2015 GP2 Series

The 2015 GP2 Series season was the forty-ninth season of the second-tier of Formula One feeder championship and also eleventh season under the GP2 Series moniker, a championship for open-wheel racing cars run as a support series to the 2015 Formula One World Championship. Twenty-six drivers representing thirteen teams raced over eleven rounds, starting in Bahrain on 18 April and finishing in Abu Dhabi on 29 November.

2015 GP2 Series

Drivers' Champion: Stoffel Vandoorne
Teams' Champion: ART Grand Prix

Previous

2014

Next

2016

Parent series:
Formula One
Support series:
GP3 Series

Several GP2 cars racing at the Red Bull Ring

Rule changes

• The series continued to use the Dallara GP2/11 chassis first introduced in 2011,^[1] but introduced the Drag Reduction System (DRS), akin to that used in Formula One.^[2] The series used the same detection and activation points at each circuit as Formula One, and followed the same rules for activation, requiring drivers to be within one second of the car in front at the detection point for DRS to become available. The upper-element rear wing angle has a same angle as Formula One upper-element rear wing. In an event of rainy conditions, Drag Reduction Systems are automatically deactivated until the rain stopped.

Teams and drivers

Team	No.	Drivers	Rounds
DAMS[3]	1	Pierre Gasly[4]	All
	2	Alex Lynn[4]	All
Carlin[3]	3	Julián Leal[5]	1–8
		Dean Stoneman[6]	9–11
	4	Marco Sørensen[7]	1–4
		Johnny Cecotto Jr.[8][a]	5
		Sean Gelael[9]	6–7, 9–11
		Jann Mardenborough[10]	8
ART Grand Prix[3]	5	Stoffel Vandoorne[11]	All
	6	Nobuharu Matsushita[12]	All
Racing Engineering[3]	7	Jordan King[13]	All
	8	Alexander Rossi[14]	All
Russian Time[3]	9	Mitch Evans[15]	All
	10	Artem Markelov[15]	All
Trident[3]	11	Raffaele Marciello[16]	All
	12	René Binder[17]	1–6
		Gustav Malja[18]	7
		Johnny Cecotto Jr.[19][a]	8–9
		Daniël de Jong[20]	10–11
Campos Racing[3]	14	Arthur Pic[21]	All
	15	Rio Haryanto[22]	All
MP Motorsport[3]	16	Sergio Canamasas[23]	1–3
		Oliver Rowland[24]	5, 7
		Nicholas Latifi[25]	6, 9–11
		Meindert van Buuren[19]	8
	17	Daniël de Jong[26]	1–7
		René Binder[19]	8–11
Rapax[3]	18	Sergey Sirotkin[27]	All
	19	Robert Vișoiu[28]	1–9
		Gustav Malja[29]	10–11
Arden International[3]	20	André Negrão[30]	All
	21	Norman Nato[31]	All
Status Grand Prix[32][b]	22	Marlon Stöckinger[33]	All
	23	Richie Stanaway[34]	1–9
		Oliver Rowland[35]	10–11
Hilmer Motorsport[3]	24	Nick Yelloly[36]	2–7
		Simon Trummer[19][37]	8
	25	Johnny Cecotto Jr.[36][a]	2–3
		Simon Trummer[19][37]	4
		Jon Lancaster[24]	5
		Sergio Canamasas[38]	6
Lazarus (1–3) Daiko Team Lazarus[c] (4–11)[39]	26	Nathanaël Berthon[40]	1–7, 9–11
		Patric Niederhauser[41]	8
	27	Zoël Amberg[42]	1–4, 6
		Sergio Canamasas[43]	5, 7–11
Sources:[44][45]

Team changes

• GP3 Series team Status Grand Prix expanded its operations to enter the GP2 Series, replacing Caterham Racing after team principal Teddy Yip reached an agreement with Caterham's Tony Fernandes to purchase the team at the end of the 2014 season.^[32]
• Russian Time ended its association with iSport International, with the responsibility for the team's operations taken over by Virtuosi Racing.^[15]

