The 2013 Formula Renault 3.5 Series season was a multi-event motor racing championship for open wheel, formula racing cars held across Europe. The championship features drivers competing in 3.5 litre Formula Renault single seat race cars that conform to the technical regulations for the championship. The 2013 season was the ninth Formula Renault 3.5 Series season organized by the Renault Sport. The season began at Monza Circuit on 6 April and finished on 20 October at Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya. The series formed part of the World Series by Renault meetings at seven double header events with double header event at Monza and single event at Monaco.
The championship battle was between McLaren junior programme drivers Kevin Magnussen and Stoffel Vandoorne. Magnussen clinched the championship title with a race to spare, and ultimately finished sixty points ahead of Vandoorne. Despite having less wins than in 2012, António Félix da Costa improved to the third place in the drivers' standings. Nico Müller, Marco Sørensen and Carlos Huertas were the only other winners outside the top three.
Teams and drivers Team Driver name Status Rounds Tech 1 Racing 1 Mikhail Aleshin All 2 Nigel Melker All Arden Caterham 3 António Félix da Costa All 4 Pietro Fantin All Fortec Motorsports 5 Stoffel Vandoorne All 6 Oliver Webb All ISR 7 Sergey Sirotkin All 8 Christopher Zanella All Lotus 9 Marco Sørensen All 10 Marlon Stöckinger All Carlin 11 Carlos Huertas All 12 Jazeman Jaafar All SMP Racing by Comtec 15 Daniil Move All 16 Lucas Foresti All International Draco Racing 17 André Negrão All 18 Nico Müller All DAMS 19 Norman Nato All 20 Kevin Magnussen All P1 Motorsport P1 by Strakka Racing 21 Will Stevens All 22 Matias Laine All Zeta Corse 23 Mihai Marinescu 1–2 Carlos Sainz Jr. 3–4 William Buller 5–9 24 Emmanuel Piget 1 Mathéo Tuscher 2 Nick Yelloly 3 Mihai Marinescu 4–5 Riccardo Agostini 6 Carlos Sainz Jr. 7–9 Pons Racing 25 Zoël Amberg All 26 Nikolay Martsenko All AV Formula 27 Arthur Pic All 28 Yann Cunha All Icon Meaning Series rookie for 2013
Driver changes Following a part-time campaign with Tech 1 Racing, Daniel Abt joined the GP2 Series with ART Grand Prix. Mikhail Aleshin switched from Team RFR to Tech 1 Racing. Jules Bianchi left Tech 1 Racing to race in Formula One with Marussia. Sam Bird, who finished third in 2012, left ISR to join Russian Time in the GP2 Series. Yann Cunha left Pons Racing to join AV Formula. Pietro Fantin graduated from the British Formula 3 to join Formula Renault, where he races for Arden Caterham. After losing his seat in DAMS, Lucas Foresti joined at Comtec Racing. Vittorio Ghirelli, who raced with Comtec Racing moved to Auto GP. Walter Grubmüller left P1 Motorsport after three consecutive seasons. Carlos Huertas moved from Fortec to Carlin, the team he raced for in the 2011 British Formula 3 Championship. Jazeman Jaafar entered the Formula Renault series with Carlin, the team he placed second with in the 2012 British Formula Three championship. Kevin Korjus, who contested the 2012 season with Tech 1 Racing and Lotus, moved to the GP3 Series with Koiranen GP. Matias Laine moved from the GP3 Series to race in Formula Renault 3.5 for P1 Motorsport. Kevin Magnussen joined DAMS after racing for Carlin in 2012. Mihai Marinescu, who finished fifth in the 2012 FIA Formula Two Championship, signed with the Zeta Corse team. After being replaced by Nick Yelloly for the Monaco round of the championship, Marinescu returned to the team for the race at Spa-Francorchamps. After one season with BVM Target, Nikolay Martsenko switched to Pons Racing. Nigel Melker, who competed in the GP2 Series in 2012, joined Tech 1 Racing. Daniil Move switched from P1 Motorsport to SMP Racing by Comtec. Formula Renault 2.0 Alps runner-up Norman Nato joined DAMS. Arthur Pic switched from DAMS to AV Formula. After two years without a drive, Emmanuel Piget made his return to motor racing with Zeta Corse. After competing part-time in 2012, César Ramos, Davide Rigon and Daniel Zampieri all moved to the Blancpain Endurance Series, with the three of them co-driving the #44 Kessel Racing car. Jake Rosenzweig left the series after 3 years, instead doing a season in GP2 with Barwa Addax. Alexander Rossi, who contested the 2012 season with Arden Caterham, left the series, concentrating on his Caterham F1 reserve driver duties. Sergey Sirotkin, who raced in the Auto GP World Series and Italian Formula Three in 2012 and contested at Moscow Formula Renault 3.5 Series round with BVM Target, stepped up to the series with ISR. After contesting the first three rounds of 2012 before injury, Richie Stanaway moved to the Porsche Supercup. Will Stevens signed with P1 Motorsport after a season with Carlin. Marlon Stöckinger joined Lotus after racing in GP3 Series. After competing in the last three rounds of the 2012 season, Aaro Vainio left Formula Renault to concentrate on GP3. Stoffel Vandoorne, the reigning Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0 champion, moved into the Formula Renault 3.5 Series, racing for Fortec Motorsports. Giovanni Venturini moved to the GP3 Series full-time. Oliver Webb, who competed in Indy Lights in 2012, returned to the series with Fortec Motorsports. Christopher Zanella, who finished third in the 2012 FIA Formula Two Championship signed with ISR team.
