German Formula 3 championship axed for 2015 season
Organisers of Germany's national Formula 3 championship have been forced to pull the plug on the series for 2015


With grids ranging between nine and 13 cars in 2014, leading teams Motopark, Van Amersfoort Racing and Performance Racing were all known by AUTOSPORT to be keen on the merger proposed by British F3 teams group FOTA.
But German series organiser Formel-3-Vereinigung acted in the interests of its smaller teams by rejecting the plan and continuing to push ahead with its own series.
However, a statement issued on Friday by F-3-V stated that it had been unsuccessful.
"The entire board of the F-3-V regret to have to take this step and will make an effort to support young F3 drivers in Germany and to revive German F3 in the near future," it said.
The proposed revised series was going to have to be renamed German Formula Open in 2015, as it would have transgressed FIA rules on national F3 by having more than one round outside its home country - three were planned, in support of ADAC GT Masters.
The F-3-V statement added that the final hammerblow came in the form of "specifications which cannot be fulfilled and new regulations, including extended test restrictions for teams contesting the FIA Formula 3 European Championship which would also have a direct impact on the German Formula Open.
"The F-3-V is no longer able to ensure a sufficient number of contestants for the ADAC GT Masters events."
F-3-V chairman Andreas Meyer said: "For this reason and with a heavy heart we have decided not to take an incalculable risk, and not to hold the 2015 German Formula Open.

"Nonetheless, we will continue working in order to fulfil the principles of the statutes of the association [F-3-V] and to support Formula 3 racing in Germany."
German F3 reached its peak from the late 1980s to 2002 [pictured], launching drivers such as Michael Schumacher, who claimed the 1990 title.
It merged with the French championship from 2003 to form the Euro Series, with Bertram Schafer setting up the lower-level German F3 Cup, which ran from 2003-14.
Schafer stood down from the board at the end of last year.

Ferrari protege Antonio Fuoco joins Carlin for 2015 GP3 Series move
Top-class cars return to Zandvoort F3 Masters for 2015

Latest news
NASCAR bans Chastain Martinsville wall-ride manoeuvre
NASCAR has decided to ban the wall-ride manoeuvre made famous by Ross Chastain at Martinsville that secured him a place in the Championship 4.
Gasly: Mindset for Alpine is "completely different" to Red Bull F1 move
Pierre Gasly says he has a "completely different" mindset for his Alpine Formula 1 move thanks to lessons taken from his failed stint at Red Bull in 2019.
GTD Pro win a “proper send-off” for retiring IMSA stalwart MacNeil
Winning the GTD Pro class at the Daytona 24 Hours was a fitting way for Cooper MacNeil to retire from racing in the IMSA SportsCar Championship, says team-mate Jules Gounon.
The all-French F1 partnership that Ocon and Gasly hope to emulate
Alpine’s signing of Pierre Gasly alongside Esteban Ocon revives memories of a famous all-French line-up, albeit in the red of Ferrari, for BEN EDWARDS. Can the former AlphaTauri man's arrival help the French team on its path back to winning ways in a tribute act to the Prancing Horse's title-winning 1983?
Ranking the 10 best drivers from F1's junior series in 2022
The ladder to F1 never gets any less slippery. But a strong cast of Formula 3 and Formula 2 aces proved sure of foot as they continued their climbs in 2022
What racing in Australia means for the future of F1's junior series
The announcement that FIA Formula 2 and 3 would race alongside the Australian Grand Prix from 2023 came as a surprise, not only to fans but to the series’ teams too. But with Formula 1’s boom in popularity bringing more fans to the championships, team principals are relishing the opportunity
Why the Formula 3 benchmark's 2022 season hinges on qualifying
Prema Racing has long dominated FIA Formula 3, taking the teams’ title in two of the past three seasons. But its start to 2022 has been trickier than usual, and the answers lie in its qualifying performance
How the ultra-tight F3 title fight is taking shape
With just five points separating the top five after two rounds, FIA Formula 3 looks set for another thrilling season in 2022. But who stands the best chance of pulling away from that pack, and who are the contenders bubbling under?
The F3 newcomer making good on his unusual career path
Joining the FIA Formula 3 grid as a rookie with a team new to the series could prove daunting for most, but then there aren't many drivers who have the extensive experience Franco Colapinto brings from his time racing sportscars. The Argentinian explains how his LMP2 experience is already helping him in 2022
The British trio hunting for F3 title glory
The 2022 FIA Formula 3 season kicks off this weekend in Bahrain. British trio Zak O’Sullivan, Ollie Bearman and Jonny Edgar have all become proteges of Formula 1 teams, and are talents to watch this year
How an outsider demolished a rank of F1 juniors
His career has been a slowburner but Gregoire Saucy trounced a collection of F1 juniors in Formula Regional by Alpine last year, and now he’s preparing to do it again in FIA F3. Here’s how the Swiss caught the world by surprise in 2021 and how he plans to do it all over again
Ranking the top 10 F2 and F3 drivers of 2021
With a veritable feast of feeder series talent in 2021, FIA Formula 2 and Formula 3 produced some of its most exciting racing yet. Although Prema Racing drivers once again dominated the respective series, drivers from other teams also stole the limelight to mark themselves out as stars of the future, or validate their highly-regarded standing
Subscribe and access Autosport.com with your ad-blocker.
From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.
You have 2 options:
- Become a subscriber.
- Disable your adblocker.