2012 GP3 Series

The 2012 GP3 Series season was the third season of the GP3 Series, a feeder series for the GP2 Series. The season began at Barcelona on 12 May and concluded at Autodromo Nazionale Monza on 9 September after eight rounds made up of two races each and all in support of European Formula One Grands Prix. The winner of the championship was Mitch Evans from New Zealand driving for the MW Arden team.

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.^[1]

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^[2] that only twenty-seven drivers would take place with Mücke Motorsport missing from the grid.

Team	No.	Driver	Rounds
Lotus GP[3]	1	Daniel Abt[4]	All
	2	Conor Daly[5]	All
	3	Aaro Vainio[6]	All
MW Arden[7]	4	Mitch Evans[8]	All
	5	David Fumanelli[9]	All
	6	Matias Laine[10]	All
Marussia Manor Racing[7]	7	Dmitry Suranovich[11]	All
	8	Fabiano Machado[12]	All
	9	Tio Ellinas[13]	All
Status Grand Prix[7]	14	Marlon Stöckinger[14]	All
	15	Kotaro Sakurai[15][16]	1–2, 4
		Lewis Williamson[17]	5–8
	16	Alice Powell[18]	All
Ocean Racing Technology[19]	17	Carmen Jordá[20]	All
	18	Kevin Ceccon[21]	All
	19	Robert Cregan[20]	All
Jenzer Motorsport[7]	20	Robert Visoiu[22]	All
	21	Patric Niederhauser[23]	All
	22	Jakub Klášterka[24]	1–2
		Facu Regalia[25]	4
		Alex Fontana[26]	6–7
Trident Racing[27]	23	Vicky Piria[28]	All
	24	Antonio Spavone[29]	1–4
	25	Giovanni Venturini[30]	4–8
Carlin[7]	26	Alex Brundle[31]	All
	27	António Félix da Costa[32]	All
	28	William Buller[33]	All
Atech CRS Grand Prix[7]	29	Tamás Pál Kiss[34]	All
	30	John Wartique[35]	1–3, 7–8
		Fabio Gamberini[36]	4
		Facu Regalia[37]	6
	31	Ethan Ringel[38]	All

Driver changes

Changed teams

• Conor Daly, who contested the 2011 season with Carlin, signed with Lotus GP.^[5]
• After a season with Status Grand Prix, António Félix da Costa moved to Carlin, a team he competed with at two rounds of the series in 2010.^[32]
• Matias Laine switched from Marussia Manor Racing to MW Arden.^[10]
• Tamás Pál Kiss, who raced for Tech 1 Racing, joined Atech CRS.^[34]
• Marlon Stöckinger left ATECH CRS Grand Prix to join Status Grand Prix.^[14]
• Aaro Vainio moved from Tech 1 Racing to Lotus GP.^[6]

Entering/Re-Entering GP3 Series

• Daniel Abt joined the series, driving for Lotus GP, after a season in the Formula 3 Euro Series.^[4]
• Alex Brundle competes in the series for Carlin, moving from the FIA Formula Two Championship.^[31] He was joined by British Formula 3 driver William Buller.^[33]
• Auto GP champion Kevin Ceccon and Irish Fujitsu V8 Supercar Series driver Robert Cregan signed with Ocean Racing Technology for his series debut.^[20][21]
• Cypriot-born British Formula Renault driver Tio Ellinas joined Marussia Manor Racing.^[13]
• European F3 Open runner-up David Fumanelli made his series debut, driving for MW Arden.^[9]
• After missing the 2011 racing season, Carmen Jordá drives for the Ocean Racing Technology team.^[20]
• Jakub Klášterka returned to motorsport after two-year absence, joining Jenzer Motorsport.^[24]
• Formula Three Sudamericana champion Fabiano Machado entered the series with Marussia Manor Racing.^[12]
• Italian Formula Abarth champion Patric Niederhauser and fellow Formula Abarth driver Robert Visoiu moved into the GP3 Series, continuing their association with Jenzer Motorsport. Both combine GP3 with an Italian Formula Three program with BVM and Ghinzani Arco Motorsport respectively.^[22][23]
• Formula Abarth graduate Vicky Piria became the series' first female driver, after signing for Trident Racing.^[28] She was joined in the team by fellow Formula Abarth driver Antonio Spavone, who also competing in Auto GP World Series in 2012.^[29]
• British Formula Renault driver Alice Powell signed with Status Grand Prix,^[18] and was joined in the team by British Formula 3 Rookie champion Kotaro Sakurai.^[15]
• F2000 Series and Formula Enterprise driver Ethan Ringel joined Atech CRS Grand Prix.^[38]
• After driving for four rounds in Formula Abarth with Euronova Racing, Dmitry Suranovich joined Marussia Manor Racing for his GP3 Series debut.^[11]
• Belgian sports car racer John Wartique made his debut in GP3 and single seaters with Atech CRS GP team.^[35]

