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 tw ...

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 chassis that was introduced in 2011 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, Mecachrom ...

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 rac ...

, 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 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 ...

- 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, Artem Markelov, Mitch Evans and Nobuharu Matsushita 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 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 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, 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 ...

, Hilmer Motorsport and Daiko Team Lazarus in 2015, switched to Carlin. * Mitch Evans and

Sean Gelael Muhammad Sean Ricardo Gelael (born 1 November 1996) is an Indonesian racing driver currently competing with WRT in the FIA World Endurance Championship. He competed in GP2 Series from 2015 to 2016, and the FIA Formula 2 Championship from 2017 ...

, who drove for Russian Time 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, 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 mari ...

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 Status Grand Prix, 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 manufacture ...

. * Sergey Sirotkin, who finished third in 2015, moved from Rapax 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 Luca Ghiotto graduated to the series with Trident. * 2015 European Formula 3 runner-up

made his début in the series with Prema Racing. * Nabil Jeffri 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 category ...

, 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 wat ...

and 2015 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 with G-Drive Racing. * Rene Binder left

to join Lotus in Formula V8 3.5 Series. *

Rio Haryanto Rio Haryanto (born 22 January 1993) is an Indonesian racing driver and a former Formula One driver for Manor during 2016 season. He last competed in the 2019-20 Asian Le Mans Series and in the Blancpain GT World Challenge Asia for T2 Motorsp ...

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 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, 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 Asto ...

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

driver Nobuharu Matsushita 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 Sergio Canamasas.

Calendar

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

Calendar changes

* The series returned to the Hockenheimring 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 The Sepang International Circuit ( ms, Litar Antarabangsa Sepang) is a motorsport race track in Sepang, Selangor, Malaysia. It is located approximately south of Kuala Lumpur, and close to Kuala Lumpur International Airport. It hosted the Fo ...

. ** 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 an ...

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 countr ...

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