2006 Formula 3 Euro Series

The 2006 Formula 3 Euro Series season was the fourth championship year of Europe’s premier Formula Three series. As in previous years, there were ten rounds – each with two races – held at a variety of European circuits. Each weekend consisted of one 60-minute practice session and one qualifying session, followed by one c.110 km race and one c.80 km race. In a revised qualifying system that used only one session, the starting order for race 2 was determined by the finishing order of race 1, with the top eight positions reversed.

2006 Formula 3 Euro Series
Previous: 2005 Next: 2007

Summary

2006 saw the Euro Series make its debut at three venues: Brands Hatch in the UK, the Circuit de Catalunya near Barcelona in Spain, and Le Mans. This was the first time that rounds had been held in Britain and Spain.

A number of regulatory changes took place prior to the 2006 season. Mid-season testing was heavily restricted to a maximum of 10 days per driver/car, with no testing at race venues, leaving teams and drivers to make the most of the race weekend test sessions. The qualifying session for race 2 was dropped in favour of a result-based reverse grid system. The finishing order of race 1 decided the grid for race 2, with the top eight finishers reversed. Chassis specifications of between two and four years old (from 2002–2004) were permitted for the first time, with the creation of the Drivers' Trophy title. Eligibility for this award was restricted to drivers who were not more than 22 years old.[1]

After Lewis Hamilton's domination of the 2005 season, the 2006 championship battle was considerably closer. The title was won by Scotsman Paul di Resta, who ended the year 11 points ahead of Germany's Sebastian Vettel. For much of the season, di Resta and Vettel were exchanging the points lead, but the German's focus wavered towards the end of the year. BMW-Sauber's motorsport director Mario Theissen attributed this to the busy schedule that Vettel undertook as his team's test driver in the last three Grands Prix of the 2006 F1 season.[2] Other drivers worthy of note included Kamui Kobayashi, who finished on the podium twice on the way to winning the Rookie Cup, and race winner Kazuki Nakajima, whose performances attracted a testing contract with Williams.

Not surprisingly, the two main championship contenders were team-mates at ASM Formule 3, the French-based team that has dominated the Euro Series for the last three seasons with three Drivers' and Teams' Championship titles in succession. 2006 saw another improvement in form from Manor Motorsport – a former multiple champion team in British F3. With Japan's Kohei Hirate and the experienced Esteban Guerrieri, it was frequently ASM's closest challenger and finished 2nd in the Teams' Championship standings. This year, Manor was no longer the sole British team in the Euroseries – it was joined by entries from Hitech Racing and Fortec Motorsport at Hockenheim (round 1) and Brands Hatch (round 4).

With only one race win for an Opel-powered car – from a reverse-grid pole position – it was another season of domination by the HWA-built Mercedes engine. Dallara was the de facto sole supplier of chassis, with the Signature SLC project on indefinite hold and the Mygale chassis still yet to race in this series.

Teams and drivers
2006 Entry List[3]
Team # Driver Rookie Chassis[N 1] Engine Rounds
ASM Formule 3 1 Sebastian Vettel F305/059 Mercedes All
2 Paul di Resta F305/021 All
16 Giedo van der Garde F306/012 All
17 Kamui Kobayashi R F305/012 All
Manor Motorsport 3 Kohei Hirate F305/001 Mercedes All
4 Esteban Guerrieri F305/020 All
18 Kazuki Nakajima F305/062 All
Prema Powerteam 5 Alejandro Núñez F306/004 Mercedes All
6 Ronayne O'Mahony F305/023 All
19 João Urbano R F306/005 1–5
Paolo Maria Nocera 6–9
Roberto Streit 10
ASL Mücke Motorsport 7 Sébastien Buemi F305/011 Mercedes All
8 Jonathan Summerton R F305/028 All
Signature-Plus 9 Guillaume Moreau F305/035 Mercedes All
10 Romain Grosjean F305/029 All
20 Charlie Kimball F306/010 All
21 Tim Sandtler R F305/036 All
HBR Motorsport 11 Richard Antinucci F305/045 Mercedes All
Team ISR 14 Filip Salaquarda F306/009 Opel All
Bas Leinders Junior Racing Team 22 Michael Herck[N 2] F306/016 Mercedes All
Jo Zeller Racing 24 Peter Elkmann F306/014 Opel 1–7
Natacha Gachnang 9–10
Julia Kuhn 25 Julia Kuhn F305/063 Opel 1–2, 4, 6
Fortec Motorsport 26 Yelmer Buurman F305/002 Mercedes 1, 4
Hitech Racing 29 James Jakes F305/037 Mercedes 1, 4
30 James Walker F305/003 1, 4
Bordoli Motorsport 31 Natacha Gachnang F305/026 Opel 5–6
Van Amersfoort Racing 32 Dominick Muermans F306/023 Opel 7
33 Récardo Bruins Choi F305/046 7
Trophy
Janiec Racing Team 40 Anthony Janiec F302/063 Renault 1, 3, 5–7, 9–10
46 Julien Abelli F302/067 9
HBR Motorsport 41 Cemil Çipa F304/012 Opel 1, 3, 5–7, 9–10
SMS Seyffarth Motorsport 42 Kevin Fank F302/032 Mercedes 1
Gina-Maria Adenauer 5
43 Julian Theobald F303/015 1, 3, 5–7
44 Bruno Fechner F302/012 1, 6–7
Dominik Schraml 3
FS Motorsport 45 F302/050 Opel 5
Icon Legend
R Rookie

