The 2011 Formula Renault 3.5 Series was the seventh season of the

Renault Renault S.A., commonly referred to as Groupe Renault ( , , , also known as the Renault Group in English), is a French Multinational corporation, multinational Automotive industry, automobile manufacturer established in 1899. The company curr ...

–supported single–seater

category Category, plural categories, may refer to: General uses *Classification, the general act of allocating things to classes/categories Philosophy * Category of being * ''Categories'' (Aristotle) * Category (Kant) * Categories (Peirce) * Category ( ...

. It was the final season for the current

Dallara Dallara Group S.r.l. is the largest multi-national Italian race car manufacturer, founded by its current President, Giampaolo Dallara. After working for Ferrari, Maserati, Lamborghini and De Tomaso, in 1972 in his native village of Varano de' M ...

chassis with

Renault Sport Technologies Renault Sport () or Renaultsport, was a motorsport, performance and special vehicles division for Renault-badged cars and later a sub-badge of Renault cars managed by Automobiles Alpine, Alpine. The first Renault Sport was officially established ...

having confirmed a new car for the 2012 season. After featuring 12 teams during the 2010 season, following the late withdrawal of

SG Formula SG Formula is a French auto racing team which participated in the junior categories of open wheel racing: Formula Renault and Formula Three. The team was founded in 2004 by Frenchman Stephane Guerin. History After its foundation in 2004, SG Form ...

, the grid expanded to 13 teams in 2011 with the addition of leading

Formula Abarth Formula Abarth was an open wheel racing An open-wheel car is a car with the wheels outside the car's main body, and usually having only one seat. Open-wheel cars contrast with street cars, Sports car racing, sports cars, Stock car racing, stoc ...

and

Italian Formula Three The Italian Formula Three Championship was the Formula Three racing competition in Italy. History Formula Three has traditionally been regarded as the first major stepping stone for F1 hopefuls - it is typically the first point in a driver's care ...

outfit BVM–Target.

Regulation changes

Sporting

* The points system for the 2011 season changed to reflect the system used by the FIA for World championships. The top ten drivers in each race received points as follows: 25, 18, 15, 12, 10, 8, 6, 4, 2, and 1.

Teams and drivers

= Series rookie for 2011

Driver changes

; Changed teams * International DracoRacing driver

Nathanaël Berthon Nathanaël Antonin Berthon (born 1 July 1989 in Romagnat) is a professional racing driver from France. Career Karting Berthon began his international karting career in 2006, with the highlights being a third-place finish in the Copa Campeones T ...

moved to ISR. *

Daniil Move Daniil Yuryevich Move (born December 11, 1985) is a professional racing driver, a master of sports of international class. Education Daniil Move attended Moscow School No. 11 with an emphasis on the study of the Chinese language. He graduated ...

returned to

P1 Motorsport P1 Motorsport was a Great Britain, British racing team based in Norfolk, England. They formerly compete in the World Series by Renault. In 2013, the team was purchased by Strakka Racing owner-driver Nick Leventis and was renamed to P1 by Strakka ...

after a season with Junior Lotus Racing. * After finishing as runner–up in the 2010 season,

Daniel Ricciardo Daniel Joseph Ricciardo ( , ; born 1 July 1989) is an Australian racing driver, who most recently competed in Formula One from to . Ricciardo won eight Formula One Grands Prix across 14 seasons. Born and raised in Perth to Italian-Australi ...

joined

Czech Czech may refer to: * Anything from or related to the Czech Republic, a country in Europe ** Czech language ** Czechs, the people of the area ** Czech culture ** Czech cuisine * One of three mythical brothers, Lech, Czech, and Rus *Czech (surnam ...

team ISR Racing. Ricciardo began his season at

Spa A spa is a location where mineral-rich spring water (sometimes seawater) is used to give medicinal baths. Spa health treatments are known as balneotherapy. The belief in the curative powers of mineral waters and hot springs goes back to pre ...

