2012 Formula Renault 3.5 Series

The 2012 Formula Renault 3.5 Series was the eighth season of the Renault–supported single–seater category.

It was the first season for the new Dallara T12 chassis, which featured a new, 530 bhp (400 kW) V8 engine supplied by British firm Zytek Motorsport.^[1] The car also featured a new gearbox developed by Ricardo and a Drag Reduction System similar to the one first used in the 2011 Formula One season.^[1] The series' organising committee has also announced that the series' sporting regulations were set to remain unchanged.^[2]

Robin Frijns won the championship in his first season of competition, becoming the first driver since Robert Kubica in 2005 to win the Formula Renault 3.5 Series in his debut year. Tech 1 Racing won the teams' championship for the fourth time.^[3]

Teams and drivers

On 10 October 2011, it was announced that 18 teams had applied to compete in the 2012 season.^[4] Twelve of the thirteen teams that competed in 2011 submitted entries, while Mofaz Racing withdrew after failing to acquire the requisite funds to continue in the series.^[5] Several new teams, including Arden International, Atech Reid GP, DAMS, Koiranen Motorsport, Max Travin Racing Team – however prior the start of the season, Max Travin Racing Team joined forces with BVM Target as part of a three-year partnership^[6] – and Van Amersfoort Racing all submitted entries to join the series.^[4] The final list of thirteen teams was published on 17 October 2011, with GP2 Series teams Arden International and DAMS selected to join, while EPIC Racing and Koiranen Motorsport were placed on a reserve list.^[7]

Team	No.	Driver name	Status	Rounds
Carlin[7]	1	Kevin Magnussen[8]	R	All
	2	Will Stevens[9]	R	All
Fortec Motorsports[7]	3	Carlos Huertas[10]	R	All
	4	Robin Frijns[11]	R	All
ISR[7]	5	Sam Bird[12]		All
	6	Jake Rosenzweig[12]		All
Tech 1 Racing[7]	7	Kevin Korjus[13]		1–6
		Daniel Abt[14]	R	7–9
	8	Jules Bianchi[15]		All
P1 Motorsport[7]	9	Walter Grubmüller[16]		All
	10	Daniil Move[16]		All
Lotus[17]	11	Richie Stanaway[17]	R	1–3
		César Ramos[18]		4–5
		Nigel Melker[19]		6
		Kevin Korjus[20]		7–9
	12	Marco Sørensen[17]	R	All
BVM Target[7]	15	Giovanni Venturini[21]	R	1–4
		Sergey Sirotkin[22]	R	5
		Daniel Zampieri[23]		6
		Tamás Pál Kiss[24]	R	7, 9
		Davide Rigon[25]	R	8
	16	Nikolay Martsenko[26]	R	All
Team RFR[27]	17	Mikhail Aleshin[27]		All
	18	Anton Nebylitskiy[27]		1–6
		Aaro Vainio[28]	R	7–9
Pons Racing[7]	19	Yann Cunha[29]	R	All
	20	Zoël Amberg[30]	R	All
International Draco Racing[7]	21	Nico Müller[31]	R	All
	22	André Negrão[31]		All
Comtec Racing[7]	23	Vittorio Ghirelli[32]	R	All
	24	Nick Yelloly[33]		All
Arden Caterham[7]	25	Alexander Rossi[34]		All
	26	Lewis Williamson[35]		1–3
		António Félix da Costa[36]	R	4–9
DAMS[7]	27	Lucas Foresti[37]	R	All
	28	Arthur Pic[38]		All

Driver changes

Changed teams

• Arthur Pic switched from Tech 1 Racing to newcomers DAMS for the 2012 campaign.^[38]
• Jake Rosenzweig moved from Mofaz Racing to join ISR for the 2012 season.^[12]
• Alexander Rossi, who finished third in the 2011 season for Fortec Motorsports, moved to the new team Arden Caterham for the 2012 campaign.^[34]

