The 2012 Cooper Tires British Formula 3 International Series season is the 62nd British Formula 3 International Series season. The series, promoted by the Stéphane Ratel Organisation, began on 6 April at Oulton Park and ended on 30 September at Donington Park after 28 races held at ten meetings.
The first two poles of the season were claimed at Oulton Park by second-year driver Jack Harvey for the Carlin team, and he won the opening race of the year ahead of teammates Jazeman Jaafar and Carlos Sainz Jr. In the reverse-grid second race, Fortec Motorsports' Pipo Derani scored his first win in the series, while teammate Félix Serrallés won the third race of the weekend in his first Formula Three meeting. A week later at Monza, Serralles and Sainz claimed their first poles in Formula Three. Rain before the start of the first race forced drivers to change from slick tyres, and in effect, the race started from the pit lane. Sainz, Jr. left pit lane first and won his first race in the championship. Derani and Jaafar, who had left the pits seventh and eighth respectively, joined Sainz, Jr. on the podium, while Serralles finished tenth. Serralles won the second race held in torrential rain, ahead of Harvey and teammate Pietro Fantin, while Sainz, Jr. comfortably won the third race, almost seventeen seconds clear of Serralles, with Serralles' teammate Alex Lynn taking his first podium in third place.
Regulation changes In a change to the 2011 season, all races award championship points on the same points system. Previously, the second race had awarded points on a reduced scale – 10 points for the winner and decreasing by one point down to tenth place – compared to races one and three.
Drivers and teams For the Norisring event, drivers used different numbers in line with Formula 3 Euro Series regulations; each driver's Norisring race number is displayed in tooltips. Team Chassis Engine Driver Rounds International Class Carlin Dallara F312 Volkswagen Jack Harvey All Pietro Fantin All Harry Tincknell All Jazeman Jaafar All Carlos Sainz Jr. 1–9 Fortec Motorsport Dallara F312 Mercedes HWA Pipo Derani All Félix Serrallés All Hannes van Asseldonk All Alex Lynn All ThreeBond with T-Sport Dallara F312 ThreeBond Nissan Nick McBride All Double R Racing Dallara F312 Mercedes HWA Geoff Uhrhane All Fahmi Ilyas 1–8 32 Rupert Svendsen-Cook 9–10 Rookie Class ThreeBond with T-Sport Dallara F311 Mugen-Honda 42 Spike Goddard All 44 Pedro Pablo Calbimonte 7–10 CF Racing Dallara F311 Mugen-Honda 43 Adderly Fong 5, 7–8 Hywel Lloyd 10 Double R Racing Dallara F309 Mugen-Honda Duvashen Padayachee All International Class GU-Racing Dallara F312 Mercedes-Benz 10 Philip Ellis 6 Carlin Dallara F312 Volkswagen 11 William Buller 6 71 Richard Bradley 7 Mücke Motorsport Dallara F312 Mercedes HWA Felix Rosenqvist 3, 6–7 Pascal Wehrlein 3, 6–7 Jo Zeller Racing Dallara F312 Mercedes HWA Andrea Roda 3, 6–7 Dallara F308 Sandro Zeller 3, 6–7 ma-con Motorsport Dallara F312 Volkswagen Emil Bernstorff 3, 6–7 Tom Blomqvist 3, 6–7 URD Rennsport Dallara F312 Mercedes-Benz Lucas Wolf 6–7 Angola Racing Team Dallara F312 Mercedes-Benz Luís Sá Silva 6–7 Prema Powerteam F312 Mercedes HWA Daniel Juncadella 3, 6–7 Sven Müller 3, 6–7 Michael Lewis 3, 6–7 Raffaele Marciello 3, 6–7
Driver changes Changed Teams Pipo Derani, who finished in fifteenth place in 2011, moved from Double R Racing to Fortec Motorsports. Pietro Fantin switched from Hitech Racing to Carlin. After a season with Fortec Motorsports, Fahmi Ilyas joined Double R Racing. Harry Tincknell changed teams for his second season in British F3 moving from Fortec Motorsports to Carlin.
Entering/Re-Entering British Formula Three British Formula Ford racers Spike Goddard and Nick McBride moved into the championship with T-Sport. Fellow Formula Ford compatriot Geoff Uhrhane joined Double R Racing. Formula Renault UK champion Alex Lynn continued his collaboration with Fortec Motorsports for another season, moving into Formula Three. Félix Serrallés also continued his collaboration with Fortec Motorsports, moving from the Formula Renault Eurocup. JK Racing Asia Series driver Duvashen Padayachee graduated into the championship with Double R Racing. Formula Renault 2.0 NEC champion and Eurocup runner-up Carlos Sainz Jr. made his debut with Carlin. After finishing fifth in German Formula Three, Dutch driver Hannes van Asseldonk moved full-time to the British series with Fortec Motorsports. Van Asseldonk previously contested one round in 2011, as an invitational driver.
