The race against time facing UK single-seater racing's new era

Arguably the most well-established professional single-seater series in the UK at present, GB3 has had little problem attracting drivers for this season, with 20 so far confirmed across nine teams. The number could well increase by the opening round at Oulton Park on 16-18 April, with a further seven events to follow.

The championship’s reputation has steadily grown, and even a mid-season name change enforced by the FIA last year – when it was known as the BRDC British F3 Championship – has done little to slow the momentum of the MotorSport Vision-run series. “It’s been a very good championship for the past couple of years and at the end of last year it was reasonably strong,” says team boss Trevor Carlin. “Now with the launch of the new car with the halo, it has just made it even more attractive.”

The new machine, the Tatuus MSV-022, incorporates the halo cockpit protection device as well as a performance increase from its predecessor in terms of both power and downforce. An extra 20bhp moves the total output of the two-litre, four-cylinder Mountune engine to 250bhp, while the aerodynamic modifications are expected to increase downforce by approximately 20-25%.

All this equates to laptimes at least two seconds faster at most circuits, and means the car’s relative performance has moved closer to that of the FIA Formula 3 Championship, where the past three British F3/GB3 champions – Clement Novalak, Kaylen Frederick and Zak O’Sullivan – have progressed to. Similar to last year, a two-day FIA F3 test will be awarded to the GB3 champion, all of which has helped cement the championship’s status in the single-seater hierarchy as a stepping stone between FIA F4 and FIA F3.

“FIA F3 teams know if you run at the front of GB3, you’re clearly pretty good and going to do a good job in FIA F3,” says MSV chief executive Jonathan Palmer. “Everyone knows there’s a gap between FIA F4 and FIA F3 that needs to be filled, and of course there are various championships around, but our GB3 Championship fills the gap so well because it’s actually no more expensive than FIA F4.”

Budgets in the region of £300k-£400k compare favourably with F4 series and the Formula Regional European Championship by Alpine – the latter a direct rival – while a package in support of the British GT Championship at seven rounds, including an overseas trip to Spa, is a strong selling point. A new-for-2022 deal with Sky Sports F1 to show hourly highlights from each event is another coup and, with each race shown live via YouTube and Facebook now including a pre-race show and post-race analysis, exposure is ever-increasing.

But that’s not to say that there haven’t been issues ahead of the new season. With Italian constructor Tatuus supplying new chassis for both GB3 and British F4 – the latter among numerous F4 series also introducing the new car – it’s not surprising that supply has been a problem during the off-season.

Some F4 teams have been testing using old cars as Tatuus has struggled to deliver the new models

Photo by: Jakob Ebrey

Teams in both championships have only been able to get hold of a third chassis in recent weeks, with some GB3 squads running a ‘hybrid’ car in testing, using the older specification of tub with new bodywork and upgraded engine in a bid to gain some relevant data. It’s been far from ideal for the teams, especially those running three GB3 drivers – including Carlin, Fortec Motorsports, Douglas Motorsport, Elite Motorsport and Hitech GP – and means seat time in the new chassis for some has been in short supply.

“We’ve been doing three days a week just to get each driver a day a week [in the car],” says Elite team boss Eddie Ives, whose squad will run Tom Lebbon, James Hedley and John Bennett this season. “It’s been really hard work on the team doing three days a week to get so little mileage in the grand scheme of things.”

The problem isn’t just confined to the supply of new tubs either, but also spare parts – although a large proportion of the 2022 GB3 car incorporates components from the previous model.

“Suspension-wise it’s not so much of an issue, but it’s the new aero parts, which they’re [Tatuus] still trying to build,” says Chris Dittmann, who will run two drivers in GB3 but has yet to announce anyone for an expansion into British F4. “Anything carbon generally is a small issue, because of the amount of cars Tatuus are building.”

"[British F4] is expensive and I’m concerned about it. We’ve got two cars and want to do it but you need a proper budget. It’s got to be £300k+ and that makes it a similar level to GB3" Fortec Motorsports team boss Richard Dutton

Carlin, whose squad will run in GB3 and British F4, adds: “When you have a new car, all the parts that they build go to building cars and then the spares come later. Once the cars are delivered, then there will be plenty of spares.”

For British F4, 2022 heralds the beginning of a new era since not only will a new car be introduced but the UK’s governing body, Motorsport UK, heads the running of the series after taking over from long-time promoter RacingLine. The new Tatuus T-421 chassis will also feature a halo as well as a 1.4-litre turbocharged Abarth engine tuned by Neil Brown Engineering, bringing to an end Ford’s more than 50 years of involvement in UK junior single-seaters. The Mygale chassis, which was singled out as a reason why British F4 struggled to match the popularity of other championships in Europe that used the Tatuus F4-T014, is also gone.

“I think it’s [now] as good as anywhere in the world, in depth,” says Motorsport UK CEO Hugh Chambers of the F4 team line-up, which has been bolstered by F2 squads Hitech and Virtuosi this year. “You might look at some other championships and there might be one or two top teams but it then, frankly, falls away quite a bit, whereas I think everybody in our championship is really top-flight, which is good.

“We’ve got three F1 academy drivers in the championship [Mercedes junior Daniel Guinchard, McLaren’s Ugo Ugochukwu and Oliver Gray of Williams], which is a big vote of confidence. It really shows that the F1 teams have noticed and feel that this is a highly credible championship.”

