2016 Formula V8 3.5 Series Explained

The 2016 Formula V8 3.5 Series was a multi-event motor racing championship for open wheel, formula racing cars held across Europe. The championship featured drivers competing in Formula V8 3.5 formula race cars that conformed to the technical regulations for the championship. The 2016 season was 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]

The title was won by Tom Dillmann who took two race victories across the season such as championship runner-up Louis Delétraz, with the latter becoming the best rookie of the year. By winning the second race in Barcelona which turned out to be the title decider, Dillmann managed to overtake Delétraz in the standings in order to win the championship by seven points, becoming the oldest series' world champion aged 27 years. Despite winning the most races of the season with five, Egor Orudzhev finished third in the standings due to inconsistent results in the form of several retirements. Fourth-placed driver Roy Nissany took three victories, amongst winning both races in Silverstone. Matthieu Vaxivière, Aurélien Panis, Matevos Isaakyan and Johnny Cecotto Jr. were the other drivers to achieve at least one win throughout the year.

Teams and drivers

Team Driver name Status Rounds Fortec Motorsports 1 Louis Delétraz^[2] All 2 Pietro Fittipaldi^[3] All Lotus 3 René Binder^[4] All 4 Roy Nissany All Arden Motorsport^[5] 7 Egor Orudzhev^[6] All 8 Aurélien Panis^[7] All AVF 15 Alfonso Celis Jr.^[8] All 16 Tom Dillmann^[9] All Comtec Racing^[10] 17 Thomas Randle 8–9 Durango Racing Team^[11] 20 Giuseppe Cipriani All RP Motorsport^[12] 21 Johnny Cecotto Jr.^[13] 1–3 Artur Janosz^[14] 4 Marco Bonanomi^[15] 6 William Buller^[16] 7 Jack Aitken^[17] 8–9 22 Vitor Baptista^[18] All SMP Racing^[19] 23 Matthieu Vaxivière^[20] All 24 Matevos Isaakyan^[21] 1–4, 6, 8–9 Teo Martín Motorsport^[22] 25 Yu Kanamaru^[23] All 26 Beitske Visser^[24] All

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.^[23]
• Roy Nissany made his switch from Tech 1 Racing to Lotus.^[4]
• Aurélien Panis moved from Tech 1 Racing to Arden Motorsport.^[7]
• Matthieu Vaxivière switched from Lotus to SMP Racing.^[20]
• 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.^[24]

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.^{[20] [21]}
• 2015 Euroformula Open champion Vitor Baptista will join the series with RP Motorsport.^[18]
• After competing for Pons Racing at the Nürburgring in 2015, GP2 Series driver René Binder will join the series full-time with Lotus.^[4]
• Johnny Cecotto Jr., who raced at GP2 Series in 2015 moved to the series with RP Motorsport.^[13]
• Gentleman driver Giuseppe Cipriani joins the series with Durango Racing Team.^[21]
• 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.^[2]
• Pietro Fittipaldi, who raced in the 2015 European Formula 3 Championship, will continue his collaboration with Fortec Motorsports into the series.^[3]

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,^[25] Campos Racing,^[26] Rapax,^[27] and DAMS.^[28] 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.^[29]
• 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.^[30]
• Roberto Merhi, who contested a part-season with Pons Racing, will join the 2016 FIA World Endurance Championship with Manor in the LMP2 category.^[31]
• 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.^{[32] [33]}
• Nikita Zlobin, who took part in the final two rounds of 2015 with Pons Racing, will join Euroformula Open with Teo Martín Motorsport.^[34]

Mid-season changes

• Prior to the round at Le Castellet, Johnny Cecotto Jr. was replaced by Artur Janosz at RP Motorsport.^[14]
• Prior to the round at the Red Bull Ring, Marco Bonanomi filled the seat left empty by Janosz at RP Motorsport.^[15]
• Bonanomi was replaced by William Buller at RP Motorsport at Monza.^[16]
• Buller was replaced by Jack Aitken at RP Motorsport at the final two rounds at Jerez and Barcelona.^[17]

