2016 GP3 Series


The 2016 GP3 Series was the seventh season of the third-tier of Formula One feeder championship and also seventh season under the moniker of GP3 Series, a motor racing feeder series that runs in support of the 2016 FIA Formula One World Championship and sister series GP2. In keeping with the series' philosophy of updating its technical regulations every three years, the Dallara GP3/13 chassis introduced in the 2013 season was discontinued and Dallara supplied all teams with a new model known as the GP3/16, which will be used until 2018.
Mecachrome took over as official engine supplier of the series from 2016 onwards, replacing AER 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. Monegasque driver Charles Leclerc, who drove for ART Grand Prix, won the drivers' title after the first race in the final round in Abu Dhabi.
The most races were won by runner-up Alexander Albon, who scored 4 race wins, he lost the title by 25 points to his ART Grand Prix teammate Charles Leclerc who took 3 feature race wins; Antonio Fuoco took 2 race wins, Jake Dennis and Nyck de Vries also took 2 podiums each on the top step. Jake Hughes took 2 sprint race wins; he won in Hockenheim and Yas Marina. Jack Aitken, Matthew Parry, and Ralph Boschung each took 1 race win during the season.

Teams and drivers

Teams are allowed to run four cars to compensate for the drop in the number of entries. The starting grid for any individual race meeting may contain a possible maximum of 28 cars across seven teams.
TeamDriver nameRounds

Driver changes

;Entering GP3
;Changing teams
  • Antonio Fuoco and Sandy Stuvik, who raced with Carlin and Status Grand Prix in 2015 respectively, switched to Trident.
  • 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.
;Leaving GP3
;Mid-season changes
  • European Formula 3 driver Arjun Maini replaced Óscar Tunjo at Jenzer Motorsport from the Silverstone round onwards.
  • Ralph Boschung was replaced by 2015 SMP F4 Championship winner Niko Kari, for the Spa round, with the team citing financial reasons for the decision.
  • Alessio Lorandi joined Jenzer Motorsport for the last two rounds at Sepang and Yas Marina.

    Team changes

  • After having competed in the series since its inaugural season, Carlin and Status Grand Prix left the championship due to lack of sponsorships.
  • DAMS, which operates across multiple single-seater championships, left Formula Renault 3.5 Series to join the GP3 series.
  • Virtuosi Racing were scheduled to enter, but were removed from the entry list before the season.

    Calendar

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

Calendar changes

Season summary

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
Position 1st 2nd 3rd 4th 5th 6th 7th 8th 9th 10th Pole
Points25181512108642142

;Race 2 points
Points were awarded to the top 8 classified finishers.
Position 1st 2nd 3rd 4th 5th 6th 7th 8th
Points151210864212

Drivers' championship

Notes:
  • † — Drivers did not finish the race, but were classified as they completed over 90% of the race distance.

    Teams' championship

Only three best-finishing cars are allowed to score points in the championship.
Notes:
  • † — Drivers did not finish the race, but were classified as they completed over 90% of the race distance.