How the post-Renault 3.5 series is shaping up

The announcement of five additional driver signings to the rebranded Formula V8 3.5 series last week has gone a long way to tackling fears over how the series will manage without the support of a major Formula 1-affiliated manufacturer following Renault's withdrawal.

Reigning champion team Fortec Motorsports completed its line-up by confirming Formula 3 graduate Pietro Fittipaldi - filling a seat that was coveted by several drivers. After negotiations with Fittipaldi's Mexican manager Fernando Plata were successfully concluded, a blockage in the driver market was removed.

With more than two months to go until the start of the season, Pons Racing duly announced both its drivers and fellow Spanish team Teo Martin Motorsport - a series newcomer - reached agreement with EuroFormula Open race winner Yu Kanamaru.

Those deals alone don't prove the series' long-term health, but there's clear optimism among the teams who stayed loyal into the new era.

"I am positive about how the championship is shaping up," assessed Fortec manager director Jamie Dye. "Fortec has been in far worse positions at this time of the year, as has the championship. 2010 was much tougher. I am not sure what is happening in every team, but by my count there are 14 deals done and the first test isn't until March 29-30."

Following the decision by Renault last year to end its overt support to the category, 3.5 teams pledged to work closely together to ease the transition to now lone promoter RPM, the Barcelona-based company that jointly created the World Series by Renault package. Strakka Racing team manager Dan Walmsley confirmed that collaboration has been ongoing.

"The motorsport community is close," said Walmsley, who is also involved in Strakka's World Endurance Championship programme. "I have been speaking to other 3.5 teams' general managers and team principals. If a team has had talks with a driver who perhaps doesn't quite have the budget, they will pass on the contacts to another team who might be able to offer a deal.

Walmsley (left) says teams have cooperated over the off-season © LAT

"The only thing that has changed about this series is the Renault badge above the door. RPM are the same people who have always been running the series. I am sure that after we've gone through season one, people will again see that the car is producing the best bang for the buck in single-seaters.

"We are working together to ensure the grid is not only full, but high quality. We have had drivers with a budget approach us, but if they don't want to win, we've turned them away. We believe Strakka is a premium brand, and a driver who pays for a seat with us in 3.5 could well end up being paid in LMP [prototype racing].

"Things are not in bad shape. The biggest challenge is that there are drivers chasing rock bottom deals in GP2, and don't want to commit just yet. GP2 costs are so colossal, though, that most can't get anywhere near it."

One sour point has been the slight dilution of F3.5 V8's traditional status as a destination for top Formula Renault 2.0 drivers. FR2.0 NEC champion Louis Deletraz, who committed early to 3.5 with Fortec, will not be reunited with many of his Eurocup title rivals.

Eurocup champion Jack Aitken and frontrunner Jake Hughes, who raved about Strakka's 3.5 car in winter testing, will compete in GP3.

"That was frustrating for us," admits Walmsley. "Renault committed to honouring much of the [€500,000] Eurocup prize fund prize towards GP3, rather than 3.5 as has always been the case, and therefore Jack got an almost zero cost deal.

"Regarding Jake Hughes, we did a lot of work on it, but couldn't quite get down to the budget. However, I think it's important to establish relationships with people who we might like to be involved with in future. Drivers have more sustainable careers in LMP than Formula 1 at the moment, I think some young drivers are recognising that, so that could be a route others feel like cultivating, and we do offer an LMP2 rookie test."

If FV8 3.5 missed out in those instances to GP3, its competitive price compared to GP2 can only remain a selling point. The topic of maintaining cost control was among RPM boss Jaime Alguersuari Sr's central themes when he spoke to the media about taking the reins of the championship from Renault Sport at last year's Silverstone World Series by Renault meeting.

Eurocup champion Aitken tested with Strakka but graduates into GP3 © LAT

"We must consider that these junior championship are less about sponsors than sacrifices made by drivers' families," said Alguersuari at the time.

"In creating World Series by Renault, Renault Sport shared the same philosophy that I had when I started Formula Nissan in 1998.

"Not all championships have these values - some are run more like a business. We will remain a human championship where the people are the most important [element]."

On the topic of families, more than one driver's father has expressed dissatisfaction, from a cost standpoint, with the FIA single-seater commission's proposed, ideal, new junior ladder.

The following set of figures were handed to Autosport by one concerned participant, who questioned, given the cost-effectiveness of the FR2.0 Eurocup-to-FR3.5 route, why the FIA hadn't been more generous when awarding the categories their superlicence points allocation.

Typical Renault World Series era route:

15-17 year-olds
French F4 €80,000.00
Formula ADAC Germany €120,000.00

17-19 year-olds
Formula Renault Eurocup €250,000.00

19-21 year-olds
Formula Renault 3.5 (as it was then) €850,000.00

Total for six seasons: €2,400,000.00

Proposed FIA ladder:

15-17 year-olds
National FIA F4 series €250,000.00

17-19 year-olds
FIA European Formula 3 €750,000.00

19-21 year-olds
FIA F2/GP2 €1,700,000.00

Total for six seasons: €5,400,000.00

FIA's proposals for a junior single-seater ladder could increase costs for drivers © LAT

Of course, several of the figures above can be disputed. GP2 deals are often available to the right driver for dramatically less than the quoted figure, and the Eurocup price above would be unlikely to include a dual campaign in the NEC, which many drivers embark on.

Similarly, Autosport's Formula 3 guru Marcus Simmons understands European Formula 3 budgets are more commonly found in the €600,000 region, nudging €720,000 for a top team. However, the point is made.

Tech 1 Racing team boss Sarah Abadie believes a general shortfall in drivers with sufficient funding is the root cause of difficulties experienced by teams across high-powered single-seater championships over recent seasons.

"We're [FV8 3.5] not too bad, I am quite happy for the moment," says Abadie, whose Tech 1 team, like Strakka, is also involved in sportscars where it operates the newly formed Barthez-Panis Competition. "In all the highest single-seater categories there are problems, some more visible than the others.

"In general, the 3.5 teams are not as rich as those in GP3 and GP2, who can afford to subsidise drivers more. So that's why, when you look at how many drivers there are confirmed, I think we are in a healthier position.

"In some respects, this a new period for motorsport. More drivers [through their families] are buying teams. Motorsport is changing. There are many things going on that people are waiting to hear. The FIA made announcements about F2 in October and December last year, but since then there has been nothing.

"But the main problem is not with GP2, or 3.5 or F3 or whatever. It's just that there are not as many top drivers coming through from top-level karting as there used to be."

Fortunately for FV8 3.5, sufficient drivers appear to be sold on its merits.

That its 2013 champion Kevin Magnussen is returning to Formula 1, replacing Pastor Maldonado, who was an exciting presence on the 2005 and '06 FR3.5 trail, is another reminder of its success.