The single-seater ladder gets shaken up for 2019
The Formula 3 Championship will be run by the Formula 1 Championship from 2019, with a number of changes announced on Friday by the FIA.
The championship will feature a new car, with a single chassis, engine and tyre supplier to be selected by the FIA and F1 in the future. Costs will be limited by the standardised machinery, with limited testing and regulations on the use of trackside electronics, personnel and sensors.
The move cements F3 as a fully-fledged feeder series to F1. As a result, nine to 10 events of the F1 calendar will include F3, F2, and, of course, F1 events on the same weekend.
F3 will include a maximum of 30 cars, implementing the same safety features as F1 cars (namely, the halo), and what the FIA calls a ‘frontal anti-intrusion panel’.
President of the FIA’s single-seater commission, Stefano Domenicali, praised the FIA’s new move and said that it would unite the three top single-seater series and put them on the “same platform.”
“The new FIA Formula 3 Championship achieves an important goal,” said Domenicali.
“This has great advantages for fans and competitors alike, as graduates of FIA-certified national and regional competitions have a clear first step into international racing, while spectators and viewers watching F1 will be able to see a broader spectrum of future stars on their way to the pinnacle of our sport.”
Ross Brawn, and current FOM managing director, added that the move would allow leading single-seater racers to compete under F1 drivers, who they may be racing in the future.
“Today’s decision from the World Motor Sport Council proves the desire to bring together two current championships to provide talented youngsters from around the world with a fantastic opportunity to progress and to get noticed by racing on the same card as a Grand Prix,” said Brawn.
“The FIA F3 Championship will become a natural stop-off for the best drivers from the junior categories, who aim to move up the racing ladder to Formula 1, the pinnacle of motor sport.”
Since the departure of team principal Fred Vasseur, Sauber's Formula 1 team has crumbled — leaving Valtteri Bottas to struggle for a return to the front of the grid
Max Verstappen drove Lando Norris off the road in the past two GPs and did the same to Lewis Hamilton in 2021. It's an effective tactic, even when penalised, says Mark Hughes. So F1 stewards need tougher sanctions
Picture the scene. You're in the depths of a Sao Paulo nightclub, surrounded by hundreds, when suddenly you're transported back through F1 history as the voice of Ayrton Senna begins…
Ayrton Senna won the 1991 F1 championship with McLaren's MP4/6, the only V12 car to win the title. Team members tell James Elson of the chaotic efforts to defeat the superior Williams — a fight where Senna made the difference