2016 Formula V8 3.5 Series

2016 Formula V8 3.5 season
Previous:	2015	Next:	2017

The 2016 Formula V8 3.5 Series is a multi-event motor racing championship for open wheel, formula racing cars held across Europe. The championship features drivers competing in Formula V8 3.5 formula race cars that conform to the technical regulations for the championship. The 2016 season is the first Formula V8 3.5 season organised independently by RPM Racing, after it was announced that Renault Sport would withdraw its backing of the championship at the end of the previous season.^[1]

Teams and drivers

Team No. Driver Status Rounds Fortec Motorsports[2] 1 Louis Delétraz[3] R 1-2 2 Pietro Fittipaldi[4] R 1-2 Lotus[2] 3 René Binder[5] 1-2 4 Roy Nissany[5] 1-2 Arden Motorsport[2] 7 Egor Orudzhev[6] 1-2 8 Aurélien Panis[7] 1-2 AVF[2] 15 Alfonso Celis Jr.[8] 1-2 16 Tom Dillmann[9] 1-2 Durango Racing Team[10] 20 Giuseppe Cipriani[11] R 1-2 RP Motorsport[12] 21 Johnny Cecotto Jr.[13] 1-2 22 Vitor Baptista[14] R 1-2 SMP Racing[2][15] 23 Matthieu Vaxivière[16] 1-2 24 Matevos Isaakyan[11] R 1-2 Teo Martín Motorsport[17] 25 Yu Kanamaru[18] 1-2 26 Beitske Visser[19] 1-2

Icon Meaning R Series rookie for 2016

Driver changes

Changed teams

• Tom Dillmann switched from Jagonya Ayam with Carlin to AVF.^[9]
• Yu Kanamaru moved from Pons Racing to newcomers Teo Martín Motorsport.^[18]
• Roy Nissany made his switch from Tech 1 Racing to Lotus.^[5]
• Aurélien Panis moved from Tech 1 Racing to Arden Motorsport.^[7]
• Matthieu Vaxivière switched from Lotus to SMP Racing.^[16]
• Beitske Visser, who raced for AVF for two consecutive seasons was set to join Pons Racing, but following their withdrawal from the series, she signed with Teo Martín Motorsport.^[19]

Entering/Re–Entering Formula V8 3.5

• 2015 SMP F4 Championship runner-up Vladimir Atoev was set join the series with SMP Racing but due to health problems he was replaced by 2015 Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0 driver Matevos Isaakyan.^[16][11]
• 2015 Euroformula Open champion Vitor Baptista will join the series with RP Motorsport.^[14]
• After competing for Pons Racing at the Nürburgring in 2015, GP2 Series driver René Binder will join the series full-time with Lotus.^[5]
• Gentleman driver Giuseppe Cipriani joins the series with Durango Racing Team.^[11]
• After competing for Comtec Racing at the Red Bull Ring in 2015, Louis Delétraz, the 2015 Formula Renault 2.0 NEC champion, will enter the series full-time with Fortec Motorsports.^[3]
• Pietro Fittipaldi, who raced in the 2015 European Formula 3 Championship, will continue his collaboration with Fortec Motorsports into the series.^[4]

Leaving Formula V8 3.5

• Philo Paz Armand, Sean Gelael, Gustav Malja and Nicholas Latifi, who raced for Pons Racing, Jagonya Ayam with Carlin, Strakka Racing and Arden Motorsport respectively, will join the 2016 GP2 Series with Trident,^[20] Campos Racing,^[21] Rapax,^[22] and DAMS.^[23] 2015 Formula Renault 3.5 Series champion Oliver Rowland, who raced part-time in GP2 in 2015, will join the series full-time with MP Motorsport.^[24]
• Jazeman Jaafar, who finished eighth for Fortec Motorsports in 2015, will race in both the Blancpain Sprint Series and Blancpain Endurance Series with HTP Motorsport.^[25]
• Roberto Merhi, who contested a part-season with Pons Racing, will join the 2016 FIA World Endurance Championship with Manor in the LMP2 category.^[26]
• DAMS drivers Dean Stoneman and Nyck de Vries will leave the series to compete in the 2016 Indy Lights and 2016 GP3 Series with Andretti Autosport and ART Grand Prix respectively.^[27][28]
• Nikita Zlobin, who took part in the final two rounds of 2015 with Pons Racing, will join Euroformula Open with Teo Martín Motorsport.^[29]

