The 2016 GP2 Series season was the fiftieth season of the second-tier of

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, ...

feeder championship and also twelfth and final season under 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 Eccles ...

moniker, a

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 t ...

feeder series that was run in support of the 2016 FIA Formula One World Championship. It was the final season run under the "GP2 Series" name, with the championship being rebranded as the

FIA Formula 2 Championship The FIA Formula 2 Championship is a second-tier single-seater championship organised by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). Held on racing circuits, the championship was introduced in 2017, following the rebranding of the l ...

from . It was also originally scheduled to be the final season for the

Dallara GP2/11 The Dallara GP2/11 is a racing car developed by Italian manufacturer Dallara for use in the GP2 Series, a feeder series for Formula One. The GP2/11 is the overall third generation of car used by the GP2 Series and first generation of car used by ...

chassis that was introduced 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 celebrates ...

and the

Mecachrome Mecachrome SAS is a precision engineering company based in France that operates in the aerospace, motor racing, energy and defence sectors. History Mecachrome was founded in 1937 in Colombes, France. As a precision engineering company, Mecachrome ...

4.0 litre V8 normally-aspirated engine package that débuted in the maiden season of the series in 2005 before a brand new chassis and engine package was introduced for 2017, however due to another cost-cutting, the series announced it would keep the current chassis and engine package for one more season.

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 ...

started the season as the defending teams' champions after securing the title–their fourth in the championship–at the series' second visit to the

Bahrain International Circuit The Bahrain International Circuit ( ar, حلبة البحرين الدولية, Ḥalba al-Baḥrayn ad-Dawliyya) is a motorsport venue opened in 2004 and used for drag racing, GP2 Series (now FIA Formula 2), and the annual Formula One Bahrain ...

in 2015.

Prema Racing 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 ...

won the Teams' championship, their first in the series and first attempt, while

Pierre Gasly Pierre Gasly (; born 7 February 1996) is a French racing driver, currently competing in Formula One under the French flag, racing for Scuderia AlphaTauri. He is the 2016 GP2 Series champion, and the runner-up in the 2014 Formula Renault 3.5 ...

won the Drivers' championship.

took 4 race wins and the Championship. The most races were won by Gasly’s teammate

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 ...

, who took 5 victories, Sergey Sirotkin took victories at

Mogyoród Mogyoród is a small traditional village in Pest County, Hungary. The Battle of Mogyoród took place here on 14 March 1074, between Solomon, King of Hungary and his cousins Géza and Ladislaus, who were claiming rights to the throne. To commemo ...

in the sprint race, and in Hockenheim - he took pole position and won the race.

Alex Lynn Alexander George Lynn (born 17 September 1993) is a British racing driver. He most recently competed in Formula E, driving for Mahindra Racing in the 2021 season, winning the second race of his home ePrix in London. Lynn has also competed full- ...

got 3 sprint races wins,

Racing Engineering Racing Engineering is a Spanish racing team founded in 1999 by Alfonso de Orléans-Borbón that currently competes in the NASCAR Whelen Euro Series. The team's headquarters are located in Sanlúcar de Barrameda, near Jerez, where all car prep ...

drivers

Jordan King Jordan King (born 26 February 1994 in Warwick) is a British racing driver from Harbury, Warwickshire who last competed in the 2019–20 FIA World Endurance Championship. He is currently a reserve and development driver for the Mahindra Formu ...

and

Norman Nato Norman Nato (born 8 July 1992) is a French professional racing driver who is currently driving for Realteam Racing in the FIA World Endurance Championship. Nato is known for finishing as the runner-up in the 2010 F4 Eurocup 1.6 season and the 2 ...

took 2 race wins each, and

Luca Ghiotto Luca Ghiotto (born 24 February 1995) is an Italian racing driver who most recently raced in the FIA Formula 2 Championship for DAMS. Career Karting Born in Arzignano, Ghiotto entered karting in 2008, when he took the title in the KF3 class of ...

Artem Markelov Artem Valeryevich Markelov ( rus, Артём Вале́рьевич Марке́лов, p=ɐrˈtʲɵm vɐˈlʲerʲjɪvʲɪtɕ mɐrˈkʲeləf; born 10 September 1994) is a Russian racing driver who last competed in the FIA Formula 2 Championship ...