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.^[35] The team's entry will be taken by International GT Open team Teo Martín Motorsport.^[22]
• Swiss team Spirit of Race will make its debut in 2016, taking the slot vacated by International Draco Racing.^[36] It was announced in February 2016 that the team would be operated by the SMP Racing concern under a Russian license.^[19]
• 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.^[37]
• Durango Racing Team will make their series debut in 2016, replacing Tech 1 Racing.^[11]
• Pons Racing withdrew from the championship to focus on their Moto2 commitments.^[11]

Race calendar

The provisional calendar for the 2016 season was announced on 17 October 2015, at the final round of the 2015 season.^[38] 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.^[39]

Round		Circuit	Date	Supporting
1	R1	Ciudad del Motor de Aragón, Alcañiz	16 April	Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0 Renault Sport Trophy
	R2		17 April
2	R1	Hungaroring, Mogyoród	23 April	World Touring Car Championship
	R2		24 April
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
	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

Results

Round		Circuit	Pole Position	Fastest Lap	Winning Driver	Winning Team
1	R1	Ciudad del Motor de Aragón	Egor Orudzhev	Louis Delétraz	Louis Delétraz		Louis Delétraz
	R2		Tom Dillmann	Louis Delétraz	Aurélien Panis	Arden Motorsport	Louis Delétraz
2	R1	Hungaroring	Tom Dillmann	Tom Dillmann		RP Motorsport	Louis Delétraz
	R2		Tom Dillmann	Roy Nissany	Tom Dillmann	AVF	Louis Delétraz
3	R1	Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps	Aurélien Panis	Egor Orudzhev	Egor Orudzhev	Arden Motorsport	Louis Delétraz
	R2		Tom Dillmann	Tom Dillmann	Matthieu Vaxivière	SMP Racing	Vitor Baptista
4	R1	Circuit Paul Ricard	Matthieu Vaxivière	Egor Orudzhev	Egor Orudzhev	Arden Motorsport	Louis Delétraz
	R2		Roy Nissany	Louis Delétraz	Louis Delétraz	Fortec Motorsports	Louis Delétraz
5	R1	Silverstone Circuit	Matthieu Vaxivière	Roy Nissany	Roy Nissany	Lotus	Pietro Fittipaldi
	R2			Roy Nissany	Roy Nissany	Lotus	Louis Delétraz
6	R1	Red Bull Ring	Louis Delétraz	Matthieu Vaxivière	Matthieu Vaxivière	SMP Racing	Louis Delétraz
	R2		Matevos Isaakyan		Aurélien Panis	Arden Motorsport
7	R1	Autodromo Nazionale Monza	Roy Nissany	Roy Nissany	Roy Nissany	Lotus	Louis Delétraz
	R2		Roy Nissany	Roy Nissany	Egor Orudzhev	Arden Motorsport	Louis Delétraz
8	R1	Circuito de Jerez	Jack Aitken		Matevos Isaakyan	SMP Racing
	R2		Louis Delétraz	Louis Delétraz	Egor Orudzhev	Arden Motorsport	Louis Delétraz
9	R1		Tom Dillmann	Louis Delétraz	Egor Orudzhev	Arden Motorsport	Louis Delétraz
	R2		Louis Delétraz	Egor Orudzhev	Tom Dillmann	AVF	Pietro Fittipaldi