Three F1 juniors will race in British F4 this season, with Ugo Ugochukwu (McLaren), Daniel Guinchard (Mercedes) and Oliver Gray (Williams) all signed up

Photo by: Jakob Ebrey

Fourteen drivers across five teams have so far confirmed themselves for British F4, a stark difference to the Italian championship, which has approaching 50 registered drivers. But Chambers is hopeful that some of those may come to the UK and that entries during this season will reach at least 20.

The 10-round season begins at Donington Park on 23-24 April, and remains on the TOCA support package at British Touring Car Championship meetings, giving it ample media coverage. But that TV exposure, along with the new chassis and credibility of being an FIA-certified championship, comes at a cost, with budgets in excess of £300k and not far off GB3-level for a lot less car.

“It’s expensive and I’m concerned about it,” says Fortec Motorsports team boss Richard Dutton. “We’ve got two cars and want to do it but you need a proper budget. It’s got to be £300k+ and that makes it a similar level to GB3. The cars are lovely, they’re fantastic, and the new-generation car works a treat. Then again, a Rolls-Royce looks a lovely car but how many people can afford it? We’re looking to start getting ready for next year. The cars came so late and we lost momentum.”

It’s a cost that, according to Chambers, is unavoidable in professional motorsport for those intent on making a career via the FIA’s pathway.

“You can’t escape from budget in motorsport, particularly on the professional pathway – there’s no avoiding it,” he says. “The reality is Motorsport UK, as one of the leading ASNs in the world, should have an FIA F4 championship in this country because it sits within that staircase and it’s fundamental.”

But that added cost does come with opportunities perhaps not offered elsewhere, and Chambers admits that options are being explored to have British F4 support F1 in the future.

“I’ll be candid and say we had multiple discussions about that even for this year,” he says. “But we’ve reflected with F1 on whether or not this year in our first year of running the championship that is the right thing to do, and I think we all collectively agree that 2023 is a more realistic target. I think getting our package on grand prix weekends is a good ambition.”

Chambers thinks its realistic for British F4 to support F1 in future, but costs are close to GB3 for much less car

Photo by: Jakob Ebrey

Supply issues and significant costs are in stark contrast to the new-for-2022 GB4 Championship, which has been created by MSV and billed as a cost-effective means of entering single-seaters. The series will use the Tatuus F4-T014 chassis, a mainstay of the German and Italian F4 championships, but while there’s an abundance of cars on the market – MSV bought 17 during the off-season to pass on to teams – it is running low on drivers.

With the opening round of the championship taking place this weekend at Snetterton as part of a Classic Sports Car Club meeting, only 12 drivers have been formally announced, despite 13 teams registering interest over the winter. That number is expected to rise during the course of the season, though, and Palmer has no concerns that interest in the new concept will pick up with budgets being touted at between £90k-£150k.

“It’s clearly a brand-new championship, it’s filling a new niche that hasn’t existed before,” he says. “If we get 10 to 12 cars from the outset, I think it will be a good job. I’m very confident it’s going to have a very good future.

"The truth of the matter is, with single-seaters right now, the halo has become a necessity. I think it’s been imperative that both series [GB3 and British F4] have gone to it" JHR boss Steve Hunter

“It’s filling a very different niche to FIA F4, the budgets are a lot lower, and I think we’re going to see some great drivers come out of it. If we don’t have 14 to 15 cars by the end of the year then I’ll be disappointed because I think we will, I just think it takes time for things to build up.”

The new championship is the chance for teams to move up the single-seater ladder, which is what Formula Ford squads Kevin Mills Racing and Graham Brunton Racing have both done. Mills moves into GB4 with his son Tom – the 16-year-old impressed with the family squad in his maiden season of car racing last year – and says that “without this formula we could never have moved up”.

“I think it will snowball, I think when we see the cars out and we get a meeting out of the way people will get involved,” Mills adds. “The cars are brilliant – it’s a modern car, they’re fairly reasonable to run, and the lads are really learning the aero at a sensible cost.”

Craig Brunton, team manager at GBR, also has no concerns that the championship will grow over the coming months.

“Being with MSV gives you that confidence because they don’t do things by half measures,” he says. “We know it’s going to build and if we can get to 12 for that first round that would be mega.”

New GB4 cars don't have halo and are designed to cater for drivers who don't have a budget for British F4

Photo by: Jakob Ebrey

There has been some disquiet about this weekend's standalone opener at Snetterton, where teams aren't able to make the efficiencies they will be able to at other events where GB4 runs on the same bill as GB3. Squads such as Hillspeed, Elite and Fortec – which all plan to compete in both categories – will be able to split costs of attending those race meetings.

“To have two championships on one weekend to me is a bonus,” says Dutton. While GB3 and British F4 are using brand-new machines, the use of older-spec cars could prove problematic for GB4, especially on the safety front, which for team bosses and the parents of young drivers is not something to be overlooked in modern motorsport.

“The truth of the matter is, with single-seaters right now, the halo has become a necessity,” says Steve Hunter, team boss at JHR, which will run reigning British F4 champion Matthew Rees in GB3 and cars in British F4. “I think it’s been imperative that both series [GB3 and British F4] have gone to it.”

“It’s the best thing that’s happened in motorsport since the HANS device,” adds Carlin, who sees GB4 as ‘club racing’ rather than a destination where future single-seater stars will set their sights. “The fact that it’s everywhere, especially in the junior categories, is incredible. For the FIA to have achieved that in such a short amount of time really is very impressive.”

While both Palmer and Chambers are clear that GB4 and British F4 are not direct rivals and can co-exist, only time will tell whether both can survive, and perhaps more importantly thrive alongside each other.