2011 GP3 Series

The 2011 GP3 Series season was the second season of the GP3 Series, a feeder series for the GP2 Series. The season began at Istanbul Park on 7 May and concluded at Autodromo Nazionale Monza on 11 September after eight rounds made up of two races each and all in support of European Formula 1 Grands Prix. The 2010 champion Esteban Gutiérrez graduated to the GP2 Series so did not defend his title.

After the early rounds, the likes of Mitch Evans, Nigel Melker, Andrea Caldarelli and Alexander Sims were fighting for the championship lead. However, Caldarelli had to retire from the series due to failing to raise a sufficient budget for the whole season. Sims then held the lead after consistent podium finishes in both Valencia and Silverstone. This was not to last though, as the Finn Valtteri Bottas started to find his speed at Nürburgring, taking the top spot after winning the first race at Hungaroring while Sims was disqualified due rear floor height check. Bottas led the championship with 7 points from Sims. Total of 6 drivers were within 13 points from Bottas at that time.

Bottas was able to secure the title in the first race of Monza. In that race he took the chequered flag and his closest rival and team-mate James Calado was left to second place. As 7 points is the maximum from Sunday's race and Bottas had more victories than Calado, the 7-point gap between them was enough for Bottas to clinch the title with one race still to go.^[1]

Teams and drivers edit

All of the teams used the Dallara GP3/10 chassis with and a Renault four-cylinder 2.0 litre (122 cu in) turbocharged engines order and with tyres supplied by Pirelli.

Team	No.	Driver^[2]	Rounds
Lotus ART^[3]^[4]	1	Pedro Nunes^[5]	1–6
	1	Richie Stanaway^[6]	7–8
	2	Valtteri Bottas^[7]	All
	3	James Calado^[8]	All
Status Grand Prix^[3]^[a]	4	Alexander Sims^[9]	All
	5	António Félix da Costa^[10]	All
	6	Ivan Lukashevich^[11]	All
Jenzer Motorsport^[3]	7	Nico Müller^[12]	All
	8	Maxim Zimin^[13]	All
	9	Vittorio Ghirelli^[14]	1–6
		Alex Fontana^[15]	7
		Christophe Hurni^[16]	8
Marussia Manor Racing^[3]	10	Adrian Quaife-Hobbs^[17]	All
	11	Rio Haryanto^[17]	All
	12	Matias Laine^[17]	All
Carlin^[3]	14	Conor Daly^[18]	All
	15	Tom Dillmann^[18]	1
		Daniel Morad^[19]	2–4
		Callum MacLeod^[20]	5–8
	16	Leonardo Cordeiro^[18]	All
Tech 1 Racing^[3]	17	Aaro Vainio^[21]	All
	18	Andrea Caldarelli^[22]	1–2
	18	Thomas Hylkema^[23]	3–8
	19	Tamás Pál Kiss^[24]	All
Atech CRS GP^[3]	20	Marlon Stöckinger^[25]	All
	21	Nick Yelloly^[26]	All
	22	Zoël Amberg^[27]	All
Addax Team^[3]	23	Dominic Storey^[28]	1–2
	23	Tom Dillmann^[29]	3–8
	24	Gabriel Chaves^[30]	All
	25	Dean Smith^[28]	1–7
	25	Vittorio Ghirelli^[31]	8
MW Arden^[3]^[b]	26	Mitch Evans^[32]	All
	27	Simon Trummer^[33]	All
	28	Lewis Williamson^[34]	All
RSC Mücke Motorsport^[3]	29	Luciano Bacheta^[35]	1–6
	29	Daniel Mancinelli^[36]	7–8
	30	Michael Christensen^[37]	All
	31	Nigel Melker^[38]	All

Driver changes edit

Changed teams

Michael Christensen moved from MW Arden to RSC Mücke Motorsport. Team-mate Leonardo Cordeiro also changed teams, moving to Carlin.
After racing with Carlin in two meetings in 2010, António Félix da Costa moved into the series full-time with Status Grand Prix after claiming top rookie honours in the Formula 3 Euro Series. Another Carlin driver, Dean Smith, moved to the Addax Team.
Vittorio Ghirelli switched from Atech CRS GP to Jenzer Motorsport.
After missing the opening round, Daniel Morad joined Carlin from Status Grand Prix.
Simon Trummer, who finished 25th in 2010 with Jenzer Motorsport, moved to MW Arden.