Championship standings

Points systemPoints 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 2 2 4 6 4 4 3 2 12 8 Ret 8 3 1 237 2 Louis Delétraz 1 5 3 4 3 Ret 6 1 10 6 2 4 2 3 12 2 2 4 230 3 Egor Orudzhev Ret 14† Ret 9 1 Ret 1 3 Ret 3 Ret 5 7 1 2 1 1 7 193 4 Roy Nissany 7 7 6 2 Ret Ret 2 2 1 1 6 13 1 6 8 14 9 2 189 5 Aurélien Panis 5 1 4 3 8 5 8 4 5 5 5 1 4 Ret 4 Ret 4 12 183 6 Matthieu Vaxivière 2 Ret 5 5 Ret 1 5 Ret 2 7 1 6 3 Ret 3 3 Ret Ret 175 7 René Binder 4 3 11 7 5 6 3 5 3 2 Ret 12 5 2 5 7 Ret 6 161 8 Yu Kanamaru Ret 4 9 10 4 7 7 11 7 9 7 Ret 6 5 6 10 8 10 85 9 Matevos Isaakyan 12 10 Ret Ret DNS Ret 10 12 12 3 1 6 5 5 70 10 Pietro Fittipaldi 11 9 8 8 11† 10† Ret 7 6 Ret 11 11 11 4 9 12 7 3 60 11 Alfonso Celis Jr. 6 8 Ret Ret 10 3 11 8 Ret 11 4 7 9 10 Ret 9 Ret 13 55 12 Vitor Baptista 8 11 10 Ret 6 4 Ret Ret 8 8 10 8 8 Ret 10 11 6 Ret 51 13 Beitske Visser 10 12 7 DNS 7 9† 9 10 9 10 8 9 14 9 7 5 10 8 50 14 9 6 1 6 12† Ret 43 15 Jack Aitken DSQ 4 11 9 14 16 William Buller 10 7 7 17 Giuseppe Cipriani 13 13 Ret Ret 9 8 13 13 11 12 13 Ret 13 11 Ret 15 12 14 6 18 Marco Bonanomi 9 10 3 19 Artur Janosz 12 9 2 20 Thomas Randle Ret 13 Ret 11 0 Pos Driver ALC HUN SPA LEC SIL RBR MNZ JER CAT Points

Bold – Pole Italics – Fastest Lap † – Retired, but classified

Teams' Championship

valign=middle Pos valign=middle Team valign=middle Car No. ALC HUN SPA LEC SIL RBR MNZ JER CAT valign=middle Points 1 align=left rowspan=2 Arden Motorsport 7 Ret 14† Ret 9 1 Ret 1 3 Ret 3 Ret 5 7 1 2 1 1 7 380 8 5 1 4 3 8 5 8 4 5 5 5 1 4 Ret 4 Ret 4 12 2 align=left rowspan=2 Lotus 3 4 3 11 7 5 6 3 5 3 2 12 Ret 5 2 5 7 Ret 6 348 4 7 7 6 2 Ret Ret 2 2 1 1 6 13 1 6 8 14 9 2 3 align=left rowspan=2 AVF 15 6 8 Ret Ret 9 3 11 8 Ret 11 4 7 9 10 Ret 9 Ret 13 292 16 3 2 2 1 2 2 4 6 4 4 3 2 12 8 Ret 8 3 1 4 align=left rowspan=2 Fortec Motorsports 1 1 5 3 4 3 Ret 6 1 10 6 2 4 2 3 11 2 2 4 290 2 11 9 8 8 11† 10† Ret 7 6 Ret 11 11 11 4 9 12 7 3 5 align=left rowspan=2 SMP Racing 23 2 Ret 5 5 Ret 1 5 Ret 2 7 1 6 3 Ret 3 3 Ret Ret 245 24 12 10 Ret Ret DNS Ret 10 12 12 3 1 6 5 5 6 align=left rowspan=2 Teo Martín Motorsport 25 Ret 4 9 10 4 7 7 11 7 9 7 Ret 6 5 6 10 8 10 135 26 10 12 7 DNS 7 9† 9 10 9 10 8 9 14 9 7 5 10 8 7 align=left rowspan=2 RP Motorsport 21 9 6 1 6 12† Ret 12 9 9 10 10 7 DSQ 4 11 9 120 22 8 11 10 Ret 6 4 Ret Ret 8 8 10 8 8 Ret 10 11 6 Ret 8 20 13 13 Ret Ret 9 8 13 13 11 12 13 Ret 13 11 Ret 15 12 14 6 9 Comtec Racing 17 Ret 13 Ret 11 0 valign=middle Pos valign=middle Team valign=middle Car No. ALC HUN SPA LEC SIL RBR MNZ JER CAT valign=middle Points