, as he missed the

Aragón Aragon ( , ; Spanish and ; ) is an autonomous community in Spain, coextensive with the medieval Kingdom of Aragon. In northeastern Spain, the Aragonese autonomous community comprises three provinces (from north to south): Huesca, Zaragoza, a ...

round due to reserve driver duties at the . * Having contested the last six races of the 2010 season with

Tech 1 Racing Tech 1 Racing is a racing team based in Toulouse, France. Founded in 2000 by racing driver Simon Abadie and his sister Sarah, it has garnered success in the World Series by Renault, the Eurocup Mégane Trophy and the GP3 Series, most notably ...

Jean-Éric Vergne Jean-Éric Serge Raymond Vergne (; born 25 April 1990), also known by his initials JEV, is a French racing driver, who competes in the FIA World Endurance Championship for Peugeot and in Formula E for DS Penske. In formula racing, Vergne compete ...

moved to Carlin, having won the British F3 title with the team. * For his second season in the series,

Nelson Panciatici Nelson Hugo Douchan Panciatici (born 26 September 1988) is a French professional racing driver. Career Karting Born in Reims, Panciatici started his karting career in 1998 and continued until 2004.KMP Racing Team RFR that was previously known as KMP Racing are an auto racing Russian team who made their début in the Formula Renault 3.5 Series in 2010. The team is based at Nogaro, France. Background KMP Group/SG Formula KMP Group are a Russian–ba ...

from Junior Lotus Racing. * After driving for P1 Motorsport in 2010,

Jan Charouz Jan Charouz (born 17 July 1987) is a Czech former auto racing driver. He won the 2009 Le Mans Series season and 2006 F3000 International Masters season, as well as taking fourth place in the 2009 24 Hours of Le Mans. In 2010 he was the Renault ...

joined the newly formed

Gravity In physics, gravity (), also known as gravitation or a gravitational interaction, is a fundamental interaction, a mutual attraction between all massive particles. On Earth, gravity takes a slightly different meaning: the observed force b ...

– Charouz Racing team. He was joined by

Brendon Hartley Brendon Morris Hartley (born 10 November 1989) is a New Zealand racing driver, who competes in the FIA World Endurance Championship for Toyota Motorsport GmbH, Toyota. Hartley competed in Formula One from to . In endurance racing (motorsport) ...

, who raced for Tech 1 Racing and P1 Motorsport the previous season. *

Jake Rosenzweig Jake Rosenzweig (born April 14, 1989 in London) is an English-born American former racing driver. Career Karting Much of Rosenzweig's early karting career was contested in the United Kingdom, with him competing in Super 1 karting championships. ...

moved from the Carlin team to Mofaz Racing for his second season in the series. * BVM–Target signed

Pons Racing Pons Racing was a motorcycle and auto racing team owned by the British company Pons Racing UK Limited. The team principal is former 250 cc world champion, Sito Pons. In motorcycle road racing world championships, Pons has fielded riders s ...

driver

Daniel Zampieri Daniel Zampieri (born 22 May 1990, in Rome) is an Italian racing driver. Career Formula Renault After a two-year international karting career, Zampieri moved up to Formula Renault with BVM Racing in 2006. Making his debut in Italian Formula Ren ...

and FHV Interwetten.com driver

Sergio Canamasas Sergio Canamasas Español (born 30 April 1986) is a former racing driver from Spain. Career Formula Three Canamasas made his Formula racing debut in 2007, racing in the Spanish Formula Three Championship for the Cetea Sport team. He took part i ...

to drive in their début season in the series. *

Sten Pentus Sten Pentus (born 3 November 1981 in Tallinn) is an Estonian racing driver. He is a former Estonian Formula 4 Champion, and a previous winner of the Formula Baltic championship in a Reynard 903. At the end of the 2008 season, Pentus tested for ...

switched from

Fortec Motorsport Fortec Motorsport Ltd. is a motor-racing team that races in the GB3 Championship, GB4 Championship, and F4 British Championship. The team was bought in 1995 by current owner Richard Dutton. Past drivers for the team include Juan Pablo Montoya, ...

