The 2015 FIA Formula 3 European Championship was a multi-event motor racing championship for single-seat open wheel formula racing cars that was held across Europe. The championship featured drivers competing in two-litre Formula Three racing cars which conform to the technical regulations, or formula, for the championship. It was the fourth edition of the FIA Formula 3 European Championship.
This season saw a significant increase in the number of participants at each Grand Prix, with some events featuring as many as 35 registered drivers.
Esteban Ocon was the reigning drivers' champion, but he did not defend his title as he moved across to the GP3 Series. His team, Prema Powerteam, was the defending winners of the teams' championship.
Drivers and teams The following teams and drivers competed during the 2015 season:
Team Chassis Engine Driver Status Rounds Prema Powerteam F315/006 Mercedes 1 Felix Rosenqvist All F315/005 2 Jake Dennis All F312/015 24 Brandon Maïsano 1–8 Nick Cassidy 9–10 Maximilian Günther 11 F315/004 25 Lance Stroll All Jagonya Ayam with Carlin F315/001 Volkswagen 3 Antonio Giovinazzi All 4 Gustavo Menezes All F312/002 26 Ryan Tveter All kfzteile24 Mücke Motorsport F312/039 Mercedes 5 Santino Ferrucci All F312/019 6 Michele Beretta All F312/023 27 Mikkel Jensen All F312/020 28 Maximilian Günther 1–9 F312/044 35 Kang Ling 1–8 Félix Serrallés 10 Van Amersfoort Racing Volkswagen 7 Charles Leclerc All F312/052 8 Alessio Lorandi All F312/051 29 Arjun Maini All Carlin Volkswagen 9 Tatiana Calderón All 10 George Russell All F312/004 30 Callum Ilott All Team West-Tec F3 Mercedes 11 Fabian Schiller 1–8 F314/007 38 Raoul Hyman All Fortec Motorsports Mercedes 12 Pietro Fittipaldi All 14 Matthew Rao All F312/035 31 Martin Cao 1–5 Andy Chang 7–11 F312/003 32 Peter Li 1–2, 7–11 EuroInternational F312/053 Mercedes 15 Nicolas Beer 1–2 Artur Janosz 4 F313/003 16 Gustav Malja 3 Facu Regalia 4 Threebond with T-Sport NBE 17 Julio Moreno All Double R Racing Mercedes 18 Nicolas Pohler 1–7, 10–11 F312/043 Matheus Leist 8 F313/004 19 Matt Solomon All Signature Volkswagen 20 Dorian Boccolacci All F315/002 21 Alexander Albon All Motopark F314/021 Volkswagen 22 Nabil Jeffri All F314/018 23 Sérgio Sette Câmara All F314/016 33 Mahaveer Raghunathan 1–10 Tanart Sathienthirakul 11 F315/007 34 Markus Pommer All F315/003 36 Sam MacLeod 1–10 HitechGP F315/010 Mercedes 39 Alexander Sims 9, 11 Artline Engineering ArtTech P315 NBE 40 Harald Schlegelmilch 10–11 41 Marvin Dienst 11 Icon Legend Guest drivers ineligible to score points
Driver changes Joining FIA European Formula 3 Alexander Albon, third in the 2014 Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0 season, joined Signature, where he was joined by 2014 French F4 runner-up Dorian Boccolacci. 2014 German Formula Three driver Nicolas Beer joined EuroInternational. 2014 Protyre Formula Renault champion Pietro Fittipaldi joined Fortec Motorsports. He was joined in the team by British Formula 3 competitors Hongwei Cao, Matt Rao and Zhi Cong Li. 2014 BRDC F4 driver Raoul Hyman made his championship début with Team West-Tec F3. Callum Ilott moved into the series with Carlin, having been signed as a member of the Red Bull Junior Team. The top two drivers in the 2014 ADAC Formel Masters season, Mikkel Jensen and Maximilian Günther moved to the championship with Mücke Motorsport. The team's lineup was completed by Kang Ling, who predominantly competed in German Formula Three in 2014. 2014 Formula Renault 2.0 Alps runner-up Charles Leclerc graduated to the series with Van Amersfoort Racing. He was joined by single-seaters débutant Alessio Lorandi and BRDC F4 runner-up Arjun Maini. 2014 German Formula Three competitors Nabil Jeffri, Sam MacLeod and Markus Pommer joined the series with the Motopark squad. They was joined by 2014 Italian F4 driver Mahaveer Raghunathan. Nicolas Pohler, who raced in the Euroformula Open Championship, joined Double R Racing for his series debut. 2014 BRDC F4 champion George Russell joined Carlin for his series début. 2014 Formula Renault 2.0 NEC driver Julio Moreno joined Threebond with T-Sport. Fabian Schiller graduated from ADAC Formel Masters to the championship with Team West-Tec F3. 2014 Formula Masters China runner-up Matt Solomon joined Double R Racing for his European single-seater debut. Lance Stroll and Brandon Maïsano – the overall and Trophy winners in the 2014 Italian F4 championship – continued their collaboration with Prema Powerteam into the series. Ryan Tveter, who raced in Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0, graduated to the championship with Carlin.
