRS Grand Prix. Ringel is coached by Indy Car driver Jay Howard.
Career
Ringel's kar ...
joined Atech CRS GP.
* After driving for four rounds in Formula Abarth with
Euronova Racing
Vincenzo Sospiri Racing Srl (also known as Fortec Italia Motorsport, Euronova Racing by Fortec, Euronova Racing, VS Racing) is an auto racing team based in Italy.
History
After retiring from racing, Vincenzo Sospiri decided to collaborate with For ...
,
Dmitry Suranovich
Dmitry Igorevich Suranovich (russian: Дмитрий Игоревич Суранович, born 27 June 1995 in Minsk) is a retired professional racing driver from Belarus, who has Russian citizenship and races under a Russian racing licence.
Care ...
joined Marussia Manor Racing for his GP3 Series debut.
* Belgian sports car racer
John Wartique made his debut in GP3 and single seaters with Atech CRS GP team.
;Mid-season changes
*
Jakub Klášterka left
Jenzer Motorsport
Jenzer Motorsport is an auto racing team based in Switzerland. Founded in 1993 by Andreas Jenzer the team is currently competing in FIA Formula 3, Italian F4 and F4 Spanish and has had a number of drivers who would turn out to be successful in ...
between the
Monaco
Monaco (; ), officially the Principality of Monaco (french: Principauté de Monaco; Ligurian: ; oc, Principat de Mónegue), is a sovereign city-state and microstate on the French Riviera a few kilometres west of the Italian region of Lig ...
and
Valencia rounds of the championship. He was replaced by Auto GP World Series driver
Facu Regalia
Facundo "Facu" Regalia (born 23 November 1991 in Buenos Aires) is an Argentine racing driver. He competed in his first two Formula BMW seasons under a Spanish racing licence.
Career
Karting
Regalia began karting in 2006 and raced primarily in S ...
for the next round at
Silverstone
Silverstone is a village and civil parish in Northamptonshire, England. It is about from Towcester on the former A43 main road, from the M1 motorway junction 15A and about from the M40 motorway junction 10, Northampton, Milton Keynes and B ...
.
**After missing the
Hockenheim
Hockenheim () is a town in northwest Baden-Württemberg, Germany, about 20 km south of Mannheim and 10 km west of Walldorf. It is located in the Upper Rhine valley on the tourist theme routes "Baden Asparagus Route" () and Bertha Benz M ...
races, Regalia moved to
Atech CRS GP for the
Hungarian round.
Alex Fontana
Alex Fontana (born 5 August 1992 in Lugano) is a Swiss racing driver of Greek descent, currently racing as a professional driver in the GT4 European Series for Centri Porsche Ticino. He is a freelance driver with an open contract able to race f ...
took his place at Jenzer.
*
Kotaro Sakurai
is a Japanese racing driver. Sakurai raced under Filipino license in Formula BMW Pacific and in the GP3 Series.
Career
Karting
Sakurai began his racing career in karting at the age of nine and raced in Japan and Australia.
Formula BMW Pacifi ...
left
Status Grand Prix
Status Grand Prix is a former motorsport team registered in Canada.
Team history
Based in Silverstone the team was formed in 2005 to run the A1 Team Ireland franchise in the new A1 Grand Prix series. The team's founders were former Jordan Grand Pr ...
due to sponsorship problems. His place was filled by
Lewis Williamson
Lewis Williamson (born 11 November 1989) is a British racing driver.
Career
Karting
Born in Dundee, Williamson began karting at the age of eight, and spent a successful decade racing in the various classes around the United Kingdom. By the ti ...
, who previously raced in GP3 with
MW Arden
Arden may refer to:
Places
;Australia
*Arden, an area in North Melbourne, Victoria near the Arden Street Oval
;Canada
* Arden, Ontario
;Denmark
* Arden, Denmark, a town
**Arden Municipality, a former municipality, including the town of Arden
; ...
.
*
Giovanni Venturini
Giovanni Venturini (born 9 November 1991 in Vicenza) is a professional racing driver from Italy.
Career
Formula 2000 Light
Venturini began his Formula racing career in November 2008, racing in the Formula 2000 Light Italy Winter Trophy, where h ...
joined the series for the rest of the season from Silverstone onwards, driving a third car for
Trident Racing
Trident Racing is a motor racing team that competes in single-seater formula racing. It was founded in 2006 in order to compete in the GP2 championship, which was Europe's second highest-ranking single-seater formula below Formula One. Trident is ...
.
*
John Wartique was replaced by
Fabio Gamberini at Atech CRS GP for the Silverstone round after Wartique's sponsors failed to meet their financial obligations with the team.
