The 2016 FIA Formula 3 European Championship was a multi-event

motor racing Motorsport, motorsports or motor sport is a global term used to encompass the group of competitive sporting events which primarily involve the use of motorized vehicles. The terminology can also be used to describe forms of competition of two ...

championship for single-seat

open wheel An open-wheel single-seater (often known as formula car) is a car with the wheels outside the car's main body, and usually having only one seat. Open-wheel cars contrast with street cars, sports cars, stock cars, and touring cars, which have thei ...

formula racing cars that is held across

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

. The championship features drivers competing in two-litre Formula Three racing cars which conform to the technical regulations, or formula, for the championship. It is the fifth edition of the

FIA Formula 3 European Championship The FIA Formula 3 European Championship was a European Formula Three(F3) auto racing competition, organised by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). After one season of the FIA Formula 3 International Trophy, the FIA revived th ...

Felix Rosenqvist Felix Rosenqvist (born 7 November 1991) is a Swedish professional racing driver who currently drives the No. 6 Chevrolet for Arrow McLaren SP in the NTT IndyCar Series. He was named Rookie of the Year for the IndyCar Series in 2019. Racing care ...

was the defending drivers' champion, but was unable to defend his title, because of a new rule which determined that drivers could spend no more than three years in the category. His team,

Prema Powerteam Prema Powerteam (competing as Prema Racing in the FIA Formula 2 Championship, the FIA Formula 3 Championship and European Le Mans Series and as Prema Orlen Team in the FIA World Endurance Championship) is a motorsport team from Italy. It mainly ...

, were the defending winners of the teams' championship. 2016 was the final season that the

Dallara F312 The Dallara F312 is an open-wheel racing car developed by Italian manufacturer Dallara for use in all Formula Three categories. The car has proved to be one of the most popular Formula 3 Chassis ever, with over 53 of the original type having been p ...

chassis package, which débuted in the 2012 season, was used in competition, as a brand new chassis package was introduced for

2017 File:2017 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The War Against ISIS at the Battle of Mosul (2016-2017); aftermath of the Manchester Arena bombing; The Solar eclipse of August 21, 2017 ("Great American Eclipse"); North Korea tests a ser ...

Teams and drivers

The following teams and drivers competed during the 2016 season:

Driver changes

;Joining FIA European Formula 3 * 2015 Italian F4 champion

Ralf Aron Ralf Aron (born 21 March 1998) is an Estonian former racing driver, who competed in the Italian F4 Championship, ADAC Formula 4 and European Formula 3 championships for Prema Powerteam and Hitech GP. He is now a team manager at Prema, but c ...

entered the series with

. *

Ben Barnicoat Ben Barnicoat (born 20 December 1996) is a British racing driver who currently serves as a McLaren factory racing driver, while also competing in the 2022 FIA World Endurance Championship for Project 1 Motorsport. He has previously raced in the ...

, who came fourth in the 2015 Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0 season, joined the series with HitechGP, after an initial deal with Prema Powerteam fell through. *

David Beckmann David Alexander Beckmann (born 27 April 2000) is a German racing driver currently racing in the Formula 2 with Van Amersfoort Racing. Career Karting Beckmann began karting in 2008, collecting major karting wins in 2009, 2012 and 2014. He rem ...

, who raced in

ADAC Formula 4 ADAC Formula 4 (german: ADAC Formel 4) is a racing series regulated according to FIA Formula 4 regulations. The inaugural season was the 2015 ADAC Formula 4. It replaced the ADAC Formel Masters, held from 2008 to 2014. History Gerhard Berger and ...

, continued his collaboration 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 ...

into the championship, but missed the first two rounds on account of his age. *

Nick Cassidy Nick Cassidy (born 19 August 1994) is a New Zealand racing driver, currently competing in Formula E for Envision Racing, and in the World Endurance Championship and Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters with AF Corse. He has won the 2017 championship in ...

, who raced for Prema Powerteam in two rounds of the 2015 season, raced full-time with the team. *ADAC Formula 4 runner-up Joel Eriksson, brother of GP3 driver

Jimmy Eriksson Jimmy Eriksson (born 14 March 1991 in Tomelilla) is a Swedish race car driver who drove in the GP2 Series for Arden International in the 2016 GP2 Series Career Karting Eriksson made his karting debut in 2005, at the age of fourteen. In 2008 he ...

, joined the series with Motopark. *

Anthoine Hubert Anthoine Hubert (; 22 September 1996 – 31 August 2019) was a French professional racing driver. He was the 2018 GP3 Series champion and a member of the Renault Sport Academy. He died at the age of 22, following an accident during the featur ...

, who finished fifth in the 2015 Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0 season, joined the series with

Van Amersfoort Racing Van Amersfoort Racing is an auto racing team based in the Netherlands. In 2022 the team competes in the Formula 2 Championship, the Formula 3 Championship, the Formula Regional European Championship, Euroformula Open Championship, Italian F4 Cha ...

