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Time for me to wheel out my ancient hobbyhorse again. Forget the junk currently masquerading as F2 - I would like to see a set of Technical Regs on the basis of which which it would be possible to design and manufacture a car which could be either an F3 or an F2 car. What differentiated them would be:
1) F2 would be international series (or continental) with a world series, and F3 would be national, with a few international contests.
2) Engine spec to be decided in consultation with interested manufacturers, and in the light of current trends could be a smaller, turbocharged, unit, but F2 would have around 300 bhp and F3 260 bhp.
3) Bodywork regs would be similar in F2 and F3, but F2 would have more freedom to run non-homologated parts. The bodywork regs would aim to cut the downforce by 75%, meaning a real-world cut of say 60%.
4) Tyres would be single-supplier in F3, but free in F2. However, the number of tyres would be severely restricted, encouraging the development of long-life compounds. The emphasis needs to be on mechanical grip rather than aero.
This way, the design and development overhead could be amortised over more vehicles (only Dallara are currently able to that at the moment, with their grip on the one-make series), and teams could move from F3 to F2 without having to buy new cars. The current F3 Tech Regs are embarrassingly antique, and it shows in the racing, but the ethos of the series is still just alive and should be preserved. It's the only single-seater motor racing worthy of the name, below F1.
That would be ideal my Christmas present.
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