Should British and FIA European F3 merge?
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Formula Three racing faces difficult times at the moment as the cost of raising a budget to compete grows ever higher and they faced increasing competition from rival championships such as GP3.
The F3 Euroseries, which supports the DTM, has particularly felt the pinch and seen some very small grids.
British F3 has raised its profile by reaching beyond the UK and visiting F1 circuits such as Spa-Francorchamps and Monza which make it more attractive to upcoming drivers.
The FIA has shown its desire to support F3 and revived the FIA European F3 title this year largely piggy-backing F3 Euroseries races.
Now British F3 promoter Stephane Ratel has suggested merging the British championship with the FIA’s European F3 championship.
It’s an interesting situation as the Euroseries arguably has some of the better driving talent but the British championship visits more F1 tracks and is perhaps better suited to becoming the FIA’s top series. It also has a rich history including champions such as Nelson Piquet and Ayrton Senna.
Still I can’t help but wonder if the FIA really wants to get behind F3 it should get more races taking place on Grand Prix weekends. That, of course, would bring it into even more direct competition with GP3.
At which point you have to ask the inevitable questions: why have both, and are there just too many junior series at this level?
At which point you have to ask the inevitable questions: why have both, and are there just too many junior series at this level?
Personally, I think the whole system of feeder series needs restructuring. Don’t just limit it to a British/European F3 merger. Given the whole thing an overhaul to streamline the path into Formula 1 so that talented drivers don’t get caught up making bad career moves (for example, joining GP2 instead of Formula Renault 3.5 this year).
Don’t merge them, just get rid of the Euroseries. GP3 has pretty much replaced it anyway. instead we can keep the national championships; the British series, the German series, the Spanish series and the Italian series. These can all be feeders for GP3.
Also, get rid of the FIA Formula Two series. That is such a pointless series.I always thought that F1 and F3 were the FIA’s babies, and GP2 and later GP3 was the work of Flavio Briatore.
If the FIA want to have a strong structure, shouldn’t they be working to get F2 and F3 to be the supporting races for the F1 rather than GP2/3?
When you think about how many single seater series there are around the world at so many different levels… the mind boggles. It’s like 10% of the world’s population are racing drivers! I agree that the whole thing needs streamlining. There are two many avenues to follow and that can lead to too many dead ends.
With so few places available in F1, you have drivers from GP2, F2, Formula Renault, F3… they’re all competing for these top spots at the same level. If you reduced it down and chucked GP2, F2 and 3.5 altogether into one series, the absolute very best would rise to the top, rather than several bests vying for the F1 seats from different directions.
These can all be feeders for GP3.
Also, get rid of the FIA Formula Two series. That is such a pointless series.Actually, I would have Formula 3 and GP3 as the entry-level series, and then Formula 2 and GP2 as the next step up. Formula 2 does need a bit of work done to get there, though.
@prisoner-monkeys F2 is hopeless at this point. But you can have FR3.5 in its place as the next step up from F3.
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