Driver changes

Changing teams

• René Binder moved from Arden International to Trident.^[17]
• Sergio Canamasas moved from Trident to MP Motorsport.^[23]
• Pierre Gasly, who raced for Caterham Racing, will switch to DAMS.^[4]
• Rio Haryanto switched from Caterham Racing to Campos Racing.^[22]
• Raffaele Marciello, who raced for Racing Engineering, will switch to Trident.^[16]
• Alexander Rossi, who raced for Caterham Racing and Campos Racing will move to Racing Engineering.^[14]
• Marco Sørensen, who raced for MP Motorsport, will switch to Carlin.^[7]
• Johnny Cecotto Jr., who raced for Trident, will switch to Hilmer Motorsport.

Entering GP2

• 2014 Formula Renault 3.5 Series driver Zoël Amberg will switch to the series, joining Lazarus.^[42]
• Jordan King, who previously competed in European Formula 3, will make his GP2 debut with Racing Engineering.^[13]
• GP3 Series champion Alex Lynn will graduate to the series with reigning champions DAMS.^[4]
• Nobuharu Matsushita, the 2014 All-Japan Formula Three champion, will make his GP2 debut with ART Grand Prix.^[12]
• Norman Nato, who previously competed in Formula Renault 3.5, will make his GP2 debut with Arden International.^[31]
• Sergey Sirotkin will move from the Formula Renault 3.5 series, to join the Rapax Team.^[27]
• Marlon Stöckinger, who raced for Status Grand Prix in the 2012 GP3 Series season, will return to the team after two seasons in the Formula Renault 3.5 Series.^[33]
• Robert Vișoiu will graduate to the series with Rapax.^[28]
• Richie Stanaway, who previously competed in GP3, will graduate to the series with Status.^[34]
• Nick Yelloly, who previously competed in GP3, will graduate to the series with Hilmer.

Leaving GP2

• 2014 season champion Jolyon Palmer will not return to defend his title as, under the series regulations, a driver is not allowed to continue in the series once they have won the championship. He has taken up duties as reserve driver for Lotus F1.^[46]
• Stéphane Richelmi left DAMS and the series to join the Blancpain Endurance Series and Blancpain Sprint Series with Belgian Audi Club Team WRT.^[47]
• Tom Dillmann, Tio Ellinas and Nicholas Latifi left the series to race with Carlin, Strakka Racing and Arden respectively in Formula Renault 3.5.^[48][49][50]
• Takuya Izawa left ART Grand Prix and the series to return to Super Formula and Super GT.^[12]
• Felipe Nasr left Carlin and the series to join the Sauber Formula One team.^[51]
• Stefano Coletti left GP2 to race in IndyCar with KV Racing Technology.^[52]
• Adrian Quaife-Hobbs left Rapax and the series to join the Blancpain Endurance Series with Von Ryan Racing.^[53]
• Daniel Abt left the series to race in Formula E with the Audi Sport Abt Formula E Team.^[54]

Mid-season changes

• Johnny Cecotto Jr. replaced Marco Sørensen at Carlin for the Silverstone round of the championship. Cecotto was replaced for the following round at the Hungaroring by Carlin regular Sean Gelael.^[9] Gelael due to his Formula Renault 3.5 Series obligations was replaced by the Carlin GP3 Series driver Jann Mardenborough at Monza.^[10]

Calendar

In December 2014, the full 2015 calendar was revealed with eleven events.^[55]

Round		Circuit/Location	Country	Date	Supporting
1	Feature	Bahrain International Circuit, Sakhir	Bahrain	18 April	Bahrain Grand Prix
	Sprint			19 April
2	Feature	Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, Montmeló	Spain	9 May	Spanish Grand Prix
	Sprint			10 May
3	Feature	Circuit de Monaco, Monaco	Monaco	22 May	Monaco Grand Prix
	Sprint			23 May
4	Feature	Red Bull Ring, Spielberg	Austria	20 June	Austrian Grand Prix
	Sprint			21 June
5	Feature	Silverstone Circuit, Silverstone	United Kingdom	4 July	British Grand Prix
	Sprint			5 July
6	Feature	Hungaroring, Mogyoród	Hungary	25 July	Hungarian Grand Prix
	Sprint			26 July
7	Feature	Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps, Stavelot	Belgium	22 August	Belgian Grand Prix
	Sprint			23 August
8	Feature	Autodromo Nazionale Monza, Monza	Italy	5 September	Italian Grand Prix
	Sprint			6 September
9	Feature	Sochi Autodrom, Sochi	Russia	10 October	Russian Grand Prix
	Sprint			11 October
10	Feature	Bahrain International Circuit, Manama	Bahrain	20 November	6 Hours of Bahrain
	Sprint			21 November
11	Feature	Yas Marina Circuit, Abu Dhabi	United Arab Emirates	28 November	Abu Dhabi Grand Prix
	Sprint			29 November
Source:[56]

