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2010 GP3 Series

Season of motor racing competitions


Season of motor racing competitions

Formula One GP2 Series Teams' Champion: ART Grand Prix

The 2010 GP3 Series season was the first season of the GP3 Series, a feeder series for the GP2 Series. The championship was contested over sixteen races held at eight rounds, beginning on 8 May at Circuit de Catalunya and ending on 12 September at Autodromo Nazionale Monza. Ten teams were announced, running three cars each.

The inaugural title was claimed by ART Grand Prix driver Esteban Gutiérrez, having taken the final pole position of the season at Monza to put him out of reach of title rival Robert Wickens. Gutiérrez took five race wins during the season, four of which coming in the higher points-rewarding races held on Saturdays. He also took four further podium finishes en route to a 17-point championship win over Wickens. Wickens eventually ended the season with three victories at Hockenheim, Spa-Francorchamps – despite spinning in wet conditions and damaging the nose of his Status Grand Prix car against the pit wall – and Monza, as well as four second-place finishes, two of which being behind Gutiérrez.

Nico Müller finished in third position for Jenzer Motorsport, taking victories in Valencia and at the Hungaroring. He finished 15 points clear of Gutiérrez's team-mate Alexander Rossi, who took wins from pole position in the sprint races in Barcelona and at the Hungaroring. Rio Haryanto was fifth for Manor Racing, winning in Istanbul from a reverse-grid pole position. Other victories were taken by Status Grand Prix's Daniel Morad at Silverstone, Pål Varhaug won the season-opening race in Barcelona and Adrien Tambay won from 27th on the grid at Spa in a wet/dry race. ART Grand Prix also claimed the teams' championship, having done so at Spa-Francorchamps, finishing 44 points clear of nearest challengers Status Grand Prix, while Jenzer Motorsport finished in third position ahead of Manor Racing.

Teams and drivers

For the first two tests of the season, teams were given numbers in relation to alphabetical order. Thus, Addax were given 1, 2 and 3, with ART receiving 4, 5 and 6, and so forth. However, a "qualifying" session was held at Circuit Paul Ricard on 1 April 2010, where Alexander Rossi ended quickest. With this, ART ran cars 1, 2 and 3 during the season.

TeamNo.Driver nameRounds
FRA ART Grand Prix1USA Alexander RossiAll
2MEX Esteban GutiérrezAll
3BRA Pedro NunesAll
IRL Status Grand Prix4CAN Robert WickensAll
5RUS Ivan LukashevichAll
6CAN Daniel MoradAll
GBR Manor Racing7GBR James Jakes1–5, 8
FRA Adrien Tambay6–7
8IDN Rio HaryantoAll
9GBR Adrian Quaife-HobbsAll
DEU RSC Mücke Motorsport10NLD Nigel MelkerAll
11nowrapNLD Renger van der ZandeAll
12DEU Tobias HegewaldAll
GBR Carlin14USA Josef NewgardenAll
15GBR Dean SmithAll
16BRA Lucas Foresti1, 3–5, 8
RUS Mikhail Aleshin2
nowrapPRT António Félix da Costa6–7
ESP Addax Team17BRA Felipe GuimarãesAll
18MEX Pablo Sánchez LópezAll
19ITA Mirko BortolottiAll
AUS MW Arden20DNK Michael ChristensenAll
21ESP Miki MonrásAll
22BRA Leonardo CordeiroAll
CHE Jenzer Motorsport23NOR Pål VarhaugAll
24CHE Simon Trummer1–5, 7–8
ESP Marco Barba6
25CHE Nico MüllerAll
FRA Tech 1 Racing26ROU Doru SechelariuAll
27ESP Daniel Juncadella1
MCO Stefano Coletti2–8
28FRA Jean-Éric Vergne1, 3
FRA Jim Pla2
ESP Daniel Juncadella4–5, 7–8
GBR Atech CRS GP29ITA Patrick Reiterer1–2
ESP Roberto Merhi3–8
30GBR Oliver OakesAll
31ITA Vittorio GhirelliAll

ART Grand Prix signed Esteban Gutiérrez, who drove for the team in the 2009 Formula 3 Euro Series. He was joined by Pedro Nunes, who drove in the same series for Manor Motorsport, and former ISR Racing International Formula Master driver Alexander Rossi.

