The key early victory that could challenge UK junior racing's hegemony

Last week’s decision by Motorsport UK to grant approval for the GB4 Championship to go ahead next season didn’t come as much of a surprise – why should it?

The new-for-2022 series is being run by MotorSport Vision, no stranger when it comes to operating successful single-seater categories, while the Tatuus F4-T014 chassis may be a bit long in the tooth, but it’s a proven entity. And that’s before delving into the finances, which promise to make it a much-needed entry-level single-seater series for those with grand aspirations without huge budgets.

Even with Motorsport UK now acting as organiser of British F4 and there potentially being a conflict of interest, GB4 was always going to be given the go-ahead. While that may have been a formality at last week’s Championship Control Panel meeting, what was less assured was that the series would be given permission to run 15-year-olds by the UK governing body.

MSV chief executive Jonathan Palmer has said that he and his team were confident the green light would be given, but only after spending weeks lobbying Motorsport UK on the matter.

On paper at least, there’s no legitimate reason why 15-year-olds should not be allowed to continue racing the Gen 1 F4 car, which has been used in great numbers in Italy and Germany over several seasons. Its safety record in Europe has been what you would come to expect from a junior single-seater series in the 21st century – despite it having no halo – and the fact that the FIA has given F4 championships a two-year transition period to implement the newer chassis has given GB4 a window of opportunity.

It shouldn’t be underestimated how important a decision this will be for the landscape of UK single-seaters, and in particular GB4 and British F4. For the former, having younger drivers brings the championship in line with other categories in Europe, an important selling point when trying to attract racers.

It also means karters or young drivers in Ginetta Junior, for example, have a choice between two categories, one of which should be significantly cheaper and also offers a clear pathway into the GB3 Championship, with £50,000 on offer for the inaugural GB4 champion.

Young guns currently racing in Ginetta Juniors now have more options for taking their first step into single-seaters

Photo by: JEP/Motorsport Images

“I wouldn’t say it was a vital aspect to have 15-year-olds, but it was certainly a very important aspect,” says Palmer.

“We’re very, very pleased that it has been resolved. It was a very constructive meeting with Motorsport UK and the various committees and the Championship Control Panel members, and I think everyone can now see that GB4 is something which certainly Motorsport UK are very supportive of increasing the depth of the British single-seater landscape. They can see that GB4 can play an important role.”

Meanwhile, British F4 has lost one of its unique selling points. Since it was created in 2015, it was the only single-seater category in the UK where 15-year-olds could compete.

MSV and Motorsport UK have stressed that neither GB4 nor British F4 are in direct competition with each other, and that both serve a purpose in the UK single-seater landscape. While that may be true in part, it may not be long before grids of one significantly outweigh those of the other

The issue of whether youngsters should be allowed to race single-seaters at that age is a debate for another time, but the fact that there are set to be two championships on offer is massive, especially when one is expected to have budgets more than double the other, with British F4 teams quoting as much as £300,000. The FIA pathway comes at a cost.

“There are going to be an awful lot of drivers that can’t raise that sort of money, certainly not to launch their single-seater careers,” adds Palmer.

“We’ve been very careful with GB4 to make sure that we get very high-quality racing but also, through various means, making sure that the budgets can be far less than British F4 to make it more affordable for those drivers that just simply can’t raise those sort of budgets.”

With the topic of 15-year-olds decided and its 2022 calendar announced, the GB4 Championship moves into the next phase of attracting teams, of which – although Palmer is confident things will pick up in the coming weeks – there is no guarantee.

British F4 is also moving to a new car next year, but the costs are expected to be significantly higher than GB3

Photo by: JEP/Motorsport Images

Out of the current GB3 teams, only Hillspeed has committed to an entry, with Carlin and Chris Dittmann Racing having dismissed the idea of joining, the former already in British F4 while the latter squad is set to enter that series in 2022. Hitech GP and Fortec have also been announced as racing in British F4, and have not publicly made a decision on GB4, with Arden, Douglas Motorsport and Elite Motorsport yet to commit.

All of this, of course, doesn’t include other teams that might want to get in on the act, with leading Formula Ford squad Kevin Mills Racing showing an interest in joining the fledgling category and others no doubt keeping an eye on the Motorsport UK decision.

Both MSV and Motorsport UK have stressed that neither GB4 nor British F4 are in direct competition with each other, and that both serve a purpose in the UK single-seater landscape. While that may be true in part, it may not be long before grids of one significantly outweigh those of the other, and low entry numbers are no good for anyone.

As Palmer says: “The ground is set for GB4 to be a very successful championship with a big uptake and provide a lot of opportunity to those that otherwise may never get into single-seater racing.”

Several GB3 squads have ruled out operating in GB4

Photo by: JEP/Motorsport Images