Top 10 GP3 drivers of the 2017 season
- Cameron Paterson
- @PatersonCameron
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As the year of 2017 nears to a close, and competitors already start being confirmed for 2018, it is time to consider the top 10 drivers from the GP3 campaign just gone.
With nine different winners from 15 races, 15 standing on the podium, and multiple on-track battles, a fascinating season emerged as ART again dominated the battle for silverware.
The French outfit finished with a record teams’ championship haul of 590 points as the drivers’ honours went to Mercedes Formula 1 junior George Russell.
The year ended with 22 drivers having a combined experience of 431 starts with an average for each of just over 19 races each, as the grid featured 12 new faces. This was the lowest totalled figure at the conclusion of a campaign.
But which of these contestants stood out the most? Click below to begin our slideshow.
10) Niko Kari (Arden)
2017 statistics: 10th in the drivers’ championship, 15 races, one win, two podiums, seven points finishes, one retirement
Kari started slowly with no points from four races, but a streak of five points-scoring finishes between Silverstone and Spa lifted him up the drivers’ standings.
Despite the news late in the year that he would be leaving the Red Bull junior programme at the end of 2017, Kari rallied for his first win at Abu Dhabi and topped two of the post-season test days.
He explained after his win that he was unable to find the right setup for his chassis throughout 2017 but found the sweet spot at the Yas Marina Circuit.
Photo: Sam Bloxham/GP3 Series Media Service
9) Arjun Maini (Jenzer)
2017 statistics: ninth in the drivers’ championship, 15 races, one win, two podiums, 10 points finishes, one retirement
Maini completed his first season in the series with Jenzer and joined Haas as a development driver, but had a similar scenario to 2016.
One more podium and 22 more points were delivered as he rose from 10th to ninth in the standings.
Photo: Jed Leicester/GP3 Series Media Service
8) Alessio Lorandi (Jenzer)
2017 statistics: seventh in the drivers’ championship, 15 races, one win, four podiums, 10 points finishes, two retirements
Lorandi started his first full season strongly with seven consecutive points finishes in his maiden full campaign and added three – including his Jerez victory from sprint pole – in the final eight.
Photo: Andrew Ferraro/GP3 Series Media Service
7) Dan Ticktum (DAMS)
2017 statistics: 11th in the drivers’ championship, five races, one podium, three points finishes, one retirement
A second late entrant to the series to fill the vacated seat left by Santino Ferrucci’s move to Formula 2 with Trident, Ticktum quickly shone in sessions and showed the speed that was present in his work in achieving the 2017 McLaren Autosport BRDC Award and winning at the Macau Grand Prix.
With a DAMS-run Dallara chassis that has rarely consistently fought for high positions in races, he pushed to three top-four finishes in the final four races.
His podium in Abu Dhabi – albeit after a five-second time penalty – was DAMS’ first since the same event a year earlier.
Photo: Andrew Ferraro/GP3 Series Media Service
6) Anthoine Hubert (ART)
2017 statistics: fourth in the drivers’ championship, 15 races, four podiums, 13 points finishes, one retirement
Hubert finished as the last of the ART drivers in the standings and failed to deliver the headline results that his team-mates achieved. His consistency can be praised, but he would be further behind points-wise if the other ART-run Dallaras did not develop sensor retirements early in the campaign.
He also was inconsistent in qualifying results, with one front-row start, and started a few places behind his colleagues on Saturdays on many occasions.
Photo: Zak Mauger/GP3 Series Media Service
5) Giuliano Alesi (Trident)
2017 statistics: fifth in the drivers’ championship, 15 races, three wins, four podiums, 11 points finishes, one retirement
Alesi finished as the ‘best of the rest’ in fifth and showed his strengths on Sundays when put in high positions on the grid.
The Ferrari academy driver could have placed himself in a tighter battle for fourth in the championship with Hubert had his qualifying form not dipped in the final four rounds, with an average position of 13th from Belgium onwards. He achieved more than his personal target of finishing sixth though.
Photo: Alastair Staley/GP3 Series Media Service
4) Dorian Boccolacci (Trident)
2017 statistics: sixth in the drivers’ championship, 14 races, one win, three podiums, 11 points finishes
Boccolacci’s strengths appeared to be in qualifying where he threatened to break ART’s pole run, but could never find the top spot on the timesheets.
Apart from two straight low positions in Belgium and Italy’s sprint and feature, the Frenchman put together a consistent year.
It could have been more had he not slipped down the order in the opening three rounds, dropping 10 positions between his grid and feature results.
Photo: Zak Mauger/GP3 Series Media Service
3) Nirei Fukuzumi (ART)
2017 statistics: third in the drivers’ championship, 14 races, two wins, two poles, six podiums, nine points finishes
After finishing seventh and considerably down on his 2016 ART colleagues last year, Fukuzumi improved to narrowly miss out on a runners-up berth.
Apart from an outlying 10th in Austrian qualifying, he always got into the top six places on the grid, and the Japanese was one of three competitors not to have his position affected positively or negatively by grid positions.
Photo: Zak Mauger/GP3 Series Media Service
2) Jack Aitken (ART)
2017 statistics: runner-up in the drivers’ championship, 15 races, one win, two poles, six podiums, two retirements
Aitken started the season strongly with pole position at Barcelona before becoming the first of the three ART cars to retire early from a race due to mechanical issues.
He was close to rival Russell’s top-five results for much of the early encounters and was the only driver other than him to claim a win, pole and fastest lap in an event at Hungary. This placed him only nine points adrift at the summer break.
His final points deficit looks considerably worse due to non-scores in the Belgian sprint and Abu Dhabi feature where he dropped 34 points to Russell and his rival’s continued speed and consistency.
The 22-year-old looks set to race in Formula 2 in 2018.
Photo: Zak Mauger/GP3 Series Media Service
1) George Russell (ART)
2017 statistics: drivers’ champion, 14 races, four wins, four poles, seven podiums, 13 points finishes
Russell’s development over the in-season test before the Austrian round was amazing, and he surely would have had a podium in all rounds but one without failing to start the Hungarian feature.
It was only coming from the back that prevented him from claiming points in every race he began.
He even managed to balance the final round’s qualifying – and subsequent pole position – just minutes after a practice session with Force India, and his total of 220 points is the second-best only behind ‘Pink Panther’ colleague Esteban Ocon’s 253 from 2015.
You have to think that Russell is beginning to establish himself alongside the Frenchman as the future of Mercedes should it stay in F1 for many years to come.
Photo: Andrew Ferraro/GP3 Series Media Service