Formula 3000 memories: 2001-04

Formula 3000

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As the Formula 3000 field shrunk alarmingly in the early 2000s, a plan was hatched to axe the series and replace it with a new championship named GP2.

2001

Wilson wins and spins

Formula 3000 ventured to Interlagos in Brazil for its 2001 season-opener as part of its biggest-ever calendar of 12 races. The crowd-pleasing grid saw four Brazilian drivers at the sharp end: Jaime Melo followed by twins Ricardo and Rodrigo Sperafico, and Antonio Pizzonia.

But the first win of the year went to eventual champion Justin Wilson – although he took the shine of his achievement by spinning immediately after taking the chequered flag.

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A super-consistent campaign by the Nordic driver saw him take three wins and six second places over the course of the season. Team mate Tomas Enge was third, tied on points at the end of the year with Webber, but the Australian driver’s three wins put him ahead.

However the value of an F3000 title was again called into question as Wilson failed to gain immediate promotion to F1. In Wilson’s case his 1.9m frame was a significant obstacle, though he eventually made his grand prix debut in 2003. In the meantime Kimi Raikkonen had rocked the F1 establishment by making his F1 debut without so much as an F3 start to his name, let alone F3000.

Near-miss at Imola

Webber scored his first win of the year at Imola, but the race was notable for a dangerous incident which happened under the Safety Car. Gabriele Varano was being attended to after a dizzying, high-speed crash at the exit of Tamburello when Derek Hill crashed into Gianluca Calcagni, sending the marshals running for cover.

First-corner carnage at A1-Ring

Wilson’s second win of the year came in Austria where front row occupants Sebastien Bourdais and Patrick Freisacher skidded off at turn one, followed by many of their pursuers.

Webber’s season flatlines

https://youtu.be/mgiTN9YpgaQ?t=17m8s

With four races to go Webber was just four points behind Wilson, thanks to wins at Imola, Monaco and Magny-Cours. But he failed to add to his tally in all of the last four races, including at Spa where he crashed heavily at Eau Rouge.

2002

One of the most notorious episodes in Formula 3000’s history occurred in 2002, when Tomas Enge lost the championship due to a failed drugs test. Enge was stripped of victory in the Hungarian round of the championship after he tested positive for cannabis.

The news of the test came through before the final round and meant Enge arrived at the race 12 points behind leader Bourdais instead of just one adrift. Enge’s second place meant he ended the season six points behind Bourdais – the lost points from Hungary had cost him the title.

Bourdais beaten by Pantano

Bourdais won the second round of the championship at Imola but lost out in a thrilling, race-long scrap with Giorgio Pantano at the Circuit de Catalunya. Pantano filled his mirrors all race long, and Bourdais finally cracked with just half a lap to go.

More woe for Haberfeld and Hill

The Hungaroring race was punctuated by a Safety Car period which began with a collision involving Mario Haberfeld and Antonio Pizzonia. Haberfeld, who had survived a serious F3000 crash two years earlier, was pitched into a barrel roll by Pizzonia. A train of cars then arrived on the scene, several of which lost control including Derek Hill, who struck Pizzonia’s stationary car.

Mauricio launches at Monza

Bjorn Wirdheim ended his first season in fine form by winning from pole position at Monza. But the race also saw a spectacular crash involving Ricardo Mauricio and Ron Nguyen.

2003

The F3000 entry list had been pruned from 44 cars to 30 in 2000, but two years later grid sizes had shrunk to just 20. Rising costs in F3000 and increased competition from other championships were to blame as aspiring F1 drivers began to look elsewhere.

It didn’t help matters that the reigning champion had again failed to land an F1 seat – Bourdais eventually would, but not until 2008. In the meantime F3000 was beginning to look a little long in the tooth.

Wirdheim’s moment of misery

Wirdheim sustained the trend of F3000 champions who missed out on a shot at F1. Despite winning the championship convincingly with three wins and six second places from ten races, and spending 2004 as a Friday driver for Jaguar, a race seat eluded him.

Unfortunately for Wirdheim, one moment which stuck in the minds of those who saw his 2003 campaign was not how emphatically he won it, but how embarrassingly he threw away victory at Monaco. Christian Horner, by now Arden’s team principal, could only look on in disbelief as Wirdheim slowed to celebrate with his team on the final lap, only to be passed by Nicolas Kiesa before he reached the line.

Mandatory pit stops introduced

While Wirdheim piled up the silverware, behind him the field was shrinking. Kiesa’s Den Bla Avis team collapsed mid-season and other outfits cut back to single-car entries. Just 14 Lolas took the start at the Hungaroring.

By this point Wirdheim had already wrapped up the title, so the organisers took the opportunity to trial a new innovation: mandatory pit stops, which would be a feature of the final year of the championship in 2004.

