The 2013 GP3 grid guide

GP3 enters its second generation this weekend, as the fourth year of the championship kicks off as a support act to the Spanish Grand Prix.

The series has undergone big changes for 2013, with an updated car, a new engine, a revamped calendar and two new teams. Ocean Racing Technology and Atech CRS are gone, with Koiranen GP and Bamboo-Engineering respectively taking over their entries.

The new-spec car looks quite different to its predecessor in a deliberate attempt to make its appearance closer to that of big brother GP2. But those changes are mainly cosmetic, with new bodywork and aerodynamics bolted onto the original Dallara-built chassis that has been used since GP3 started in 2010.

The engine change is more significant, and is one that has been welcomed. The 280bhp, four-cylinder turbo engine (and its driver-frustrating lag) is a thing of the past, replaced by a normally aspirated (and better sounding) 400bhp unit that has its roots in the World Series by Nissan/Renault engines of the past.

The power increase has made a big difference - in testing, Antonio Felix da Costa's 2012 pole position time at Barcelona was beaten by five seconds. But the improved performance has brought one concern with it, as the cars are running similar Pirelli tyres to last year, which led to teams and drivers being frustrated at having to restrict track time in testing to save their rubber. Saturday's season opener this weekend will be a nervy time for everyone involved.

While there's nothing new about Barcelona kicking off the season (this will be the third time in four years the series has started in Spain), there are changes elsewhere in the schedule.

GP3 will hold its first standalone race at Valencia's permanent circuit in June, effectively replacing the city's street race for the now-scrapped European Grand Prix.

After one crash-filled year on the calendar there is no support event to the Monaco Grand Prix, but GP3 will venture out of Europe for the first time instead, with the season finale taking place at Abu Dhabi's Yas Marina circuit in November. Let's hope there's a championship fight to look forward to that weekend, as there is a two-month gap between that and the previous round at Monza.

ART Grand Prix

Wins: 17
2 drivers' titles (2010, 2011), 3 teams' titles (2010, 2011, 2012)

#1 Conor Daly (USA)
24 GP3 starts, 1 win; 6th in GP3

#2 Facu Regalia (RA)
4 GP3 starts, 0 wins; 2012 7th in Auto GP

#3 Jack Harvey (GB)
0 GP3 starts, 2012 British F3 champion

Just in case there isn't enough pressure racing on the Formula 1 support bill, Daly, Regalia and Harvey have ART's 100 per cent record of GP3 teams' championships to defend. Daly, who scored points in a one-off GP2 outing at Sepang earlier this season and won the Indian-based MRF Challenge, has also entered this year's Indianapolis 500. But his focus will be on his third GP3 campaign, and by staying with ART for a second season he has no excuses.

Harvey will look to emulate fellow Racing Steps Foundation member James Calado, who used the move from British Formula 3 to GP3 with the same team as a launchpad for his career in 2011.

MW Arden

Wins: 6
1 drivers' title (2012)

#4 Carlos Sainz Jr (E)
0 GP3 starts; 2012 5th in European F3, 6th in British F3

#5 Robert Visoiu (RO)
16 GP3 starts, 0 wins; 2012 14th in GP3, 9th in Italian F3

#6 Daniil Kvyat (RUS)
0 GP3 starts; 2012 Formula Renault ALPS champion, 2nd in Formula Renault Eurocup

This season will be the first GP3 campaign to feature fully fledged 'Red Bull' cars on the grid, with Sainz and Kvyat running the colours that attract so much attention.

Of the two, Sainz is likely to be under more pressure with a year of F3 experience under his belt, while Kvyat makes the step from Formula Renault, where he narrowly lost out to new McLaren junior recruit Stoffel Vandoorne in the Eurocup last year. Visoiu, who is also racing in Auto GP, already has a GP3 podium finish to his name, but his new-team mates will raise the bar for him.

Carlin

Wins: 4

#7 Luis Sa Silva (AO)
0 GP3 starts; 2012 13th in European F3, 14th in F3 Euro Series

#8 Nick Yelloly (GB)
16 GP3 starts, 0 wins; 2012 5th in Formula Renault 3.5

#9 Eric Lichtenstein (RA)
0 GP3 starts; 2012 3rd in British Formula Ford

Carlin's championship eggs sit firmly in Yelloly's basket, as the Briton returns to the category after a year away winning races in Formula Renault 3.5. Budget constraints prevented him from staying in that series for 2013, and the improved GP3 car makes this move less of a step down than it would have been previously.

Yelloly's first GP3 campaign was clouded by his machinery at Atech CRS, so his 2012 performances in FR3.5 offer more of a guide to what he's capable of. Sa Silva is unlikely to shine at this level, while Lichtenstein faces a big step up (in car and opposition) after his British Formula Ford campaign.