Entering/Re–Entering FR3.5

• 2010 champion Mikhail Aleshin, who competed in the GP2 Series and German Formula Three in 2011, returned to the series full-time with Team RFR,^[27] after a one-off appearance at the Hungaroring in 2011, replacing Anton Nebylitskiy. Nebylitskiy partners Aleshin at Team RFR in 2012.
• Zoël Amberg, who competed in the 2011 GP3 Series season with ATECH CRS GP, moved to Formula Renault 3.5, joining Pons Racing.^[30]
• Jules Bianchi, who finished third in the GP2 Series in both 2010 and 2011, joined Tech 1 Racing.^[15] He also competed in the Monaco round of the series in 2009 for SG Formula.
• Sam Bird, who was sixth in GP2 in 2011, also joined the series with ISR.^[12]
• Yann Cunha, who participated in both British Formula 3 and the European F3 Open championships in 2011, joined Amberg at Pons Racing.^[29]
• Lucas Foresti, who graduated from the British Formula 3 Championship, joined Arthur Pic at DAMS.^[37]
• Colombian driver Carlos Huertas, who placed third in the British Formula 3 championship and fifth in the Macau Grand Prix, will move into the series, driving for Fortec Motorsport.^[10] Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0 champion Robin Frijns became his teammate.^[11]
• British Formula 3 runner-up Kevin Magnussen continued his collaboration with Carlin Motorsport for another season, joining the team's Formula Renault 3.5 outfit.^[8] He was joined in the team by Will Stevens, who placed fourth in the Formula Renault Eurocup in 2011.^[9]
• Nikolay Martsenko, who finished twelfth in German Formula Three in 2011, moved into the series with BVM Target.^[26]
• Lotus signed German Formula Three champion Richie Stanaway and runner-up Marco Sørensen to drive their cars in 2012.^[17]
• Auto GP race-winner Giovanni Venturini joined Martsenko at BVM Target.^[21]
• GP3 Series race-winner Lewis Williamson moved into the series full-time, after replacing Daniel Ricciardo at ISR for two meetings in 2011. He joined Formula Renault 3.5 debutants Arden Caterham.^[35] Fellow GP3 race-winner Nico Müller joined the series with International Draco Racing.^[31]
• GP3 racer Nick Yelloly, who competed in three meetings for Pons Racing in 2011, moved into the series full-time with Comtec Racing.^[33] He will be joined by fellow GP3 driver Vittorio Ghirelli.^[32]

Leaving FR3.5

• Nathanaël Berthon, who raced for ISR in 2011, stepped up to GP2 with Racing Engineering, having previously contested the 2011 GP2 Asia Series season and GP2 Final with the team.^[39]
• Albert Costa, who finished fourth in 2011 with EPIC Racing, will move to the Eurocup Mégane Trophy with defending champions Oregon Team.^[40]
• Daniël de Jong, who finished 29th for Comtec Racing, joined the Auto GP World Series full-time with Manor MP Motorsport, having contested three meetings for the team during the 2011 season.^[41]
• Daniel McKenzie, who raced for Comtec Racing in 2011, will move to Formula Two for 2012.^[42]
• Sten Pentus, who finished 24th in 2011 with EPIC Racing, will move to the Auto GP World Series with the Virtuosi UK team.^[43]
• After finishing in fifth place in the series, alongside a half season in Formula One, Daniel Ricciardo switched to Formula One full-time, joining Scuderia Toro Rosso.^[44]
• Stéphane Richelmi, who finished 26th in the 2011 season for Draco Racing, will graduate to the GP2 Series with Trident Racing.^[45]
• Filip Salaquarda, who entered at Monza with Pons Racing in 2011, will switch to the FIA GT1 World Championship, joining AF Corse.^[46]
• Adrien Tambay, who competed for Pons Racing and Draco Racing in 2011, will join the DTM, driving for Abt Sportsline.^[47]
• Mofaz Racing driver Chris van der Drift left the championship to compete in the Auto GP World Series.^[48]
• 2011 series runner-up Jean-Éric Vergne moved into Formula One with Scuderia Toro Rosso.^[49]
• Oliver Webb, who drove for Pons Racing in 2011, will move to the Indy Lights series full-time with Sam Schmidt Motorsports, having contested four races with Jensen MotorSport in 2011.^[50]
• 2011 champion Robert Wickens switched to the DTM, joining the junior Mercedes scheme, earning a place at Mücke Motorsport.^[51]
• BVM Target driver Daniel Zampieri switched to sportscar racing, joining the International GT Open and Blancpain Endurance Series with the Kessel Racing team.^[52]