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, achievin ...

and

Nobuharu Matsushita is a Japanese racing driver currently competing in Super GT and Super Formula. He formerly competed in the 2020 FIA Formula 2 Championship for MP Motorsport before being replaced by current Super Formula driver Giuliano Alesi. Early career ...

each got 1 race win.

Teams and drivers

Team changes

* Lazarus left the series at the end of the 2015 season, with their place taken by Prema Racing. *

Hilmer Motorsport Hilmer Motorsport was a German racing team established in 2013 by Franz Hilmer. The team first raced in the GP2 Series, starting in 2013, replacing Ocean Racing Technology. Hilmer joined the GP3 Series in 2014 with support from Force India, re ...

left the series at the end of the 2015 season. As no replacement team could be found, the grid was left at twenty-two cars. *

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 ...

also left the series before the 2016 season due to not being able to find any well-budgeted drivers and also lack of sponsorship for their second season. With the demise of the team, there were no number #16 and #17 cars on the grid.

Driver changes

;Changing teams *

Sergio Canamasas Sergio Canamasas Español (born 30 April 1986) is a former racing driver from Spain. Career Formula Three Canamasas made his Formula racing debut in 2007, racing in the Spanish Formula Three Championship for the Cetea Sport team. He took part i ...

, who raced for

MP Motorsport MP Motorsport (previously Marcel Peters Motorsport) is a Dutch auto racing team currently competing in the FIA Formula 2 Championship. The team has also participated in Auto GP, Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0 and Formula Renault 2.0 Northern Europea ...

and Daiko Team Lazarus in

2015 File:2015 Events Collage new.png, From top left, clockwise: Civil service in remembrance of November 2015 Paris attacks; Germanwings Flight 9525 was purposely crashed into the French Alps; the rubble of residences in Kathmandu following the April ...

, switched to Carlin. *

and

Sean Gelael Muhammad Sean Ricardo Gelael (born 1 November 1996) is an Indonesians, Indonesian racing driver currently competing with W Racing Team, WRT in the FIA World Endurance Championship. He competed in GP2 Series from 2015 to 2016, and the FIA Formula ...

, who drove for

Russian Time Russian Time (previously known as RT Russian Time) was a Russian motor racing team founded by Igor Mazepa to compete in the GP2 Series, a category of open-wheel racing cars designed to prepare drivers for Formula One. From 2015 to 2018, the ...

and Carlin respectively in 2015, moved to

Campos Racing Campos Racing is a Spanish motor racing team, founded by former Formula One driver Adrián Campos. The team has been successful in Formula Three and the GP2 Series. History After retiring from racing, Campos formed his own team at the end of 1 ...

. *

, who spent the 2015 season with

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 ...

, moved to newcomers

. *

Nicholas Latifi Nicholas Daniel Latifi (born 29 June 1995) is a Canadian racing driver who last raced for Williams Racing under the Canadian flag in the 2022 Formula One World Championship. Latifi made his Formula One debut at the 2020 Austrian Grand Prix a ...

, who took part in three rounds of the 2015 season with

, switched to a full-time seat with

. *

Gustav Malja Gustav Malja (born 4 November 1995) is a Swedish racing driver. Career Karting Born in Malmö, Sweden, Malja began his karting career in Formula Micro in 2006, winning the Gunnar Nilsson Memorial trophy the following year. By 2009 he had pr ...

, who raced for Trident and Rapax in 2015, switched Formula Renault 3.5 Series to race full-time with Rapax. *

Raffaele Marciello Raffaele "Lello" Marciello (; born 17 December 1994) is a Swiss-born Italian professional racing driver. A former member of the Ferrari Driver Academy, he was the 2013 European Formula Three Champion, a reserve and test driver for the Sauber F ...

, who raced for

Trident A trident is a three- pronged spear. It is used for spear fishing and historically as a polearm. The trident is the weapon of Poseidon, or Neptune, the God of the Sea in classical mythology. The trident may occasionally be held by other mar ...

in 2015, moved to Russian Time. *

, who raced for

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 ...

in 2015, switched to

. *

Arthur Pic Arthur Pic (born October 5, 1991) is a French retired racing driver. He competed in the GP2 Series between 2014 and 2016. Career Karting Like most top-line drivers, Pic began his racing career in karting, contesting the 2005 French Junior Champ ...

