Waving farewell to GP3

After nine seasons of frantic racing action, GP3 bowed out at the end of 2018, set to be replaced by the FIA Formula 3 Championship in 2019. Anthoine Hubert will go down as the series’ final champion, after winning out from rival and ART team mate Nikita Mazepin in a season that saw nine different drivers stand on the top step of the podium – and the Frenchman joins an illustrious list of previous title winners…

Launched in 2010, GP3 gave many single-seater racers their first chance to shine on the world stage, with drivers competing on the same race weekends as the Formula 1 teams they dreamt of one day racing for.

Six of the series’ champions made that dream come true, namely inaugural title-winner Esteban Gutierrez, Valtteri Bottas, Daniil Kvyat, Esteban Ocon, Charles Leclerc and George Russell, while others to make it from GP3 all the way up to Formula 1 include the likes of Jean-Eric Vergne, Alexander Rossi and Carlos Sainz.

Here’s how the final roll call of GP3 champions looks:

2010 – Esteban Gutierrez
2011 – Valtteri Bottas
2012 – Mitch Evans
2013 – Daniil Kvyat
2014 – Alex Lynn
2015 – Esteban Ocon
2016 – Charles Leclerc
2017 – George Russell
2018 – Anthoine Hubert

Check out the video up top to relive the greatest moments from GP3’s brief-but-brilliant existence, as drivers including Valtteri Bottas and Esteban Ocon reveal just what it meant to them and their careers to be crowned a GP3 champion – then watch highlights of the final GP3 season in the video below...