Driver changes
Changed Teams
Entering/Re-Entering Formula 3 Euro Series
Entering Trophy Class
  • Julien Abelli: Karting → Janiec Racing Team
  • Gina-Maria Adenauer: Toyota Yaris Cup Germany → SMS Seyffarth Motorsport
  • Cemil Çipa: Formula 3 Turkey → HBR Motorsport
  • Kevin Fank: Recaro Formel 3 Cup Trophy Class (JMS Motorsport) → SMS Seyffarth Motorsport
  • Bruno Fechner: Formula Renault 2.0 Germany (Kern Motorsport) → SMS Seyffarth Motorsport
  • Anthony Janiec: French Formula Three Championship Class B (JMP Racing) → Janiec Racing Team
  • Dominik Schraml: Recaro Formel 3 Cup (Swiss Racing Team) → SMS Seyffarth Motorsport
Leaving Formula 3 Euro Series

Additional participations

Prema Powerteam's third entry was taken over by Italy's Paulo Maria Nocera for four rounds, starting at the Nürburgring. He in turn was replaced by Brazil's Roberto Streit at the final round of the season. Bruno Rudolf Fechner started five races in SMS Seyffarth Motorsport's #44 entry, but was substituted by fellow German Dominik Schraml in round 3 at Oschersleben. The #44 car was not present at every round. Schraml made a one-off return at the Norisring, driving a Dallara-Opel for FS Motorsport. Kevin Fank's #42 SMS Seyffarth Motorsport entry returned at the Norisring in the hands of Gina Maria Adenauer before it, too, failed to make another appearance. Like the drivers that they replaced, Schraml and Adenauer were eligible for the Drivers' Trophy. Julien Abelli, of Janiec Racing, did not make any appearances until the Le Mans round.

In round 5 at the Norisring, F3 rookie Natacha Gachnang of Switzerland drove a second entry for Jo Zeller Racing. She also competed in rounds 6, 9, and 10. In the F3 Masters at Zandvoort, ATS F3 Cup team Van Amersfoort Racing made a one-off appearance with two cars for its Cup regulars, Dominik Muermans and Récardo Bruins Choi.

Calendar
Round Circuit/Location Country Date
1 R1 Hockenheimring  Germany 8 April
R2 9 April
2 R1 EuroSpeedway Lausitz  Germany 29 April
R2 30 April
3 R1 Motorsport Arena Oschersleben  Germany 20 May
R2 21 May
4 R1 Brands Hatch  United Kingdom 1 July
R2 2 July
5 R1 Norisring, Nuremberg  Germany 22 July
R2 23 July
6 R1 Nürburgring  Germany 19 August
R2 20 August
7 R1 Circuit Park Zandvoort  Netherlands 2 September
R2 3 September
8 R1 Circuit de Catalunya Spain 4 September
R2 5 September
9 R1 Bugatti Circuit, Le Mans  France 14 October
R2 15 October
10 R1 Hockenheimring  Germany 28 October
R2 29 October