Team changes

• After five seasons in the Formula Renault 3.5 Series (the 2005 season and from 2012 to 2015), DAMS will leave the championship to join the GP3 Series.^[30] The team's entry will be taken by International GT Open team Teo Martín Motorsport.^[17]
• Swiss team Spirit of Race will make its debut in 2016, taking the slot vacated by International Draco Racing.^[31] It was announced in February 2016 that the team would be operated by the SMP Racing concern under a Russian license.^[15]
• Euroformula Open team RP Motorsport will make their series debut in 2016.^[12]
• Carlin announced their withdrawal from the championship in March 2016 in order to concentrate on their GP2 Series activities.^[32]
• Durango Racing Team will make their series debut in 2016, replacing Tech 1 Racing.^[10]
• Pons Racing withdrew from the championship to focus on their Moto2 commitments.^[10]

Race calendar and results

The provisional calendar for the 2016 season was announced on 17 October 2015, at the final round of the 2015 season.^[33] The championship returns to Paul Ricard, Monza and Barcelona. Rounds previously held at Monaco, Nürburgring and Le Mans Bugatti were removed from the schedule.

On 8 March 2016, it was announced that due to operational reasons, the final two rounds of the season would switch dates. The event at Jerez will become the penultimate round with the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya hosting the final round.^[34]

Round		Circuit	Date	Pole Position	Fastest Lap	Winning Driver	Winning Team	Rookie Winner	Supporting
1	R1	Ciudad del Motor de Aragón, Alcañiz	16 April	Egor Orudzhev	Louis Delétraz	Louis Delétraz	Fortec Motorsports	Louis Delétraz	Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0 Renault Sport Trophy
	R2		17 April	Tom Dillmann	Louis Delétraz	Aurélien Panis	Arden Motorsports	Louis Delétraz
2	R1	Hungaroring, Mogyoród	23 April	Tom Dillmann	Tom Dillmann	Johnny Cecotto Jr.	RP Motorsport	Louis Delétraz	World Touring Car Championship
	R2		24 April	Tom Dillmann	Roy Nissany	Tom Dillmann	AVF	Louis Delétraz
3	R1	Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps, Spa	21 May						International GT Open
	R2		22 May
4	R1	Circuit Paul Ricard, Le Castellet	25 June						Blancpain GT Series Endurance Cup
	R2		26 June
5	R1	Silverstone Circuit	23 July						International GT Open
	R2		24 July
6	R1	Red Bull Ring, Spielberg	10 September
	R2		11 September
7	R1	Autodromo Nazionale Monza	1 October
	R2		2 October
8	R1	Circuito de Jerez, Jerez de la Frontera	29 October						Euroformula Open
	R2		30 October
9	R1	Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, Barcelona	5 November						International GT Open
	R2		6 November

Championship standings

Points system

Points were awarded to the top 10 classified finishers.

Position	1st	2nd	3rd	4th	5th	6th	7th	8th	9th	10th
Points	25	18	15	12	10	8	6	4	2	1

