BRDC British Formula 3 Championship

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BRDC British Formula 3 Championship
File:British F3 Logo.jpg
Category Single seaters
Country United Kingdom
Inaugural season 2013
Constructors Tatuus
Engine suppliers Ford Duratec
Tyre suppliers Pirelli
Drivers' champion United Kingdom Will Palmer
Official website www.britishf3.com
Motorsport current event.svg Current season

The BRDC British Formula 3 Championship is a single seater motorsport series based in the United Kingdom. The championship is the UK's premier single-seater category, and is aimed at young racing drivers moving up from FIA Formula 4 championships or Karting. The championship was renamed to BRDC British Formula 3 with the backing of the FIA in March 2016, having previously been known as the BRDC Formula 4 Championship. [1]

History

On 23rd March 2016, the FIA and MSA revealed to the FIA World Motor Sport Council that an agreement had been reached the day prior to rebrand the BRDC Formula 4 Championship in order to reflect the increased pace of the new car designed for the 2016 season, and to fill the void left after the British Formula 3 Championship folded in 2014.[2]

The series will co-headline seven of eight rounds with the British GT Championship.

The BRDC British Formula Three Championship notably does not use a FIA Formula 3 car, instead using a car based on the Formula 4 specification that is elevated to the pace of F3 cars. The car is designed by Italian manufacturer Tatuus to the F3 safety regulations including side impact panels, front and rear carbon impact structures, wheel tethers and extractable seat. British engine and electronics manufacturer Cosworth will provide the engine and related control electronics for the FA-016. The car also uses a unique Sadev limited slip differential.[3]

The cars are around the same pace as the previous FIA F3 specification car used prior to the series folding in 2014. However, the laptimes for current F3 cars have become around two seconds faster since then due to new engine regulations released for the 2014 racing season.[4]

The FIA have previously been stringent with assigning of national F3 status. The Euroformula Open Championship had to drop the F3 moniker due to it using an old specification Dallara F312 Formula 3 car and low specification engine that did not meet the standards set by the FIA's single-seater commission. The granting of the national F3 status to the Tatuus-Cosworth highlights the pace of the car in relation to the FIA's other formula specifications.[5]

The F4 name was operated by the 750 Motor Club before being awarded to MotorSport Vision. Under the BRDC F4 moniker, British driver Jake Hughes was the first champion of the series in 2013, driving for Lanan Racing. The championship top three of Hughes, vice-champion Seb Morris and Charlie Robertson were all finalists in that year's McLaren Autosport BRDC Award.

In 2014, George Russell was crowned champion following a dramatic victory in the season finale at Snetterton. Russell beat out his Lanan Racing teammate Arjun Maini by just three points and went on to win the 2014 McLaren Autosport BRDC Award later in the year.

Will Palmer was crowned the 2015 champion after a dominant campaign in which he took 12 victories from the 24 races. His HHC Motorsport team-mate Harri Newey finished as runner-up, with Palmer subsequently named as the winner of the McLaren Autosport BRDC Award in December.

Chassis specifications

BRDC British Formula 3 Car

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MSV Tatuus-Cosworth 016
Constructor Tatuus
Engine 2.0L Duratec
Valvetrain
Lubrication Dry sump
Torque
Horsepower 230 bhp spec
Engine management Cosworth
Ignition system
Transmission Sadev ST75LW 6-speed sequential
Suspension Double wishbone Pushrod
Chassis Carbon-fibre
Tires
Pirelli (2015)
Brakes AP Racing 4-piston calipers
Wheelbase 2750 mm
Front track 1600 mm
Rear track 1500 mm
Weight 495 kg

The Tatuus-Cosworth car is a significantly more powerful car than the BRDC F4 car, with a more sophisticated aerodynamic package and increased downforce which elevates its pace to close to European Formula 3.

The car utilises a carbon-fibre Tatuus chassis and is powered by a 2-litre 230bhp spec Cosworth engine. The FA-016 meets all the latest FIA Formula 3 safety regulations including side impact panels, front and rear carbon impact structures, wheel tethers and extractable seat.

An improved aerodynamic set-up includes a highly adjustable front-wing and two piece rear-wing, and an F1-style front splitter and rear diffuser, which provides the most downforce in class.

It features a six-speed sequential gearbox with paddle shift provided by Sadev and fitted with a limited-slip differential, unique to BRDC British Formula 3.

Pirelli will continue to provide both dry and wet tyres to the British Formula 3 Championship.

The braking system is supplied by AP Racing and features 4-piston front calipers and floating, grooved and ventilated discs with 2-piston rear caliper and fixed vented rear disc.

Twin wishbone suspension with two-way adjustable dampers and adjustable front and rear anti-roll bars will provide drivers with plenty of scope for set-up changes.

Points system

Current points system

Points are awarded to all finishing drivers in each race, except the reverse grid race two, using the following system:

Driver's Championship points system.[6]
 1st   2nd   3rd   4th   5th   6th   7th   8th   9th   10th   11th   12th   13th   14th   15th   16th   17th   18th   19th   20th 
35 29 24 21 19 17 15 13 12 11 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

Champions

Operating under 750 Motor Club

All champions were British-registered.

Season Champion Class A2 Class B Class C Class D Class E
2006 Chris Lewis Chris Vinall Peter Monk Paul Rider Malcolm Scott
2007 Steve Savage Chris Kite Clive Yorath Stuart Wright Jennifer Scott
2008 Jeremy Walker Clive Yorath Oliver Sirrell
2009 Jonathan Weston-Taylor [7] Will Thompson

(As Revelation Series)

Charles Adrian Paul Presgraves
2010 Malcolm Scott David Woodsworth-Dale Clive Yorath Paul Presgraves John Whitbourn
2011 Oliver Sirrell Charles Adrian Ashley Dibden Scott Moakes

BRDC Formula 4 Championship

Season Champion Jack Cavill Pole Position Cup Winter Series Champion Autumn Trophy Champion The Who Zooms Award
2013 United Kingdom Jake Hughes United Kingdom Jake Hughes United Kingdom Matthew Graham not awarded Poland Malgosia Rdest
2014 United Kingdom George Russell United Kingdom George Russell United Kingdom Will Palmer not awarded
2015 (2015 AT) United Kingdom Will Palmer United Kingdom Will Palmer not awarded United Kingdom Ben Barnicoat

References

  1. http://www.britishf3.com/news/british-f3-is-back!.aspx
  2. BRDC Formula 4's British Formula 3 rebrand goes ahead for 2016 – Autosport, 23 March 2016
  3. The Tatuus-Cosworth BRDC British F3 Car – BRDC, 26 March 2016
  4. The Tatuus-Cosworth BRDC British F3 Car – BRDC, 26 March 2016
  5. BRDC F4 becomes British F3 on eve of 2016 season – PaddockScout, 23 March 2016
  6. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  7. [1]

External links