Entering/Re-Entering GP3 Series

Formula Renault MEC champion Zoël Amberg joined the series with Atech CRS GP.
Luciano Bacheta, the Formula Renault Eurocup runner-up, joined the series with RSC Mücke Motorsport.
Valtteri Bottas joined the championship, having finished third in the Formula 3 Euro Series. He will continue with the Lotus ART team that he drove for in the Euro Series.
James Calado joined the championship, having finished runner-up to Jean-Éric Vergne in British Formula 3 with Carlin. He will join Bottas at Lotus ART.
Andrea Caldarelli, who finished third in Italian Formula Three, moved into the championship with Tech 1 Racing. Aaro Vainio joined him, having driven for the French squad in the Formula Renault Eurocup, finishing fourth in the standings.
Gabriel Chaves stepped up from Italian Formula Three to GP3 with the Addax Team. He was joined by Dominic Storey, who moved over from a one-off drive in the Formula Renault 3.5 Series.
Star Mazda champion Conor Daly joined the series for Carlin. He was joined by German Formula Three champion Tom Dillmann for the first round of the series in Istanbul Park.
Having competed in Australian Formula Three and the Toyota Racing Series since the start of 2010, Mitch Evans joined MW Arden.
Matias Laine made his debut in the series with Manor Racing, having competed in the Formula 3 Euro Series for Motopark Academy in 2010.
Formula Renault UK race-winners Tamás Pál Kiss, Marlon Stöckinger, Lewis Williamson and Nick Yelloly all joined the series. Pál Kiss drove for Tech 1 Racing, Williamson drove for MW Arden while Stöckinger and Yelloly drove for Atech CRS GP.
Alexander Sims made his debut in the series with Status Grand Prix, having finished fourth in the Formula 3 Euro Series for ART Grand Prix.
Maxim Zimin joined the series with Jenzer Motorsport, having competed with the team in Formula Abarth.

Leaving GP3 Series

Mirko Bortolotti, who finished eleventh for Barwa Addax, and Tobias Hegewald, who finished 22nd with RSC Mücke Motorsport, both returned to Formula Two for 2011. They were joined by Miki Monrás, who was tenth for MW Arden.
Stefano Coletti and Pål Varhaug joined the GP2 Series with Trident Racing and DAMS respectively. 2010 champion Esteban Gutiérrez also joined GP2 with Lotus ART as well as being reserve driver for Formula One team Sauber.
James Jakes, after initially signing to race in GP2 with Scuderia Coloni, raced in the IndyCar Series with Dale Coyne Racing.
Josef Newgarden returned to his native United States to compete in Indy Lights for Sam Schmidt Motorsports.
Alexander Rossi and Robert Wickens moved into the Formula Renault 3.5 Series. Rossi, who finished fourth in 2010 with ART Grand Prix, drove for Fortec Motorsport while championship runner-up Wickens drove for Carlin.

2011 Schedule edit

The 2011 calendar was announced on 18 January 2011. The series consisted of eight rounds. A prospective ninth round in Monaco was dropped on 2 February 2011 due to a lack of paddock space.^[39] It supported every other European Formula One event.^[2]

Round		Location	Circuit	Date	Supporting
1	R1	Istanbul, Turkey	Istanbul Racing Circuit	7 May	Turkish Grand Prix
1	R2	Istanbul, Turkey	Istanbul Racing Circuit	8 May	Turkish Grand Prix
2	R1	Catalunya, Spain	Circuit de Catalunya	21 May	Spanish Grand Prix
2	R2	Catalunya, Spain	Circuit de Catalunya	22 May	Spanish Grand Prix
3	R1	Valencia. Spain	Valencia Street Circuit	25 June	European Grand Prix
3	R2	Valencia. Spain	Valencia Street Circuit	26 June	European Grand Prix
4	R1	Silverstone, UK	Silverstone Circuit	9 July	British Grand Prix
4	R2	Silverstone, UK	Silverstone Circuit	10 July	British Grand Prix
5	R1	Nürburg, Germany	Nürburgring	23 July	German Grand Prix
5	R2	Nürburg, Germany	Nürburgring	24 July	German Grand Prix
6	R1	Budapest, Hungary	Hungaroring	30 July	Hungarian Grand Prix
6	R2	Budapest, Hungary	Hungaroring	31 July	Hungarian Grand Prix
7	R1	Spa, Belgium	Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps	27 August	Belgian Grand Prix
7	R2	Spa, Belgium	Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps	28 August	Belgian Grand Prix
8	R1	Monza, Italy	Autodromo Nazionale Monza	10 September	Italian Grand Prix
8	R2	Monza, Italy	Autodromo Nazionale Monza	11 September	Italian Grand Prix