Jenzer Motorsport
Wins: 6

#10 Samin Gomez (YV)
0 GP3 starts; 2012 7th in Formula Abarth European and Italian championships

#11 Patric Niederhauser (CH)
16 GP3 starts, 2 wins; 2012 7th in GP3, 11th in Italian F3

#12 Alex Fontana (CH)
6 GP3 starts, 0 wins; 2012 7th in Formula 2

Niederhauser laid the foundations for a title assault this year with a strong rookie campaign in 2012, when he took two victories. By all accounts he was a deserving addition to the winners' list, so the natural expectation is that he will step it up again this year.

Jenzer has been a regular contender in GP3, and it will be looking to Niederhauser to lead its attack this year while Fontana and Gomez get up to speed.

Marussia Manor Racing
Wins: 6

#14 Tio Ellinas (CY)
16 GP3 starts, 1 win; 2012 8th in GP3

#15 Ryan Cullen (GB)
0 GP3 starts; 2012 6th in British Formula Ford

#16 Dino Zamparelli (GB)
0 GP3 starts; 2012 8th in Formula 2

One leading GP3 team boss recently told AUTOSPORT that Ellinas was his pick to be the main title challenger this year. The Cypriot ended his rookie season well, finishing in the top four in four of the final five races, which included a dramatic maiden victory in the season finale that helped decide the title in favour of Mitch Evans.

Zamparelli and Cullen can both expect to find this level quite a step up from what they are used to so far in their careers.

Status Grand Prix
Wins: 7

#17 Jimmy Eriksson (S)
0 GP3 starts; 2012 German F3 champion

#18 Adderly Fong (PRC)
0 GP3 starts; 2012 2nd in Audi R8 LMS Cup, selected single-seater races

#19 Josh Webster (GB)
0 GP3 starts; 2012 2nd in Formula Renault BARC

Status has won races in each of the first three seasons of GP3, but the combination of a new car and three rookies is likely to put it on the back foot this year. German F3 is not what it once was, but the series has a habit of producing decent champions, so Eriksson - with three years of F3 experience under his belt - is the team's likely leader.

Webster did a good job in the relatively strong Formula BARC series in the UK, but the jump from old Tatuus machinery to the revamped GP3 car will be pretty big. Fong's full-time Audi campaign last year doesn't tell the whole story of his experience, as he also raced in Indy Lights, Formula 3 and Auto GP last year.

Bamboo-Engineering

#20 Lewis Williamson (GB)
23 GP3 starts, 1 win; 2012 17th in GP3

#21 Melville McKee (GB)
0 GP3 starts; 2012 8th in Formula Renault Eurocup

#22 Carmen Jorda (E)
14 GP3 starts, 0 wins; 2012 unclassified in GP3

Lewis Williamson finally gets to hit the reset button after 2012 turned into a year to forget. Red Bull's dropping of him after just five Formula Renault 3.5 races last season was uncalled for, and the fortunes of his replacement Antonio Felix da Costa since then are still no justification.

Williamson dusted himself down with eight GP3 starts for Status last year, and now he has to lead newcomer Bamboo in its first season. McKee built some career momentum with a strong second half of the season in the Formula Renault Eurocup last year, where finishing eighth in the standings was no disgrace at all.

Trident Racing

#23 Giovanni Venturini (I)
10 GP3 starts, 0 wins; 2012 13th in GP3

#24 David Fumanelli (I)
14 GP3 starts, 0 wins; 2012 11th in GP3

#25 Emanuele Zonzini (RSM)
0 GP3 starts; 2012 3rd in Italian Formula Abarth, 5th in European Formula Abarth

In Italian duo Venturini and Fumanelli, Trident has two drivers that it knows are capable of getting into the points when everything comes together. However, Fumanelli comes across from MW Arden, where his team-mates put him firmly in the shade by finishing first and fifth in the standings while he was 11th in his rookie season. He's unlikely to have a car of the same standard this year.

Venturini looked more at home in GP3 than he did in his handful of Formula Renault 3.5 races early last season, so he will be looking to put together a solid full campaign this time.

Koiranen GP

#26 Patrick Kujala (FIN)
0 GP3 starts; 2012 6th in Formula Renault ALPS, 23rd in Formula Renault Eurocup

#27 Aaro Vainio (FIN)
32 GP3 starts, 1 win; 2012 4th in GP3

#28 Kevin Korjus (EST)
0 GP3 starts; 2012 10th in Formula Renault 3.5

Koiranen makes a logical step up to GP3 this year with a phenomenal record under its belt slightly further down the ladder in Formula Renault, winning multiple championships in recent years. In Kujala and former Lotus F1 junior Korjus it has two drivers it has worked with before, while 2012 title contender Vainio provides a benchmark for how quickly the team is getting up to speed.

Moving to a new team - no matter how much pedigree it has elsewhere - is a risk for the Finn, who has had to take a third year in GP3 over his original aim of moving full-time to Formula Renault 3.5 following a handful of starts late last year.