Photos: DTM

Gerhard Berger’s work as FIA Single-Seater Commission president and chairman of DTM promoter ITR laid way for many of today’s F1 drivers making it to the top. But his next move might have the opposite effect

Since the DTM’s revival in 2000, as a domestically focused high-spec touring car series, it has had a strong relationship with Formula 3. Had W Series not opted to cancel its 2020 season, F3 would have been on the support bill for all 21 seasons of ‘Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters’.

At first it was German F3, then in 2003 that merged with its French counterpart to become the F3 Euro Series. That was run by Formel 3 Vermarktungs GmbH (F3V GmbH), a subsidiary company of DTM promoter ITR, and evolved into the FIA F3 European Championship that ran from 2012 to 2018.

Throughout that time the DTM updated itself by following sporting and technical developments from Formula 1 and IndyCar, categories it compares itself to, and in recent years has been based on a ‘Class One’ formula also used by Japan’s Super GT – a closed-wheel counterpart to Super Formula. It has been one of the most popular professional series for drivers and automotive manufacturers in the world, and is often referred to as single-seater racing with a roof. It’s no surprise the Aston Martin Autosport BRDC Award tests young drivers in DTM cars.

But for 2021, after its manufacturer appeal started to wane, the series will run for GT3 sportcars. But more on that later.

The creation of FIA European F3 in 2012 was effectively a Euro Series rebrand by the FIA Single-Seater Commission, then fronted by Gerhard Berger.

The Austrian had a long relationship with F3 and the DTM, having finished third in the final season of FIA European F3’s first era in 1984, then finished eighth in his sole DTM start a year later as he started to make waves in F1.

Photo: Votava / Imagno / picturedesk.com

Berger called time on his race-winning F1 career in 1997, and had a short break before becoming BMW’s motorsport director. That job ended in 2003, after BMW had won the Le Mans 24 Hours and successfully returned to F1 as an engine supplier. After that, Berger part-owned Toro Rosso (now called AlphaTauri), and joined Sebastian Vettel (a Euro Series graduate) on the podium after his historic 2008 Italian Grand Prix win.

By the time Berger took over the Single-Seater Commission presidency from Barry Bland – the late and great creator and organiser of most of F3’s classic races – it was already the norm for F3’s top talents to be DTM-bound.

Under Berger’s direction that changed. He bowed out of the role after a 2014 season that produced four future F1 stars (including Max Verstappen), five Formula E drivers and eight who went on to race in IndyCar or Super Formula.

Berger vacated the position – after also influencing FIA Formula 4’s introduction – to focus on his family’s business, and was replaced by ex-Ferrari team principal and future F1 CEO Stefano Domenicali. But he was dragged back into F3 in 2017 when he succeeded HWA, AMG and effective DTM founder Hans Werner Aufrecht as ITR chairman.

A few months into that job he was pitted against Domenicali, who planned to end European F3 to create the current F1-supporting FIA F3 Championship. Berger responded by continuing the F3V GmbH series under a new name, and those efforts were recognised with the awarding of a substantial 25 FIA superlicence points to the champion.

The continuation ultimately failed, partly down to Euroformula swooping in to fill European F3’s market space, but Berger had already struck a deal to keep F3 with the DTM by having W Series, another startup, support for 2019.

Part of the motivation for that, beyond W Series boosting ticket sales, links to a comment Berger made in a 2015 interview with Autosprint: “F3 has always been the best school for a driver, and should remain so.”

However, when Formula Scout heard from Berger prior to last weekend’s era-ending DTM title decider, his thoughts were somewhat different when asked if ITR would retain room for F3 in the future – as it now has a GT4-based DTM Trophy support series – and how GT3-spec DTM plans to attract young drivers.

“For us, the DTM Trophy is a very important element,” Berger began.

“We’re always getting questions: ‘back in your day, in F1 you had six French drivers, six Italians, where are the Italians, where are the French now?’. I think the reason is these countries didn’t pay enough attention to supporting and nurturing young talents, and for us – and with the DTM Trophy – it’s very important to give young talents the possibility to get started in motorsport, to make their way in motorsport, to build a basis for a future career.

