Inside F3
Single seater racing - there seems to be more series than ever - so PH goes to understand the traditional F1 stepping stone of them all, F3.
To understand F3 PH took a visit to Carlin Motorsport. Current F1 drivers Anthony Davidson, Takuma Sato and Robert Kubica have strapped themselves into an F3 car prepared by the Aldershot team, and looking around their trophy room they certainly know a thing or two about this discipline. They are currently running 5 drivers this year, Maro Engel, the highest scorer, currently second in the championship.
Down on the workshop floor the team were busy preparing all 5 cars for the next round of the series at Rockingham. Each car in the process of the full dismantle and rebuild that happens after every race and every test session. Like the painstaking preparation these cars have heavy investment in technology too, there is extensive development, research and design elements throughout the season, they aren’t a simple buy and bolt racer.
The first ingredient in making a Formula 3 car is the chassis. The choices are between the major companies that provide chassis; Lola Dome, Dallara, and Mygale. A team could go for the laborious and costly task of building their own but the usual F3 budget doesn’t stretch that far. Carlin Motorsport choose a Dallara as it’s a formula they know well and have built upon years before. The helping of only small rule changes year on year means a more consistent development pattern for all the teams, and thus much closer racing.
Next selection to make is the engine, yet again another choice between two major manufacturers, Mercedes Benz and Mugan Honda. These 210bhp units are sealed to keep the racing close, but with the car only weighing 550kg – including driver – it can propel the car to 60 in 3 seconds. Fashioned next to the engine is a torpedo-like structure, which is used to control air flow to the engine, another feature to keep car performance close and emphasise driver skill.
Once these major components are in place then the real work starts. Up the road from Carlin is a wind tunnel that they have just started using to tweak the cars aerodynamics. Outside of the main crash structure the team is free to build upon - within regulations of course – further enhancements to the chassis. The aerodynamicists busy refining barge boards and wing modifications, modelling on computer and testing in the wind tunnel before bolting onto the car. “With the limited amount of season testing allowed this really helps speeds up development” commented Carlin Director, Martin Stone.
Walking around the workshop it is clear that not only the aerodynamics is fettled with. There were parts on the suspension under wraps from the prying wandering eye, development work on the brake system, all the time trying to shave that extra thousandth off a lap time, all of the standard top secret competitive advantage tactics akin to an F1 team. When asked how much speed these developments have improved on the original car, the answer was around half a second. It doesn’t sound a lot but seeing as the top 14 cars in the last F3 grid at croft was separated by 1 second, it counts for everything.
All this development, testing and wind tunnelling does not come cheap, so where does an F3 team like Carlin Motorsport get their money from? For this answer I suggest Mum and Dad trying to nurture the next F1 superstar to sit down – the majority is from the drivers –to get a seat in a Carlin car you are looking at an average of £450,000 for the season. Though for those determined to get the money they will find F3 has established itself as a prominent brand for potential sponsors, Carlin’s own Sam Bird has found the funding through major sponsorship by BP, so not just a rich mans sport.
Speaking to the mechanics on the floor I ask if they can tell that a driver will be the next big thing. “It is hard to tell, but usually if a driver is keen on why something is being changed, if they are keen on understanding the car beneath them, then the bond between driver and mechanic becomes stronger. Some drivers are much better at communicating what the car is doing, but it still requires heavy analysis of the data to back up their feedback. The driver could be reporting over-steer, but this could be due to over compensating under-steer. Sometimes you only get half the picture”
Formula 3 acts as a great stepping stone for not only future F1 drivers, but also the mechanics too (though unlike the drivers the mechanics step back down to F3 for quieter lives off the F1 circus). If you want your child to be the next Hamilton I suggest you start investing that Child Trust Fund wisely, or keep buying those lottery tickets. For those that are getting bored of the procession of F1, then British F3 maybe your answer, with the stars on show you are watching F1 in the future.
Carlin Motorsport | Lloyds TSB Insurance British F3 International |
1. FFord / FBMW / FRenault / FPA
2. F3 / Formula Master (WTCC support, spec series touted as F3 alternative)
3. GP2 / Renault World Series
4. F1
The FPA has 300 hp as where the F3 has 210 . . . They look similar bodied to me. I saw the Palmers go round Spa and they are awful nice to watch and sound great.
Where is F3000?
Great write-up BTW.