Mid-season changes FIA Formula Two runner-up Mathéo Tuscher replaced Emmanuel Piget at Zeta Corse after the first round. Carlos Sainz Jr. joined Zeta Corse for the third round of the championship in Monaco, replacing Marinescu. Sainz races for the team again for the final three rounds. After racing for Comtec Racing in 2012, Nick Yelloly moved to the GP3 Series with Carlin. Yelloly returned to Formula Renault for the Monaco round, replacing Mathéo Tuscher at Zeta Corse. Marinescu returned for the Belgian and Russian rounds. At the Red Bull Ring, the seat was occupied by Italian Formula Three champion Riccardo Agostini. William Buller replaced Sainz Jr. for the Moscow Raceway round.
Team changes Former Formula Renault 3.5 driver Adrián Vallés returned to the category as team owner of AV Formula. BVM Target was demoted from racing team to reserve team when series organisers released a provisional entry list in November 2012. The team was divided into two entries; Zeta Management and MT Motorsport, which was previously known as the Max Travin Racing Team. The team was later accepted onto the grid under the name Zeta Corse and registered as an Italian team. Team RFR—previously known as KMP Racing—left the series after the 2012 season.
Race calendar and results The calendar for the 2013 season was announced on 20 October 2012, the day before the end of the 2012 season. Seven of the nine rounds formed meetings of the 2013 World Series by Renault season, with additional rounds in support of the Superstars Series at Monza, and the 2013 . The championship visited the Red Bull Ring for the first time and returned to Monza. The Nürburgring and Silverstone have been removed from the schedule.
Round Circuit Date Pole position Fastest lap Winning driver Winning team 1 R1 Monza Circuit 6 April Stoffel Vandoorne Will Stevens Stoffel Vandoorne Fortec Motorsports R2 7 April Arthur Pic Arden Caterham Stoffel Vandoorne 2 R1 27 April Kevin Magnussen Kevin Magnussen Kevin Magnussen DAMS Sergey Sirotkin R2 28 April Norman Nato Carlos Huertas Carlos Huertas Carlin Sergey Sirotkin 3 Circuit de Monaco, Monte Carlo 26 May Nico Müller Nigel Melker Nico Müller International Draco Racing Jazeman Jaafar 4 R1 Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps, Spa 1 June Kevin Magnussen Lucas Foresti Kevin Magnussen DAMS Jazeman Jaafar R2 2 June Kevin Magnussen Kevin Magnussen Stoffel Vandoorne Fortec Motorsports Stoffel Vandoorne 5 R1 Moscow Raceway, Volokolamsk 22 June Stoffel Vandoorne Stoffel Vandoorne Stoffel Vandoorne Fortec Motorsports Stoffel Vandoorne R2 23 June Stoffel Vandoorne Stoffel Vandoorne Stoffel Vandoorne Fortec Motorsports Stoffel Vandoorne 6 R1 Red Bull Ring, Spielberg 20 July Marco Sørensen Nigel Melker Marco Sørensen Lotus William Buller R2 21 July Marco Sørensen Marco Sørensen Marco Sørensen Lotus Sergey Sirotkin 7 R1 Hungaroring, Budapest 14 September André Negrão Carlos Sainz Jr. Nico Müller Sergey Sirotkin R2 15 September Kevin Magnussen Arden Caterham Stoffel Vandoorne 8 R1 Circuit Paul Ricard, Le Castellet Kevin Magnussen Kevin Magnussen António Félix da Costa Arden Caterham Stoffel Vandoorne R2 Kevin Magnussen António Félix da Costa Kevin Magnussen DAMS William Buller 9 R1 19 October Kevin Magnussen Kevin Magnussen Kevin Magnussen DAMS Stoffel Vandoorne R2 20 October Kevin Magnussen Will Stevens Kevin Magnussen DAMS Stoffel Vandoorne