Mid-season changes

• Jakub Klášterka left Jenzer Motorsport between the Monaco and Valencia rounds of the championship. He was replaced by Auto GP World Series driver Facu Regalia for the next round at Silverstone.^[25]
  • After missing the Hockenheim races, Regalia moved to Atech CRS Grand Prix for the Hungarian round.^[37] Alex Fontana took his place at Jenzer.^[26]
• Kotaro Sakurai left Status Grand Prix due to sponsorship problems. His place was filled by Lewis Williamson, who previously raced in GP3 with MW Arden.^[17]
• Giovanni Venturini joined the series for the rest of the season from Silverstone onwards, driving a third car for Trident Racing.^[30]
• John Wartique was replaced by Fabio Gamberini at Atech CRS Grand Prix for the Silverstone round after Wartique's sponsors failed to meet their financial obligations with the team.^[36]

Team changes

• The series has proposed amending the rules which mean teams are obligated to run three cars.^[39] Under the proposed rule changes, teams will only need to enter two cars, and will have the option of entering a third.
• Addax Team will exit the championship to concentrate on their GP2 Series team, and will be replaced by Trident Racing.^[27] Trident started the season with only two cars instead of three,^[40] before entering a third from Silverstone onwards.^[30]
• After competing as Lotus ART in 2011, 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.^[3] The cars will carry a black and gold livery modelled on the livery used by parent team Lotus F1.
• Ocean Racing Technology replaced Tech 1 Racing.^[19]
• RSC Mücke, the Ralf Schumacher-Mücke Motorsport 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.^[40]

2012 Schedule

The 2012 calendar was announced on 16 December 2011.^[41] The series will consist of eight rounds, with a round in Monaco confirmed on 26 January 2012.^[42] 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.^[43] The series will support every Grand Prix on the European leg of the 2012 Formula One season.

Round		Location	Circuit	Date	Supporting
1	R1	Catalunya, Spain	Circuit de Catalunya	12 May	Spanish Grand Prix
	R2			13 May
2	R1	Monte Carlo, Monaco	Circuit de Monaco	25 May	Monaco Grand Prix
	R2			26 May
3	R1	Valencia. Spain	Valencia Street Circuit	23 June	European Grand Prix
	R2			24 June
4	R1	Silverstone, UK	Silverstone Circuit	7 July	British Grand Prix
	R2			8 July
5	R1	Hockenheim, Germany	Hockenheimring	21 July	German Grand Prix
	R2			22 July
6	R1	Budapest, Hungary	Hungaroring	28 July	Hungarian Grand Prix
	R2			29 July
7	R1	Spa, Belgium	Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps	1 September	Belgian Grand Prix
	R2			2 September
8	R1	Monza, Italy	Autodromo Nazionale Monza	8 September	Italian Grand Prix
	R2			9 September

