GP3 Series

2014 GP3 Series Season Preview – Part 1 – History of GP3

2 Mins read

2014 is the fifth season of the GP3 Series, the feeder series of GP2 that is in turn just beneath Formula 1. The idea of GP3 is to give drivers experience of the grand prix environment, with every race (bar one) event in the history of the series on F1 weekends. The racing has been fantastic over the years, with some very good champions, three of which are already plying their trade in F1. 2010 champion Esteban Gutierrez, 2011 champion Valterri Bottas and 2013 champion Daniil Kvyat are already in F1 with Sauber, Williams and Toro Rosso respectively, while 2012 champion Mitch Evans is in GP2 with Russian Time.

Other notable drivers to have gone through GP3 in its four years to date are Americans Josef Newgarden, who races for Sarah Fisher Hartman Racing in the IndyCar Series, and Alexander Rossi who races for Caterham in GP2, Canadian Robert Wickens, who is now a DTM driver for Mercedes-Benz, Briton James Calado, who is driving for AF Corse in the World Endurance Championship, and Jean-Eric Vergne, also a Toro Rosso driver in F1 alongside Kvyat.

Here we take a look back at the past champions of the GP3 series, plus a quick look back at the inaugural race weekend back in 2010 when GP3 was born.

Past Driver and Team Champions

YEAR DRIVERS’ CHAMPION TEAMS’ CHAMPION
2010 Esteban Gutierrez (ART Grand Prix) ART Grand Prix
2011 Valterri Bottas (Lotus ART) Lotus ART
2012 Mitch Evans (MW Arden) Lotus GP
2013 Daniil Kvyat (MW Arden) ART Grand Prix

First Race Weekend – 07th-09th May 2010 – Circuit de Catalunya

The first GP3 Series weekend took place over the weekend of May 07-09th 2010 at the Circuit de Catalunya in Spain as support to the Formula 1 Spanish Grand Prix weekend. There were ten teams of three drivers, of which four have disappeared (Tech 1 Racing, RSC Mücke Motorsport, Addax and ATECH CRS GP), and two more have had name changes (Manor Racing are now Marussia Manor Racing, and MW Arden are now Arden International).

There were two future Formula 1 drivers in the field in the form of Esteban Gutierrez and Jean-Eric Vergne, while a third – Alexander Rossi – is a reserve driver for Caterham F1 in 2014.

May 07th – Race 1 Qualifying Results – Top Six

POS DRIVER NAT TEAM TIME
1 Nigel Melker NED RSC Mücke Motorsport 1:52.602
2 Pal Varhaug NOR Jenzer Motorsport 1:52.931
3 Robert Wickens CAN Status Grand Prix 1:52.974
4 Daniel Morad CAN Status Grand Prix 1:53.311
5 James Jakes GBR Manor Racing 1:53.440
6 Dean Smith GBR Carlin 1:53.600

May 08th – Race 1 Result – Top Six

POS DRIVER NAT TEAM TIME
1 Pal Varhaug NOR Jenzer Motorsport 26m58.573s
2 Robert Wickens CAN Status Grand Prix +1.563s
3 Esteban Gutierrez MEX ART Grand Prix +1.958s
4 Dean Smith GBR Carlin +3.446s
5 Jean-Eric Vergne FRA Tech 1 Racing +6.722s
6 Simon Trummer SWI Jenzer Motorsport +8.734s

Fastest Lap: Adrian Quaife-Hobbs – Britain – Manor Racing – 1:40.299s

May 09th – Race 2 Results – Top Six

POS DRIVER NAT TEAM TIME
1 Alexander Rossi USA ART Grand Prix 27m06.594s
2 Lucas Foresti BRZ Carlin +10.535s
3 Esteban Gutierrez MEX ART Grand Prix +11.005s
4 Robert Wickens CAN Status Grand Prix +11.699s
5 Dean Smith GBR Carlin +14.154s
6 Pedro Nunes BRZ ART Grand Prix +17.082s

Fastest Lap: Alexander Rossi – United States – ART Grand Prix – 1:38.501s

13769 posts

About author
Long time motorsport fanatic, covering Formula 1 and the occassional other series. Feel free to give him a follow on Twitter at @Paul11MSport.
Articles
Related posts
GP3 SeriesPorsche Carrera Cup Australia

Joey Mawson set for guest entry for Porsche Carrera Cup Australia

1 Mins read
Upcoming single-seater racer explores sports car options in F1 supporting Porsche Carrera Cup race.
GP3 Series

Giuliano Alesi: "Sometime it Went Good, Sometimes Bad, But I Always Learned From Them"

2 Mins read
Giuliano Alesi looks back on his 2018 GP3 Series, as he prepares for a Formula 2 test this week.
GP3 Series

Ilott Claims Third in GP3 Standings

2 Mins read
Callum Ilott rounds off a strong rookie season in the GP3 Series with third in the championship.