EPIC Racing EPIC Racing (Euskadi Phil Imanol Claudio Racing) was a auto racing, racing team from Spain. The team's headquarters were located in Vitoria-Gasteiz, Vitoria (Alava). It was the second major motorsport team from the Basque Country (autonomous c ...

. ; Entering/Re–Entering FR3.5 * FIA Formula Two champion

Dean Stoneman Dean Colin Stoneman (born 24 July 1990) is a British racing driver. Stoneman was the 2010 Formula Two champion. Career Like many drivers, Stoneman began his career in karting. He made his first steps in single-seaters in 2006 when he competed ...

, who contested the final round of the 2010 season with Junior Lotus Racing, was set to compete with ISR Racing, but withdrew after being diagnosed with testicular cancer. * Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0 champion

Kevin Korjus Kevin Korjus (born 9 January 1993) is an Estonian former racing driver. Career Karting Kevin Korjus was born in Tallinn, the son of former sidecarcross racer Aivar Korjus. He made his pan-European karting début in 2006, competing in the Rotax M ...

and his Eurocup rival

Arthur Pic Arthur Pierre Louis Pic (born 5 October 1991) is a French retired racing driver. He competed in the GP2 Series between 2014 and 2016. Career Karting Like most top-line drivers, Pic began his racing career in karting, contesting the 2005 French ...

moved into the series, competing for

. *

runner–up

Stéphane Richelmi Stéphane Richelmi (born 17 March 1990 in Monte Carlo) is a Monégasque professional racing driver. He is the son of former World Rally Championship driver Jean-Pierre Richelmi. Career Formula Renault 1.6 & 2.0 Richelmi began his Formula racing ...

and 13th–placed Eurocup driver

André Negrão André Negrão (born ) is a Brazilian racing driver. He most recently drove for Alpine in the Hypercar class of the FIA World Endurance Championship in 2023, and spent a total of seven seasons with the team during his tenure. Negrão is a for ...

joined International Draco Racing *

Alexander Rossi Alexander Michael Rossi (born September 25, 1991) is an American racing driver, who competes in the IndyCar Series for Ed Carpenter Racing, Ed Carpenter. Rossi competed in Formula One at five Formula One Grands Prix, Grands Prix in . In America ...

joined Fortec Motorsports, having competed in GP3 for

ART Grand Prix ART Grand Prix is a French motor racing team that competes in formula single-seaters in Europe. In 2012, it competed in the GP2 Series and GP3 Series as Lotus GP to reflect sponsorship from British sports and racing car manufacturer Lotus. The ...

as well as the –supporting round with ISR Racing in 2010. His teammate was

champion

César Ramos César Altair Zanetti Ramos (born 25 July 1989 in Novo Hamburgo) is a Brazilian racing driver currently competing in the Stock Car Pro Series with A.Mattheis Motorsport, Ipiranga Racing. Ramos has also previously raced in Formula Renault, Itali ...

. * Daniel McKenzie and

Oliver Webb Oliver "Oli" James Webb (born 20 March 1991 in Manchester) is a British auto racing driver. He is a 2004 Karting Champion, 2007 Formula BMW Scholarship winner, 2010 Formula 3 competitor, 2014 European Le Mans series Champion, 2015 Dubai 24 Hou ...

moved up to the series from British F3, and drove for

Comtec Racing Comtec Racing is a motor racing team based in the United Kingdom. It competes in three championships — Formula Renault, World Series by Renault and the Auto GP World Series. History The team started out in Formula Ford from the ashes ...