Race summaries

Carlin's António Félix da Costa qualified on pole position by 0.01 seconds to Lotus GP drivers Conor Daly and Aaro Vainio.^[44] However, on the start of the race their team-mate Daniel Abt made a lightning getaway from seventh grid position to lead. But Abt and Félix da Costa both had a jump start and got drive-through penalty. Returnee Mitch Evans, who was behind the two drivers after the start, won the opening race at Barcelona. Status Grand Prix's Marlon Stöckinger scored his first series podium, finishing second. Vainio completed the podium.^[45] Conor Daly recouped in the sprint race, claiming his first series win. Reverse polesitter Robert Visoiu and MW Arden's Matias Laine were also on podium.^[46]

Two weeks later at Monaco Vainio took the championship lead from Evans after his first series win from pole position in the feature race. He was joined on podium by Atech CRS GP's Tamás Pál Kiss and Ocean Racing Technology's Kevin Ceccon.^[47] 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 and William Buller, and between Marussia Manor Racing's Dmitry Suranovich and Daly.^[48]

The next series stop was at Valencia Street Circuit, where Mitch Evans regained championship lead with win from pole. Aaro Vainio was second, while David Fumanelli scored his first series podium.^[49] Like at Monaco the win in the sprint race was claimed by reverse polesitter. This time it was Jenzer Motorsport's Patric Niederhauser, who won the race in GP3 for the first time. Abt and Laine completed the podium.^[50]

Prior Silverstone round António Félix da Costa became part of the Red Bull Junior Team and his results increased.^[51] He scored his first win of the season, despite start behind championship leaders Evans and Vainio, who joined Félix da Costa on podium.^[52] Thanks to tyre strategy William Buller had incredible win in the second race starting from last row on the grid. Daly and Niederhauser completed the podium.^[53]

Daniel Abt scored his first pole position on the home soil at Hockenheim.^[54] But wet race conditions helped Patric Niederhauser score his second win. Conor Daly and Trident Racing's Giovanni Venturini joined him on podium.^[55] 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 and Fabiano Machado with injuries.^[56]

António Félix da Costa was unstoppable at Budapest, 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.^[57][58]

Results

Round		Circuit	Pole position	Fastest lap	Winning driver	Winning team	Report
1	R1	Circuit de Catalunya	António Félix da Costa	Patric Niederhauser	Mitch Evans	MW Arden	Report
	R2			Kevin Ceccon	Conor Daly	Lotus GP
2	R1	Circuit de Monaco	Aaro Vainio	Kevin Ceccon	Aaro Vainio	Lotus GP	Report
	R2			Marlon Stöckinger	Marlon Stöckinger	Status Grand Prix
3	R1	Valencia Street Circuit	Mitch Evans	Mitch Evans	Mitch Evans	MW Arden	Report
	R2			António Félix da Costa	Patric Niederhauser	Jenzer Motorsport
4	R1	Silverstone Circuit	Mitch Evans	António Félix da Costa	António Félix da Costa	Carlin	Report
	R2			Tio Ellinas	William Buller	Carlin
5	R1	Hockenheimring	Daniel Abt	Tio Ellinas	Patric Niederhauser	Jenzer Motorsport	Report
	R2			Mitch Evans	Mitch Evans	MW Arden
6	R1	Hungaroring	Aaro Vainio	António Félix da Costa	António Félix da Costa	Carlin	Report
	R2			António Félix da Costa	António Félix da Costa	Carlin
7	R1	Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps	Mitch Evans	António Félix da Costa	Daniel Abt	Lotus GP	Report
	R2			António Félix da Costa	Matias Laine	MW Arden
8	R1	Autodromo Nazionale Monza	Mitch Evans	Tio Ellinas	Daniel Abt	Lotus GP	Report
	R2			Matias Laine	Tio Ellinas	Marussia Manor Racing

Championship standings

Scoring system

Points are 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 will also receive four points, and two points are given to the driver who set the fastest lap inside the top ten in both the Race 1 and 2. No extra points are awarded to the pole-sitter in the Race 2.