Mid-season changes

• Richie Stanaway injured his back in an accident during the third round at Spa-Francorchamps, and was forced to miss the remainder of the season.^[53] He was replaced by César Ramos, who drove for Fortec during the 2011 season.^[18] Ramos was replaced by GP2 Series driver Nigel Melker after Moscow.^[19]
• Giovanni Venturini left BVM Target due to a lack of funding. He was replaced by Auto GP World Series and Italian Formula Three driver Sergey Sirotkin for his home round in Moscow.^[22] Due to Sirotkin's contract commitments to Euronova Racing, Daniel Zampieri made a comeback to the championship at Silverstone.^[23]
• Lewis Williamson lost his drive with Arden Caterham, after he was dropped from the Red Bull Junior Team. He was replaced by GP3 Series driver António Félix da Costa.^[36]

Race calendar and results

In August 2011, series organisers had announced that the championship was due to visit Russia and Brazil during the 2012 season.^[2] The 2012 calendar was announced on 10 October 2011, the day after the end of the 2011 season.^[54] Russia was included, but Brazil omitted. Seven of the nine rounds will form meetings of the 2012 World Series by Renault season, with additional rounds in support of the Monaco Grand Prix and the 6 Hours of Silverstone.^[55]

Round		Circuit	Date	Pole Position	Fastest Lap	Winning Driver	Winning Team	Rookie Winner
1	R1	Ciudad del Motor de Aragón, Alcañiz	5 May	Arthur Pic	Robin Frijns	Nick Yelloly	Comtec Racing	Kevin Magnussen
	R2		6 May	Arthur Pic	Arthur Pic	Robin Frijns	Fortec Motorsports	Robin Frijns
2		Circuit de Monaco, Monte Carlo	27 May	Sam Bird	Jules Bianchi	Sam Bird	ISR	Nico Müller
3	R1	Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps	2 June	Kevin Magnussen	Jules Bianchi	Marco Sørensen	Lotus	Marco Sørensen
	R2		3 June	Kevin Magnussen	Jules Bianchi	Kevin Magnussen	Carlin	Kevin Magnussen
4	R1	Nürburgring	30 June	Jules Bianchi	Jules Bianchi	Jules Bianchi	Tech 1 Racing	Nico Müller
	R2		1 July	Robin Frijns	Mikhail Aleshin	Nick Yelloly	Comtec Racing	Marco Sørensen
5	R1	Moscow Raceway	14 July	Robin Frijns	Jules Bianchi	Robin Frijns	Fortec Motorsports	Robin Frijns
	R2		15 July	Jules Bianchi	Arthur Pic	Arthur Pic	DAMS	Carlos Huertas
6	R1	Silverstone Circuit	25 August	Kevin Magnussen	António Félix da Costa	Jules Bianchi	Tech 1 Racing	Robin Frijns
	R2		26 August	Jules Bianchi	Jules Bianchi	Sam Bird	ISR	António Félix da Costa
7	R1	Hungaroring, Mogyoród	15 September	Robin Frijns	Jules Bianchi	Robin Frijns	Fortec Motorsports	Robin Frijns
	R2		16 September	Robin Frijns	Alexander Rossi	António Félix da Costa	Arden Caterham	António Félix da Costa
8	R1	Circuit Paul Ricard, Le Castellet	29 September	Nick Yelloly	Alexander Rossi	António Félix da Costa	Arden Caterham	António Félix da Costa
	R2		30 September	Jules Bianchi	António Félix da Costa	Jules Bianchi	Tech 1 Racing	António Félix da Costa
9	R1	Circuit de Catalunya, Montmeló	20 October	Jules Bianchi	Alexander Rossi	António Félix da Costa	Arden Caterham	António Félix da Costa
	R2		21 October	Mikhail Aleshin	Alexander Rossi	António Félix da Costa	Arden Caterham	António Félix da Costa

Championship standings

Points system

Points are awarded to the top 10 classified finishers.