After missing the 2009 racing season, Ivan Lukashevich drove for the Status Grand Prix team. He was joined by the Canadian pairing of Formula Two runner-up Robert Wickens and former Formula BMW USA champion Daniel Morad, who did not have a drive in 2009.

After a podium in the 2009–10 GP2 Asia Series in Abu Dhabi, James Jakes joined Manor Racing. He was joined by Rio Haryanto, the 2009 Formula BMW Pacific champion, and Adrian Quaife-Hobbs, who abandoned his campaign in the Formula 3 Euro Series. Jakes was injured at Hockenheim and was replaced by Auto GP driver Adrien Tambay in Hungary and Belgium. Jakes returned for the season finale at Monza.

Nigel Melker, who drove for MP Motorsport in the 2009 Formula Renault Eurocup signed to drive for RSC Mücke Motorsport. Melker was joined by Renger van der Zande, who finished third in the 2009 British Formula 3 Championship. The third driver at the team was Tobias Hegewald, who moves from Formula Two.

Carlin signed British Formula Renault champion Dean Smith and British Formula Ford runner-up Josef Newgarden to drive full-time for the team. Lucas Foresti, one of the team's current British Formula 3 drivers raced for the team in selected rounds of the series. Foresti missed the Turkish round due to prior British Formula 3 commitments, and was replaced by one of the team's Formula Renault 3.5 drivers, Mikhail Aleshin. Foresti returned for the rounds from Valencia onwards, but would miss the rounds in Hungary and Belgium due to British Formula 3 racing at Spa and Snetterton. Formula 3 Euro Series driver António Félix da Costa stepped in to replace Foresti in Hungary and Belgium.

Pablo Sánchez López stepped up from Italian Formula Three to compete for the Addax Team. Mirko Bortolotti moved across from Formula Two to partner Sánchez López, while Felipe Guimarães completed the team, having contested selected races in Indy Lights.

Michael Christensen, who raced in the 2009 Formula BMW Europe season for Mücke Motorsport, joined MW Arden. Christensen was joined by Miki Monrás, who was fifth in the Formula Renault Eurocup, and Leonardo Cordeiro, the 2009 Formula Three Sudamericana champion.

Simon Trummer, who raced in 2009 in International Formula Master driver for Iris Project, joined Jenzer Motorsport. He was joined by Pål Varhaug, who raced for Jenzer in Formula Master in 2009, and Nico Müller, who raced for Jenzer in the Formula Renault Eurocup and was champion in the Swiss Formula Renault 2.0 series. Trummer was injured at Hockenheim and was replaced by European F3 Open championship leader Marco Barba in Hungary. Trummer returned at Spa.

Doru Sechelariu, 2009 Formula BMW Europe driver for Eifelland Racing drove for Tech 1 Racing. He was joined in Barcelona by two drivers who were dovetailing GP3 commitments with other series. Daniel Juncadella contested the first round at Barcelona, but his main focus was a campaign in the Formula 3 Euro Series. Stefano Coletti combined his Formula Renault 3.5 programme with his GP3 commitments, replacing Juncadella from Turkey onwards. Jean-Éric Vergne's main focus was to win the British Formula 3 Championship, and with Vergne racing at Hockenheim in British Formula 3, he was replaced by ART Grand Prix Formula 3 Euro Series driver Jim Pla in Turkey. Vergne returned for Valencia, but was replaced by Juncadella for Silverstone, as he signed a deal to complete the season in GP3, as well as Euro Series commitments. With Juncadella missing the round in Hungary due to a guest drive in British Formula 3 at Spa, Tech 1 had wished to field their Eurocup Formula Renault driver Arthur Pic at the meeting. However, they fielded just two cars, as they have used up their allotment of five drivers for the season, and did not receive total approval from the other teams for Pic to drive. Juncadella returned at Spa.