Calendar changes

• The series was scheduled to run in support of the German Grand Prix, at a venue that, at the time of the calendar's publication, had not yet been decided. With the cancellation of the German Grand Prix, the planned GP2 meeting was rescheduled to Bahrain International Circuit in the 2015 6 Hours of Bahrain weekend.^[57]

Results

Summary

Round		Circuit	Pole Position	Fastest Lap	Winning Driver	Winning Team	Report
1	F	Bahrain International Circuit	Stoffel Vandoorne	Stoffel Vandoorne	Stoffel Vandoorne	ART Grand Prix	Report
	S			Raffaele Marciello[d]	Rio Haryanto	Campos Racing
2	F	Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya	Stoffel Vandoorne	Mitch Evans	Stoffel Vandoorne	ART Grand Prix	Report
	S			Stoffel Vandoorne	Alex Lynn	DAMS
3	F	Circuit de Monaco	Alexander Rossi	Nick Yelloly	Stoffel Vandoorne	ART Grand Prix	Report
	S			Norman Nato[e]	Richie Stanaway	Status Grand Prix
4	F	Red Bull Ring	Stoffel Vandoorne	Alex Lynn	Stoffel Vandoorne	ART Grand Prix	Report
	S			Alex Lynn[f]	Rio Haryanto	Campos Racing
5	F	Silverstone Circuit	Sergey Sirotkin	Sergey Sirotkin	Sergey Sirotkin	Rapax	Report
	S			Sergio Canamasas[g]	Rio Haryanto	Campos Racing
6	F	Hungaroring	Alex Lynn	Robert Vișoiu	Alex Lynn	DAMS	Report
	S			Marlon Stöckinger[h]	Nobuharu Matsushita	ART Grand Prix
7	F	Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps	Stoffel Vandoorne	Richie Stanaway[i]	Stoffel Vandoorne	ART Grand Prix	Report
	S			Stoffel Vandoorne	Alexander Rossi	Racing Engineering
8	F	Autodromo Nazionale Monza	Pierre Gasly	Johnny Cecotto Jr.[j]	Alexander Rossi	Racing Engineering	Report
	S			Alex Lynn	Mitch Evans	Russian Time
9	F	Sochi Autodrom	Alex Lynn	Stoffel Vandoorne	Alexander Rossi	Racing Engineering	Report
	S			Nathanaël Berthon[k]	Richie Stanaway	Status Grand Prix
10	F	Bahrain International Circuit	Pierre Gasly	Stoffel Vandoorne	Stoffel Vandoorne	ART Grand Prix	Report
	S			Marlon Stöckinger[l]	Mitch Evans	Russian Time
11	F	Yas Marina Circuit	Pierre Gasly	Nathanaël Berthon	Stoffel Vandoorne	ART Grand Prix	Report
	S		Abandoned because of Lap 1 crash — insufficient number of laps completed.[58]
Source:[59]

Championship standings

Scoring system

Points were awarded to the top 10 classified finishers in the Feature race, and to the top 8 classified finishers in the Sprint race. The pole-sitter in the feature race also received four points, and two points were given to the driver who set the fastest lap inside the top ten in both the feature and sprint races. No extra points were awarded to the pole-sitter in the sprint race.^[45]

Series champion Stoffel Vandoorne at Hungary.