Drivers' Championship

Pos Driver ARA MON SPA NÜR MSC SIL HUN LEC CAT Points 1 Robin Frijns 3 1 Ret 7 3 3 5 1 17 2 9 1 5 7 9 3 14 189 2 Jules Bianchi DSQ 13 2 2 17 1 12 2 7 1 3 3 9 4 1 7 Ret 185 3 Sam Bird 9 2 1 3 5 8 4 3 Ret Ret 1 10 4 10 3 2 7 179 4 António Félix da Costa 9 11 7 15 5 2 4 1 1 2 1 1 166 5 Nick Yelloly 1 18 7 9 2 Ret 1 12 16 4 8 14 20 2 4 15 13 122 6 Marco Sørensen 7 Ret 6 1 7 6 2 6 Ret Ret 19† 8 2 5 5 10 Ret 122 7 Kevin Magnussen 2 Ret Ret 21 1 5 8 16† 10 Ret Ret 2 23† 6 24† 5 4 106 8 Arthur Pic Ret 3 11 15 Ret 4 Ret 4 1 Ret 4 5 6 Ret 14 11 6 102 9 Nico Müller Ret Ret 5 5 4 2 Ret 8 Ret Ret 7 6 Ret 8 7 12 15 78 10 Kevin Korjus Ret 4 4 DNS 13 14 Ret 5 3 Ret 15 12 7 9 8 6 17 69 11 Alexander Rossi Ret 5 3 11 Ret 18 9 17† 5 Ret 5 9 8 22 16 19 5 63 12 Will Stevens 6 8 12 13 8 10 13 10 8 Ret 6 23 3 11 11 4 9 59 13 Mikhail Aleshin Ret 11 8 4 Ret 13 6 14 9 11† 17† Ret 19 12 17 9 2 46 14 Walter Grubmüller 16 Ret 9 8 6 7 15 Ret 2 9 Ret 20 10 13 12 13 10 42 15 André Negrão 8 10 Ret 12 12 19 3 13 4 Ret 16 15 Ret Ret 22 14 8 36 16 Carlos Huertas 4 12 10 Ret Ret 23† Ret Ret 6 6 11 7 12 15 15 18 18 35 17 Daniil Move 17 7 15 14 14 15 7 9 11 Ret 14 17 15 3 25† 21 16 29 18 Aaro Vainio Ret 18 16 6 8 3 27 19 Nigel Melker 3 Ret 15 20 Nikolay Martsenko 5 15 18 10 9 21 Ret Ret 18 Ret 12 Ret 14 23 21 25 20 13 21 Jake Rosenzweig Ret Ret Ret 6 18 11 17† Ret 12 Ret 13 16 22 20 20 17 11 8 22 Richie Stanaway Ret 6 Ret NC Ret 8 23 Lucas Foresti 11 Ret 17 Ret Ret Ret 10 18† 14 7 18 11 13 14 10 Ret Ret 8 24 Vittorio Ghirelli 12 17 16 20 Ret Ret Ret 11 Ret 8 10 21 17 17 23 20 19 5 25 Giovanni Venturini Ret 9 Ret 16 10 22 14 3 26 Zoël Amberg 10 16 14 18 Ret 16 18 15 13 Ret Ret 13 16 18 Ret 24 22 1 27 Daniel Zampieri 10 Ret 1 28 Tamás Pál Kiss 19 11 22 12 0 29 Yann Cunha 15 Ret Ret 17 11 17 Ret 19 Ret Ret Ret 22 21 21 19 23 21 0 30 César Ramos 12 Ret Ret Ret 0 31 Anton Nebylitskiy 13 14 Ret DNS 15 20 16 Ret Ret Ret DNS 0 32 Lewis Williamson 14 Ret 13 19 16 0 33 Davide Rigon 19 13 0 34 Daniel Abt 18 24 Ret 18 16 Ret 0 35 Sergey Sirotkin 20 Ret 0 Pos Driver ARA MON SPA NÜR MSC SIL HUN LEC CAT Points

Colour Result Gold Winner Silver Second place Bronze Third place Green Points finish Blue Non-points finish Non-classified finish (NC) Purple Retired (Ret) Red Did not qualify (DNQ) Did not pre-qualify (DNPQ) Black Disqualified (DSQ) White Did not start (DNS) Withdrew (WD) Race cancelled (C) Blank Did not practice (DNP) Did not arrive (DNA) Excluded (EX) Bold – Pole Italics – Fastest Lap † – Retired, but classified

