Junior Formula's

Diehardracer

Diehardracer

567
United Kingdom
S. Shields
There doesn't seem to be a thread about the more junior levels of single-seat racing like F3 and F4. I thought it would be a good idea to start one.

In the FIA F3 European Championship Gustavo Menzes will race for Carlin and Prema Powerteam will have Brit Jake Dennis and Canadian Lance Stroll.

Brazilian team Petroball will run fellow Brazilians Enzo Boertoleto and Gaetano di Mauro and HHC has got Harrison Newey (son of Adrian) in the BRDC F4.

In GP2 only Julian Leal (Carlin), Arthur Pic (Campos) and Andre Negrao (Arden Int.) have been signed.

One thing I have noticed is the British F3 Championship appears to have folded. Anyone have any idea why?
 
Diehardracer
One thing I have noticed is the British F3 Championship appears to have folded. Anyone have any idea why?
Click to expand...
Yes - they were running very small grids (seven or eight cars at times) populated by second- and third-rate drivers. Martin Cao and Matt Rao might have been the most competitive drivers last year, but when they made guest appearances in European Formula 3, they demonstrated that they were horrendous.
 
prisonermonkeys
Yes - they were running very small grids (seven or eight cars at times) populated by second- and third-rate drivers. Martin Cao and Matt Rao might have been the most competitive drivers last year, but when they made guest appearances in European Formula 3, they demonstrated that they were horrendous.
Click to expand...
Seven was the best they got all season, Thruxton had 4 cars. It was painful to see the organisers try and push some interest out of it.
 
It's probably nothing Formula Renault didn't bring on themselves - they have been struggling with stability for a while now. Teams are departing and re-entering year-in and year-out, or they're only contesting selected events, or they're only entering one car per round or they're relying on a steady stream of pay drivers to make the grid, or any combination of the above. If medium- and long-term stability are a problem, then the series shouldn't be considered one of the premier junior formulae anymore.
 
As expected Renault is complaining: http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/117326


I think F3.5 still has a future regardless, unlike other series that have crumbled(like British F3) it has Full manufacturer backing and is much Cheaper then GP2.

Edit: in further research im not sure what your talking about @prisonermonkeys F3.5 only had 1 less full time driver then GP2 and had significantly less teams as GP2 constantly shuffling for couple of race deals with drivers.
 
Last edited:
mustafur
Edit: in further research im not sure what your talking about @prisonermonkeys F3.5 only had 1 less full time driver then GP2 and had significantly less teams as GP2 constantly shuffling for couple of race deals with drivers.
Click to expand...
Carlin didn't compete in 2014, but are returning in 2015. Now ISR are quitting and may or may not come back. Tech 1 only entered on driver in 2014, and other teams have indicated that they may do the same this year. The series is unstable.
 
GP2 is going to be very interesting this year, especially the DAMS team, they have Vandoorne, Gasly and Lynn in the same team.

Vandoorne will be favourite, but all 3 have the ability to win the title.
 
mustafur
GP2 is going to be very interesting this year, especially the DAMS team, they have Vandoorne, Gasly and Lynn in the same team.

Vandoorne will be favourite, but all 3 have the ability to win the title.
Click to expand...
Really? I thought Vandoorne was staying with ART. Would have been the most logical idea for both parties.
 
prisonermonkeys
Nowhere in that article does it say Vandoorne will race for DAMS.

Besides, GP2 teams only have two cars.
Click to expand...
I relised after that was the case.

Intresting enough on Wiki Vandoorne isn't signed to ART is that just a delayed edit or is that currently the case?
 
Raffaele Marciello will race for Trident in 2015:

http://m.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/117439/marciello-moves-to-trident-for-2015

On the face of it, it's an odd move, but look at who was racing for the team in 2014 - Johnny Cecotto, Jr.

I know that's an odd comparison to make, seeing as how Marciello is point man for Ferrari's young driver programme and Cecotto has a reputation as an idiot, but look at Cecotto's 2014 season. Whereas previously he tended to treat the idea of sportsmanship as an Achilles heel to be exploited, he didn't have a single (to quote Will Buxton) "Oh, Johnny!" moment in 2014. Ever since joining Trident, Cecotto morphed into a more refined, more disciplined driver. Perhaps not Formula 1 material, but team principal Maurizio Salvadori is credited with having turned him around. Given that Ferrari were extremely critical of Marciello for rookie mistakes at times (most notably in Hungary), moving to Trident might be a blessing in disguise.
 
I interviewed both Paul Hembery from Pirelli and Jonathan Palmer at the Autosport International Show earlier this month to discuss the BRDC F4 Championship, where a partnership had just been announced for the coming seasons between the series and tyre manufacturer.



 
It looks like the new-for-2016 superlicence regulations are already having an effect, with a mass exodus from Formula Renault 3.5 to GP2 - Pierre Gasly has joined DAMS full-time, while Marco Sørenson will take Felipe Nasr's place at Carlin, and now Norman Nato has made the switch and will race for Arden.

Esteban Ocon is said to be chasing a GP2 Series drive, but is also considering Formula Renault 3.5 if it comes down to it. If rumours are to be believed, Lotus and Gravity have dropped him from their development programme (why is a mystery; he's the only person who beat Max Verstappen last year), which doesn't help.

And Alex Lynn has left the Red Bull [strike]syndicate[/strike] family to take up a position with Williams. He's essentially filling the role Susie Wolff had last year, as she steps up to take over from Nasr - but she won't be eligible for a superlicence in 2016, putting Lynn in the box seat if a drive becomes available, be it through Valtteri Bottas being poached away or Felipe Massa retiring. It's a smart move, given that Toro Rosso will likely keep Verstappen and Carlos Sainz, Jnr. for at least two years, so by the time a seat becomes available, Lynn would be competing with half a dozen other drivers. Curiously enough, it makes him the first driver to leave Red Bull of his own volition.
 
Honda have placed their latest protégé and reigning All Japan Formula 3 champion Nobuhara Matsu****a at ART in GP2. He looks very promising.

Meanwhile, Dean Stoneman has joined the Red Bull YDP and will race alongside Nyck de Vries at DAMS in Formula Renault 3.5.
 

Latest Posts

Back