Feature race points

Position	1st	2nd	3rd	4th	5th	6th	7th	8th	9th	10th	Pole	FL
Points	25	18	15	12	10	8	6	4	2	1	4	2

Sprint race points

Points were awarded to the top 8 classified finishers.^[45]

Position	1st	2nd	3rd	4th	5th	6th	7th	8th	FL
Points	15	12	10	8	6	4	2	1	2

Drivers' championship

Due to a first lap accident resulting in barriers needing to be repaired, the first race at Sochi was shortened to 15 laps instead of the 28 originally scheduled, and as a result half points were awarded.^[60]

The second race at Yas Marina was cancelled after a first lap accident, during which four cars made contact with the barriers on the outside of turn 3. The race was red-flagged, then abandoned as the barriers were not sufficiently repaired in time to restart the race. As less than 2 laps were completed, no result was reached and no points were awarded.^[58]

Pos. Driver BHR1 CAT MON RBR SIL HUN SPA MNZ SOC BHR2 YMC Points 1 Stoffel Vandoorne 1 2 1 2 1 8 1 2 3 9 5 2 1 4 2 3 3 4 1 2 1 C 341.5 2 Alexander Rossi 3 4 3 4 2 7 6 8 2 4 12 19 6 1 1 Ret 1 6 18 9 4 C 181.5 3 Sergey Sirotkin 12 14 16 10 5 3 2 4 1 8 3 3 9 6 Ret 5 4 21 5 4 13 C 139 4 Rio Haryanto 2 1 4 6 16 Ret 7 1 8 1 4 5 13 10 13 11 5 2 7 18 7 C 138 5 Mitch Evans 6 17 2 DNS Ret DNS 10 5 Ret 20 17 22 5 3 3 1 11 8 3 1 3 C 135 6 Alex Lynn 19 15 5 1 13 11 3 20 5 6 1 9 11 8 Ret 10 Ret 10 8 3 8 C 110 7 Raffaele Marciello Ret 20 6 17 8 2 15 10 6 2 7 4 14 12 15 7 6 3 4 5 2 C 110 8 Pierre Gasly Ret 22 7 3 14 10 13 6 4 3 2 8 19 Ret Ret 12 2 5 6 7 5 C 110 9 Nobuharu Matsushita 10 6 11 18 Ret 19 4 3 Ret 19 8 1 Ret 15 Ret 15 10 7 2 Ret 11 C 68.5 10 Richie Stanaway 15 11 10 19 7 1 23 15 Ret 13 21 13 18 13 4 4 7 1 60 11 Arthur Pic Ret 10 9 8 4 6 9 11 14 16 13 10 2 Ret 7 2 8 13 10 16 17 C 60 12 Jordan King 4 9 14 11 9 Ret 12 7 22† 10 6 12 8 2 8 Ret Ret 15 9 6 6 C 60 13 Artem Markelov 13 12 12 5 Ret 14 5 DSQ 21 14 22 18 3 5 5 14 Ret 12 15 8 Ret C 48 14 Julián Leal 8 5 Ret 16 6 5 14 22 9 12 16 15 4 11 12 9 38 15 Sergio Canamasas 14 Ret 13 15 3 4 15 24 Ret 16 12 9 11 6 Ret 17 12 17 12 C 27 16 Nathanaël Berthon 7 3 20 12 17 15 Ret 17 Ret 21 14 11 7 7 14 19 11 Ret 10 C 27 17 Robert Vișoiu 5 7 18 23 15 13 11 9 12 11 9 7 15 16 9 Ret 17 18 20 18 Norman Nato Ret 16 8 7 18 21 20 13 18 23 11 6 Ret 20 6 Ret 12 9 24 10 Ret C 20 19 Nick Yelloly Ret 14 10 9 8 Ret 7 5 Ret 17 Ret 17 19 20 André Negrão 9 8 23† 21 21 17 16 21 20 15 20 21 20 14 14 18 15 11 17 20 9 C 5 21 Oliver Rowland 10 7 NC Ret 22 Ret 15 C 3 22 René Binder 17 Ret 22 Ret 11 16 17 14 17 18 23 24 10 8 16 Ret 20 Ret 14 C 2 23 Daniël de Jong 18 13 15 9 12 12 21 12 11 26† 10 Ret Ret DNS 19 14 Ret C 1 24 Dean Stoneman 9 16 21 12 Ret C 1 25 Gustav Malja 10 18 16 13 16 C 1 26 Marlon Stöckinger 11 19 Ret 20 19 18 19 19 19 22 19 23 17 19 Ret 19 Ret Ret 13 19 18 C 0 27 Nicholas Latifi 15 14 18 14 14 11 Ret C 0 28 Johnny Cecotto Jr. 21 Ret 20 Ret 13 25 18 13 13 22† 0 29 Zoël Amberg 16 18 17 13 22 Ret DNS DNS DNS DNS 0 30 Sean Gelael 18 20 20 21 19 20 23 15 Ret C 0 31 Simon Trummer 22 18 16 16 0 32 Jon Lancaster 16 17 0 33 Marco Sørensen Ret 21 19 22 Ret 20 18 16 0 34 Patric Niederhauser 17 17 0 35 Jann Mardenborough 19 20 0  — Meindert van Buuren Ret DNS 0 Pos. Driver BHR1 CAT MON RBR SIL HUN SPA MNZ SOC BHR2 YMC Points Sources:[45][61]