1. FFord / FBMW / FRenault / FPA
2. F3 / Formula Master (WTCC support, spec series touted as F3 alternative)
3. GP2 / Renault World Series
4. F1
The FPA has 300 hp as where the F3 has 210 . . . They look similar bodied to me. I saw the Palmers go round Spa and they are awful nice to watch and sound great.
Where is F3000?
Great write-up BTW.
1. FFord / FBMW / FRenault / FPA
2. F3 / Formula Master (WTCC support, spec series touted as F3 alternative)
3. GP2 / Renault World Series
4. F1
The FPA has 300 hp as where the F3 has 210 . . . They look similar bodied to me. I saw the Palmers go round Spa and they are awful nice to watch and sound great.
Where is F3000?
Great write-up BTW.
1. FFord / FBMW / FRenault / FPA
2. F3 / Formula Master (WTCC support, spec series touted as F3 alternative)
3. GP2 / Renault World Series
4. F1
The FPA has 300 hp as where the F3 has 210 . . . They look similar bodied to me. I saw the Palmers go round Spa and they are awful nice to watch and sound great.
Where is F3000?
Great write-up BTW.
On the other hand that also means that it attracts a wider age range of drivers and similarly a wider range of abilities.
Pretty good to watch though with competitive levels throughout the field.
Compared to FF/FBMW/FR it is less expensive, but the thing is... does it actually get you anywhere??? If you win FPA it could just be £80-100k spent for no return, but £450k spent to win an F3 championship would normally at least get you testing in F1. Unless you're extremely unlucky like that bloke who beat Jenson Button and then just disappeared. Was it Robbie Kerr???
If you're 18 years old and want to be an F1 driver then F3 might be a better route *if* you can fund and secure a decent drive in a decent team. If you can't fund a decent drive in a decent team so all you're going to do is pay a lot of money to knock around at the back of the field, arguably you might be better off demonstrating your talents in FPA where the equipment is pretty well equal and talent shows. You can be a stunning driver in a crap F3 car and go no-where as you get taken out by the other rear fielders each weekend.
Equally if your a 20/30/40 something who just wants to go racing and have a bit of cash you can run in FPA, pay your money and just turn up and get in the car. The cars are run for you and you get decent hospitality for race weekends for your guests. There is TV exposure so you've got a chance of some exposure for your sponsors.
A good example of a good driver, with medium amounts of backing not having enough money to get anywhere.
I think he's still around - might have seen him in something like a porsche race recently'ish?
Here's a list of the British F3 champions since 1980. The list goes back to 1964 and includes Jackie Stewart ('64), Emmerson Fittipaldi ('69) and Nelson Piquet ('78), but in the 1970's there was two, or even three, different championships.
2007 Marko Asmer
2006 Mike Conway
2005 Alvaro Parente
2004 Nelson A Piquet
2003 Alan Van Der Merwe
2002 Robbie Kerr
2001 Takumo Sato
2000 Antonio Pizzonia
1999 Marc Hynes
1998 Mario Haberfeld
1997 Jonny Kane
1996 Ralph Firman Jnr
1995 Oliver Gavin
1994 Jan Magnussen
1993 Kelvin Burt
1992 Gil De Ferran
1991 Rubens Barrichello
1990 Mika Hakkinen
1989 David Brabham
1988 JJ Lehto
1987 Johnny Herbert
1986 Andy Wallace
1985 Mauricio Gugelmin
1984 Johnny Dumfries
1983 Ayrton Senna
1982 Tommy Byrne
1981 Jonathan Palmer
1980 Stefan Johansson
1998 Justin Wilson - CHAMP Car via F3000 (Champion) and F1
1999 Richard Tarling - ??
2000 Damian Falkner - Porsche Supercup via UK Carrera Cup (Champion)
2001 Steve Warburton - ??
2002 Joel Nelson - Was Red Bull backed in Euro F3000
2003 Ryan Lewis - Atlantics via F3 (Scholarship Champion)
2004 Jonathan Kennard - F3
2005 Jon Barnes - Porsche Carrera Cup
2006 Tim Bridgeman - Let's see
Plenty of others have gone on to do well , and this years crop of young guns look very good.
The cars are great fun to drive, and it's as level a playing field as you can get in UK motorsport. If I had the cash, I'd be back......
I think it was Marc Hynes who beat JB in F3.
Actually I genuinely believe this year that GP2 does not have the best 20 or so young drivers, and that Formula Three, both British and Euroseries, would be a better place for an F1 boss to look for the best talent.
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