Changing teams Michele Beretta, who raced for EuroInternational moved to Mücke Motorsport. Tatiana Calderón moved from Jo Zeller Racing to Carlin. Sérgio Sette Câmara, who competed for EuroInternational at Imola in 2014, switched to Motopark. Jake Dennis left Carlin to join Prema Powerteam for his second season of European Formula 3. Santino Ferrucci, who drove for EuroInternational and Fortec Motorsports in 2014, joined Beretta at Mücke Motorsport. 2014 Van Amersfoort Racing driver Gustavo Menezes moved to Carlin, to replace Dennis. After three seasons with Mücke Motorsport, Felix Rosenqvist switched to Prema Powerteam.
Leaving FIA European Formula 3 Van Amersfoort Racing driver Max Verstappen, who finished third in 2014, graduated to Formula One for Scuderia Toro Rosso. Prema Powerteam driver and 2014 champion Esteban Ocon stepped up to GP3 with ART Grand Prix. Mücke Motorsport driver Lucas Auer, who finished fourth in 2014 moved into the DTM with ART Grand Prix for the 2015 season. Jagonya Ayam with Carlin driver Tom Blomqvist will also move to the DTM, driving for BMW. Prema Powerteam driver Antonio Fuoco, who finished fifth in 2014, stepped up to GP3, with Carlin. Sean Gelael (Jagonya Ayam with Carlin), Nicholas Latifi (Prema) and Roy Nissany (Mücke) all moved to the Formula Renault 3.5 Series full-time. Gelael continued with Carlin, Latifi joined Arden International, and Nissany will be a part of the Tech 1 Racing team. Carlin driver Ed Jones, left the series to compete in the 2015 Indy Lights season, remaining with Carlin. Team West-Tec's Félix Serrallés will also move to Indy Lights, with Belardi Auto Racing. Carlin driver Jordan King, who finished seventh in 2014, stepped up to GP2, with Racing Engineering.
Team changes 2013 and 2014 German Formula Three champions Motopark will make their debut in the championship.
Calendar
A provisional eleven-round calendar was announced on 4 December 2014. The series will return to Zandvoort (replacing the Hungaroring) after a one-year absence, while the Italian round has been moved from Autodromo Enzo e Dino Ferrari to Monza, still supporting the Italian GT Championship. On 3 May 2015, was announced that round at Moscow Raceway will be changed to Algarve International Circuit.
Circuit Date Supporting 1 1 Silverstone Circuit, Silverstone 11 April 6 Hours of Silverstone 2 3 12 April 2 4 Hockenheimring, Baden-Württemberg 1 May Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters 5 2 May 6 3 May 3 7 Circuit de Pau-Ville, Pau 16 May Pau Grand Prix 8 9 17 May 4 10 Autodromo Nazionale Monza, Monza 30 May Italian GT Championship 11 12 31 May 5 13 Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps, Francorchamps 20 June ADAC GT Masters 14 15 21 June 6 16 Norisring, Nuremberg 27 June Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters 17 18 28 June 7 19 Circuit Park Zandvoort, Zandvoort 11 July 20 21 12 July 8 22 Red Bull Ring, Spielberg 1 August 23 24 2 August 9 25 Algarve International Circuit, Portimão 5 September Blancpain Sprint Series 26 27 6 September 10 28 Nürburgring, Rhineland-Palatinate 26 September Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters 29 30 27 September 11 31 Hockenheimring, Baden-Württemberg 17 October 32 33 18 October
