Why this could mark the start of the next single-seater revolution

Max Verstappen. Lando Norris. George Russell. Charles Leclerc. Alex Albon. Carlos Sainz. Esteban Ocon. Lance Stroll. Remember the old FIA Formula 3 European Championship that ran from 2012-18? It produced all of these current F1 drivers, before it was killed off and ‘merged’ into what had formerly been known as GP3. F3 traditionalists were heartbroken.

But now it’s back… to a degree. And it promises to revolutionise single-seater racing in Europe.

Eurocup-3 has not commanded much attention on UK shores, but it has been a success story of the past three years, using a modified version of the same Tatuus chassis found in the Formula Regional European Championship by Alpine (FRECA).

For 2026, the series makes the switch to the Dallara 326 – the Italian constructor’s ‘continuation’ car of the old F3 philosophy it so dominated. Fields of 30 cars are expected for a schedule that visits Paul Ricard, the Red Bull Ring, the Algarve Circuit in Portimao, Imola and Monza, Barcelona and the new Madring… and, for the first time, Silverstone in support of the European Le Mans Series.

Powering the cars is the 1.6-litre turbocharged, three-cylinder TGE33 engine produced by Japanese giant TOM’S, and based on the G16E-GTS unit from the Toyota GR Yaris. The beauty is that the concept is already proven: Japan’s Super Formula Lights series introduced the TGE33 for 2024, installed in the Dallara 324 – basically exactly the same chassis as the 326. And, closer to home, Euroformula Open (EFO) adopted the same combination this year, its grid rising from single figures to a dozen.

Imagine a whole field of them… And that will be Eurocup-3 in 2026. Its numbers with the Tatuus (powered by the Alfa Romeo turbo) are already in the high twenties; it has teams from the sister Spanish F4 Championship eyeing a step up; and now it is turning away big squads from across Europe.

“Last month, three teams say they want to come into the championship, and for them it’s not possible,” relates series boss Marco Rodriguez. “One really strong asked me, and I must answer, ‘I’m sorry, but we are full’.”

Eurocup-3 and Spanish F4 are built upon what you might call a pillar of socialist principles, whereby the teams collectively own the series. Rodriguez harks back to 2018, when he was running his own squad: Formula de Campeones: “The Spanish federation called us, three teams – Drivex, MP Motorsport and myself. They had a problem with the promoter and asked us to manage the [Spanish F4] championship.

“We started with three teams in Motorland with only eight cars, but we grew the championship. Why? Because we have a system where we put the teams in the middle of the film. Normally, we speak a lot about the drivers, the team principals, the promoters.

Eurocup-3 does not see itself in competition with Euroformula Open

“We decided that probably the key point of this business is in the teams, especially in this category, because you need to find a lot of drivers, a lot of budget. With this system we help a lot the teams and return them part of the money they invest in the championship.”

By 2022, grids were in the mid-thirties, but there were few paths of progression for the leading drivers. FRECA seats were monopolised by graduates from its own ‘junior’ series, Italian F4, with both series plus top-level karting part of the same ladder thanks to their alignment with karting promoter WSK.

“We thought there was a space to have another category because we had a lot of drivers coming from our F4,” explains Rodriguez. “We can say FRECA is more or less an Italian championship – all these drivers come from go-karts to Italian F4 and the natural way is Regional.

“And there’s not a lot of good places for our top drivers. We started being a small championship, but now we have Red Bull drivers, Ferrari academy, Alpine – high quality drivers.”

“It’s a free market and people had the courage to choose a car that costs more, but you get a certain product, and the teams and drivers want to have it, want to drive it” Jos Claes

Indeed, this year’s Eurocup-3 champion, Italo-Argentinian Mattia Colnaghi – arguably the most promising talent to hail from Monza since Vittorio Brambilla – was this summer announced as a new member of the Red Bull Junior programme.

“The first idea we had was to do it with Dallara, but in the end for various reasons in that moment it was not possible,” continues Rodriguez. “We spoke with Tatuus and they told us, ‘Yes, with the same chassis as the Regional car, and we can do different aero for you if you want’.

“In this case we were really lucky because we didn’t have enough time to develop the car. We knew that with the teams we had we could start with 16 cars, and with the same system to make as low a price as possible to help the teams as much as possible.”

Dallara’s Jos Claes, the long-time project leader on the company’s F3 models, explains: “We could not install the engine that was chosen inside the car, and time was short, so it didn’t happen then. I stayed in contact with some teams and some people in the championship, and once in a while we talked, but they were also looking forward into their next new car, until a certain point when they decided, ‘Let’s talk to Dallara again’.

Red Bull Junior programme has signed up 2025 Eurocup-3 champion Colnaghi

Photo by: Red Bull Content Pool

“We sat around the table again and I immediately understood that this was a golden opportunity for us, to have a third championship using this car, which is just an alternative to other things existing on the market – we don’t want to pretend anything else. It’s the car that we love.

“It’s a free market and these people had the courage to choose a car that costs more when you buy it, but you get a certain product, and the teams and drivers want to have it, want to drive it.”

Claes is very much echoed by his old pal, Double R Racing chief Anthony ‘Boyo’ Hieatt. His team has been tempted back into competition – after a sabbatical of a few seasons – in Eurocup-3. And it’s not the only British team that will be in the paddock: single-seater giant Hitech GP is another to take the plunge.

With its four Dallara 320s (the forerunner to the 324 and 326), Hieatt estimates “we’ve done in excess of 300,000 kilometres” of testing programmes. “We’re busier on the circuit than we’ve ever been before,” he adds.