Race 1 points

Points are awarded to the top 10 classified finishers.

Race 2 points

Points are awarded to the top 8 classified finishers.

Drivers' Championship

Pos Driver ESP MON VAL GBR GER HUN BEL[N 1] ITA Points 1 Mitch Evans 1 20 5 4 1 6 2 11 8 1 3 21 3 15 Ret 20 151.5 2 Daniel Abt 13 6 6 3 6 2 4 Ret 7 2 2 11 1 5 1 2 149.5 3 António Félix da Costa 14 7 7 2 Ret 8 1 6 Ret Ret 1 1 2 2 15 5 132 4 Aaro Vainio 3 4 1 7 2 7 3 Ret 5 6 5 7 6 14 11 14 123 5 Matias Laine 5 3 21 16 5 3 9 18† 4 5 7 6 5 1 3 6 111 6 Conor Daly 6 1 23 Ret 11 Ret 5 2 2 3 6 9 7 3 4 11 106 7 Patric Niederhauser 4 5 Ret 15 8 1 10 3 1 9 16 2 11 6 5 Ret 101 8 Tio Ellinas 7 15 9 8 4 5 6 4 10 7 13 4 4 Ret 2 1 99 9 Kevin Ceccon Ret 10 3 6 7 4 8 7 17 15 4 8 12 20 13 9 56 10 Marlon Stöckinger 2 19 8 1 19 11 16 Ret 16 11 9 13 14 16 7 4 55 11 David Fumanelli 9 17 4 5 3 16 DNS DNS 12 10 8 Ret 20 Ret 6 13 47 12 Tamás Pál Kiss 12 Ret 2 9 9 10 11 14 6 4 14 10 17 10 9 15 38 13 Giovanni Venturini 13 16 3 8 11 Ret 9 9 8 3 31 14 Robert Visoiu 8 2 14 10 Ret 12 12 5 DSQ 12 12 22 15 13 14 7 24 15 William Buller 23 9 12 Ret 10 9 Ret 1 9 Ret 23 12 13 8 10 12 20 16 Alex Brundle 10 8 10 Ret 16 14 7 10 DSQ 13 15 3 19 11 DSQ 10 19 17 Lewis Williamson 13 Ret 10 5 8 7 19 Ret 11 18 Alex Fontana 17 15 10 4 8.5 19 Alice Powell Ret 11 11 22 18 Ret 17 Ret 19 Ret 19 20 18 12 12 8 1 20 Fabio Gamberini 23 8 1 21 Fabiano Machado 16 Ret 15 17 Ret 19 19 9 Ret Ret DNS DNS 25 21 Ret 16 0 22 Robert Cregan 15 Ret 18 11 15 13 20 15 11 NC 21 14 21 DNS 20 17 0 23 Dmitry Suranovich 11 Ret 16 DSQ Ret 15 22 20† 15 14 Ret 16 22 18 22† DNS 0 24 Kotaro Sakurai 18 12 13 20 15 13 0 25 John Wartique 21 13 17 13 12 Ret 23 17 17 18 0 26 Vicky Piria 22 16 19 12 17 18 18 21† 14 Ret 20 19 16 19 16 Ret 0 27 Facu Regalia 14 12 18 18 0 28 Carmen Jordá 20 21 Ret 21 13 Ret DNQ DNQ 20 Ret 24† Ret 26 23 21 19 0 29 Ethan Ringel Ret 18 Ret 18 14 Ret Ret 17 18 16 22 17 24 22 18 Ret 0 30 Antonio Spavone 17 Ret 20 14 Ret 17 21 18 0 31 Jakub Klášterka 19 14 22 19 0 Pos Driver ESP MON VAL GBR GER HUN BEL[N 1] ITA Points