, who raced for Campos in 2014 and 2015, switched to Rapax. *

Oliver Rowland Oliver Rowland (born 10 August 1992) is a British racing driver. He is currently competing full-time in Formula E driving for Mahindra Racing. He has previously competed for Manor Motorsport in the 2018 WEC season, and he was also previously t ...

, who previously raced part-time for MP Motorsport and

, is contesting the full season with MP Motorsport, with backing from

Renault Groupe Renault ( , , , also known as the Renault Group in English; legally Renault S.A.) is a French multinational automobile manufacturer established in 1899. The company produces a range of cars and vans, and in the past has manufactured ...

. * Sergey Sirotkin, who finished third in 2015, moved from

Rapax Rapax Team was an Italian motor racing team. The team's history can be traced back to when the GP Racing team was founded in 1997, and also to when Piquet Sports was created in 2000 by triple world champion Nelson Piquet. In 2007, Piquet Sports a ...

to defending champions

. ;Entering GP2 * 2015 Formula Renault 3.5 Series competitor Philo Paz Armand joined the series with Trident. *GP3 Series race winner

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 ...

made his series début with Arden International. * 2015 GP3 runner-up

graduated to the series with Trident. * 2015 European Formula 3 runner-up

made his début in the series with Prema Racing. *

Nabil Jeffri Muhammad Nabil Jan Al bin Jeffri (born 24 October 1993, in Kuala Lumpur) is a Malaysian racing driver. Career Jeffri began his career in karting winning the Asian and Malaysian Rotax Max Junior titles in 2009. He stepped up to Formula BMW Pac ...

joined the series with Arden International. *

Marvin Kirchhöfer Marvin Kirchhöfer (born 19 March 1994) is a German racing driver. Career Karting Born in Leipzig, Saxony, Kirchhöfer began karting in 1999 and mainly raced in Germany, working his way up from the junior ranks (Bambini-B) to the KF2 categor ...

, who placed third in the

2014 File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wa ...

and

GP3 Series joined the series with Carlin. ;Leaving GP2 *

Nathanaël Berthon Nathanaël Berthon (born 1 July 1989 in Romagnat) is a professional racing driver from France. Career Karting Berthon began his international karting career in 2006, with the highlights being a third-place finish in the Copa Campeones Trophy I ...

left Lazarus and the series to join the

FIA World Endurance Championship The FIA World Endurance Championship is an auto racing world championship organized by the Automobile Club de l'Ouest (ACO) and sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The series supersedes the ACO's former Intercont ...

with G-Drive Racing. * Rene Binder left

to join Lotus in Formula V8 3.5 Series. * Rio Haryanto left Campos Racing and the series to join

team

Manor Racing Manor Grand Prix Racing Limited, trading as Manor Racing MRT or Pertamina Manor Racing MRT, was a British Formula One racing team and constructor based in Banbury, Oxfordshire in the United Kingdom. The team originally started racing in 2010 ...

. *

André Negrão André Negrão (born 17 June 1992, Campinas, São Paulo, Brazil) is a Brazilian driver in the World Endurance Championship (WEC), world champion in the WEC's superseason 2018/2019 and twice winner in the 24 Hours of Le Mans (2018 and 2019) in t ...

and Dean Stoneman left Arden and Carlin and the series to join 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 progra ...

with

Schmidt Peterson Motorsports The IndyCar Series operation of McLaren Racing competes under the banner of Arrow McLaren SP. This entry is based in Indianapolis and was founded by former driver Sam Schmidt as Sam Schmidt Motorsports. Fellow ex-driver Davey Hamilton joined as ...

and

Andretti Autosport Andretti Autosport is an auto racing team that competes in the IndyCar Series, Indy Lights, Indy Pro 2000, and Formula E. The team also has a 37.5% ownership stake in the Australian Supercars Championship touring car team, Walkinshaw Andretti ...