Teams' Championship

Pos Team Car No. ARA MON SPA NÜR MSC SIL HUN LEC CAT Points 1 Tech 1 Racing 7 Ret 4 4 DNS 13 14 Ret 5 3 Ret 15 18 24 Ret 18 16 Ret 234 8 DSQ 13 2 2 17 1 12 2 7 1 3 3 9 4 1 7 Ret 2 Arden Caterham 25 Ret 5 3 11 Ret 18 9 17 5 Ret 5 9 8 22 16 19 5 229 26 14 Ret 13 19 16 9 11 7 15 5 2 4 1 1 2 1 1 3 Fortec Motorsports 3 4 12 10 Ret Ret 23† Ret Ret 6 6 11 7 12 15 15 18 18 224 4 3 1 Ret 7 3 3 5 1 17 2 9 1 5 7 9 3 14 4 ISR 5 9 2 1 3 5 8 4 3 Ret Ret 1 10 4 10 3 2 7 187 6 Ret Ret Ret 6 18 11 17† Ret 12 Ret 13 16 22 20 20 17 11 5 Carlin 1 2 Ret Ret 21 1 5 8 16† 10 Ret Ret 2 23† 6 24† 5 4 165 2 6 8 12 13 8 10 13 10 8 Ret 6 23 3 11 11 4 9 6 Lotus 11 Ret 6 Ret NC Ret 12 Ret Ret Ret 3 Ret 12 7 9 8 6 17 165 12 7 Ret 6 1 7 6 2 6 Ret Ret 19† 8 2 5 5 10 Ret 7 Comtec Racing 23 12 17 16 20 Ret Ret Ret 11 Ret 8 10 21 17 17 23 20 19 127 24 1 18 7 9 2 Ret 1 12 16 4 8 14 20 2 4 15 13 8 International Draco Racing 21 Ret Ret 5 5 4 2 Ret 8 Ret Ret 7 6 Ret 8 7 12 15 114 22 8 10 Ret 12 12 19 3 13 4 Ret 16 15 Ret Ret 22 14 8 9 DAMS 27 11 Ret 17 Ret Ret Ret 10 18† 14 7 18 11 13 14 10 Ret Ret 110 28 Ret 3 11 15 Ret 4 Ret 4 1 Ret 4 5 6 Ret 14 11 5 10 Team RFR 17 Ret 11 8 4 Ret 13 6 14 9 11† 17† Ret 19 12 17 9 2 73 18 13 14 Ret DNS 15 20 16 Ret Ret Ret DNS Ret 18 16 6 8 3 11 P1 Motorsport 9 16 Ret 9 8 6 7 15 Ret 2 9 Ret 20 10 13 12 13 10 71 10 17 7 15 14 14 15 7 9 11 Ret 14 17 15 3 25† 21 16 12 BVM Target 15 Ret 9 Ret 16 10 22 14 20 Ret 10 Ret 19 11 19 13 22 12 17 16 5 15 18 10 9 21 Ret Ret 18 Ret 12 Ret 14 23 21 25 20 13 Pons Racing 19 15 Ret Ret 17 11 16 Ret 19 Ret Ret Ret 22 21 21 19 23 21 1 20 10 16 14 18 Ret 17 18 15 13 Ret Ret 13 16 18 Ret 24 22 Pos Team Car No. ARA MON SPA NÜR MSC SIL HUN LEC CAT Points

Colour Result Gold Winner Silver Second place Bronze Third place Green Points finish Blue Non-points finish Non-classified finish (NC) Purple Retired (Ret) Red Did not qualify (DNQ) Did not pre-qualify (DNPQ) Black Disqualified (DSQ) White Did not start (DNS) Withdrew (WD) Race cancelled (C) Blank Did not practice (DNP) Did not arrive (DNA) Excluded (EX) Bold – Pole Italics – Fastest Lap † – Retired, but classified

References

External links

• World Series by Renault
• Renault-Sport official website

This page was last edited on 1 February 2024, at 16:15