Bold – Pole Italics – Fastest Lap † – Retired, but classified

Notes and References

1. News: Renault Sport to withdraw its backing of Formula Renault 3.5. Peter. Mills. Autosport. Haymarket Publications. 24 July 2015. 30 September 2015.
2. News: Louis Deletraz gets Fortec drive for Formula 3.5 V8 move. Peter. Allen. paddockscout.com. Paddock Scout. 16 November 2015. 16 November 2015.
3. News: Fittipaldi makes Formula V8 3.5 switch with Fortec. Khorounzhiy. Valentin. 26 January 2016. Motorsport.com. 26 January 2016.
4. News: Lotus team to run Binder and Nissany in Formula V8 3.5. Allen. Peter. 21 March 2016. paddockscout.com. Paddock Scout. 21 March 2016.
5. News: Formula 3.5 unveils team list for 2016. Motorsport.com. Khorounzhiy, Valentin. September 30, 2015. September 30, 2015. October 1, 2015. https://web.archive.org/web/20151001130354/http://www.motorsport.com/frenault-3.5/news/formula-3-5-unveils-team-list-for-2016/?v=2&s=1. dead.
6. News: Egor Orudzhev confirmed to continue with Arden in 2016. Allen. Peter. 22 December 2015. Paddock Scout. 22 December 2015.
7. News: Panis completes Arden Formula V8 3.5 line-up. Motorsport.com. Khorounzhiy, Valentin. 2 February 2016. 2 February 2016.
8. News: Alfonso Celis Jr commits to 2016 Formula 3.5 V8 with AVF. Mills. Peter. 26 October 2015. Autosport. Haymarket. 26 October 2015.
9. News: Tom Dillmann gets AVF deal for 2016 Formula 3.5 V8 season. Peter. Allen. paddockscout.com. Paddock Scout. 9 November 2015. 9 November 2015.
10. News: Comtec in line for V8 3.5 return at Jerez. 29 September 2016. GPUpdate.net. 29 September 2016.
11. News: Formula V8 3.5, Episode One. 28 March 2016. Formula V8 3.5. RPM Racing. 29 March 2016. https://web.archive.org/web/20160329020031/http://www.formulav8.com/formula-v8-3-5-episode-one/. 29 March 2016. dead. dmy-all.
12. News: RP Motorsport bets on Formula 3.5 V8. https://web.archive.org/web/20151023195549/http://www.rpmotorsport.net/en/rp-motorsport-bets-on-formula-3-5-v8/. dead. 23 October 2015. rpmotorsport.net. RP Motorsport. 20 October 2015. 20 October 2015.
13. News: Formula 3.5 V8 – RP Motorsport Racing ready debut with Baptista and Cecotto Jr !. rpmotorsport.net. RP Motorsport. 7 April 2016. 7 April 2016. 18 April 2016. https://web.archive.org/web/20160418011958/http://www.rpmotorsportracing.com/2016/04/06/formula-3-5-v8-rp-motorsport-racing-ready-debut-with-baptista-and-cecotto-jr/?lang=en. dead.
14. News: Janosz to make F3.5 debut with RP Motorsport. Gruz. David. 22 June 2016. motorsport.com. 22 June 2016. 24 June 2016. https://web.archive.org/web/20160624044402/http://www.motorsport.com/f3.5/news/janosz-to-make-f3-5-debut-with-rp-motorsport-790731/. dead.
15. News: Audi driver Bonanomi to make F3.5 return. Gruz. David. 6 September 2016. motorsport.com. 6 September 2016. 20 September 2016. https://web.archive.org/web/20160920043956/http://www.motorsport.com/f3.5/news/audi-driver-bonanomi-to-make-f3-5-return-816279/. dead.
16. News: Buller to make F3.5 return with RP at Monza. Klein. Jamie. 27 September 2016. Motorsport.com. 28 September 2016. 2 October 2016. https://web.archive.org/web/20161002032219/http://www.motorsport.com/f3.5/news/buller-to-make-f3-5-return-with-rp-at-monza-830663/. dead.
17. News: Aitken to make F3.5 debut at Jerez. Chokhani. Darshan. 17 October 2016. Motorsport.com. 17 October 2016.
18. News: Vitor Baptista assina com a RP Motorsport para disputar a temporada 2016 da Fórmula V8. Marcos. Gil. esporteinterativo.com. Esporte Interativo. Portuguese. 30 March 2016. 30 March 2016. Vitor Baptista signs with RP Motorsport to contest the 2016 season of Formula V8.