Championship standings
Drivers' Championship Pos Driver MNZ ARA MON SPA MSC RBR HUN LEC CAT Points 1 Kevin Magnussen 2 2 1 9 4 1 3 11 2 3 3 2 2 DSQ 1 1 1 274 2 Stoffel Vandoorne 1 3 8 3 9 13 1 1 1 Ret Ret 4 3 2 Ret 3 2 214 3 Ret 1 13 7 5 2 4 2 Ret 7 Ret Ret 1 1 3 4 13 172 4 Will Stevens 18 Ret 2 4 7 Ret 2 4 3 4 6 8 Ret 5 13 2 3 148 5 Nico Müller 13 5 Ret 5 1 Ret 5 7 4 13 8 1 5 10 2 12 4 143 6 Nigel Melker 5 11 6 6 17 3 6 3 15 2 2 6 4 Ret 4 Ret 8 136 7 Marco Sørensen 19 18 9 10 2 5 10 10 17 1 1 12 9 4 5 Ret 7 113 8 Arthur Pic 6 4 3 Ret 10 4 Ret 12 16 5 20 9 Ret 6 7 Ret Ret 74 9 Sergey Sirotkin Ret 19† 4 2 22 18 8 DNS 11 Ret 4 3 12 Ret Ret Ret 61 10 André Negrão 11 13 Ret 8 12 7 Ret 6 6 9 11 21† 6 3 11 Ret Ret 51 11 William Buller 5 20 6 5 Ret 16 8 8 5 Ret 46 12 Mikhail Aleshin 15 14 10 11 8 14 Ret 16 5 Ret 18 5 13 17† 6 Ret 14 33 13 Norman Nato 10 6 5 20 Ret 15 15 13 10 Ret 10 15 11 18 9 Ret 5 33 14 Carlos Huertas 16 16 20 1 15 10 Ret 15 19 Ret Ret 17 8 Ret 18 Ret 18 30 15 Oliver Webb 4 9 11 17 11 12 9 9 7 DNS 16 16 10 13 22 10 10 27 16 Christopher Zanella 3 8 7 Ret Ret 11 13 22 23 16 14 Ret 19 Ret 19 Ret 11 25 17 Jazeman Jaafar 7 Ret 18 12 3 9 19† Ret 13 10 13 20 20 14 14 24 18 Marlon Stöckinger 14 12 19 DNS Ret 20 17 8 12 8 7 13 7 15 10 Ret 9 23 19 Carlos Sainz Jr. 6 Ret 18† 7 22 16† Ret Ret 6 22 20 Nikolay Martsenko Ret Ret 12 21 21 6 7 Ret 14 Ret Ret 11 Ret 7 12 13† 17 20 21 Pietro Fantin Ret 7 Ret 18 Ret 16 12 18 8 Ret 9 Ret 14 11 20 9 20 14 22 Daniil Move Ret NC 21 15 13 8 Ret 17 9 14 17 18 Ret 9 21 8 Ret 12 23 Matias Laine 9 Ret 16 14 19 17 11 14 21 Ret 15 10 15 Ret 16 7 16 9 24 Zoël Amberg 12 20 17 19 20 19 16 21 22 11 19† 19 18 12 15 6 12 8 25 Mihai Marinescu 8 10 Ret Ret 21 14 20 18 5 26 Lucas Foresti Ret Ret 14 16 16 22 Ret Ret DNS 12 21† 14 17 Ret 17 11 15 0 27 Yann Cunha Ret 15 15 13 18 Ret Ret 19 Ret 15 12 Ret 21 Ret Ret Ret 19 0 28 Nick Yelloly 14 0 29 Emmanuel Piget 17 17 0 30 Mathéo Tuscher 22 22† 0 Riccardo Agostini Ret Ret 0 Pos Driver MNZ ARA MON SPA MSC RBR HUN LEC CAT PointsBold – Pole Italics – Fastest Lap † – Retired, but classified
Teams' Championship Pos Team CarNo. MNZ ARA MON SPA MSC RBR HUN LEC CAT Points 1 DAMS 19 10 6 5 20 Ret 15 15 13 10 Ret 10 15 11 18 9 Ret 5 307 20 2 2 1 9 4 1 3 11 2 3 3 2 2 DSQ 1 1 1 2 Fortec Motorsports 5 1 3 8 3 9 13 1 1 1 Ret Ret 4 3 2 Ret 3 2 241 6 4 9 11 17 11 12 9 9 7 DNS 16 16 10 13 22 10 10 3 17 11 13 Ret 8 12 7 Ret 6 6 9 11 21† 6 3 11 12 Ret 194 18 13 5 Ret 5 1 Ret 5 7 4 13 8 1 5 10 2 Ret 4 4 Arden Caterham 3 Ret 1 13 7 5 2 4 2 Ret 7 Ret Ret 1 1 3 4 13 186 4 Ret 7 Ret 18 Ret 16 12 18 8 Ret 9 Ret 14 11 20 9 20 5 Tech 1 Racing 1 15 14 10 11 8 14 Ret 16 5 Ret 18 5 13 17† 6 Ret 14 169 2 5 11 6 6 17 3 6 3 15 2 2 6 4 Ret 4 Ret 8 6