Results
Round Circuit Pole Position Fastest Lap Winning Driver Winning Team Winning Rookie Trophy Winner
1 R1 Hockenheimring Esteban Guerrieri Kazuki Nakajima Kohei Hirate Manor Motorsport Kamui Kobayashi Julian Theobald
R2 Kohei Hirate Sebastian Vettel ASM Formule 3 Kamui Kobayashi Julian Theobald
2 R1 EuroSpeedway Lausitz Paul di Resta Kohei Hirate Esteban Guerrieri Manor Motorsport Jonathan Summerton
R2 Kazuki Nakajima Kazuki Nakajima Manor Motorsport Jonathan Summerton
3 R1 Motorsport Arena Oschersleben Esteban Guerrieri Peter Elkmann Paul di Resta ASM Formule 3 Kamui Kobayashi Julian Theobald
R2 Sébastien Buemi Sébastien Buemi ASL Mücke Motorsport Kamui Kobayashi Julian Theobald
4 R1 Brands Hatch Paul di Resta Paul di Resta Paul di Resta ASM Formule 3 Kamui Kobayashi
R2 Sebastian Vettel Peter Elkmann Jo Zeller Racing Kamui Kobayashi
5 R1 Norisring Giedo van der Garde Sebastian Vettel Paul di Resta ASM Formule 3 Jonathan Summerton Gina-Maria Adenauer
R2 Sébastien Buemi Giedo van der Garde ASM Formule 3 Kamui Kobayashi Anthony Janiec
6 R1 Nürburgring Sebastian Vettel Sebastian Vettel Sebastian Vettel ASM Formule 3 Kamui Kobayashi Bruno Fechner
R2 Kamui Kobayashi Sebastian Vettel ASM Formule 3 Kamui Kobayashi Julian Theobald
7 R1 Circuit Park Zandvoort Paul di Resta Sébastien Buemi Paul di Resta ASM Formule 3 Kamui Kobayashi Bruno Fechner
R2 Sebastian Vettel Charlie Kimball Signature-Plus Tim Sandtler Julian Theobald
8 R1 Circuit de Catalunya Paul di Resta Sebastian Vettel Sebastian Vettel ASM Formule 3 Kamui Kobayashi
R2 Kohei Hirate Richard Antinucci HBR Motorsport Tim Sandtler
9 R1 Bugatti Circuit Giedo van der Garde Esteban Guerrieri Paul di Resta ASM Formule 3 Jonathan Summerton Cemil Çipa
R2 Sébastien Buemi Richard Antinucci HBR Motorsport Jonathan Summerton Julien Abelli
10 R1 Hockenheimring Paul di Resta Sébastien Buemi Esteban Guerrieri Manor Motorsport Jonathan Summerton Anthony Janiec
R2 Sébastien Buemi Jonathan Summerton ASL Mücke Motorsport Jonathan Summerton Cemil Çipa

Season standings

The Drivers' Trophy is restricted to drivers who are not more than 22 years old, using chassis specifications that are 2 to 4 years old.

Drivers Standings
  • Points are awarded as follows:
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 PP
Race 1 10 8 6 5 4 3 2 1 1
Race 2 6 5 4 3 2 1 0 0
Pos Driver HOC1
 LAU
 OSC
 BRH
 NOR
 NÜR
 ZAN
 CAT
 LMS
 HOC2
 Pts
1 Paul di Resta 3 Ret 2 3 1 12 1 5 1 18† 2 13 1 14 10 6 1 6 10 6 86
2 Sebastian Vettel 5 1 3 6 5 14 2 7 2 Ret 1 1 24† 2 1 Ret 9 9 3 12 75
3 Kohei Hirate 1 4 18† 11 4 2 DNS 17 4 Ret 5 Ret 3 13 2 4 5 3 5 7 61
4 Esteban Guerrieri 14 3 1 5 2 3 16 12 10 DNS Ret 5 8 4 3 7 6 8 1 4 58
5 Richard Antinucci 7 DNS 5 2 9 Ret 3 23† DSQ EX 7 2 14 16 8 1 8 1 12 8 38
6 Giedo van der Garde Ret 7 12 9 Ret 11 4 19 6 1 3 11 2 5 16 8 DNS 12 9 2 37
7 Kazuki Nakajima 2 6 8 1 6 5 14 13 Ret 5 9 18 22 3 4 3 11 7 Ret DNS 36
8 Kamui Kobayashi 6 5 11 10 11 7 6 3 5 2 8 3 5 Ret 5 Ret DNS 14 Ret 9 34
9 Jonathan Summerton Ret 11 4 7 17 Ret 12 10 3 13 24† 16 6 17 Ret Ret 2 4 8 1 32
10 Guillaume Moreau 4 2 7 Ret 8 4 13 20 18† 6 11 Ret 7 7 9 10 3 5 4 Ret 32
11 Charlie Kimball 22† 12 9 8 10 Ret 15 11 13 4 10 6 11 1 6 2 4 2 6 Ret 31
12 Sébastien Buemi 19 14 Ret 12 7 1 21 16 7 11 4 8 Ret 8 7 5 DSQ 11 2 3 31
13 Romain Grosjean 21† 13 6 4 3 6 9 6 12 8 18 10 4 11 NC 9 20 10 DSQ DSQ 19
14 Peter Elkmann 12 21 13 18 21 13 8 1 9 3 12 4 10 9 14
15 Michael Herck Ret 16 Ret 14 Ret DNS 7 2 Ret 10 6 Ret 9 23 12 Ret 7 13 11 Ret 12
16 James Jakes 9 8 5 4 7
17 Roberto Streit 7 5 4
18 Tim Sandtler 15 22† 16 16 16 17 Ret 22 19† 9 13 9 13 6 11 11 10 15 18 15 1
19 João Urbano 11 9 10 13 12 9 19 24 8 Ret 1
20 Yelmer Buurman 8 Ret 11 9 1
21 Alejandro Núñez 10 10 19 17† 13 8 18 15 Ret 7 22 21 12 22 13 12 14 16 14 Ret 0
22 Filip Salaquarda Ret 15 14 Ret 14 10 20 18 14 17† 15 7 15 10 15 Ret 16 18 Ret 11 0
23 James Walker 20† Ret 10 8 0
24 Natacha Gachnang 15 DNS 23 15 12 Ret 13 10 0
25 Ronayne O’Mahony Ret 17 15 15 15 15 17 14 11 12 14 22† 23† 19 14 Ret 13 17 15 13 0
26 Paolo Maria Nocera Ret 12 17 Ret Ret Ret 15 19 0
27 Récardo Bruins Choi 16 12 0
28 Julia Kuhn DNQ DNQ 17 Ret 22 21 20 20 0
29 Dominick Muermans Ret 20 0
Trophy Class
1 Julian Theobald 13 18 18 16 17 15 17 14 19 15 73
2 Anthony Janiec 16 19 Ret 20 Ret 14 19 17 21 DNS 19 21 16 16 67
3 Cemil Çipa 18 20 19 18 Ret DNS 21 19 20 21 17 Ret 17 14 65
4 Bruno Fechner Ret DNS 16 Ret 18 18 25
5 Gina-Maria Adenauer 16 16 14
6 Dominik Schraml 20 19 DSQ Ret 10
7 Kevin Fank 17 Ret 6
guest drivers ineligible for championship points
Julien Abelli 18 20 0
Pos Driver HOC1
 LAU
 OSC
 BRH
 NOR
 NÜR
 ZAN
 CAT
 LMS
 HOC2
 Pts
ColourResult
GoldWinner
Silver2nd place
Bronze3rd place
GreenPoints finish
BlueNon-points finish
Non-classified finish (NC)
PurpleRetired (Ret)
RedDid not qualify (DNQ)
Did not pre-qualify (DNPQ)
BlackDisqualified (DSQ)
WhiteDid not start (DNS)
Withdrew (WD)
Race cancelled (C)
Blank Did not participate (DNP)
Did not arrive (DNA)
Excluded (EX)

