Race 1
Team Trident retains third place in the series with Antonio Fuoco, who ended up in P16 in race 1 at Abu Dhabi after suffering from a punctured tyre.Giuliano Alesi scored a valuable 11th place despite a damaged front wing.With one race still to run, Antonio Fuoco and Team Trident secured third place in the 2016 GP3 Series, with the team retaining a podium position in overall points. After posting the second fastest laptime of practice, the Italian racer couldn’t do better than an 11th place in qualifying. Taking-off from the sixth row, the 20-year-old from Cosenza was then faultlessly involved in a first-lap contact and suffered from a puncture. The team performed a rapid tyre change and Antonio went back on-track to deliver an impressive series of quick laps to secure 16th place. “I thank the team for the excellent pit-stop: the mechanics were absolutely brilliant. Unfortunately, the puncture fully jeopardized the outcome of our first race here at Yas Marina - said Antonio - I had good chemistry with the car and I look forward to a prompt rebound in the Sprint Race tomorrow.” Without the early incident a second place would have been in Antonio’s frame. A result that, paired with the retirement of contender Alex Albon, would have handed Antonio a chance to fight for the runner-up spot.The Emirates track also highlighted a remarkable performance displayed by Giuliano Alesi despite a damaged front wing. The 17-year-old Frenchman, the youngest driver of the field, showed great pace and confirmed the quality of the work done together with the team’s technical staff, bringing on board even more optimism for the final race of the year. Sandy Stuvik scored 15th place at the end of an uneventful race, while Artur Janosz ended up off-track on lap 2.
Race 2
Despite being penalized for causing a collision, Antonio Fuoco retained third place in the overall GP3 Series standings. Giuliano Alesi kept the momentum gained in the Feature Race with another strong performance.Antonio Fuoco completed his third GP3 Series season by taking third place in the overall championship, 20 points away from the runner-up spot. In the final round of the season, the 20-year-old Italian took part in many exciting battles but eventually received a penalty for causing a collision that prevented him from achieving better than a 17th place by the end of the day. As well as their driver, the Trident team kept their name among the top-3 in standings thanks to eight podium finishes, two wins and as many second places over the season. The second position overall was clearly in frame for the Italian combination, that unfortunately could not score points in the final three races of 2016.Giuliano Alesi can draw a really positive balance too. The young Frenchman continued in his season-long growth with another really good performance. He posted two convincing races at a difficult track like Yas Marina and barely missed the points zone despite some slight collisions that caused damage to the car. Giuliano is definitely one of the most impressive prospects of the 2016 season. On the other hand, Sandy Stuvik did not find perfect chemistry with the Abu Dhabi circuit, ending up out of the points zone at the end of an uneventful race. After experiencing an off-track exit in the Feature Race, Artur Janosz delivered a consistent run ending up right behind Stuvik.