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

Round	Location	Circuit	Date	Supporting
R1	Monte Carlo, Monaco	Circuit de Monaco	27 May	Monaco Grand Prix
R2	Monte Carlo, Monaco	Circuit de Monaco	28 May	Monaco Grand Prix

Results edit

Round		Circuit	Pole Position	Fastest lap^[40]	Winning Driver	Winning Team	Report
1	R1	Istanbul Park	Tom Dillmann	Andrea Caldarelli	Nigel Melker	RSC Mücke Motorsport	Report
1	R2	Istanbul Park		Alexander Sims	Alexander Sims	Status Grand Prix	Report
2	R1	Circuit de Catalunya	Mitch Evans	Valtteri Bottas	Mitch Evans	MW Arden	Report
2	R2	Circuit de Catalunya		Andrea Caldarelli	Tamás Pál Kiss	Tech 1 Racing	Report
3	R1	Valencia Street Circuit	Lewis Williamson	Adrian Quaife-Hobbs	Adrian Quaife-Hobbs	Marussia Manor Racing	Report
3	R2	Valencia Street Circuit		James Calado	James Calado	Lotus ART	Report
4	R1	Silverstone Circuit	Adrian Quaife-Hobbs	Alexander Sims	Nico Müller	Jenzer Motorsport	Report
4	R2	Silverstone Circuit		Adrian Quaife-Hobbs^[c]	Lewis Williamson	MW Arden	Report
5	R1	Nürburgring	Mitch Evans	Lewis Williamson	Rio Haryanto	Marussia Manor Racing	Report
5	R2	Nürburgring		Nigel Melker	Valtteri Bottas	Lotus ART	Report
6	R1	Hungaroring	Valtteri Bottas	Michael Christensen	Valtteri Bottas	Lotus ART	Report
6	R2	Hungaroring		Nigel Melker	Rio Haryanto	Marussia Manor Racing	Report
7	R1	Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps	James Calado	Valtteri Bottas	Valtteri Bottas	Lotus ART	Report
7	R2	Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps		James Calado	Richie Stanaway	Lotus ART	Report
8	R1	Autodromo Nazionale Monza	Adrian Quaife-Hobbs	Rio Haryanto	Valtteri Bottas	Lotus ART	Report
8	R2	Autodromo Nazionale Monza		Valtteri Bottas^[d]	António Félix da Costa	Status Grand Prix	Report

