The Formula Renault 3.5 Series

The Formula Renault 3.5 Series (World Series by Renault) is the flagship category of the racing weekend programme prepared by the Renault car manufacturer at top-level racing circuits in Europe every year. In the past, drivers such as Heikki Kovalainen, Sebastian Vettel or Robert Kubica took part in the series. Last year, the participants included Jaime Alguersuari who was a Scuderia Toro Rosso team racing driver in Formula One at the same time. Thus, the World Series became the first championship to involve an active FIA Formula One World Championship entrant after a long time.
A maximum of thirteen teams can take part in the series. Each of them is bound to enter two cars. No more than four different drivers are allowed to compete for a team during one season.
One event consists of two races with each of them lasting 44 minutes plus one lap. Race 1 takes place on Saturday while Race 2, on Sunday (with the exception of Monte Carlo where only one race is held). During the Sunday race, a compulsory pitstop is imposed during which a maximum of six mechanics must change two tyres. Time windows are prescribed for the tyre change, and a pitstop outside the defined time interval is penalized 20 seconds.

Each race is preceded by a thirty-minute qualifying session that will decide the respective positions on the grid.

Points are awarded to the top ten finishers. The winner will earn 15 points while the next finishers are awarded points on a 12-10-8-6-5-4-3-2-1 basis.