Results Round Circuit Pole position Fastest lap Winning driver Winning team 1 R1 Silverstone Circuit Felix Rosenqvist Felix Rosenqvist Felix Rosenqvist Prema Powerteam Alexander Albon R2 Charles Leclerc Charles Leclerc George Russell Carlin George Russell R3 Charles Leclerc Charles Leclerc Charles Leclerc Van Amersfoort Racing Charles Leclerc 2 R1 Hockenheimring Felix Rosenqvist Antonio Giovinazzi Antonio Giovinazzi Jagonya Ayam with Carlin Charles Leclerc R2 Felix Rosenqvist Felix Rosenqvist Felix Rosenqvist Prema Powerteam Charles Leclerc R3 Felix Rosenqvist Charles Leclerc Charles Leclerc Van Amersfoort Racing Charles Leclerc 3 R1 Circuit de Pau-Ville Jake Dennis Charles Leclerc Jake Dennis Prema Powerteam Charles Leclerc R2 Jake Dennis Jake Dennis Jake Dennis Prema Powerteam Charles Leclerc R3 Jake Dennis Jake Dennis Antonio Giovinazzi Jagonya Ayam with Carlin Maximilian Günther 4 R1 Autodromo Nazionale Monza Felix Rosenqvist Felix Rosenqvist Felix Rosenqvist Prema Powerteam Mikkel Jensen R2 Felix Rosenqvist Felix Rosenqvist Felix Rosenqvist Prema Powerteam Mikkel Jensen R3 Felix Rosenqvist Jake Dennis Felix Rosenqvist Prema Powerteam Charles Leclerc 5 R1 Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps Felix Rosenqvist Santino Ferrucci Charles Leclerc Van Amersfoort Racing Charles Leclerc R2 Mikkel Jensen Felix Rosenqvist Jake Dennis Prema Powerteam Dorian Boccolacci R3 Jake Dennis Felix Rosenqvist Jake Dennis Prema Powerteam Charles Leclerc 6 R1 Norisring Charles Leclerc Alexander Albon Charles Leclerc Van Amersfoort Racing Charles Leclerc R2 Alexander Albon Markus Pommer Maximilian Günther Mücke Motorsport Maximilian Günther R3 Alexander Albon Charles Leclerc Antonio Giovinazzi Jagonya Ayam with Carlin George Russell 7 R1 Circuit Park Zandvoort Antonio Giovinazzi Jake Dennis Antonio Giovinazzi Jagonya Ayam with Carlin Lance Stroll R2 Felix Rosenqvist Felix Rosenqvist Felix Rosenqvist Prema Powerteam Alexander Albon R3 Antonio Giovinazzi Antonio Giovinazzi Markus Pommer Motopark Lance Stroll 8 R1 Red Bull Ring Felix Rosenqvist Gustavo Menezes Jake Dennis Prema Powerteam Lance Stroll R2 Felix Rosenqvist Antonio Giovinazzi Felix Rosenqvist Prema Powerteam Lance Stroll R3 Antonio Giovinazzi Julio Moreno Antonio Giovinazzi Jagonya Ayam with Carlin Lance Stroll 9 R1 Algarve International Circuit Jake Dennis Jake Dennis Jake Dennis Prema Powerteam Alexander Albon R2 Felix Rosenqvist Felix Rosenqvist Felix Rosenqvist Prema Powerteam Lance Stroll R3 Felix Rosenqvist Felix Rosenqvist Felix Rosenqvist Prema Powerteam Lance Stroll 10 R1 Nürburgring Felix Rosenqvist Felix Rosenqvist Felix Rosenqvist Prema Powerteam Callum Ilott R2 Felix Rosenqvist Felix Rosenqvist Felix Rosenqvist Prema Powerteam Lance Stroll R3 Felix Rosenqvist Felix Rosenqvist Felix Rosenqvist Prema Powerteam Lance Stroll 11 R1 Hockenheimring Felix Rosenqvist Alexander Sims Lance Stroll Prema Powerteam Lance Stroll R2 Antonio Giovinazzi Antonio Giovinazzi Antonio Giovinazzi Jagonya Ayam with Carlin Maximilian Günther R3 Jake Dennis Felix Rosenqvist Felix Rosenqvist Prema Powerteam Alexander Albon
Championship standings Scoring system Position 1st 2nd 3rd 4th 5th 6th 7th 8th 9th 10th Points 25 18 15 12 10 8 6 4 2 1
Drivers' championship
The second and third races at Monza (both for safety car incidents) and the third race at Spielberg (rain) were red-flagged after three laps were completed, but before 75% of the scheduled distance in laps, the necessary distance required for a race to pay full points. All three races paid half points to all classified finishers.