Championship standings edit

Drivers' Championship edit

Pos	Driver	IST		CAT		VAL		SIL		NÜR		HUN		SPA		MNZ		Points
1	Valtteri Bottas	4	8	10	7	7	3	15	12	3	1	1	2	1	19	1	17	62
2	James Calado	17	13	2	21	8	1	6	5	4	6	25	3	2	2	2	14	55
3	Nigel Melker	1	3	6	2	Ret	19	Ret	8	10	3	8	4	3	Ret	9	Ret	38
4	Nico Müller	11	15	5	Ret	Ret	14	1	11	15	7	4	5	7	3	4	3	36
5	Adrian Quaife-Hobbs	24	16	11	23	1	8	4	15	5	Ret	3	10	4	Ret	Ret	6	36
6	Alexander Sims	8	1	Ret	Ret	6	2	2	3	12	2	DSQ	9	Ret	Ret	21†	Ret	34
7	Rio Haryanto	26	10	20	11	19	22†	10	4	1	10	9	1	12	9	3	2	31
8	Lewis Williamson	Ret	20	14	9	2	6	7	1	2	14	6	Ret	9	DNS	18	10	31
9	Mitch Evans	6	7	1	5	3	4	9	Ret	19	22	Ret	24†	11	Ret	8	Ret	29
10	Andrea Caldarelli	2	5	4	4													20
11	Michael Christensen	7	2	18	12	Ret	Ret	Ret	13	26†	12	2	13	15	4	12	11	19
12	Dean Smith	9	6	7	3	5	11	8	2	24	Ret	24	19	20	20			18
13	António Félix da Costa	5	4	12	17	Ret	20†	19	9	28	Ret	11	6	Ret	11	7	1	16
14	Tom Dillmann	3	9			20	Ret	Ret	25†	22	5	7	22	6	Ret	Ret	9	15
15	Aaro Vainio	15	Ret	3	20	Ret	Ret	11	18	7	13	5	7	13	Ret	22†	8	12
16	Tamás Pál Kiss	16	18	8	1	16	13	Ret	20	8	4	10	20	17	14	Ret	12	11
17	Conor Daly	21	25	21	22	12	7	13	7	6	8	13	11	5	7	6	Ret	10
18	Simon Trummer	19	21	27	25†	Ret	Ret	12	10	9	16	16	12	19	5	5	4	9
19	Gabriel Chaves	10	12	13	6	4	5	Ret	14	27†	17	23	Ret	16	16	17	7	8
20	Richie Stanaway													8	1	10	19	7
21	Nick Yelloly	13	11	25	18	9	12	3	6	16	9	21	Ret	Ret	13	Ret	Ret	7
22	Luciano Bacheta	Ret	19	22	16	18	10	5	19	25	25	17	Ret					4
23	Callum MacLeod									29	21	26	18	Ret	Ret	11	5	3
24	Alex Fontana													14	6			1
25	Vittorio Ghirelli	25	Ret	9	8	13	9	14	22	13	11	22	Ret			Ret	18	0
26	Ivan Lukashevich	14	24	17	13	Ret	Ret	18	24	11	18	28	23	10	8	Ret	Ret	0
27	Maxim Zimin	23	17	Ret	19	Ret	21†	DSQ	EX	20	15	19	8	Ret	15	Ret	16	0
28	Zoël Amberg	12	14	16	10	11	18	Ret	16	21	20	15	16	Ret	12	Ret	Ret	0
29	Marlon Stöckinger	Ret	23	26	Ret	14	16	16	Ret	Ret	DNS	12	17	Ret	10	19	13	0
30	Leonardo Cordeiro	Ret	22	23	15	10	17	17	23	17	19	20	15	21	18	13	Ret	0
31	Matias Laine	18	Ret	19	24	17	Ret	Ret	Ret	14	23	14	21	18	Ret	20	Ret	0
32	Pedro Nunes	22	26†	15	26†	Ret	15	Ret	17	23	Ret	18	14					0
33	Daniel Morad			24	14	15	Ret	DNS	DNS									0
34	Thomas Hylkema					Ret	Ret	20	21	18	24†	27	Ret	22	21	14	Ret	0
35	Daniel Mancinelli													Ret	17	15	15	0
36	Christophe Hurni															16	20	0
37	Dominic Storey	20	Ret	Ret	27†													0
Pos	Driver	IST		CAT		VAL		SIL		NÜR		HUN		SPA		MNZ		Points

Key
Colour	Result
Gold	Winner
Silver	2nd place
Bronze	3rd place
Green	Other points position
Blue	Other classified position
Blue	Not classified, finished (NC)
Purple	Not classified, retired (Ret)
Red	Did not qualify (DNQ)
Red	Did not pre-qualify (DNPQ)
Black	Disqualified (DSQ)
White	Did not start (DNS)
White	Race cancelled (C)
Blank	Did not practice (DNP)
	Excluded (EX)
	Did not arrive (DNA)
	Withdrawn (WD)
Text formatting	Meaning
Bold	Pole position point(s)
Italics	Fastest lap point(s)