. *2015 SMP F4 champion and Red Bull Junior driver

Niko Kari Niko Kari (born 6 October 1999) is a Finnish racing driver who last raced in the FIA Formula 3 Championship with Jenzer Motorsport. He won his first single-seater championship, the 2015 SMP F4 Championship, in his debut year in car racing and is ...

joined the series with Motopark. *

Nikita Mazepin Nikita Dmitryevich Mazepin ( rus, Ники́та Дми́триевич Мазе́пин, p=nʲɪˈkʲitə ˈdmʲɪtrʲɪjɪvʲɪtɕ mɐˈzʲepʲɪn; born 2 March 1999) is a Russian professional auto racing, racing driver who competes in rally ...

joined the series with HitechGP. *

Harrison Newey Harrison Newey (born 25 July 1998) is a British racing driver and the son of Formula One engineer Adrian Newey. He made his ADAC Formula 4 debut in 2015 with Van Amersfoort Racing. He also competed in the BRDC Formula 4 Championship The GB ...

, son of F1 engineer

Adrian Newey Adrian Martin Newey, (born 26 December 1958) is a British Formula One engineer. He is currently the chief technical officer of the Red Bull Racing F1 team. Newey has worked in both Formula One and American Championship car racing, IndyCar raci ...

and runner-up in BRDC Formula 4, made his debut in the series with

. *

Pedro Piquet Pedro Estácio Leão Piquet Souto Maior (born 3 July 1998) is a Brazilian former racing driver. He is the son of three-time Formula One world champion Nelson Piquet and younger half brother of Formula E champion Nelson Piquet Jr. He is known for ...

, son of three time

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, ...

champion

Nelson Piquet Nelson Piquet Souto Maior (, born 17 August 1952) is a Brazilian retired racing driver and businessman. Since his retirement, Piquet, a three-time World Champion, has been ranked among the greatest Formula One (F1) drivers in various motorspo ...

and two-time Brazilian Formula Three champion, stepped up to the series with Van Amersfoort Racing. * 2015 Italian F4 runner-up

Guanyu Zhou Zhou Guanyu (, pronounced ; born 30 May 1999) is a Chinese racing driver who currently competes in Formula One for Alfa Romeo. He is the first Chinese driver to compete in Formula One. He competed in the FIA Formula 2 Championship for UNI-Vir ...

joined the championship with Motopark. ;Changing Teams *

Maximilian Günther Maximilian Günther (born 2 July 1997) is a German racing driver currently competing in Formula E for Maserati MSG Racing. Günther has previously driven in Formula 2 with Arden and for Dragon Racing, BMW i Andretti and Nissan e.dams in Formul ...

, who raced for Mücke Motorsport for most of 2015 before switching to Prema Powerteam during the last round, stayed with Prema in 2016. *

Raoul Hyman Raoul Joshua Hyman (born 12 May 1996) is a South African racing driver scheduled to compete in the 2023 Super Formula Championship, Super Formula Championship for B-Max Racing. He is the 2022 Formula Regional Americas Championship, 2022 Formula R ...

switched from Team West-Tec F3 to Carlin. *

Callum Ilott Callum Benjamin Ilott ( ; born 11 November 1998) is a British racing driver competing in the NTT IndyCar Series for Juncos Hollinger Racing. He was the official reserve driver for Alfa Romeo for the 2021 Formula One World Championship season an ...

, who raced for Carlin in 2015, switched to Van Amersfoort Racing. *

Zhi Cong Li Zhi Cong "Peter" Li (, born 23 August 1993 in Guangzhou) is a racing driver from China. He formerly competed in the FIA Formula 3 European Championship The FIA Formula 3 European Championship was a European Formula Three(F3) auto racing co ...

switched from

Fortec Motorsport Fortec Motorsport Ltd. is a motor-racing team that races in the GB3 Championship. The team was bought in 1995 by current owner Richard Dutton. Past drivers for the team include Juan Pablo Montoya, Gianmaria Bruni, Danny Watts, Jamie Green, Jame ...

s to Carlin. *

Alessio Lorandi Alessio Lorandi (born 8 September 1998) is an Italian racing driver. Career Karting Lorandi began his racing career in karting in 2007. Lorandi won the Karting Federation Junior championship in 2013. He remained in karting until 2014. Formul ...

, who raced for Van Amersfoort in 2015, switched to Carlin. *

Arjun Maini Arjun Maini (born 10 December 1997) is an Indian professional racing driver, currently competing in the DTM. He has previously also competed in FIA Formula 2 Championship with Trident Racing, as well as Campos Racing. Early life Maini comes ...

, switched from Van Amersfoort Racing to T-Sport. * George Russell, who raced for Carlin in 2015, switched to HitechGP. ;Leaving Formula 3 *

Jake Dennis Jake Dennis (born 16 June 1995) is a British racing driver who lives in Nuneaton, Warwickshire. He currently competes in the Formula E World Championship with Avalanche Andretti Formula E. Early career Karting Dennis began his racing career i ...

Tatiana Calderón Tatiana Calderón Noguera (born 10 March 1993) is a Colombian racing driver who currently drives the No. 11 Dallara- Chevrolet car part-time for A. J. Foyt Enterprises in the 2022 IndyCar Series. Calderón previously drove for the Drago Cors ...

and

Santino Ferrucci Santino Michael Ferrucci (born May 31, 1998) is an American professional racing driver. He competes in the IndyCar Series, driving the No 14 Chevrolet for A.J. Foyt Racing. He has also previously raced in the FIA Formula 2 Championship. Career ...