2004

The end

The curtain came down on two decades of Formula 3000 at the end of 2004. For the third year in a row Arden were champions, this time running Red Bull junior driver Vitantonio Liuzzi. Both he and team principal Christian Horner would soon make their way into F1.

Liuzzi dominated proceedings even more emphatically than Wirdheim had. At the end of the ten-race championship he had amassed seven wins, a pair of second places, and only failed to score at the Nurburgring where he had to make an early pit stop due to tyre damage.

Enrico Toccacelo took the plaudits at the Nurburgring, and five more second places saw the Italian driver take second in the final standings ahead of Robert Doornbos and Enge, who had returned for another season.

But before the season began it was already known this would be F3000’s final year. In a bid to attract more teams and drivers to the series a new formula was devised: GP2 promised more powerful cars plus two races per weekend.

However ten years on the FIA is keen to reintroduce the name ‘Formula Two’, which F3000 replaced three decades ago. The brand was revived as a sub-GP2 series between 2009 and 2012, but it seems in the near future it will be restored to its logical place as the intermediate step between F1 and F3.

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Keith Collantine
Lifelong motor sport fan Keith set up RaceFans in 2005 - when it was originally called F1 Fanatic. Having previously worked as a motoring...

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9 comments on “Formula 3000 memories: 2001-04”

  1. @keithcollantine

    Enrico Toccacelo took the plaudits at the Nurburgring, and five more second places saw the Italian driver take fifth in the final standings ahead of Robert Doornbos and Enge, who had returned for another season.

    I guess you mean second?

  2. The main takeaway from this series is the fact the second-tier of single seater racing has never really been fit for purpose. Of the series champions from the first European Formula 2 Champion in 1967, to last year’s GP2 winner, only one – Lewis Hamilton – has gone on to become a Formula One World Champion. Other F1 champions have been spirited into the top flight after showing potential earlier in their careers, leaving F2/F3000/GP2 to serve as a finishing school for the those drivers who need a bit more time.

    The issue is, that in trying to resemble Formula 1, through sharing race weekends and using powerful machinery, it becomes exorbitantly expensive, meaning that only well-funded drivers survive. Furthermore, under-resourced teams can also take the momentum out of promising drivers’ careers, as they struggle to get the setup right on the more powerful cars.

    Having seen the dismal driving standards in European Formula 3 this year, such a finishing school is clearly needed, particularly when talent is not the only path to Formula 1. Second-tier series have also provided very close, exciting racing, often more so than Sunday’s main event!

    Nonetheless, I hope that the FIA think seriously when putting together the specifications for the new Formula 2. With superlicence points making it more likely that drivers will have to enter the category, it is important to make it accessible and representative, something that simply taking over GP2 will not do. Organisers should consider stepping down performance from GP2 levels, as it is already very close to F1 levels, and prohibitively expensive. For the sake of good racing at all levels, I only hope they can create an affordable, popular Formula that is pitched at the right level to be of use to drivers and entertaining to fans.

    1. Just a small note.In my opinion F3 bad driving standards are deeply connected to Max Verstappen’s F1 promotion.Lets not forget that most F3 drivers are teenagers ,whose mentality in these days and age are summed to “If he can,why can’t I?”.Also, here we have to say that parents with a “My son is better than yours” attitude and managers looking for a quick profit are another bad influence.All in all,those conditions have shaped up the minds of this year’s F3 championship drivers in a non backing down ,win at all cost way.Double that to the inexperience and you have the reason behind the litany of incidents that have plugged Fia F3 this year.

  3. Sob, I was a fan of Tomas Enge from his giant-killing days in ’98 and still can’t believe he was robbed of the championship like that. It’s like Hamilton being stripped of last year’s title for getting a parking ticket!

  4. Kiera almost getting hit by Giammaria on the slowing down lap at Monaco 2003, after Wirdheim threw it away!!

    Also can’t believe how many close calls I’ve seen through out this feature. That Pizzonia/Haberfeld accident in Hungary 2002 is unbelievable.

  5. At “Mauricio launches at Monza” video the winner almost stops on the right of the track when he cross the finish line and behind him two cars fighting for 3th and 4th place till the last centimetres, one of them saw him and avoid the last second the accident. This brinks to my mind the simular accident who suffered R.Merhi (if i remember correct) and banned for 2 races. Really worth it to see the videos from the F3 memories , nice time, very nice racing and you can see how safe is the sport in present time if you see the video above “More woe for Haberfeld and Hillabove” and the lucky getaway of the marshals. What are they thinking! Unbelievable !

    1. @bilarxos It’s actually Wirdheim who slows right down at the end of Monza 2002!! I find that so ironic now.

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