The 2013 GP3 Series was the fourth season of the GP3 Series, a motor racing championship that acted as a third-tier feeder series for Formula One and sister series GP2.
The season introduced a new car, the GP3/13, built by Italian racing car manufacturer Dallara. The engine was upgraded to a naturally-aspirated 400bhp V6 unit supplied by AER, and the car also featured a new nose, sidepods and engine cover. The car was estimated to be three seconds per lap than the previous chassis, which was proven correct during pre-season testing.
The championship title was secured by Daniil Kvyat with a race to spare after three consecutive feature race wins in Spa, Monza and Abu Dhabi. He had a thirty-point advantage on ART Grand Prix's Facu Regalia, who finished as runner-up. Regalia's teammate Conor Daly, who was the feature race winner at Valencia, finished in third. Tio Ellinas, who led the drivers' standings until the first race at Spa, bookended the season with victories in both the first race and the final race of the season to finish fourth. Jack Harvey completed the top five, helping ART Grand Prix to claim the teams' championship.
Teams and drivers The following teams and drivers competed in the 2013 season: Team Driver name Rounds ART Grand Prix 1 Conor Daly All 2 Facu Regalia All 3 Jack Harvey All MW Arden 4 Carlos Sainz Jr. All 5 Robert Vișoiu All 6 Daniil Kvyat All Carlin 7 Luís Sá Silva All 8 Nick Yelloly All 9 Eric Lichtenstein 1–5 Alexander Sims 6–8 Jenzer Motorsport 10 Samin Gómez All 11 Patric Niederhauser All 12 Alex Fontana All Marussia Manor Racing 14 Tio Ellinas All 15 Ryan Cullen All 16 Dino Zamparelli All Status Grand Prix 17 Jimmy Eriksson All 18 Adderly Fong 1–3, 5–8 Alexander Sims 4 19 Josh Webster All Bamboo Engineering 20 Lewis Williamson 1–7 21 Melville McKee 1–7 Alice Powell 8 22 Carmen Jordá All Trident 23 Giovanni Venturini All 24 David Fumanelli 1–7 Robert Cregan 8 25 Emanuele Zonzini All Koiranen GP 26 Patrick Kujala All 27 Aaro Vainio 1–7 Dean Stoneman 8 28 Kevin Korjus All
Team changes The maximum grid size was formally capped at twenty-seven entries, down from the previous limit of thirty.
After racing as Lotus GP in 2011 and 2012, ART Grand Prix reverted to using its original name in 2013.
World Touring Car Championship team Bamboo Engineering replaced Atech CRS Grand Prix.
Ocean Racing Technology withdrew from both the GP3 Series and sister series GP2 after the 2012 season. Their place in the GP3 Series was taken by Formula Renault 2.0 series regulars Koiranen Motorsport, competing under the name Koiranen GP.
Driver changes
Reigning champions ART Grand Prix saw two drivers leave the team, with Daniel Abt graduating to GP2 with the team and Aaro Vainio moving to new team Koiranen GP. They were replaced by Facu Regalia, who competed in two rounds in 2012 for Jenzer Motorsport and Atech CRS GP, and reigning British Formula 3 champion Jack Harvey.
MW Arden brought a brand new line up, with reigning champion Mitch Evans graduating with the team to GP2, Matias Laine moving to the Formula Renault 3.5 Series, and David Fumanelli moving to Trident Racing. They were replaced by two drivers from the Red Bull Junior Team, Formula Renault 2.0 Alps champion Daniil Kvyat and FIA European Formula 3 Championship driver Carlos Sainz Jr., as well as Robert Vișoiu, who previously raced for Jenzer Motorsport.
Carlin also signed three new drivers, with Alex Brundle moving to the FIA World Endurance Championship, William Buller deciding to focus on the newly formed European Formula Three Championship, and António Félix da Costa moving to the Formula Renault 3.5 Series. They were replaced by Luís Sá Silva, who moved from the now-defunct Formula 3 Euro Series, Nick Yelloly, who had been racing in the Formula Renault 3.5 Series in 2012, and Eric Lichtenstein, who placed third in the 2012 British Formula Ford championship.
Jenzer Motorsport signed Samin Gómez to replace the outgoing Robert Vișoiu. She had previously driven for the team in the 2012 Formula Abarth championship.
Marussia Manor Racing signed two new drivers for 2013, after Dmitry Suranovich switched to the FIA European Formula 3 Championship, and Fabiano Machado left motor racing. They were replaced by Ryan Cullen, who raced in the 2012 British Formula Ford season, and Dino Zamparelli, who moved from the now-defunct Formula Two championship.
