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'Formula Three', also called 'Formula 3' or 'F3', is a 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. 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 career at which most drivers in the series are aiming at professional careers in racing rather than being amateurs and enthusiasts. F3 is not cheap (a competitive seat in British F3 now costs around £400,000 and about £80,000 in Asia, for a year's racing), but is regarded as a key investment in a young driver's future career. Success in F3 can lead directly to more senior formulae such as GP2, A1 Grand Prix, or even a Formula One test or race seat.

Contents

History

F3 cars

Championships and Series

Special races

Regulations

List of Formula 3 Series

Current Series

Principal Series

Other Series

Defunct Series

Notes

External links

Official websites

Others

History

Formula Three (adopted by the FIA in 1950) evolved from postwar auto racing, with lightweight tube-frame chassis powered by 500 cc motorcycle engines (notably Nortons and JAP speedway). The 500 cc formula originally evolved in 1946 from low-cost "special" racing organised by enthusiasts in Bristol, England, just before the Second World War; British racing after the war picked up slowly and home-built 500 cc cars were affordable. Although the formula was originally seen as one for individual makers, Cooper came to dominate with mass-produced cars; other notable marques included Kieft and Emeryson. The formula was the usual route into motor racing through the early and mid 1950s (and stars like Stirling Moss continued to enter selected F3 events even during their GP careers) although it began to decline in the UK when small sports cars powered by Coventry-Climax and Ford engines became more important.
Formula Three was in abeyance from the late 1950s to 1963; both it and (eventually) Formula Two were replaced by Formula Junior for 1000 or 1100 cc cars (on a sliding scale of weights).
A one-litre Formula Three for four-cylinder carburetted cars with heavily tuned production engines was reintroduced in 1964 and ran to 1970. These engines (a short-stroke unit based on the Ford Anglia^[1] with a special 2-valve Cosworth SOHC head being by far the most efficient and popular) tended to rev very highly and were popularly known as "screamers"; F3 races tended to involve large packs of slipstreaming cars. The "screamer" years were dominated by Brabham, Lotus and Tecno, with March beginning in 1970. Early one-litre F3 chassis tended to descend from Formula Junior designs but quickly evolved.
For 1971 new regulations allowing 1600 cc engines with a restricted air intake were introduced. The 1971–73 seasons were contested with these cars, as aerodynamics started to become important.
Two-litre engine rules were introduced for 1974, still with restricted air intakes. As of today engine regulations remain basically unchanged in F3, a remarkable case of stability in racing regulations.
As the likes of Lotus and Brabham faded from F3 to concentrate on Formula One, F3 constructors of the 1970s included Alpine, Lola, March, Modus, GRD, Ralt and Ensign.
Historically, March (up to 1981), Ralt (up to the early 1990s) and Reynard (1985–1992) had been the main chassis manufacturers in two-litre F3, with Martini fairly strong in France; Reynard pioneered use of carbon fibre in the mid-1980s replacing traditional aluminium or steel monocoque structures. Dallara, after an unsuccessful Formula One project, focussed their attention on the formula in the early nineties and almost obliterated all other marques.
By the start of the 1980s however, Formula Three had evolved well beyond its humble beginnings to something closely resembling the modern formula. It was seen as the main training ground for future Formula One drivers, many of them bypassing Formula Two to go straight into Grand Prix racing. The chassis became increasingly sophisticated, mirroring the more senior formulae —ground effects were briefly used in the early 1980s but were banned, in line with other FIA single-seater formulae; carbon fibre chassis started to be introduced from the mid 1980s.

F3 cars

Formula Three cars are monocoque chassis, using slick racing tyres and wings. Currently, Dallara manufactures the overwhelming majority of F3 cars, though Lola (formerly in partnership with Dome of Japan), Mygale and SLC also have a limited output. In many smaller or amateur F3 racing series older cars are frequently seen. Usually these series are divided into two or more classes, to allow more participation.
Engines in Formula 3 are all 2-litre, 4-cylinder naturally-aspirated spec engines. Engines must be built from a production model block ("stock block"), and often must be sealed by race or series organizers, so no private tuning can be carried out. Honda engines (prepared by Mugen) have perennially been popular, as have engines produced by Volkswagen, Alfa Romeo, or Renault. Currently the HWA-tuned Mercedes engine dominates the British and European series, with Mugen, Tom's-Toyota, and Spiess-Opel all being used by some teams. Volkswagen are returning to F3 later in 2007.

