Pau F3 GP saved for 2019, agreement reached with Euroformula Open

The event, which was a round of the FIA F3 European Championship from 2014-18, disappeared from the governing body's F3 calendar with the positioning on the Formula 1 package of the new-for-2019 FIA F3 Championship.

Now Euroformula Open has stepped in, despite having already announced an eight-round calendar for next season.

When contacted by Autosport, series promoter GT Sport did not want to comment on speculation of its Pau date until an announcement on Monday.

But the Grands Prix de Pau Twitter page announced the tie-up on Saturday.

EF Open, which has been run for the existing generation of Dallara F3 car and spec Toyota engines since 2012, is opening its doors next season to the FIA F3 engines that were first run in the European championship in '14.

British teams Carlin and Double R Racing were involved in a Balance of Performance test using Spiess/Volkswagen and Mercedes powerplants respectively, with IndyCar racer Jordan King and 2017 EF Open champion Harrison Scott driving.

They were measured against the Toyota-powered RP Motorsport Dallara of runaway 2018 EF Open title winner Felipe Drugovich.

GT Sport boss Jesus Pareja told Autosport that he is confident there will be a strong influx of European F3-engined cars for 2019.

"Based on the interest shown by teams, we can expect 10 to 12 cars with Mercedes HWA and VW Spiess engines," he said, "and maybe even a couple more if things go well."

He added that the series could split into two classes - one for Toyota engines and one for FIA engines.

"This was proposed by some teams, and it's an idea we are ready to consider in due course, if the teams so wish," said Pareja.

"What we pledged to deliver is a BoP to level the performance of the three engines - we are progressing well towards that goal and I am confident we will come up with a BoP that will satisfy everybody."

British single-seater powerhouse Carlin will continue in EF Open next season, potentially using both specs of engine.

"We did the original BoP test and even for an initial stab at it they were so equal it would be hard to choose which one to run," said team boss Trevor Carlin.

"I wouldn't have a fixed opinion on either engine - it would be down to personal choice of the driver, and we can offer both."

Another British team, Double R Racing, is planning to enter the series with three Mercedes-engined cars.

"There's quite a lot of interest in it," said Double R chief Anthony 'Boyo' Hieatt.

"We've got the Pau GP, it looks like we will still be eligible for Macau, and it looks like a nice package.

"If we can do it for half the money of the old European F3 it'd be a nice place to be, and the Michelin tyre [in EF Open] is wonderful - the drivers love it."