Team changes
* The series has proposed amending the rules which mean teams are obligated to run three cars. Under the proposed rule changes, teams will only need to enter two cars, and will have the option of entering a third.
*
Addax Team
Addax, or Barwa Addax was a Spanish motorsport team owned by the bank Addax Capital, which competed in the GP2, GP3 and GP2 Asia Series.
Team history
GP2 Series
Barwa Addax was formed as a result of Alejandro Agag purchase of the Campos Rac ...
will exit the championship to concentrate on their
GP2 Series
The GP2 Series was a form of open wheel motor racing introduced in 2005 following the discontinuation of the long-term Formula One feeder series, Formula 3000. The GP2 format was conceived by Bernie Ecclestone and Flavio Briatore, while Eccle ...
team, and will be replaced by
Trident Racing
Trident Racing is a motor racing team that competes in single-seater formula racing. It was founded in 2006 in order to compete in the GP2 championship, which was Europe's second highest-ranking single-seater formula below Formula One. Trident is ...
.
Trident started the season with only two cars instead of three,
before entering a third from Silverstone onwards.
* After competing as
Lotus ART
Art is a diverse range of human activity, and resulting product, that involves creative or imaginative talent expressive of technical proficiency, beauty, emotional power, or conceptual ideas.
There is no generally agreed definition of wha ...
in
2011
File:2011 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: a protester partaking in Occupy Wall Street heralds the beginning of the Occupy movement; protests against Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi, who was killed that October; a young man celebrate ...
, ART Grand Prix was renamed as Lotus Grand Prix in both the
GP2 and GP3 Series championships, reflecting their increased relationship with title sponsor Lotus Cars.
The cars will carry a black and gold livery modelled on the livery used by parent team
Lotus F1
Lotus F1 Team was a British Formula One racing team. The team competed under the Lotus name from until , following the renaming of the former Renault team based at Enstone in Oxfordshire. The Lotus F1 Team was majority owned by Genii Capital. ...
.
*
Ocean Racing Technology
Ocean Racing Technology (ORT) was a racing team that took part in both the GP2 Main Series and the GP2 Asia Series Championships. The team, owned by Tiago Monteiro and José Guedes, was formed at the end of the 2008 season after being purchased f ...
replaced
Tech 1 Racing
Tech 1 Racing is a racing team based in Toulouse, France. They currently compete in the World Series by Renault and Eurocup Mégane Trophy.
Tech 1 also operate the Panis Racing LMP2 entry to the European Le Mans Series and the Ultimate LMP2 Pro ...
.
* RSC Mücke, the
Ralf Schumacher
Ralf Schumacher (born 30 June 1975) is a German former racing driver. He is the younger brother of seven-time Formula One World Champion Michael Schumacher, and the pair are the only siblings to each win Formula One races.
Schumacher began kart ...
-
Mücke Motorsport
Mücke Motorsport is an auto racing team based in Germany, which is also known as ADAC Berlin-Brandenburg.
History
Single-seaters
Mücke Motorsport was formed by Peter Mücke in 1998 to run his son Stefan Mücke in the German Formula BMW ADAC ...
collaboration, indicated to series organisers that they would not be taking part in the 2012 season, reducing the number of cars on the grid from thirty to twenty-seven.
2012 Schedule
The 2012 calendar was announced on 16 December 2011. The series consisted of eight rounds, with a round in
Monaco
Monaco (; ), officially the Principality of Monaco (french: Principauté de Monaco; Ligurian: ; oc, Principat de Mónegue), is a sovereign city-state and microstate on the French Riviera a few kilometres west of the Italian region of Lig ...
confirmed on 26 January 2012. The series had previously attempted to include a race in Monaco for the 2011 season, but was forced to abandon its plans when it was found that the support paddock did not have enough space for the GP3 Series. The series supported every Grand Prix on the European leg of the
2012 Formula One season
The 2012 FIA Formula One World Championship was the 66th season of FIA Formula One motor racing. It featured the 63rd FIA Formula One World Championship, a motor racing series for Formula One cars, recognised by the Fédération Internatio ...
.
Race summaries
Carlin's
António Félix da Costa
António Maria de Mello Breyner Félix da Costa (born 31 August 1991) is a Portuguese professional racing driver for the Porsche Formula E Team and the 2019–20 Formula E Drivers' Champion.