Championships and Series

There has never been a World Championship for Formula Three. In the 1970s and into the 1980s the European Formula Three Championship and British Formula Three Championship (once one series had emerged from the competing British series in the 1970s) were the most prominent, with a number of future Formula One champions coming from them. France, Germany, and Italy also had important Formula Three series, but interest in these was originally subsidiary to national formulae—Formula Renault in France and Formula Super Vee in Germany (also seen in the U.S.). These nations eventually drifted towards Formula Three. The Italian series tended to attract older drivers who moved straight across from karting whereas in other nations drivers typically graduated to F3 after a couple of years in minor categories. The European series died out in the mid 1980s and the national series became correspondingly more important. Brazil's SudAm Formula Three championship, which now has the most powerful engine of all Formula Three series, was known for producing excellent drivers who polished their skills in the British Formula Three championship. Perhaps the most curious of all was the small All-Japan Formula Three championship. Although few drivers spent a significant amount of time there, future stars such as Ralf Schumacher and Jacques Villeneuve scored victories there. An Asian series was established in 2001 and grew to produce current A1 drivers for Indonesia and Australia. For 2003, French and German F3, both suffering from a lack of competitive entrants, merged to recreate the F3 Euroseries. In Germany there is still a lower-key Formula Three series called the Recaro Cup Formul3.de. The most recent Formula One racer to come out through Formula Three ranks is BMW-Sauber driver Robert Kubica, who finished seventh overall in the Formula Three Euroseries in 2004, and converted a pole position to second place in that years' prestigious Macau Grand Prix.

Special races

In addition to the many national series, Formula Three is known for special races, the best-known of which is the FIA Inter-continental Cup at Macau. The first Formula Three Grand Prix of Macau was held in 1983 and won by Ayrton Senna. Michael Schumacher, David Coulthard, Ralf Schumacher and Takuma Sato have also won there, traditionally the end of the Formula Three season, where drivers from almost every national series participate.
Other major ‘crossover’ races include the Grand Prix of Pau, the BP Ultimate Masters of Formula 3 of Zandvoort, and the Korean Superprix at Changwon. These events give fans in locations not visited by other major series to experience major international racing.
The Monaco F3 Grand Prix held until 1997 was also a famous special race. It has been restored for 2005 as a part of the F3 Euroseries.

Regulations

★ width : 1850 mm (72.8") maximum

★ wheelbase : 2000 mm (78.75") minimum

★ track : 1200 mm (47") minimum

★ weight: 550 kg (1213 lbs) minimum

★ active suspension, telemetry, and traction control are forbidden

★ two-wheel steering only

★ two-wheel drive only

★ manual gearbox, six forward gears (maximum) and one reverse

★ undrilled ferrous brakes

★ wheels, width 11.5 inches (292 mm), diameter 13 inches (330 mm) maximum

★ Control fuel from a single supplier, but of a comparative level to pump/street gasoline (petrol)

★ Stock derived 2000cc engine with 26 mm (1.02")-diameter restrictor, hence about 200 horsepower (150 kW) between 5000 and 7400 rpm
Complete regulations:

List of Formula 3 Series

Current Series

Principal Series

The championships can be given the FIA Super Licences valid for 12 months to the champions.^[2]

★ Formula 3 Euroseries

★ British F3 International Series

★ Italian Formula Three

★ All-Japan Formula Three

Other Series

★ Asian Formula Three - 2004–

★ Australian Formula Three 2002–

★ Finnish Formula Three

★ German Formula Three Championship - 1975–

★ Formula Three Sudamericana - 1987–

★ Spanish Formula Three Championship - 2001–

Defunct Series

★ Brazilian Formula Three Championship 1990–1994

★ Swiss Formula 3 Championship 1979–2004

★ United States Formula Three Championship 2000–2001

★ Mexican Formula Three Championship 1990–2002

★ Russian Formula Three Championship 1997–2002

★ FIA European Formula Three Championship 1976–1984

★ FIA European Formula Three Cup 1975, 1985–2003

★ French Formula Three Championship
Sourced from [1]

Notes

1. Gauld, Graham, "Ford", in ''World of Automobiles'' (London: Orbis, 1974), Volume 6, p.696
2. APPENDIX L TO THE INTERNATIONAL SPORTING CODE

External links

Official websites

; Europe

★ F3 Euroseries

★ British F3 Championship

★ ATS Formel 3 Cup (Germany)

★ Italian F3 Championship
; Scandinavia

★ Finnish F3
; America

★ South American F3 Championship
; Asia

★ Asian F3 Championship

★ All-Japan F3 Championship
; Oceania

★ Australian F3 Championship

Others

★ The Formula 3 story

★ 500race.org - The historic Formula 500/ Formula 3 500cc Race Assn.

★ Formula3.cc - F3 and Young Driver news

★ F3History - History of Formula 3 (mostly the cars)

★ Formula 3 Data Center - All-Japan F3 statistics