Key Colour Result Gold Winner Silver 2nd place Bronze 3rd place Green Other points position Blue Other classified position Not classified, finished (NC) Purple Not classified, retired (Ret) Red Did not qualify (DNQ) Did not pre-qualify (DNPQ) Black Disqualified (DSQ) White Did not start (DNS) Race cancelled (C) Blank Did not practice (DNP) Excluded (EX) Did not arrive (DNA) Withdrawn (WD) Text formatting Meaning Bold Pole position point(s) Italics Fastest lap point(s)

Notes:

• † — Drivers did not finish the race, but were classified as they completed over 90% of the race distance.

Teams' championship

Pos. Team No. BHR1 CAT MON RBR SIL HUN SPA MNZ SOC BHR2 YMC Points 1 ART Grand Prix 5 1 2 1 2 1 8 1 2 3 9 5 2 1 4 2 3 3 4 1 2 1 C 410 6 10 6 11 18 Ret 19 4 3 Ret 19 8 1 Ret 15 Ret 15 10 7 2 Ret 11 C 2 Racing Engineering 7 4 9 14 11 9 Ret 12 7 22† 10 6 12 8 2 8 Ret Ret 15 9 6 6 C 241.5 8 3 4 3 4 2 7 6 8 2 4 12 19 6 1 1 Ret 1 6 18 9 4 C 3 DAMS 1 Ret 22 7 3 14 10 13 6 4 3 2 8 19 Ret Ret 12 2 5 6 7 5 C 220 2 19 15 5 1 13 11 3 20 5 6 1 9 11 8 Ret 10 Ret 10 8 3 8 C 4 Campos Racing 14 Ret 10 9 8 4 6 9 11 14 16 13 10 2 Ret 7 2 8 13 10 16 17 C 198 15 2 1 4 6 16 Ret 7 1 8 1 4 5 13 10 13 11 5 2 7 18 7 C 5 Russian Time 9 6 17 2 DNS Ret DNS 10 5 Ret 20 17 22 5 3 3 1 11 8 3 1 3 C 183 10 13 12 12 5 Ret 14 5 DSQ 21 14 22 18 3 5 5 14 Ret 12 15 8 Ret C 6 Rapax 18 12 14 16 10 5 3 2 4 1 8 3 3 9 6 Ret 5 4 21 5 4 14 C 159 19 5 7 18 23 15 13 11 9 12 11 9 7 15 16 9 Ret 17 18 16 13 16 C 7 Trident 11 Ret 20 6 17 8 2 15 10 6 2 7 4 14 12 15 7 6 3 4 5 2 C 111 12 17 Ret 22 Ret 11 16 17 14 17 18 23 24 10 18 18 13 13 22† 19 14 Ret C 8 Status Grand Prix 22 11 19 Ret 20 19 18 19 19 19 22 19 23 17 19 Ret 19 Ret Ret 13 19 18 C 60 23 15 11 10 19 7 1 23 15 Ret 13 21 13 18 13 4 4 7 1 22 Ret 16 C 9 Carlin 3 8 5 Ret 16 6 5 14 22 9 12 16 15 4 11 12 9 9 16 21 12 Ret C 39 4 Ret 21 19 22 Ret 20 18 16 13 25 18 20 20 21 19 20 19 20 23 15 Ret C 10 Lazarus (1–3) Daiko Team Lazarus (4–11) 26 7 3 20 12 17 15 Ret 17 Ret 21 14 11 7 7 17 17 14 19 11 Ret 10 C 31 27 16 18 17 13 22 Ret DNP DNP 15 24 DNP DNP 12 9 11 6 Ret 17 12 17 12 C 11 MP Motorsport 16 14 Ret 13 15 3 4 10 7 15 14 NC Ret Ret WD 18 14 14 11 Ret C 29 17 18 13 15 9 12 12 21 12 11 26† 10 Ret Ret DNS 10 8 16 Ret 20 Ret 14 C 12 Arden International 20 9 8 23† 21 21 17 16 21 20 15 20 21 16 14 14 18 15 11 17 20 9 C 25 21 Ret 16 8 7 18 Ret 20 13 18 23 11 6 Ret 20 6 Ret 12 9 24 10 Ret C 13 Hilmer Motorsport 24 Ret 14 10 9 8 Ret 7 5 Ret 17 Ret 17 16 16 19 25 21 Ret 20 Ret 22 18 16 17 Ret 16 Pos. Team No. BHR1 CAT MON RBR SIL HUN SPA MNZ SOC BHR2 YMC Points Sources:[45][61]