He won the Macau Grand Prix invitational Formula Thre ...
qualified on pole position by 0.01 seconds to
Lotus GP drivers
Conor Daly
Conor J. Daly (born December 15, 1991) is an American professional racing driver who competes in the NTT IndyCar Series, driving the No. 20 Chevrolet for Ed Carpenter Racing, and part-time in the NASCAR Cup Series, driving the No. 50 Chevrolet C ...
and
Aaro Vainio
Aaro Vainio (born 2 October 1993 in Espoo
Espoo (, ; sv, Esbo) is a city and municipality in the region of Uusimaa in the Republic of Finland. It is located on the northern shore of the Gulf of Finland, bordering the cities of Helsinki, ...
. However, on the start of the race their team-mate
Daniel Abt
Daniel Johannes Abt (born 3 December 1992) is a German former racing driver. He has competed in such series as the German Formula Three Championship, the GP3 Series, the GP2 Series, and won the 2009 ADAC Formel Masters championship. He competed i ...
made a fast getaway from seventh on the grid to lead. But Abt and Félix da Costa both had a jump start and got drive-through penalties. Returnee
Mitch Evans
Mitchell William Evans (born 24 June 1994) is a New Zealand professional racing driver. He currently drives for the Jaguar TCS Racing team in Formula E. In 2012, he won the GP3 Series and he raced in the GP2 Series for four years, achieving ...
, who was behind the two drivers after the start, won the opening race at Barcelona.
Status Grand Prix
Status Grand Prix is a former motorsport team registered in Canada.
Team history
Based in Silverstone the team was formed in 2005 to run the A1 Team Ireland franchise in the new A1 Grand Prix series. The team's founders were former Jordan Grand Pr ...
's
Marlon Stöckinger
Marlon Alexander Stöckinger (born April 4, 1991) is a Filipino former racing driver, who raced for Status Grand Prix in the 2012 GP3 Series. He is the first Filipino to win a formula race in Europe.
Stöckinger was the 2006 Asian Karting Cha ...
scored his first series podium, finishing second. Vainio completed the podium. Conor Daly recouped in the sprint race, claiming his first series win. Reverse polesitter
Robert Visoiu
The name Robert is an ancient Germanic given name, from Proto-Germanic "fame" and "bright" (''Hrōþiberhtaz''). Compare Old Dutch ''Robrecht'' and Old High German ''Hrodebert'' (a compound of ''Hrōþ, Hruod'' ( non, Hróðr) "fame, glory ...
and
MW Arden's
Matias Laine were also on podium.
Two weeks later at
Monaco
Monaco (; ), officially the Principality of Monaco (french: Principauté de Monaco; Ligurian: ; oc, Principat de Mónegue), is a sovereign city-state and microstate on the French Riviera a few kilometres west of the Italian region of Lig ...
Vainio took the championship lead from Evans after his first series win from pole position in the feature race. He was joined on the podium by
Atech CRS GP's
Tamás Pál Kiss
Tamás Pál Kiss (born 19 May 1991 in Miskolc) is a Hungarian auto racing driver.
Career
Karting
Kiss made his karting début in 1998 when he was seven years old. During ten years he scored three titles in Hungarian Championships
Formula Ren ...
and
Ocean Racing Technology
Ocean Racing Technology (ORT) was a racing team that took part in both the GP2 Main Series and the GP2 Asia Series Championships. The team, owned by Tiago Monteiro and José Guedes, was formed at the end of the 2008 season after being purchased f ...
's
Kevin Ceccon
Kevin Ceccon (born 24 September 1993 in Clusone) is a professional racing driver from Italy.
Career
Karting
Prior to his single–seater career, Ceccon enjoyed a long and successful spell in the junior karting ranks. In 2005 he achieved a fif ...
. Stöckinger, who started from reverse pole, celebrated his first series win. Félix da Costa and Abt completed the podium. The race was noted by two huge accidents between Carlin team-mates
Alex Brundle
Alex Brundle (born 7 August 1990) is a British Auto racing, racing driver and broadcaster who currently competes in the FIA World Endurance Championship with Inter Europol Competition. He was the 2016 European Le Mans Series champion (LMP3) and ...
and
William Buller, and between
Marussia Manor Racing
Manor Motorsport Ltd, currently trading as Manor Endurance Racing Ltd is a British motor racing company that was formed in 1990 by former single-seater champion John Booth. Manor has participated as a team in many motorsport disciplines since ...
's
Dmitry Suranovich
Dmitry Igorevich Suranovich (russian: Дмитрий Игоревич Суранович, born 27 June 1995 in Minsk) is a retired professional racing driver from Belarus, who has Russian citizenship and races under a Russian racing licence.
Care ...
and Daly.
The next series stop was at
Valencia Street Circuit
The Valencia Street Circuit ( ca-valencia, Circuit Urbà de València, es, Circuito Urbano de Valencia, links=no) was a street circuit in Valencia, Spain which hosted the Formula One European Grand Prix for five years (2008–2012). The fir ...