“Last year we did 120 days with the 320 and our Tatuus F4 cars, training a lot of drivers for other teams. I’m a stalwart of F3 and the Dallara is a fantastically engineered car. And the way that championship is run by the teams, for the teams is a refreshing model.”

Double R and Hitech aren’t the only Eurocup-3 newcomers. Spanish F4 stalwart Tecnicar plus TC Racing (owned by Real Madrid and Belgium goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois) are making the step up.

And they will join the incumbent Campos Racing, MP Motorsport, Palou Motorsport (founded by IndyCar champion Alex Palou and his father Ramon), Drivex and GRS Team. Teams are limited to four cars, although, chuckles Rodriguez, “Campos pushed me a lot to have five, six or seven”.

Dallara therefore has a lot of work on its hands, producing new 326s in batches of 10 for delivery through December, January and February in time for the pre-season Winter Series in Portimao, Jarama and Motorland Aragon.

Series boss Rodriguez has had to turn away big teams from next season’s roster

“Our first race is in February,” says Rodriguez. “But when you work with a serious company like Dallara they protect you a bit. We are receiving all the engines, we are in the middle of work with looms, we have clutches, gearboxes. We have more or less everything prepared.”

And, says Claes, the relationship is good from his side. “Honestly, we didn’t discuss much on the contract,” reckons the Belgian. “I visited Spain a few times, talks over the phone, we discussed only three or four minor items, we signed the contract and we went for it. I was confident.

“I said inside Dallara, ‘They signed for 30 cars, we will sell 30 cars’. It was the right timing. It’s a great concept of championship and it is, as people say, en vogue. They go to the right tracks. They don’t do anything wrong; they do many things very right. And so I strongly believe in it, and I pushed the company of course: ‘We must be in here, we must do it.’”

But Rodriguez, a veteran of the single-seater scene throughout this century, knows there is no room for complacency. “One of the things that I always say to my colleagues and the shareholders within the company is, ‘Be careful, we can’t sleep,’” he warns.

“You look at all the drivers who get back in and test the Euroformula car – they love it. A lot of F1 drivers test it in the winter to stay sharp” Gary Catt

“If someone asked you in 2005 or 2006, you would say, ‘For sure, the World Series by Renault is for life’. When I was young, speaking in terms of British Formula 3, you’d say that was the maximum you can imagine. You never hear me say we are the best.”

One thing Eurocup-3 will never be best at regards the allocation of FIA F1 superlicence points, simply because it is outside the governing body’s approved ladder. While FRECA basks in the glow of 25 points for its champion, there is talk behind the scenes of an upgrade for Eurocup-3. Rodriguez can’t say anything yet, but expect a minimum 15, which is at least progress and comparable with GB3.

That should make it more attractive to prospective drivers. “You need to have a step between F4 and FIA F3 – the jump is just too big,” reasons Infinity Sports Management’s Gary Catt, who confirmed that his company will have a driver in Eurocup-3. “It looks like it will be a decent alternative – it could potentially be one of the bigger ones.”

Infinity, which Catt helms alongside Harry Soden, passed its initial protege Harry Tincknell through the old British and European F3, and its big star George Russell is, as already described, another alumnus of the category. “You look at all the drivers who get back in and test the Euroformula car – they all love it,” affirms Catt. “A lot of F1 drivers test it in the winter to stay sharp.”

F1 star Russell’s former F3 squad Hitech GP (this is 2016) is on board for Eurocup-3

Most of them are with Double R, Hieatt chortling, “I can’t name any names, but we’ve done a significant amount of F1 drivers, F2, F3, IndyCar, Indy NXT. In this category, with this car, as it has done for the past 60 years it produces fabulous race car drivers. Testing is a little more open, and they get the opportunity to hone their skills.

“The F1 teams and World Endurance Championship [in which Double R carries out logistics and spare parts for Dallara’s Le Mans Hypercar customers BMW and Cadillac] appreciate the work these guys have done in ‘real’ F3. Every lap in these cars is a push-lap, and that hones these drivers’ precision and repeatability.”

And the lap times are impressive: at the final EFO round at Monza, using effectively the same car as the Eurocup-3 Dallara 326, the fastest qualifying lap was 1m41.842s; at the same meeting, GB3 was 1m43.406s; the following weekend, FRECA was 1m44.172s.

But Eurocup-3 does not see itself in competition with any of these series, more prising open a new marketplace. That’s surprising considering EFO is near-identical. “If someone is attracted by FRECA for example, fine, let them go to R-ace or Prema or whoever,” declares Claes. “And someone else will say, ‘I like this calendar, I like this car and I go here’.

“EFO is a long-lasting successful championship and well-organised. It has gone through a few successful years and then it went through its worst dip, and clearly it’s climbing out of it. They are ordering more cars, just as Japan are.

“The fact that Eurocup-3 joins the club of this car will be beneficial I think for all the championships. I believe the three championships will profit from the fact that they choose the same car, engine, electronics, just the tyres different [with Eurocup-3 using Hankook, just as did the old European F3].”

“The system of this promotion company is completely different,” argues Rodriguez. “I’m the CEO but I’m not the owner. The owners are the teams. That is why 70 to 80% returns directly or indirectly to the championship, and why we can’t compare to other championships. We don’t have any problems with EFO, Regional, GB3.”

And who’s to say that Eurocup-3 can’t collaborate in future with EFO and Super Formula Lights to form the grid for the Macau Grand Prix, once its current Regional era is over? That really would be like a return to the old F3…

This article is one of many in the monthly Autosport magazine. For more premium content, take a look at the December 2025 issue and subscribe today. 

Superlicence points upgrade is reckoned to be in the pipeline for Eurocup-3