. *

Richie Stanaway Richie Stanaway (born 24 November 1991) is a racing car driver from New Zealand. Career New Zealand Born in Tauranga, Stanaway was originally from a motocross background, before making the switch to speedway at the age of twelve. Following tha ...

and

Marco Sørensen Marco L. Sørensen (born 6 September 1990) is a Danish racing driver currently racing for Aston Martin Racing as a factory driver in the FIA World Endurance Championship. He was part of the Renault Driver Development. He has competed in such ser ...

, who raced for Status Grand Prix and Carlin, left to join the FIA World Endurance Championship with

Aston Martin Racing Aston Martin Racing is a British auto racing team established in 2004 as a partnership between automobile manufacturer Aston Martin and engineering group Prodrive. The partnership was initially created for the purpose of returning Aston ...

. * 2015 season champion

Stoffel Vandoorne Stoffel Vandoorne (born 26 March 1992) is a Belgian professional racing driver who is currently racing for Dragon Racing in Formula E. He had previously competed in Formula One for McLaren from 2016 to 2018. He is currently a test driver of M ...

left the series as the reigning champion is not permitted to continue competing in the series. He joined the

Super Formula The Japanese Super Formula Championship is a formula racing series. It is considered as being the top level of single-seater racing in Japan and regional motorsports in Asia. The series is sanctioned by the Japan Automobile Federation (JAF) and ...

with Docomo Team Dandelion Racing. ;Mid-season changes *

driver

was suspended for the fourth round of the season in Austria due to erratic driving at the previous event in Baku. He was replaced by

René Binder René Binder (born 1 January 1992) is an Austrian racing driver. He is the nephew of former Formula One driver Hans Binder, and his father, Franz, was also a racing driver. Career Binder was born in Innsbruck. He began his racing career in ...

. Binder later joined Carlin, replacing

Calendar

On 4 March 2016, the full calendar was revealed with eleven rounds taking place.

Calendar changes

* The series returned to the

Hockenheimring The Hockenheimring Baden-Württemberg () is a motor racing circuit situated in the Rhine valley near the town of Hockenheim in Baden-Württemberg, Germany, located on the Bertha Benz Memorial Route. Amongst other motor racing events, it has h ...

in support of the

German Grand Prix The German Grand Prix (german: Großer Preis von Deutschland) was a motor race that took place most years since 1926, with 75 races having been held. The race has been held at only three venues throughout its history; the Nürburgring in Rh ...

, and the Sepang International Circuit. ** With the return to Germany, the second Bahrain round—which had filled in as a replacement event in 2015—was removed from the calendar. * The rounds at the

and the

Sochi Autodrom The Sochi Autodrom (russian: Сочи Автодром, Sochi Avtodrom), previously known as the Sochi International Street Circuit and the Sochi Olympic Park Circuit, is a permanent race track in the settlement of Sirius next to the Black Sea r ...

were discontinued after the

Bahrain Bahrain ( ; ; ar, البحرين, al-Bahrayn, locally ), officially the Kingdom of Bahrain, ' is an island country in Western Asia. It is situated on the Persian Gulf, and comprises a small archipelago made up of 50 natural islands and a ...

and Russian Grands Prix were brought forward to the start of the Formula One season. * The series made its début at the

Baku City Circuit The Baku City Circuit ( az, Bakı Şəhər Halqası) is a motor racing street circuit located in Baku, Azerbaijan constructed near Baku Boulevard. A lap of the circuit is , making it the third-longest circuit on the Formula One calendar (after C ...

in support of the returning

European Grand Prix The European Grand Prix (also known as the Grand Prix of Europe) was a Formula One event that was introduced during the mid-1980s and was held every year from to , except in . During these years, the European Grand Prix was held in a count ...

Results and standings

Season summary

Scoring system

Points were awarded to the top 10 classified finishers in the Feature race, and to the top 8 classified finishers in the Sprint race. The pole-sitter in the feature race also received four points, and two points were given to the driver who set the fastest lap inside the top ten in both the feature and sprint races. No extra points were awarded to the pole-sitter in the sprint race. ;Feature race points ;Sprint race 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.

Teams and drivers

Team changes

Driver changes

Calendar

Calendar changes

Results and standings

Season summary

Scoring system

Drivers' championship

Teams' championship

Notes

References

External links