Colour Result Gold Winner Silver Second place Bronze Third place Green Points classification Blue Non-points classification Non-classified finish (NC) Purple Retired, not classified (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

Notes:

• † — Drivers did not finish the race, but were classified as they completed over 90% of the race distance.

Notes

1. Cecotto competed under a state Venezuelan racing licence.
2. Status Grand Prix competed under a Canadian licence.
3. Daiko Team Lazarus competed under a state Venezuelan licence in rounds 1–5.
4. Raffaele Marciello set the fastest lap, but did not finish in the top 10, so was ineligible to be the point-scorer for the fastest lap. Nobuharu Matsushita was the point-scorer instead for setting the fastest lap of those finishing in the top 10.
5. Norman Nato set the fastest lap, but did not finish in the top 10, so was ineligible to be the point-scorer for the fastest lap. Stoffel Vandoorne was the point-scorer instead for setting the fastest lap of those finishing in the top 10.
6. Alex Lynn set the fastest lap, but did not finish in the top 10, so was ineligible to be the point-scorer for the fastest lap. Jordan King was the point-scorer instead for setting the fastest lap of those finishing in the top 10.
7. Sergio Canamasas set the fastest lap, but did not finish in the top 10, so was ineligible to be the point-scorer for the fastest lap. Rio Haryanto was the point-scorer instead for setting the fastest lap of those finishing in the top 10.
8. Marlon Stöckinger set the fastest lap, but did not finish in the top 10, so was ineligible to be the point-scorer for the fastest lap. Stoffel Vandoorne was the point-scorer instead for setting the fastest lap of those finishing in the top 10.
9. Richie Stanaway set the fastest lap, but did not finish in the top 10, so was ineligible to be the point-scorer for the fastest lap. Mitch Evans was the point-scorer instead for setting the fastest lap of those finishing in the top 10.
10. Johnny Cecotto Jr. set the fastest lap, but did not finish in the top 10, so was ineligible to be the point-scorer for the fastest lap. Norman Nato was the point-scorer instead for setting the fastest lap of those finishing in the top 10.
11. Nathanaël Berthon set the fastest lap, but did not finish in the top 10, so was ineligible to be the point-scorer for the fastest lap. Pierre Gasly was the point-scorer instead for setting the fastest lap of those finishing in the top 10.
12. Marlon Stöckinger set the fastest lap, but did not finish in the top 10, so was ineligible to be the point-scorer for the fastest lap. Alex Lynn was the point-scorer instead for setting the fastest lap of those finishing in the top 10.