and Pons Racing respectively. * After finishing ninth in Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0, Daniël de Jong graduated to the series with Comtec Racing. * Robert Wickens returned to Carlin, after runner-up placings in Formula Two in 2009 and GP3 in 2010. Wickens finished 12th with Carlin in the 2008 season. *

Formula Renault UK British Formula Renault Championship referred to one of two Formula Renault championships that were held in the United Kingdom. The main series was Renault Sport UK's Formula Renault 2.0 UK championship which was held from 1989 to 2011 and was ge ...

runner–up

Lewis Williamson Lewis Williamson (born 11 November 1989) is a British racing driver. Career Karting Born in Dundee, Williamson began karting at the age of eight, and spent a successful decade racing in the various classes around the United Kingdom. By the ti ...

contested the first round of the championship in Aragón for ISR, replacing Daniel Ricciardo due to his Formula One reserve driver duties in China. *

Chris van der Drift Christopher Jason van der Drift (born 8 March 1986) is a New Zealand racing driver of Dutch descent who currently competes in the Asian Le Mans Series for Absolute Motorsport. Career Van der Drift started karting at the age of 7 and in 1994 h ...

returned to Formula Renault 3.5 from

Superleague Formula Superleague Formula was an Open wheel car, open wheel single seater Formula racing, motor racing formula, which started in 2008, at Donington Park in the United Kingdom. The league introduced team sponsorship by association football clubs. It u ...

, and drove the first four meetings for

Mofaz Racing Mofaz Racing was an auto racing team from Malaysia, which last competed in the Formula Renault 3.5 Series. Background The Mofaz Group is a Malaysian conglomerate, established in 1977, which operates in a wide range of business sectors, includin ...

. His budget ran out after Monaco and was replaced by

Fairuz Fauzy Mohamed Fairuz bin Mohamed Fauzy (born 24 October 1982) is a Malaysian professional race car driver. Early career Fairuz started competing in karting events in 1994 before making the move to British Formula Ford at the start of 1999. He ...

. * After missing the 2010 racing season,

Dominic Storey Dominic Storey (born 15 October 1989) is a racing driver from New Zealand. Career Formula BMW After a karting career in his native New Zealand, Storey made his single–seater debut in 2006 in Formula BMW Asia, finishing the season fourth ov ...

drove for

in Aragón. For the second round at Spa-Francorchamps, he was replaced by

Indy Lights Indy NXT (pronounced "Indy Next"), previously Indy Lights, is an American developmental automobile racing series sanctioned by IndyCar, currently known as INDY NXT by Firestone for sponsorship reasons. Indy NXT is the highest step on the Roa ...

champion

Jean-Karl Vernay Jean-Karl "J. K." Vernay (born 31 October 1987) is a French professional racing driver. He was 2010 Indy Lights and 2017 TCR International Series champion. He has won races at the World Touring Car Cup, where he finished fifth in 2018 and won th ...

. After

Filip Salaquarda Filip Salaquarda (born January 11, 1984, in Prague) is a professional racing driver from the Czech Republic. Career Early career After an early career in karting, Salaquarda began his racing career in 2000 in his native Czech Republic, competin ...

took the seat for the third round, Adrien Tambay drove in

Monaco Monaco, officially the Principality of Monaco, is a Sovereign state, sovereign city-state and European microstates, microstate on the French Riviera a few kilometres west of the Regions of Italy, Italian region of Liguria, in Western Europe, ...

and GP2 racer

Michael Herck Michael Herck (born 4 August 1988 in Bucharest, Romania) is a Romanian- Belgian retired racing driver. Career Early life Herck was adopted at the age of one and a half years by millionaire André Herck, a Belgian citizen born in Bucharest. Herc ...

drove for the team at the

Nürburgring The () is a 150,000-person capacity motorsports complex located in the town of Nürburg, Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It features a Grand Prix motor racing, Grand Prix race track built in 1984, and a long configuration, built in the 1920s ...