Status Grand Prix brought a completely new line up after the departure of all three of their 2012 drivers; Marlon Stöckinger moved to Formula Renault 3.5, Alice Powell joined F3 Cup, and Lewis Williamson switched to series newcomers Bamboo Engineering. They were replaced by three rookies in Jimmy Eriksson, the 2012 German Formula Three champion, Adderly Fong, who placed third in the National Class of the 2012 British Formula 3 Championship, and Josh Webster, who moved from the Formula Renault BARC championship.
Newcomers Bamboo Engineering signed one rookie, Melville McKee, who contested the 2012 Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0, to drive alongside Lewis Williamson and Carmen Jordá, the latter leaving the now-defunct Ocean Racing Technology. Roberto La Rocca had originally been scheduled to drive the car, but was forced to withdraw due to uncertainty over his sponsorship following the death of Venezuelan president Hugo Chávez.
Trident saw two of their 2012 drivers leave the series, as Antonio Spavone concentrated on Auto GP and Vicky Piria switched to the European F3 Open Championship. They were replaced by Sammarinese driver Emanuele Zonzini, who placed fifth in the 2012 Formula Abarth championship, and David Fumanelli.
The second new team, Koiranen GP, signed two rookies to drive alongside Aaro Vainio. They were Formula Renault 2.0 Alps driver Patrick Kujala and Formula Renault 3.5 Series driver Kevin Korjus.
Kevin Ceccon, who had raced for Ocean Racing Technology in 2012, returned to the GP2 Series. From Atech CRS GP, Tamás Pál Kiss moved to Auto GP and Ethan Ringel returned to America to compete in the Indy Lights series.
Mid-season changes Alexander Sims replaced Adderly Fong at Status Grand Prix for the round at the Nürburgring as Fong had a clashing race in China. Sims then returned to the series full-time from Spa-Francorchamps, replacing Eric Lichtenstein at Carlin after Lichtenstein was unable to pay for his seat.
Both Robert Cregan and Alice Powell returned to the series for the final round at the Yas Marina Circuit, replacing David Fumanelli and Melville McKee at Trident and Bamboo Engineering respectively. 2010 FIA Formula Two Champion Dean Stoneman also made his return to single seaters in this round, taking Aaro Vainio's seat at Koiranen GP.
Calendar The official calendar for the 2013 series was unveiled on 19 December 2012. The format remained largely unchanged from 2012, with seven rounds of the championship in support of the 2013 Formula One season and sister series GP2, plus the addition of a stand-alone round at Circuit Ricardo Tormo.
Round Circuit/Location Country Date Supporting 1 R1 Circuit de Catalunya, Montmeló 11 May R2 12 May 2 R1 Circuit Ricardo Tormo, Cheste Spain 16 June stand-alone event R2 3 R1 Silverstone Circuit 29 June R2 30 June 4 R1 Nürburgring, Nürburg 6 July R2 7 July 5 R1 Hungaroring, Mogyoród 27 July R2 28 July 6 R1 Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps 24 August R2 25 August 7 R1 Monza Circuit 7 September R2 8 September 8 R1 Yas Marina Circuit, Abu Dhabi 2 November R2 3 NovemberSources:
Calendar changes The series did not return to the Circuit de Monaco in 2013. The round scheduled to be held at the Valencia Street Circuit was discontinued after the European Grand Prix was removed from the 2013 Formula One season calendar. It was replaced by a stand-alone round at the Circuit Ricardo Tormo, also in Valencia The round in Germany moved from the Hockenheimring to the Nürburgring, along with the The 2013 season saw the GP3 Series hold a round outside Europe for the first time, with the final round of the championship scheduled to be held at the Yas Marina Circuit in Abu Dhabi.
Results Round Circuit Pole position Fastest lap Winning driver Winning team Report 1 R1 Circuit de Catalunya Tio Ellinas Tio Ellinas Tio Ellinas Marussia Manor Racing Report R2 Kevin Korjus Aaro Vainio Koiranen GP 2 R1 Circuit Ricardo Tormo Conor Daly Carlos Sainz Jr. Conor Daly ART Grand Prix Report R2 Robert Vișoiu MW Arden 3 R1 Silverstone Circuit Kevin Korjus Jack Harvey Jack Harvey ART Grand Prix Report R2 Daniil Kvyat Giovanni Venturini Trident 4 R1 Nürburgring Facu Regalia Facu Regalia Facu Regalia ART Grand Prix Report R2 Melville McKee Melville McKee Bamboo Engineering 5 R1 Hungaroring Aaro Vainio Aaro Vainio Aaro Vainio Koiranen GP Report R2 Facu Regalia Robert Vișoiu MW Arden 6 R1 Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps Carlos Sainz Jr. Daniil Kvyat Daniil Kvyat MW Arden Report R2 Alexander Sims Alexander Sims Carlin 7 R1 Monza Circuit Daniil Kvyat Daniil Kvyat Daniil Kvyat MW Arden Report R2 Conor Daly Jack Harvey ART Grand Prix 8 R1 Yas Marina Circuit Daniil Kvyat Daniil Kvyat Daniil Kvyat MW Arden Report R2 Nick Yelloly Tio Ellinas Marussia Manor RacingSource:
Championship standings Scoring system Points were awarded to the top 10 classified finishers in the race 1, and to the top 8 classified finishers in the race 2. The pole-sitter in the race 1 also received four points, and two points were given to the driver who set the fastest lap inside the top ten in both the race 1 and race 2. No extra points were awarded to the pole-sitter in the race 2.