Colour Result Gold Winner Silver 2nd place Bronze 3rd place Green Points finish Blue Non-points finish Non-classified finish (NC) Purple Retired (Ret) Red Did not qualify (DNQ) Did not pre-qualify (DNPQ) Black Disqualified (DSQ) White Did not start (DNS) Withdrew (WD) Race cancelled (C) Blank Did not participate (DNP) Excluded (EX) Bold – Pole Italics – Fastest Lap

Notes:

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

Teams' Championship

Pos Team Car No. ESP MON VAL GBR GER HUN BEL[N 1] ITA Points 1 Lotus GP 1 13 6 6 3 6 2 4 Ret 7 2 2 11 1 5 1 2 378.5 2 6 1 23 Ret 11 Ret 5 2 2 3 6 9 7 3 4 11 3 3 4 1 7 2 7 3 Ret 5 6 5 7 6 14 11 14 2 MW Arden 4 1 20 5 4 1 6 2 11 8 1 3 21 3 15 Ret 20 309.5 5 9 17 4 5 3 16 DNS DNS 12 10 8 Ret 20 Ret 6 13 6 5 3 21 16 5 3 9 18† 4 5 7 6 5 1 3 6 3 Carlin 26 10 8 10 Ret 16 14 7 10 DSQ 13 15 3 19 11 DSQ 10 171 27 14 7 7 2 Ret 8 1 6 Ret Ret 1 1 2 2 15 5 28 23 9 12 Ret 10 9 Ret 1 9 Ret 23 12 13 8 10 12 4 Jenzer Motorsport 20 8 2 14 10 Ret 12 12 5 DSQ 12 12 22 15 13 14 7 133.5 21 4 5 Ret 15 8 1 10 3 1 9 16 2 11 6 5 Ret 22 19 14 22 19 14 12 17 15 10 4 5 Marussia Manor Racing 7 11 Ret 16 DSQ Ret 15 22 20† 15 14 Ret 16 22 18 22† DNS 99 8 16 Ret 15 17 Ret 19 19 9 Ret Ret DNS DNS 25 21 Ret 16 9 7 15 9 8 4 5 6 4 10 7 13 4 4 Ret 2 1 6 Status Grand Prix 14 2 19 8 1 19 11 16 Ret 16 11 9 13 14 16 7 4 67 15 18 12 13 20 15 13 13 Ret 10 5 8 7 19 Ret 16 Ret 11 11 22 18 Ret 17 Ret 19 Ret 19 20 18 12 12 8 7 Ocean Racing Technology 17 Ret 10 Ret 21 13 Ret DNQ DNQ 20 Ret 24† Ret 26 23 21 19 56 18 20 21 3 6 7 4 8 7 17 15 4 8 12 20 13 9 19 15 Ret 18 11 15 13 20 15 11 NC 21 14 21 DNS 20 17 8 Atech CRS GP 29 12 Ret 2 9 9 10 11 14 6 4 14 10 17 10 9 15 39 30 21 13 17 13 12 Ret 23 8 18 18 23 17 17 18 31 Ret 18 Ret 18 14 Ret Ret 17 18 16 22 17 24 22 18 Ret 9 Trident Racing 23 22 16 19 12 17 18 18 21† 14 Ret 20 19 16 19 16 Ret 31 24 17 Ret 20 14 Ret 17 21 19 25 13 16 3 8 11 Ret 9 9 8 3 Pos Team Car No. ESP MON VAL GBR GER HUN BEL[N 1] ITA Points

Colour Result Gold Winner Silver 2nd place Bronze 3rd place Green Points finish Blue Non-points finish Non-classified finish (NC) Purple Retired (Ret) Red Did not qualify (DNQ) Did not pre-qualify (DNPQ) Black Disqualified (DSQ) White Did not start (DNS) Withdrew (WD) Race cancelled (C) Blank Did not participate (DNP) Excluded (EX) Bold – Pole Italics – Fastest Lap

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