Teams' Championship edit

Pos	Team	Car No.	IST		CAT		VAL		SIL		NÜR		HUN		SPA		MNZ		Points
1	Lotus ART	1	22	26†	15	26†	Ret	15	Ret	17	23	Ret	18	14	8	1	10	19	124
		2	4	8	10	7	7	3	15	12	3	1	1	2	1	19	1	17
		3	17	13	2	21	8	1	6	5	4	6	25	3	2	2	2	14
2	MW Arden	26	6	7	1	5	3	4	9	Ret	19	22	Ret	24†	11	Ret	8	Ret	69
		27	19	21	27	25†	Ret	Ret	12	10	9	16	16	12	19	5	5	4
		28	Ret	20	14	9	2	6	7	1	2	14	6	Ret	9	DNS	18	10
3	Marussia Manor Racing	10	24	16	11	23	1	8	4	15	5	Ret	3	10	4	Ret	Ret	6	67
		11	26†	10	20	11	19	22†	10	4	1	10	9	1	12	9	3	2
		12	18	Ret	19	24	17	Ret	Ret	Ret	14	23	14	21	18	Ret	20	Ret
4	RSC Mücke Motorsport	29	Ret	19	22	16	18	10	5	19	25	25	17	Ret	Ret	17	15	15	61
		30	7	2	18	12	Ret	Ret	Ret	13	26†	12	2	13	15	4	12	11
		31	1	3	6	2	Ret	19	Ret	8	10	3	8	4	3	Ret	9	Ret
5	Status Grand Prix	4	8	1	Ret	Ret	6	2	2	3	12	2	DSQ	9	Ret	Ret	21†	Ret	50
		5	5	4	12	17	Ret	20†	19	9	28	Ret	11	6	Ret	11	7	1
		6	14	24	17	13	Ret	Ret	18	24	11	18	28	23	10	8	Ret	Ret
6	Tech 1 Racing	17	15	Ret	3	20	Ret	Ret	11	18	7	13	5	7	13	Ret	22†	8	43
		18	2	5	4	4	Ret	Ret	20	21	18	24†	27	Ret	22	21	14	Ret
		19	16	18	8	1	16	13	Ret	20	8	4	10	20	17	14	Ret	12
7	Jenzer Motorsport	7	11	15	5	Ret	Ret	14	1	11	15	7	4	5	7	3	4	3	37
		8	23	17	Ret	19	Ret	21†	DSQ	EX	20	15	19	8	Ret	15	Ret	16
		9	25	Ret	9	8	13	9	14	22	13	11	22	Ret	14	6	16	20
8	Addax Team	23	20	Ret	Ret	27†	20	Ret	Ret	25†	22	5	7	22	6	Ret	Ret	9	33
		24	10	12	13	6	4	5	Ret	14	27†	17	23	Ret	16	16	17	7
		25	9	6	7	3	5	11	8	2	24	Ret	24	19	20	20	Ret	18
9	Carlin	14	21	25	21	22	12	7	13	7	6	8	13	11	5	7	6	Ret	21
		15	3	9	24	14	15	Ret	DNS	DNS	29	21	26	18	Ret	Ret	11	5
		16	Ret	22	23	15	10	17	17	23	17	19	20	15	21	18	13	Ret
10	Atech CRS GP	20	Ret	23	26	Ret	14	16	16	Ret	Ret	DNS	12	17	Ret	10	19	13	7
		21	13	11	25	18	9	12	3	6	16	9	21	Ret	Ret	13	Ret	Ret
		22	12	14	16	10	11	18	Ret	16	21	20	15	16	Ret	12	Ret	Ret
Pos	Team	Car No.	IST		CAT		VAL		SIL		NÜR		HUN		SPA		MNZ		Points

Key
Colour	Result
Gold	Winner
Silver	2nd place
Bronze	3rd place
Green	Other points position
Blue	Other classified position
Blue	Not classified, finished (NC)
Purple	Not classified, retired (Ret)
Red	Did not qualify (DNQ)
Red	Did not pre-qualify (DNPQ)
Black	Disqualified (DSQ)
White	Did not start (DNS)
White	Race cancelled (C)
Blank	Did not practice (DNP)
	Excluded (EX)
	Did not arrive (DNA)
	Withdrawn (WD)
Text formatting	Meaning
Bold	Pole position point(s)
Italics	Fastest lap point(s)

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

Footnotes edit

^ Status Grand Prix competed under a Ireland license.
^ Arden International competed under a Australia license.
^ Adrian Quaife-Hobbs set the fastest lap, but did not finish in the top 10, so was ineligible to be the point-scorer for the fastest lap. Dean Smith was the point-scorer instead for setting the fastest lap of those finishing in the top 10.
^ Valtteri Bottas set the fastest lap, but did not finish in the top 10, so was ineligible to be the point-scorer for the fastest lap. Callum MacLeod was the point-scorer instead for setting the fastest lap of those finishing in the top 10.

References edit

External links edit

Official website

[9] Status Grand Prix competed under a Ireland license.

[33] Arden International competed under a Australia license.

[43] Adrian Quaife-Hobbs set the fastest lap, but did not finish in the top 10, so was ineligible to be the point-scorer for the fastest lap. Dean Smith was the point-scorer instead for setting the fastest lap of those finishing in the top 10.

[44] Valtteri Bottas set the fastest lap, but did not finish in the top 10, so was ineligible to be the point-scorer for the fastest lap. Callum MacLeod was the point-scorer instead for setting the fastest lap of those finishing in the top 10.

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