Race 1 points Position 1st 2nd 3rd 4th 5th 6th 7th 8th 9th 10th Pole Points 25 18 15 12 10 8 6 4 2 1 4 2
Race 2 points Points were awarded to the top 8 classified finishers.
Position 1st 2nd 3rd 4th 5th 6th 7th 8th Points 15 12 10 8 6 4 2 1 2
Drivers' championship Driver CAT VAL SIL NÜR HUN SPA MNZ YMC PointsR1R2R1R2R1R2R1R2R1R2R1R2R1R2R1R2 1 Daniil Kvyat 20 Ret 4 5 4 4 Ret 16 3 7 1 6 1 2 1 5 168 2 Facu Regalia 24† 14 2 7 3 5 1 Ret 6 4 3 3 3 4 15 16 138 3 Conor Daly 3 5 1 8 22 Ret 10 9 2 8 2 2 Ret 8 4 3 126 4 Tio Ellinas 1 4 6 4 5 6 2 6 11 10 8 Ret Ret 11 7 1 116 5 Jack Harvey 6 6 10 12 1 7 3 10 4 5 Ret Ret 7 1 5 4 114 6 Nick Yelloly 4 Ret 12 9 6 2 5 3 15 13 6 4 2 Ret 3 6 107 7 Kevin Korjus 8 2 3 6 2 9 20† 15 7 3 4 5 6 5 12 12 107 8 Alexander Sims 8 2 5 1 5 6 2 7 77 9 Aaro Vainio 5 1 7 2 11 8 14 11 1 9 20 22† 16 13 75 10 Carlos Sainz Jr. 15 DSQ 5 3 13 13 6 5 5 2 Ret 13 9 9 DSQ 18 66 11 Robert Vișoiu 9 19 8 1 12 Ret 11 23 8 1 9 8 Ret 10 10 11 44 12 Lewis Williamson 11 7 19 17 25† 14 4 4 24 Ret 14 10 4 3 44 13 Patric Niederhauser 2 3 13 Ret 15 11 12 8 25 15 Ret 9 8 Ret Ret 15 33 14 Melville McKee 14 Ret 11 Ret 24 15 7 1 17 Ret 7 Ret 12 7 31 15 Giovanni Venturini 12 8 15 13 8 1 16 14 9 6 11 11 11 Ret 11 9 26 16 Dean Stoneman 6 2 20 17 Alex Fontana 10 9 14 11 7 3 Ret 17 10 19 21 12 Ret Ret 13 10 18 18 Dino Zamparelli Ret 15 9 10 10 Ret 9 7 12 20 10 7 Ret EX 9 8 13 19 David Fumanelli 7 17 Ret Ret Ret 20 17 20 16 18 15 14 15 18 6 20 Patrick Kujala Ret 16 21 15 Ret EX 13 13 14 11 13 20 10 12 8 19 5 21 Adderly Fong 23 11 Ret Ret 9 Ret 20 17 Ret 16 19 20† 17 21 2 22 Eric Lichtenstein 18 10 Ret Ret 14 10 Ret 21 18 16 0 23 Luís Sá Silva 13 12 Ret 22 17 12 Ret 22 Ret 22 12 21† Ret 19 18 17 0 24 Jimmy Eriksson 19 Ret 18 16 18 21† Ret 18 13 12 17 15 13 Ret 23 26 0 25 Emanuele Zonzini 17 Ret 16 14 19 Ret 15 12 Ret Ret Ret 23 14 14 14 14 0 26 Samin Gómez 16 13 Ret 19 20 18 18 19 19 14 16 Ret 17 15 22 25 0 27 Robert Cregan 16 13 0 28 Josh Webster Ret Ret 17 18 16 16 Ret Ret 21 DSQ Ret 18 Ret 16 21 22 0 29 Ryan Cullen 21 Ret 20 20 21 17 19 25 23 Ret 18 17 20 Ret 20 24 0 30 Carmen Jordá 22 18 Ret 21 23 19 DSQ 24 22 21 19 19 18 17 Ret 23 0 31 Alice Powell 19 20 0DriverR1R2R1R2R1R2R1R2R1R2R1R2R1R2R1R2Points CAT VAL SIL NÜR HUN SPA MNZ YMCSources: Notes: † — Drivers did not finish the race, but were classified as they completed over 90% of the race distance.