Drivers' Championship

Pos Driver ALC HUN SPA LEC SIL RBR MNZ JER CAT Points 1 Tom Dillmann 3 2 2 1 76 2 Louis Delétraz 1 5 3 4 62 3 Aurélien Panis 5 1 4 3 62 4 Johnny Cecotto Jr. 9 6 1 6 43 5 Matthieu Vaxivière 2 Ret 5 5 38 6 Roy Nissany 7 7 6 2 38 7 René Binder 4 3 11 7 33 8 Yu Kanamaru Ret 4 9 10 15 9 Alfonso Celis Jr. 6 8 Ret Ret 12 10 Pietro Fittipaldi 11 9 8 8 10 11 Beitske Visser 10 12 7 DNS 7 12 Vitor Baptista 8 11 10 Ret 5 13 Egor Orudzhev Ret 14† Ret 9 2 14 Matevos Isaakyan 12 10 Ret Ret 1 15 Giuseppe Cipriani 13 13 Ret Ret 0 Pos Driver ALC HUN SPA LEC SIL RBR MNZ JER CAT 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 † – Retired, but classified Rookie

Teams' Championship

Pos Team Car No. ALC HUN SPA LEC SIL RBR MNZ JER CAT Points 1 AVF 15 6 8 Ret Ret 88 16 3 2 2 1 2 Lotus 3 4 3 11 7 72 4 7 7 6 2 3 Fortec Motorsports 1 1 5 3 4 71 2 11 9 8 8 4 Arden Motorsport 7 Ret 14† Ret 9 64 8 5 1 4 3 5 SMP Racing 23 2 Ret 5 5 48 24 12 10 Ret Ret 6 RP Motorsport 21 9 6 1 6 39 22 8 11 10 Ret 6 Teo Martín Motorsport 25 Ret 4 9 10 22 26 10 12 7 DNS 7 Durango Racing Team 20 13 13 Ret Ret 0 Pos Team Car No. ALC HUN SPA LEC SIL RBR MNZ JER CAT 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 † – Retired, but classified