, where Mitch Evans regained championship lead with win from pole. Aaro Vainio was second, while
David Fumanelli
David Cleto Fumanelli (21 April 1992, Milan) is an Italian racing driver and racing coach.
Single Seater Career
Formula Renault 2.0
Fumanelli, after just two years of national karting races, made his single-seater debut in 2008 in his native It ...
scored his first series podium. Like at Monaco the win in the sprint race was claimed by reverse polesitter. This time it was
Jenzer Motorsport
Jenzer Motorsport is an auto racing team based in Switzerland. Founded in 1993 by Andreas Jenzer the team is currently competing in FIA Formula 3, Italian F4 and F4 Spanish and has had a number of drivers who would turn out to be successful in ...
's
Patric Niederhauser
Patric Niederhauser (born 8 October 1991 in Münsingen) is a professional racing driver from Switzerland and a current Audi Factory Driver. He was the champion of the Formula Abarth Italian Series.
Career
Karting
Niederhauser began karting in ...
, who won the race in GP3 for the first time. Abt and Laine completed the podium.
Prior
Silverstone
Silverstone is a village and civil parish in Northamptonshire, England. It is about from Towcester on the former A43 main road, from the M1 motorway junction 15A and about from the M40 motorway junction 10, Northampton, Milton Keynes and B ...
round António Félix da Costa became part of the
Red Bull Junior Team
The Red Bull Junior Team is a driver development program run by the energy drink company Red Bull GmbH in an attempt to identify potential future racing stars in open wheel racing. The similar Red Bull Driver Search, now ended, was an American ...
and his results increased. He scored his first win of the season, despite start behind championship leaders Evans and Vainio, who joined Félix da Costa on podium. Tyre strategy enabled William Buller to claim the victory in the second race starting from last row on the grid. Daly and Niederhauser completed the podium.
Daniel Abt scored his first pole position on the home soil at
Hockenheim
Hockenheim () is a town in northwest Baden-Württemberg, Germany, about 20 km south of Mannheim and 10 km west of Walldorf. It is located in the Upper Rhine valley on the tourist theme routes "Baden Asparagus Route" () and Bertha Benz M ...
. But wet race conditions helped Patric Niederhauser score his second win. Conor Daly and
Trident Racing
Trident Racing is a motor racing team that competes in single-seater formula racing. It was founded in 2006 in order to compete in the GP2 championship, which was Europe's second highest-ranking single-seater formula below Formula One. Trident is ...
's
Giovanni Venturini
Giovanni Venturini (born 9 November 1991 in Vicenza) is a professional racing driver from Italy.
Career
Formula 2000 Light
Venturini began his Formula racing career in November 2008, racing in the Formula 2000 Light Italy Winter Trophy, where h ...
joined him on podium. Evans extended championship lead by winning the sprint race. He was joined by Lotus GP's Abt and Daly. The race was noted by airborne accidents which left
Vicky Piria
Vittoria "Vicky" Piria (born 11 November 1993 in Milan) is an Italian-British racing driver who currently races in Formula Renault Eurocup and W Series.
Career
Karting
Piria grew up in Perugia in Umbria, she began karting in 2003 and raced p ...
and
Fabiano Machado
Fabiano Machado (born 28 May 1986) is a Brazilian professional racing driver.
Career
Karting
Machado began karting in 2003 and raced primarily in his native Brazil for the majority of his career.
Formula Three Sudamericana
Machado graduated to ...
with injuries.
António Félix da Costa was unstoppable at
Budapest
Budapest (, ; ) is the capital and most populous city of Hungary. It is the ninth-largest city in the European Union by population within city limits and the second-largest city on the Danube river; the city has an estimated population ...
, becoming the first GP3 Series driver, who had double win during the weekend. Habitual residents of the podium Abt, Evans and Niederhauser rose again on the podium stages, with Alex Brundle, who joined them for the first time.
Results
Championship standings
;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
;Race 2 points
Points were awarded to the top 8 classified finishers.
Drivers' Championship
Notes:
*† — Drivers did not finish the race, but were classified as they completed over 90% of the race distance.
Teams' Championship
Notes:
*† — Drivers did not finish the race, but were classified as they completed over 90% of the race distance.
Footnotes
References
External links
Official website
{{GP2 Seasons
GP3
GP3 Series seasons
GP3
GP3 Series
The GP3 Series, or GP3 for short, was a single-seater motor racing series launched in 2010 as a feeder series for the GP2 Series, introduced by GP2 organiser Bruno Michel. GP3 followed the entire European leg of the Formula One series and the ...