. Marcos Martínez, who won four races for the team in

2009 2009 was designated as the International Year of Astronomy by the United Nations to coincide with the 400th anniversary of Galileo Galilei's first known astronomical studies with a telescope and the publication of Astronomia Nova by Joha ...

will compete at the

Hungaroring The Hungaroring is a motorsport racetrack in Mogyoród, Pest County, Hungary where the Formula One Hungarian Grand Prix is held. In 1986, it became the location of the first Formula One Grand Prix motor racing, Grand Prix behind the Iron Curtai ...

. * Former GP2 and A1 Grand Prix driver Adam Carroll replaced the injured

Walter Grubmüller Walter Grubmüller (born 13 January 1989 in Vienna) is an Austrian racing driver. Career Karting Beginning his karting career in his native Austria in 2000, Grubmüller did not move up into the major international series until 2002, with an ap ...

at the Hungaroring. ; Leaving FR3.5 * Reigning champion

Mikhail Aleshin Mikhail Petrovich Aleshin ( rus, Михаи́л Петро́вич Алёшин, p=mʲɪxɐˈil pʲɪˈtrovʲɪtɕ ɐˈlʲɵʂɨn, born 22 May 1987) is a Russian professional racing driver and the 2010 champion of the Formula Renault 3.5 Series ...

was due to graduate to the

GP2 Series The GP2 Series was a form of open wheel motor racing introduced in 2005 following the discontinuation of the long-term Formula One feeder series, Formula 3000. The GP2 format was conceived by Bernie Ecclestone and Flavio Briatore, while Ecc ...

with the Carlin team, but had to withdraw from the series due to budgetary issues. He will instead compete in the

German Formula Three Championship The German Formula Three Championship was the national Formula Three championship of Germany, and the former West Germany, from 1950 to 2002, then as Formel 3 until 2014. In 2003, the series had merged with the French Formula Three Championship ...

with STROMOS Artline. *

Stefano Coletti Stefano Coletti (born 6 April 1989) is a Monaco, Monégasque former professional Auto racing, racing driver who raced for SMP Racing in the European Le Mans Series. His sister Alexandra Coletti is an alpine skier. He is the first Monégasque drive ...

and Julián Leal also graduated to GP2, racing for

Trident Racing Trident Motorsport (formerly known as Trident Racing) is a motor racing team that competes in Open-wheel car, single-seater formula racing. It was founded in 2006 in order to compete in the GP2 Series, GP2 championship, which was Europe's second h ...

and

Rapax Rapax Team was an Italian motor racing team. The team's history can be traced back to when the GP Racing team was founded in 1997, and also to when Piquet Sports was created in 2000 by triple world champion Nelson Piquet. In 2007, Piquet Sports an ...

respectively. *

, who drove for ISR Racing in 2010, moved to the

series. Prior to doing so, he contested the third event of Formula Renault 3.5 at

Monza Monza (, ; ; , locally ; ) is a city and ''comune'' (municipality) on the Lambro, River Lambro, a tributary of the Po (river), River Po, in the Lombardy region of Italy, about north-northeast of Milan. It is the capital of the province of Mo ...

. * After competing for KMP Racing in 2010, Víctor García switched to

in the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

, driving for Team Moore Racing. Also moving to Indy Lights is

Esteban Guerrieri Esteban Guerrieri (born 19 January 1985) is an Argentina, Argentine racing driver currently competing in the FIA TCR World Tour for the GOAT Racing JAS Motorsport, Honda team. His early career in single-seaters saw him become Formula Renault Euro ...

