A look back at the history of the GP3 Series (2/2)

2015
Crowned with his title in Formula 3 europe, Esteban Ocon tackles the GP3 Series with the support of ART Grand Prix. The season begins under excellent auspices for the Norman with a victory in Barcelona (Spain) in spring.

The most optimistic expected the French to dominate. Nay! As the races go on, Luca Ghiotto (Trident) becomes quite an opponent, winning three races in four meetings. The two young men even almost came into contact in Russia in a heated duel:

Esteban Ocon's secret skill is regularity. He no longer lifts a winner's cup, of course, but he racks up a huge series of 11 podiums in a row! Tempers flared at the start of the final in Abu Dhabi, where Esteban Ocon touched Luca Ghiotto's car, fortunately without damage.

Titled for seven points, the Habs analyzed their triumph in this way. “I don’t think winning a single race is a bad thing. We all want to win, but that means I haven't been the fastest but the most consistent, playing at the front on each circuit. It was probably the key to the championship. »

2016
Dallara supplied the third GP3 that year, logically called GP3/16. The front nose copies the fashion of appendages at ground level seen in F1 while the French engine manufacturer Mecachrome supplies a 6-liter naturally aspirated V3,4 unit with a power of 400 horsepower (identical to the old car).

ART Grand Prix continues to attract gems to its ranks, this time with the arrival of Charles Leclerc. The Monegasque will not waste time with a success accompanied by a best lap in the first race in Barcelona, ​​like Esteban Ocon.  

Author of four poles and seven podiums (including two victories), the future driver Ferrari in F1 wins the title in Abu Dhabi despite a retirement in Race 1. “The middle of the season was quite complicated when I had to move from F1 to GP3 (with tests at Haas and Ferrari). I had to work on my mentality after three difficult weekends. If I managed to finish in the top five, I could no longer fight for victory. It was hard to pull myself together but I finally managed it”he explained.

2017
The French are the major force in the field thanks to Anthoine Hubert (ART Grand Prix), Giuliano Alesi (Trident), Dorian Boccolacci (Trident) and Julien Falchero (Campos Racing). But he's a neighbor, George Russell (ART Grand Prix) which upsets everyone.

Mercedes, who placed him in its young drivers program, asked him for nothing less than the title. Despite the mountain to climb, the Briton pleases his patrons with a comfortable lead of 79 points over his runner-up Jack Aitken (ART Grand Prix)!

“At the start of the year, Mercedes set me the goal of winning this championship., comments Russell, it didn't matter how I did it: either by trying to win as many long races as possible, or by finishing second in all the races a bit like Esteban [Ocon] in 2015. I'm sure they are happy with the result", was positive the future Williams driver in F1.

2018
It's almost the end of an era. The season opens with the announcement of the meeting of the GP3 Series and Formula 3 Europe by 2019. The future F3 International championship will take place on the sidelines of the F1 weekends, like the GP3 until now. This context does not disarm ART Grand Prix. The team based in Yonne achieves a feat: clinch the Drivers and Teams crowns four times in a row, thanks in particular to Anthoine Hubert.

The 4 Formula 2013 France champion wins of an internal struggle mixing Nikita mazepin and Callum Ilott. " It's really cool ! I am very happy to be GP3 champion. Well, it's a shame: people won't really know what I did anymore since, in ten years, the very name of GP3 will be forgotten but it's obviously a great feeling to be champion again., explained the native of Lyon (Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes).

From the start of the year, consistency was my goal. I spent the winter studying races and champion seasons from previous years and set myself a points goal to achieve each weekend. Of course, it's more pleasant to reach it with victories, but it allowed me to be satisfied with a 3rd or 4th place from time to time. I am particularly happy with my performance in race 2, where I always managed to regain places and get back on the podium from the reverse grid. »