Bold – Pole
Italics – Fastest Lap

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

The effects of the new reverse-grid system – which put the 8th-placed finisher from race 1 on pole for race 2 – can be seen clearly in this chart. 50% of the race 2 pole sitters went on to win, while there was only one double winner (Vettel in round 6) and no other race 1 winner even reached the podium in race 2.

Rookie Cup

Rookie drivers are only eligible for the Rookie Cup title if they have not previously competed in a national or international Formula 3 championship.

Pos Driver HOC1
 LAU
 OSC
 BRH
 NOR
 NÜR
 ZAN
 CAT
 LMS
 HOC2
 Pts
1 Kamui Kobayashi 6 5 11 10 11 7 6 3 5 2 8 3 5 Ret 5 Ret DNS 14 Ret 9 119
2 Jonathan Summerton Ret 11 4 7 17 Ret 12 10 3 13 24 16 6 17 Ret Ret 2 4 8 1 107
3 Tim Sandtler 15 22 16 16 16 17 Ret 22 19 9 13 9 13 6 11 11 10 15 18 15 104
4 João Urbano 11 9 10 13 12 9 19 24 8 Ret 53
Pos Driver HOC1
 LAU
 OSC
 BRH
 NOR
 NÜR
 ZAN
 CAT
 LMS
 HOC2
 Pts

Team Standings
Team Points
1 ASM Formule 3 197
2 Manor Motorsport 147
3 Signature-Plus 91
4 ASL Mücke Motorsport 69
5 HBR Motorsport 42
6 Jo Zeller Racing 18
7 Bas Leinders Junior Racing Team 16
8 Hitech Racing 11
9 Prema Powerteam 7
10 Fortec Motorsport 2

Nations Cup
Nation Points
1  Japan 124
2  United States 100
3  Great Britain 90
4  Germany 89
5  Argentina 56
6  France 53
7  Netherlands 38
8   Switzerland 32
9  Monaco 12
10  Brazil 4
11  Portugal 1
12  Australia 1

Notes
  1. All drivers competed in Dallara chassis; model listed.
  2. Herck is a Romanian driver who raced this year under Monegasque racing license.

References
  1. Comprehensive regulation changes for 2006 Archived 2007-09-28 at the Wayback Machine From f1prospects.com, 23 December 2005. Retrieved 7 September 2007.
  2. Theissen regrets overloading Vettel From autosport.com, 21 November 2006. Retrieved 7 September 2007.
  3. "2006 Entry List" (PDF). formel3guide.com. Retrieved 13 October 2009.
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