, who competed for

Sam Schmidt Motorsports The IndyCar Series operation of McLaren, competing as Arrow McLaren IndyCar Team due to sponsorship, is based in Indianapolis and was founded by former IndyCar driver Sam Schmidt in 2001 as Sam Schmidt Motorsports (SSM). The team operates the N ...

having finished third for ISR Racing in 2010. * Bruno Méndez returned to

Formula Three Formula Three (F3) is a third-tier class of open-wheel formula racing. The various championships held in Europe, Australia, South America and Asia form an important step for many prospective Formula One drivers. History Formula Three (adop ...

in 2011, racing in the British championship for

Hitech Racing Hitech Grand Prix (formerly Hitech Racing, currently racing as Hitech TGR for sponsorship reasons) is a British motor racing team. It was founded by Dennis Rushen and David Hayle in 2002 and relaunched by Oliver Oakes in 2015. Currently, Hite ...

. *

Greg Mansell Greg Nigel Mansell (born 8 November 1987) is a British racing driver and road cyclist, currently racing in cycling's Halfords Tour Series, having previously competed in motorsports Formula Renault 3.5 Series. He is the son of 1992 Formula One w ...

moved into sportscar racing for 2011, joining the Lotus Italia Scuderia Giudici team in the inaugural

Blancpain Endurance Series The GT World Challenge Europe Endurance Cup, formerly for sponsorship reasons the Blancpain Endurance Series from 2011 to 2015 and Blancpain GT Series Endurance Cup from 2016 to 2019, is a sports car racing series developed by SRO Motorsports G ...

. * After two seasons with Pons Racing, Federico Leo moved to the FIA GT3 Championship with

AF Corse AF Corse is an Italian auto racing team founded by former racing driver Amato Ferrari in 1995 in Piacenza. Strongly linked to the Maserati and Ferrari brands, AF Corse currently competes in the FIA World Endurance Championship, GT World Chal ...

, sharing a

Ferrari 458 The Ferrari 458 Italia (Type F142) is an Italian mid-engine sports car produced by Ferrari. The 458 is the successor of the F430, and was first officially unveiled at the 2009 Frankfurt Motor Show. It was succeeded by the 488 GTB (Gran Turi ...

with Francesco Castellacci. *

Jon Lancaster Jon Francis Lancaster (born 10 December 1988 in Leeds) is a British auto racing driver. Career Early life and karting Lancaster was born on 10 December 1988 in Leeds, Yorkshire. He used to watch Formula One from the age of three and always li ...

, who drove for Fortec Motorsport in 2010, joined the FIA Formula Two Championship.

Team changes

* Italian team BVM–Target joined the grid as the 13th team, taking the slot vacated by

before the start of the 2010 season. *

– Charouz Racing, with technical support from

DAMS A dam is a barrier that stops or restricts the flow of surface water or underground streams. Reservoirs created by dams not only suppress floods but also provide water for activities such as irrigation, human consumption, industrial use, ...

, took over the FHV Interwetten.com team's entry. * After undergoing a restructuring process during the off–season,

Epsilon Euskadi EPIC Racing (Euskadi Phil Imanol Claudio Racing) was a racing team from Spain. The team's headquarters were located in Vitoria ( Alava). It was the second major motorsport team from the Basque Country, (Euskadi). Epsilon Euskadi was the bigg ...

became known as EPIC Racing.

Race calendar and results

The calendar for the 2011 season was announced on 11 October 2010, the day after the end of the 2010 season. Seven of the nine rounds formed meetings of the 2011 World Series by Renault season, with additional rounds in support of the

FIA WTCC Race of Italy The FIA WTCR Race of Italy is a round of the World Touring Car Championship that has taken place in Italy. It will be held at Vallelunga Circuit in 2022 season. In 2021, it was held at the extended version of Adria International Raceway. Before th ...

and the .

Season results

* Points for both championships were awarded as follows:

Drivers' Championship

Teams' Championship

* Polesitter for each race in bold. No points are awarded. * Driver who recorded fastest lap denoted in ''italics''. No points are awarded. * Driver who retired but was classified denoted by †.

References

External links

Renault-Sport official website
{{World Series by Renault seasons Formula Renault 3.5 Formula Renault 3.5 World Series Formula V8 3.5 seasons Renault 3.5