Atech CRS GP signed Formula Master graduate Patrick Reiterer and former British Formula 3 racer Oliver Oakes to drive two of their cars. The third was driven by Vittorio Ghirelli, after he stepped down from Team Ghinzani in Italian Formula Three. Reiterer was replaced for the round in Valencia by Formula 3 Euro Series racer Roberto Merhi.

Season

First ever round in GP3 Series began in Catalunya. Qualifying was won by Nigel Melker. Feature race was won by Pål Varhaug and sprint race was taken in top by American driver Alexander Rossi. In the second round, at Istanbul, Nigel Melker take again pole position for the feature race. The feature race was won by Esteban Gutiérrez, and Rio Haryanto storms to epic Race 2 victory. Third stop, was in Portimão, taking to 19–20 June, but event was cancelled along with GP2 Series. Then, the battle was reversed on Valencia, and win in Race 1 was taken by Mexican Esteban Gutiérrez, while Nico Müller dominates in Race 2. Fourth round was in Silverstone, second consecutive feature race win for Esteban Gutiérrez. Daniel Morad take victory Race 2 from 2nd on the grid. Fifth round was in Hockenheim, first race was won by Robert Wickens, while Mexican dominates in Race 2. Sixth stop was at the Hungaroring. For the first time, Esteban Gutiérrez doesn't have win in each races. First race was won by Nico Müller, and second was dominated by Alexander Rossi. In seventh stop, at Spa-Francorchamps, there was a lot of rain in first race and the race would be stopped. The winner was Robert Wickens, and in second race there was again rain, and all drivers goes to slicks, except Adrien Tambay, who won from 27th on the grid! Final round, at Monza there was only two title contenders - Esteban Gutiérrez and Robert Wickens. Mexican win in qualifying with victory in Race 1 and fastest lap. He won the title, but in second race, he crashed and the race was over for him. Robert Wickens set the victory and the fastest lap. He crashed in the pit lane, but comfortably last win of the first ever year of GP3 Series.

The car

The first chassis used by the GP3 Series was the GP3/10 built by Dallara, who also produces cars in the championship's sister series GP2. It is equipped with a 6-speed paddle shift gearbox and a four-cylinder 2.0 litre (122 cu in) turbocharged engine with 280 bhp developed by Renault Sport. The chassis used tyres supplied by Pirelli, who would then go on to be the tyre supplier for Formula One and GP2 from 2011.

2010 Schedule

An eight-round calendar was announced on 18 December 2009. On 30 April 2010, it was announced that the series would increase to nine rounds, with a round in support of the added. With the cancellation of the round in Portimão, the calendar returned to eight rounds.

RoundLocationCircuitDateSupporting1R1R22R1R23R1R24R1R25R1R26R1R27R1R28R1R2
ESP Catalunya, SpainCircuit de Catalunya8 May**
9 May
TUR Istanbul, TurkeyIstanbul Racing Circuit29 May**
30 May
ESP Valencia. SpainValencia Street Circuit26 June**
27 June
GBR Silverstone, UKSilverstone Circuit10 July**
11 July
DEU Hockenheim, GermanyHockenheimring24 July**
25 July
HUN Budapest, HungaryHungaroring31 July**
1 August
BEL Spa, BelgiumCircuit de Spa-Francorchamps28 August**
29 August
ITA Monza, ItalyAutodromo Nazionale Monza11 September**
12 September
Sources:

The following rounds were included on the provisional calendars published by the FIA but were cancelled:

RoundLocationCircuitDateSupportingR1R2
POR Portimão, PortugalAutódromo Internacional do Algarve19 JuneGP2 Series
20 June
Source:

Results

RoundCircuitPole positionFastest lapWinning driverWinning teamReport1R1R22R1R23R1R24R1R25R1R26R1R27R1R28R1R2
ESP Circuit de CatalunyaNLD Nigel MelkernowrapGBRNOR Pål VarhaugnowrapCHE Jenzer MotorsportReport
USA Alexander RossiUSA Alexander RossiFRA ART Grand Prix
TUR Istanbul ParkNLD Nigel MelkerMEX Esteban GutiérreznowrapMEX Esteban GutiérrezFRA ART Grand PrixReport
CANIDN Rio HaryantoGBR Manor Racing
ESP Valencia Street CircuitMEX Esteban GutiérrezMEX Esteban GutiérrezMEX Esteban GutiérrezFRA ART Grand PrixReport
ESP Roberto MerhiCHE Nico MüllerCHE Jenzer Motorsport
GBR Silverstone CircuitMEX Esteban GutiérrezMEX Esteban GutiérrezMEX Esteban GutiérrezFRA ART Grand PrixReport
CAN Daniel MoradCAN Daniel MoradnowrapIRL Status Grand Prix
GER HockenheimringnowrapUSA Josef NewgardenCAN Robert WickensCAN Robert WickensIRL Status Grand PrixReport
MEX Esteban GutiérrezMEX Esteban GutiérrezFRA ART Grand Prix
HUN HungaroringCHE Nico MüllerMEX Esteban GutiérrezCHE Nico MüllerCHE Jenzer MotorsportReport
CAN Robert WickensUSA Alexander RossiFRA ART Grand Prix
BEL Circuit de Spa-FrancorchampsCAN Robert WickensCHE Nico MüllerCAN Robert WickensIRL Status Grand PrixReport
CHE Nico MüllerFRA Adrien TambayGBR Manor Racing
ITA Autodromo Nazionale MonzaMEX Esteban GutiérrezMEX Esteban GutiérrezMEX Esteban GutiérrezFRA ART Grand PrixReport
NORCAN Robert WickensIRL Status Grand Prix
Source:

Championship standings

Drivers' Championship

PosDriverCAT
ESPIST
TURVAL
ESPSIL
GBRHOC
DEUHUN
HUNSPA
BELMNZ
ITAPoints12345678910111213141516171819202122232425262728293031323334353637PosDriverCAT
ESPIST
TURVAL
ESPSIL
GBRHOC
DEUHUN
HUNSPA
BELMNZ
ITAPoints
MEX Esteban Gutiérrez3317*1*7*1*34125167*1*Ret88
CAN Robert Wickens2411212169515421112171
CHE Nico Müller139647134Ret1716464353
USA Alexander Rossi8143RetRet52Ret881132Ret1538
IDN Rio Haryanto202581642RetRetRet2011181832327
ESP Roberto Merhi32Ret1916RetRet22222†6426
GBR Dean Smith4522†1017236229125364Ret1624
GBR James Jakes972883Ret112Ret13Ret21
MCO Stefano Coletti24†1410610Ret5334Ret24162018
ESP Miki Monrás1023725131518Ret15Ret209311617
ITA Mirko Bortolotti16Ret25†12181081364118Ret145216
CAN Daniel MoradRet2255191271Ret92112Ret169715
NOR Pål Varhaug1Ret151811814912Ret17231517141910
ESP Daniel Juncadella1111RetRet825DSQ22Ret10
GBR Adrian Quaife-Hobbs2126RetRet125RetRetDNS1812735172210
BRA Felipe GuimarãesRet2036Ret18Ret237713RetRet9Ret179
FRA Jean-Éric Vergne5214179
USA Josef NewgardenRet161023Ret26161018197RetRet21758
BRA Lucas Foresti7221281816Ret1420Ret7
FRA Adrien Tambay189Ret16
NLD Renger van der Zande1524RetRetRet241173Ret9RetRetRetRetRet6
DEU Tobias Hegewald17131615929†46RetRet15Ret11810116
NLD Nigel MelkerRet142317Ret1512RetRetRet231412158135
BRA Pedro Nunes126Ret191511Ret2014619Ret71924Ret4
CHE Simon Trummer6820131327171211Ret8RetRet244
PRT António Félix da Costa617Ret123
BRA Leonardo Cordeiro18121824Ret21RetRetRetRet221314RetRet81
GBR Oliver Oakes141012RetRet191381320†161017101290
ROU Doru Sechelariu22Ret99Ret20Ret1710DSQ1421Ret2021180
MEX Pablo Sánchez LópezRet1521161492114Ret11Ret16Ret2518120
DNK Michael ChristensenRet181311Ret14Ret15Ret1010Ret1023†15100
RUS Ivan Lukashevich19191927162519Ret17132518Ret1319140
ITA Patrick ReitererNC1714250
ITA Vittorio GhirelliDNSDNS17262022202115162415RetRet23210
ESP Marco BarbaRet190
FRA Jim PlaRet200
RUS Mikhail AleshinRet220
Sources:

|}

Teams' Championship

PosTeamNoCAT
ESPIST
TURVAL
ESPSIL
GBRHOC
DEUHUN
HUNSPA
BELMNZ
ITAPoints12345678910PosTeamNoCAT
ESPIST
TURVAL
ESPSIL
GBRHOC
DEUHUN
HUNSPA
BELMNZ
ITAPoints
FRA ART Grand Prix18143RetRet52Ret881132Ret15130
23317*1*7*1*34125167*1*Ret
3126Ret191511Ret2014619Ret71919Ret
IRL Status Grand Prix42411212169515421112186
519191927162519Ret17132518Ret131914
6Ret2255191271Ret92112Ret1697
CHE Jenzer Motorsport231Ret151811814912Ret17231517141967
246820131327171211RetRet198RetRet24
25139647134Ret17164643
GBR Manor Racing7972883Ret112Ret189Ret113Ret64
8202581642RetRetRet20111818323
92126RetRet125RetRetDNS18127351722
GBR Carlin14Ret161023Ret26161018197RetRet217542
154522†1019126229125364Ret16
1672Ret2221281816Ret14617Ret1220Ret
FRA Tech 1 Racing2622Ret99Ret20Ret1710DSQ1421Ret20211837
27111124†1410610Ret5334Ret241620
28521Ret20417RetRet825DSQ22Ret
GBR Atech CRS GP29NC17142532Ret1916RetRet22222†6426
30141012RetRet191381320†16101710129
31DNSDNS17262022202115162415RetRet2321
ESP Addax Team17Ret2036Ret18Ret237713RetRet9Ret1725
18Ret1521161492114Ret11Ret16Ret251812
1916Ret25†12181081364118Ret1452
AUS MW Arden20Ret181311Ret14Ret15Ret1010Ret1023†151018
211023725131518Ret15Ret2093116
2218121824Ret21RetRetRetRet221314RetRet8
DEU RSC Mücke Motorsport10Ret142317Ret1512RetRetRet2314121581317
111524RetRetRet241173Ret9RetRetRetRetRet
1217131615929†46RetRet15Ret1181211
Sources:

|}

  • Drivers who did not finish the race but were classified are marked with †.