Leaving British Formula Three Donington winner Valtteri Bottas left the series to concentrate on his Williams F1 reserve driver duties. António Félix da Costa joined Carlin in the GP3 Series. Mitch Evans, who participated in the final round with Double R Racing, remained in the GP3 Series with MW Arden. 2011 runner-up Kevin Magnussen remained with Carlin, but moved into the Formula Renault 3.5 Series. Third-placed Carlos Huertas, seventh-placed Lucas Foresti and 26th-placed Yann Cunha also moved into the series for Fortec Motorsports, DAMS and Pons Racing respectively. 2011 champion Felipe Nasr switched to DAMS for his GP2 Series debut. Scott Pye returned to his native Australia to compete in the Dunlop V8 Supercar Series, having finished in tenth place for Double R Racing. Alexander Sims, who won at Silverstone, switched to endurance racing as he joined Status Grand Prix to compete in the European Le Mans Series. Max Snegirev moved into the Auto GP World Series, with the Campos Racing team.
Race calendar and results On 12 October 2011, it was revealed that the series was due to have three overseas rounds, at the Nürburgring, Spa-Francorchamps – both on the calendar in 2011 – and Pau. Pau returns to the series' schedule for the first time since 2006.
A provisional ten-round calendar was later announced on 7 November 2011, with the Nürburgring round removed, and rounds at Le Castellet and Monza, both of which held meetings in 2011, being restored to the calendar to make up four overseas rounds along with Spa-Francorchamps and Pau. All rounds were made up of three races except Pau, where only two races were held. On 21 April, it was announced that the series would add the Formula 3 Euro Series round at the Norisring in place of the round at Paul Ricard; the event would be held under Euro Series regulations. The rounds at Pau, Spa and the Norisring would be part of the revived FIA European Formula 3 Championship. The championship supported the British GT Championship at six rounds, two Blancpain Endurance Series events at Monza and Spa along with the Pau Grand Prix event and Formula 3 Euro Series event at Norisring.
Round Circuit Date Pole position Fastest lap Winning driver Winning team Rookie winner 1 R1 Oulton Park 7 April Jack Harvey Hannes van Asseldonk Jack Harvey Carlin Spike Goddard R2 Pipo Derani Pipo Derani Fortec Motorsports Spike Goddard R3 Jack Harvey Félix Serrallés Félix Serrallés Fortec Motorsports Spike Goddard 2 R1 Autodromo Nazionale Monza 14 April Félix Serrallés Alex Lynn Carlos Sainz Jr. Carlin Spike Goddard R2 15 April Félix Serrallés Félix Serrallés Fortec Motorsports Duvashen Padayachee R3 Carlos Sainz Jr. Carlos Sainz Jr. Carlos Sainz Jr. Carlin Spike Goddard 3 R1 Pau Circuit 12 May Raffaele Marciello Jazeman JaafarFastest lap recorded by Raffaele Marciello, but he was ineligible to score the fastest lap point. Raffaele Marciello Prema Powerteam Spike Goddard R2 13 May Raffaele Marciello Pipo Derani Raffaele Marciello Prema Powerteam Sandro Zeller 4 R1 Rockingham Motor Speedway 9 June Jack Harvey Hannes van Asseldonk Jazeman Jaafar Carlin Spike Goddard R2 10 June Pietro Fantin Harry Tincknell Carlin Duvashen Padayachee R3 Jack Harvey Jack Harvey Jack Harvey Carlin Duvashen Padayachee 5 R1 Brands Hatch 23 June Jack Harvey Jazeman Jaafar Jack Harvey Carlin Adderly Fong R2 24 June Harry Tincknell Pipo Derani Fortec Motorsports Adderly Fong R3 Jack Harvey Jack Harvey Jack Harvey Carlin Adderly Fong 6 R1 Norisring, Nuremberg 30 June Raffaele Marciello Jack HarveyHarvey and Serralles each scored a point towards the championship, after setting identical fastest