19. News: SMP Racing with Spirit of Race to become the first Russian team. 17 February 2016. Formula V8 3.5. RPM Racing. 21 March 2016. https://web.archive.org/web/20160324053520/http://www.formulav8.com/smp-racing-joins-the-formula-v8-3-5-with-spirit-of-race-to-become-the-first-russian-team/. 2016-03-24. dead.
20. News: F3.5 V8 newcomer Spirit of Race signs Vaxivière and Atoev. Valentin. Khorounzhiy. Motorsport.com. Motor Sport. 25 December 2015. 25 December 2015. 25 December 2015. https://web.archive.org/web/20151225223701/http://www.motorsport.com/f3.5/news/f3-5-newcomer-spirit-of-race-signs-vaxiviere-atoev-664816/. dead.
21. News: Isaakyan replaces injured Atoev in SMP's F3.5 line-up. 12 April 2016. Motorsport.com. 12 April 2016.
22. News: DAMS' Formula 3.5 entry bought out by Spanish businessman. Elizalde. Pablo. 19 October 2015. Motorsport.com. 19 October 2015.
23. News: Yu Kanamaru to race for Teo Martin Formula V8 3.5 team. Peter. Allen. paddockscout.com. Paddock Scout. 25 January 2016. 25 January 2016.
24. Web site: ENTRY LIST Round 01/2016 – MOTORLAND ARAGÓN. 12 April 2016. Formula V8 3.5. RPM Racing. 12 April 2016.
25. News: Armand signs up with Trident for maiden GP2 campaign. Gruz. David. paddockscout.com. Paddock Scout. 12 February 2016. 21 March 2016.
26. News: Evans and Gelael to join Campos for 2016 GP2 campaign. Motorsport.com. Khorounzhiy, Valentin. 1 December 2015. 26 December 2015. 7 March 2016. https://web.archive.org/web/20160307092804/http://www.motorsport.com/gp2/news/evans-and-gelael-to-join-campos-for-2016-gp2-campaign/. dead.
27. News: Gustav Malja signs with Rapax for full-time GP2 switch. Peter. Allen. paddockscout.com. Paddock Scout. 16 February 2016. 21 March 2016.
28. News: Lynn joined by Latifi at DAMS in GP2 for 2016. Peter. Allen. paddockscout.com. Paddock Scout. 18 December 2015. 26 December 2015.
29. News: Rowland becomes Renault F1 junior, secures full-time GP2 seat. Gruz. David. paddockscout.com. Paddock Scout. 3 February 2016. 3 February 2016.
30. News: Jaafar joins HTP Motorsport for Blancpain GT. Motorsport.com. Chokhani, Darshan. 4 February 2016. 4 February 2016.
31. News: Roberto Merhi Rejoins Manor For 2016 FIA WEC. dailysportscar.com. DailySportscar. 30 March 2016. 30 March 2016.
32. News: Dean Stoneman switches to Indy Lights with Andretti. O'Connell. R.J.. Paddock Scout. 24 February 2016. 24 February 2016.
33. Web site: Nyck de Vries confirmed at ART Grand Prix. GP3 Series. GP2 Series Limited. 24 February 2016. 24 February 2016.
34. News: Nikita Zlobin to do EuroFormula Open with Teo Martin Motorsport. Peter. Allen. paddockscout.com. Paddock Scout. 30 January 2016. 3 February 2016.
35. News: DAMS switches from Formula Renault 3.5 to GP3 for 2016. Peter. Mills. Autosport. Haymarket Publications. 1 October 2015. 5 October 2015.
36. News: Renault 3.5 a Jerez Spirit of Race subentra a Draco. Costa. Massimo. 16 October 2015. ItaliaRacing.net. Inpagina. Italian. 17 October 2015. Renault 3.5 at Jerez Spirit of Race takes over from Draco.
37. News: Carlin pulls out of Formula V8 3.5 to focus on GP2. Autosport. Haymarket Publications. 10 March 2016. 21 March 2016.
38. News: Provisional 2016 Formula Renault 3.5 calendar revealed. Peter. Mills. Autosport. Haymarket Publications. 17 October 2015. 18 October 2015.
39. News: Formula V8 3.5 Calendar Updated. Formula V8 3.5. RPM Racing. 8 March 2016. 8 March 2016. https://web.archive.org/web/20160309083830/http://www.formulav8.com/formula-v8-3-5-calendar-updated/. 9 March 2016. dead. dmy-all.