The Future of F3

[strider]

This is something that deserves its own thread, because there will be a lot of changes in the next couple of years.

The F3ES is at the Nurburgring this weekend and there were just 12 cars for qualifying. Compare that with last weekend at Spa, when 75% of their best drivers joined the British F3 field for the FIA International Trophy meeting and there were 28 cars on the grid, which looked great.

Normally in F3 new chassis come out every three years. The present ones were first built in 2008, so already the period has been stretched by a year in an effort to limit costs, but the new car is definitely coming next year.

There has been talk that the F3ES will not adopt it, in which case it will cease to be a pukka FIA series, leaving just BF3 and Japan on their own. That would mean the end of Zandvoort and Macau. There was a lot of lobbying going on at Spa and no final decision has been taken, but that was certainly the direction in which the wind was blowing.

It has also been said that for cost reasons some of the British teams may keep the cars they have and run them in the National Class. I refuse to call it the Rookie Class, because that word simply degrades the class at a time when it needs to be built up.

There are also rumours circulating about what might happen to British F3 itself. At the moment rumours are all they are, so I'm saying nothing more except that it would be a tragedy if British F3 were to fall apart at the moment when it has the most to gain.

Then in 2013 a new engine is coming along. There has been no official announcement from the FIA about what form it will take, but the trend is to have a common basic engine format which, with variations, can be used in single-seaters, saloons and rally cars. Again rumour has it that Volkswagen and Mercedes are not keen on this idea, but fortunately there are other engine manufacturers ready to step into the breach.

As I said, there is going to be a lot to talk about.