Footnotes

References

References

  1. Costa, Massimo. (15 August 2009). "Team di GP2 e WSR 3.5 per il nuovo campionato GP3". ItaliaRacing.net.
  2. Glendenning, Mark. (11 September 2010). "Gutierrez claims title with pole bonus". [[Haymarket Group.
  3. (28 August 2010). "Wickens wins on the clock". GP2 Motorsport Limited.
  4. (29 August 2010). "Spa: Race 2 Quotes". GP2 Motorsport Limited.
  5. (1 April 2010). "Alexander Rossi claims 1,2,3 for ART". GP2 Motorsport Limited.
  6. Beer, Matt. (1 October 2009). "Webber among GP3 team entrants". [[Haymarket Group.
  7. (13 January 2010). "ART announces their GP3 line-up". GP2 Motorsport Limited.
  8. (30 March 2010). "Status GP confirm Robert Wickens". GP2 Motorsport Limited.
  9. (1 March 2010). "Lukashevich joins Status Grand Prix". GP2 Motorsport Limited.
  10. (4 May 2010). "GP3 Series: Llista d'inscrits / Entry list". [[Circuit de Catalunya]].
  11. Darley, Andy. (19 March 2010). "Bratt and Rees join F2 while Jakes takes on GP3". Onlineability.
  12. Gent, James. (29 July 2010). "Tambay gets GP3 run in Hungary". [[Haymarket Group.
  13. (25 February 2010). "Rio Race in GP3 with Virgin Team". KIKY Racing Team.
  14. (4 February 2010). "Nigel Melker joins Mucke". GP2 Motorsport Limited.
  15. Freeman, Glenn. (2 March 2010). "Van der Zande joins Mucke for 2010". [[Haymarket Group.
  16. (25 March 2010). "Team RSC Mücke Motorsport completes GP3 line-up with Tobias Hegewald". GP2 Motorsport Limited.
  17. English, Steven. (4 November 2009). "Carlin team restructured for 2010". [[Haymarket Group.
  18. (12 April 2010). "Newgarden confirmed at Carlin for GP3". [[Carlin Motorsport.
  19. (8 April 2010). "Smith joins Carlin for GP3". [[Carlin Motorsport.
  20. Beer, Matt. (14 April 2010). "Foresti gets GP3 chance with Carlin". [[Haymarket Group.
  21. (25 May 2010). "Carlin field Aleshin for Istanbul". [[Carlin Motorsport.
  22. (29 July 2010). "da Costa steps in for Carlin in Hungary". [[Carlin Motorsport.
  23. (4 May 2010). "Felipe Guimarães joins Addax". GP2 Motorsport Limited.
  24. Anderson, Ben. (11 February 2010). "Sanchez Lopez to GP3 with Addax". [[Haymarket Group.
  25. (11 March 2010). "Bortolotti joins Addax Team". GP2 Motorsport Limited.
  26. Beer, Matt. (8 January 2010). "MW Arden signs first GP3 driver". [[Haymarket Group.
  27. Beer, Matt. (23 February 2010). "Monras joins MW Arden for GP3". [[Haymarket Group.
  28. (2 March 2010). "Cordeiro races for MW Arden in GP3". GP2 Motorsport Limited.
  29. (19 November 2009). "Simon Trummer presents 2010 plans". [[Jenzer Motorsport]].
  30. (29 July 2010). "A Budapest, Tambay, Barba, Da Costa". Inpagina.
  31. (1 March 2010). "Jenzer complete GP3 lineup with Muller". GP2 Motorsport Limited.
  32. (13 January 2010). "Doru Sechelariu joins Tech 1". GP2 Motorsport Limited.
  33. (5 May 2010). "Barcelona Official Driver List". GP2 Motorsport Limited.
  34. (27 May 2010). "GP3 Series – Istanbul: Round 2 Preview". GP2 Motorsport Limited.
  35. (6 July 2010). "Silverstone Official Driver List". GP2 Motorsport Limited.
  36. (21 December 2009). "GP3 Series unveil 2010 calendar". GP2 Motorsport Limited.
  37. (24 June 2010). "GP3 Series – Valencia: Round 3 Preview". GP2 Motorsport Limited.
  38. (19 April 2010). "Oakes joins ATECH CRS for GP3". GP2 Motorsport Limited.
  39. (18 December 2009). "2010 International Series: GP3". [[Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile]].
  40. (30 April 2010). "GP3 is heading to Turkey". GP2 Motorsport Limited.
  41. (8 May 2010). "Portimao round cancelled". GP2 Motorsport Limited.
  42. "GP3 Series Calendar 2010". Motorsport Stats.
  43. Panzariu, Ovidiu. (22 December 2009). "GP3 Series Announces 2010 Calendar". Auto Evolution.
  44. "GP3 Fastest laps". Motorsport Stats.
  45. "Drivers awarded 22 separate penalties". Autosport.com.
  46. "Spa: Status GP qualifying report". Motorsport.com.
  47. "GP3 Series Results 2010". Motorsport Stats.
  48. "GP3 Series Standings 2010". Motorsport Stats.
  49. "GP3 Series - Season 2010". Speedsport Magazine.
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