References

1. Mills, Peter (24 July 2015). "Renault Sport to withdraw its backing of Formula Renault 3.5". Autosport (Haymarket Publications). Retrieved 30 September 2015.
2. "Formula 3.5 unveils team list for 2016". Motorsport.com (Khorounzhiy, Valentin). September 30, 2015. Retrieved September 30, 2015.
3. Allen, Peter (16 November 2015). "Louis Deletraz gets Fortec drive for Formula 3.5 V8 move". paddockscout.com (Paddock Scout). Retrieved 16 November 2015.
4. Khorounzhiy, Valentin (26 January 2016). "Fittipaldi makes Formula V8 3.5 switch with Fortec". Motorsport.com. Retrieved 26 January 2016.
5. Allen, Peter (21 March 2016). "Lotus team to run Binder and Nissany in Formula V8 3.5". paddockscout.com (Paddock Scout). Retrieved 21 March 2016.
6. Allen, Peter (22 December 2015). "Egor Orudzhev confirmed to continue with Arden in 2016". Paddock Scout. Retrieved 22 December 2015.
7. "Panis completes Arden Formula V8 3.5 line-up". Motorsport.com (Khorounzhiy, Valentin). 2 February 2016. Retrieved 2 February 2016.
8. Mills, Peter (26 October 2015). "Alfonso Celis Jr commits to 2016 Formula 3.5 V8 with AVF". Autosport (Haymarket). Retrieved 26 October 2015.
9. Allen, Peter (9 November 2015). "Tom Dillmann gets AVF deal for 2016 Formula 3.5 V8 season". paddockscout.com (Paddock Scout). Retrieved 9 November 2015.
10. "Formula V8 3.5, Episode One". Formula V8 3.5 (RPM Racing). 28 March 2016. Retrieved 29 March 2016.
11. "Isaakyan replaces injured Atoev in SMP's F3.5 line-up". Motorsport.com. 12 April 2016. Retrieved 12 April 2016.
12. "RP Motorsport bets on Formula 3.5 V8". rpmotorsport.net (RP Motorsport). 20 October 2015. Retrieved 20 October 2015.
13. "Formula 3.5 V8 – RP Motorsport Racing ready debut with Baptista and Cecotto Jr !". rpmotorsport.net (RP Motorsport). 7 April 2016. Retrieved 7 April 2016.
14. Gil, Marcos (30 March 2016). "Vitor Baptista assina com a RP Motorsport para disputar a temporada 2016 da Fórmula V8" [Vitor Baptista signs with RP Motorsport to contest the 2016 season of Formula V8]. esporteinterativo.com (in Portuguese) (Esporte Interativo). Retrieved 30 March 2016.
15. "SMP Racing with Spirit of Race to become the first Russian team". Formula V8 3.5 (RPM Racing). 17 February 2016. Retrieved 21 March 2016.
16. Khorounzhiy, Valentin (25 December 2015). "F3.5 V8 newcomer Spirit of Race signs Vaxivière and Atoev". Motorsport.com (Motor Sport). Retrieved 25 December 2015.
17. Elizalde, Pablo (19 October 2015). "DAMS' Formula 3.5 entry bought out by Spanish businessman". Motorsport.com. Retrieved 19 October 2015.
18. Allen, Peter (25 January 2016). "Yu Kanamaru to race for Teo Martin Formula V8 3.5 team". paddockscout.com (Paddock Scout). Retrieved 25 January 2016.
19. "ENTRY LIST Round 01/2016 – MOTORLAND ARAGÓN". Formula V8 3.5. RPM Racing. 12 April 2016. Retrieved 12 April 2016.
20. David, Gruz (12 February 2016). "Armand signs up with Trident for maiden GP2 campaign". paddockscout.com (Paddock Scout). Retrieved 21 March 2016.
21. "Evans and Gelael to join Campos for 2016 GP2 campaign". Motorsport.com (Khorounzhiy, Valentin). 1 December 2015. Retrieved 26 December 2015.
22. Allen, Peter (16 February 2016). "Gustav Malja signs with Rapax for full-time GP2 switch". paddockscout.com (Paddock Scout). Retrieved 21 March 2016.
23. Allen, Peter (18 December 2015). "Lynn joined by Latifi at DAMS in GP2 for 2016". paddockscout.com (Paddock Scout). Retrieved 26 December 2015.
24. David, Gruz (3 February 2016). "Rowland becomes Renault F1 junior, secures full-time GP2 seat". paddockscout.com (Paddock Scout). Retrieved 3 February 2016.
25. "Jaafar joins HTP Motorsport for Blancpain GT". Motorsport.com (Chokhani, Darshan). 4 February 2016. Retrieved 4 February 2016.
26. "Roberto Merhi Rejoins Manor For 2016 FIA WEC". dailysportscar.com (DailySportscar). 30 March 2016. Retrieved 30 March 2016.
27. O'Connell, R.J. (24 February 2016). "Dean Stoneman switches to Indy Lights with Andretti". Paddock Scout. Retrieved 24 February 2016.
28. "Nyck de Vries confirmed at ART Grand Prix". GP3 Series. GP2 Series Limited. 24 February 2016. Retrieved 24 February 2016.
29. Allen, Peter (30 January 2016). "Nikita Zlobin to do EuroFormula Open with Teo Martin Motorsport". paddockscout.com (Paddock Scout). Retrieved 3 February 2016.
30. Mills, Peter (1 October 2015). "DAMS switches from Formula Renault 3.5 to GP3 for 2016". Autosport (Haymarket Publications). Retrieved 5 October 2015.
31. Costa, Massimo (16 October 2015). "Renault 3.5 a Jerez Spirit of Race subentra a Draco" [Renault 3.5 at Jerez Spirit of Race takes over from Draco]. ItaliaRacing.net (in Italian) (Inpagina). Retrieved 17 October 2015.
32. "Carlin pulls out of Formula V8 3.5 to focus on GP2". Autosport (Haymarket Publications). 10 March 2016. Retrieved 21 March 2016.
33. Mills, Peter (17 October 2015). "Provisional 2016 Formula Renault 3.5 calendar revealed". Autosport (Haymarket Publications). Retrieved 18 October 2015.
34. "Formula V8 3.5 Calendar Updated". Formula V8 3.5 (RPM Racing). 8 March 2016. Retrieved 8 March 2016.

External links

• Official website