, who finished third, 27th and 11th in the 2015 season, stepped up to GP3 with

Arden International Arden International is a multiple formula racing team created and run by Christian Horner and Garry Horner. It currently runs teams in the Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0 and F4 British Championship, and formerly ran in the FIA Formula 2 Championship ...

and

DAMS A dam is a barrier that stops or restricts the flow of surface water or underground streams. Reservoirs created by dams not only suppress floods but also provide water for activities such as irrigation, human consumption, industrial use, ...

respectively. *Rookie champion

Charles Leclerc Charles Marc Hervé Perceval Leclerc (; born 16 October 1997) is a Monégasque racing driver, currently racing in Formula One for Scuderia Ferrari. He won the GP3 Series championship in 2016 and the FIA Formula 2 Championship in . Leclerc ma ...

and

Alexander Albon Alexander Albon Ansusinha ( th, อเล็กซานเดอร์ อัลบอน อังศุสิงห์; , , born 23 March 1996) is a Thai-British racing driver currently competing in Formula One for Williams Racing, under th ...

, who finished fourth and seventh in 2015 respectively, left the series to compete in GP3 with

ART Grand Prix ART Grand Prix is a French motor racing team that competes in formula single-seaters in Europe. In 2012, it competed in the GP2 Series and GP3 Series as Lotus GP to reflect sponsorship from British sports and racing car manufacturer Lotus. The ...

. *2015 runner-up

Antonio Giovinazzi Antonio Maria Giovinazzi (; born 14 December 1993) is an Italian racing driver who currently serves as the reserve driver for Scuderia Ferrari, Haas and Alfa Romeo Racing. He was the 2015 FIA Formula 3 European Championship runner-up and race ...

stepped up to GP2 with

. *

Pietro Fittipaldi Pietro Fittipaldi da Cruz (born 25 June 1996) is a Brazilian-American racing driver, the grandson of two-time Formula One world champion Emerson Fittipaldi and brother of racing driver Enzo Fittipaldi. Fittipaldi is racing in European Le Mans ...

, who finished 17th in 2015, stepped up to

Formula V8 3.5 The World Series Formula V8 3.5, formerly the World Series by Nissan from 1998 to 2004, the Formula Renault 3.5 Series from 2005 to 2015 and the Formula V8 3.5 in 2016 and 2017, was a motor racing series promoted by RPM Racing (1998–2004) and R ...

with Fortec. *2015 champion

was ruled out of returning to the series due to a new rule, which said that drivers could spend no more than three years in the category. He joined the

Indy Lights Indy NXT, previously Indy Lights, is an American developmental automobile racing series sanctioned by IndyCar, currently known as Firestone Indy NXT Series for sponsorship reasons. Indy Lights is the highest step on the Road to Indy, a program ...

with

Belardi Auto Racing Belardi Auto Racing was an American racing team in the Indy Lights series. The team was owned by Brian Belardi, who competed in SCCA. Belardi was previously located in Illinois before moving to Brownsburg, Indiana. Indy Lights 2011-2013 Jorge ...

Team changes

*After making two appearances in the 2015 season, HitechGP returned full-time to the series, in collaboration with

. *

Double R Racing Double R Racing is a motor racing team, which races in Formula Three and other junior levels of formula racing including the MSA Formula Championship for the 2016 season. The team was formed in November 2004 as Räikkönen Robertson Racing by th ...

Signature Team Signatech, formerly known as Signature, is a French auto racing team and racing car constructor that competes in the FIA World Endurance Championship. The team won the FIA European Formula Three Cup in 1999 with Benoît Tréluyer. It won the F ...

EuroInternational EuroInternational is a racing organization (which includes Italian division EuroInternational Srl and American division EuroInternational Inc.) owned by Antonio Ferrari, grandnephew of Enzo Ferrari, formerly known as Euromotorsport. History Origi ...

Team West-Tec Team West-Tec F3 is a motor racing team owned by Gavin Wills and John Miller based in Corby in the United Kingdom, the most successful team in the history of the European F3 Open Championship, it also won two drivers championships in the ASCAR ...

and

Artline Engineering ArtLine Engineering (russian: АртЛайн Инжиниринг) is a racing team and race car manufacturer based in Russia and Georgia and specialized on design and production of single seater race cars named ArtTech. The team was estab ...

withdrew.

Calendar

A provisional ten-round calendar was announced on 2 December 2015.

Results

Championship standings

;Scoring system

Drivers' championship

Rookies' Championship

Teams' championship

Prior to each round of the championship, two drivers from each team – if applicable – were nominated to score teams' championship points.

Footnotes

References

External links

* {{Use dmy dates, date=November 2015 FIA Formula 3 European Championship

Formula 3 Formula Three, also called Formula 3, abbreviated as F3, is a third-tier class of open-wheel formula racing. The various championships held in Europe, Australia, South America and Asia form an important step for many prospective Formula One driv ...