lap times among British series competitors; Raffaele Marciello set the overall fastest lap. Félix Serrallés No winner Sandro Zeller R2 Félix SerrallésFastest lap recorded by William Buller, but he was ineligible to score the fastest lap point. Harry Tincknell Carlin Sandro Zeller R3 1 July Pascal Wehrlein Hannes van Asseldonk Raffaele Marciello Prema Powerteam Spike Goddard 7 R1 Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps 27 July Félix Serrallés Félix Serrallés Félix Serrallés Fortec Motorsports Sandro Zeller R2 Race cancelled due to heavy rain R3 28 July Félix Serrallés Carlos Sainz Jr. Carlos Sainz Jr. Carlin Adderly Fong 8 R1 Snetterton Motor Racing Circuit 4 August Jack Harvey Jack Harvey Jack Harvey Carlin Adderly Fong R2 5 August Jazeman Jaafar Harry Tincknell Carlin Adderly Fong R3 Jack Harvey Jack Harvey Carlos Sainz Jr. Carlin Adderly Fong 9 R1 Silverstone Circuit 8 September Alex Lynn Alex Lynn Jazeman Jaafar Carlin Spike Goddard R2 9 September Pietro Fantin Félix Serrallés Fortec Motorsports Duvashen Padayachee R3 Alex Lynn Alex Lynn Alex Lynn Fortec Motorsports Spike Goddard 10 R1 Donington Park 29 September Jack Harvey Alex Lynn Jack Harvey Carlin Hywel Lloyd R230 September Pietro Fantin Harry Tincknell Carlin Hywel Lloyd R3 Jack Harvey Alex Lynn Jack Harvey Carlin Hywel Lloyd Notes
Championship standings
Pos Driver OUL MNZ PAU ROC BRH NOR SPA SNE SIL DON Pts Championship Class 1 Jack Harvey 1 6 2 7 2 8 5 8 5 3 1 1 9 1 14 7 Ret 4 C 6 1 4 3 8 2 8 1 6 1 319 2 Jazeman Jaafar 2 3 5 3 5 4 2 3 1 6 4 2 6 2 18 14 Ret 5 C 4 7 2 5 1 3 2 2 Ret 3 306 3 Félix Serrallés 7 7 1 10 1 2 8 19 3 4 6 6 2 9 5 2 3 1 C 3 2 6 2 7 1 7 4 4 8 299 4 Alex Lynn 5 Ret 6 5 7 3 3 7 2 7 2 3 8 4 19 9 9 6 C 11 3 5 4 4 6 1 3 Ret 2 253 5 Harry Tincknell 4 4 3 Ret 9 6 7 Ret 7 1 Ret 5 15 3 8 1 10 13 C 9 12 1 7 3 13 3 8 1 4 226 6 Carlos Sainz Jr. 3 5 4 1 8 1 6 2 10 12 3 4 4 Ret Ret 25 19 3 C 1 Ret 11 1 2 7 5 223 7 Pietro Fantin 8 2 7 6 3 Ret 14 12 6 2 9 8 3 5 4 8 6 16 C 19 NC 8 9 5 4 6 6 3 6 195 8 Pipo Derani 9 1 Ret 2 6 7 Ret 5 9 8 7 9 1 Ret Ret 16 21 8 C 7 Ret 7 8 9 Ret 11 7 2 5 146 9 Hannes van Asseldonk Ret 8 Ret 4 DNS 5 11 Ret 4 5 5 Ret 10 7 20 10 5 23 C 18 4 15 6 Ret 8 4 5 5 7 132 10 Nick McBride 10 11 9 8 4 9 15 14 8 9 10 7 7 6 13 24 15 18 C 15 6 3 15 Ret 10 12 10 8 10 85 11 Fahmi Ilyas 6 Ret 8 9 10 10 9 15 Ret 10 8 11 5 10 Ret Ret 12 21 C 21 5 Ret 10 48 12 Geoff Uhrhane Ret 10 10 12 11 Ret 16 18 Ret 11 12 10 11 8 12 15 Ret 15 C Ret 9 10 11 Ret 9 10 11 9 11 35 13 Rupert Svendsen-Cook 6 5 9 9 7 9 24 Guest drivers ineligible for points Raffaele Marciello 1 1 22 17 1 11 C 14 0 Daniel Juncadella Ret 4 DSQ 11 2 2 C 8 0 William Buller 2 5 18 0 Tom Blomqvist 13 21 10 6 7 10 C 2 0 Emil Bernstorff Ret 13 3 Ret 4 17 C 10 0 Pascal Wehrlein Ret 9 7 3 Ret 14 C 12 0 Felix Rosenqvist 4 6 6 4 14 9 C Ret 0 Michael Lewis 10 11 Ret 13 8 7 C 5 0 Sven Müller 12 10 9 Ret 11 12 C Ret 0 Andrea Roda 19 Ret 16 19 13 19 C 16 0 Lucas Wolf Ret 20 22 20 C 13 0 Luís Sá Silva 15 18 16 26 C 20 0 Philip Ellis Ret 21 Ret 0 Richard Bradley 21 C Ret 0 Rookie Class 1 Spike Goddard 11 9 11 11 Ret 11 17 20 11 14 Ret 13 13 Ret 17 22 17 28 C 23 10 14 14 10 12 13 14 11 15 426 2 Duvashen Padayachee 12 12 12 Ret 12 12 DNS 17 12 13 11 Ret 14 12 21 23 20 25 C 24 11 13 16 12 11 14 15 13 14 377 3 Adderly Fong 12 12 11 27 C 17 8 9 12 161 4 Pedro Pablo Calbimonte 29 C 22 Ret 12 13 11 Ret 15 13 12 13 125 5 Hywel Lloyd 12 10 12 61 Guest drivers ineligible for points Sandro Zeller 18 16 11 12 23 22 C 25 0 Pos Driver OUL MNZ PAU ROC BRH NOR SPA SNE SIL DON Pts
References
External links The official website of the British Formula 3 Championship