“Be it sportscar racing, touring car racing, that’s for us an important aim. To create a platform for up-and-coming drivers to enable them to make a career in motorsport as professionals and at the end of the day maybe even be in a position to earn some money as a race driver. We’ve seen the DTM Trophy season has been very well balanced, great racing, and it’s a clear element for the DTM platform.”

With schedule space freed by having no F3V GmbH, ITR introduced the DTM Trophy in 2020. One of the series’ goals was to be a feeder to its namesake, and being pitched at drivers with a International D license meant that as well as appealing to sportscar enthusiasts, its place on the DTM support bill – and junior title for drivers born after 1997 – made it attractive to young drivers without the money for F3: be they F4 graduates or car racing newcomers.

The first champion was Esports convert Tim Heinemann, a protege of DTM legend Bernd Schneider, who now looks destined to race in the DTM. Like F3 Euro Series drivers who raced with Mercedes-Benz or Volkswagen engines, there’s already a line into professional drives for the Trophy’s best.

It’s clear – despite Berger’s hope W Series returns in 2021 – that there’s a new proving ground on the block, and one that prepares drivers directly for DTM’s future. It ticks some of the boxes that made DTM and its support paddock a popular career choice for young drivers, but frankly sportscars can also be of little-to-no interest to many rising talents and their sponsors.

But what do DTM’s current drivers, many who made their names on the support bill, make of the GT3 switch?

Ferdinand Habsburg raced in FIA European F3 in 2017 and ’18, picking up one win but becoming known for the finish to the 2017 Macau GP, where he claimed the lead at the final corner before understeering into the barriers and finishing fourth. Since 2019, he has raced in the DTM and recently took his first podium and pole.

“First and foremost, when you racing as a support series to the DTM, you get to meet people,” Habsburg told Formula Scout.

“They get to see you, so you’re directly in front of their noses. And although DTM teams are always busy on race weekends, there is always somebody keeping an eye on the support categories to see how the young talent is coming along.

“Then moving into DTM; I mean you meet so many people, you’re introduced to this whole new world of professional motorsport and if you end up shining and being able to do well in that sort of field, then it’s something that nobody can take off your CV and it’s something that seems to be very attractive to the motorsport community around the world.

“It gives you an interesting portfolio for more manufacturers and more job opportunities in the future, which is awesome.

“Of course, DTM is in a lot of ways and has been an end goal. It’s been the dream to race there, and to try to win the championship. So once I got there, my eyes were set, my mind was focused, and my progression I feel has been positive, going into the first podium and pole position. Your goals change along the way obviously, but you’re also opened up to a whole new world which changes your perspective often as well. And also of course, growing up. I’m in my young 20s, you’re changing all the time [at my age]. DTM also helps you with that.”

As a direct result of driving for Aston Martin and Audi-linked DTM teams, opportunities appeared for Habsburg to race those marques’ GT3 cars, and so he also has an eye on how a young driver will see DTM’s future.

“It will make the transition easier for people that don’t necessarily have the financial background – like I had the privilege of having – to do F3, which is an expensive series.

“And then it gives more opportunity for people that still want to go racing, but have to start off like Rene Rast did.

“What he did was something very special, and not everybody was able to do. Most of them came from single-seaters in DTM. So it means you can go and race touring cars and have a more honest chance at getting up to speed quicker in a DTM car. That’s great. It will still keep the same attractiveness; it’s DTM. It’s the same format, we’ll see that the drivers will still always be very competitive, that’s the thing that everybody looks for. And the fanbase is huge.

“You know what, it is difficult to say still. Because it hasn’t happened yet, and we’ll see how it goes along. But it’s always been a professional series, and I believe it will stay that way.”

Habsburg and Rast disputing the lead of a DTM race

It’s not just Habsburg who’s holding up Rene Rast as a career template for the DTM. The series itself is, too. The 34-year-old German’s latest swathe of career momentum (and domination) has come just at the right time, as his story makes its new platform and DTM Trophy a more convincing sell to drivers and punters.

Rast did actually race single-seaters, but his one-and-a-half seasons in Formula BMW ADAC had little in the way of results. He moved to touring cars, lighting up Germany’s single-make series as a teenager, then to Porsche Carrera Cup Germany. He became champion, and moved up to the F1-supporting Supercup where he won the title on his second attempt – then won again for the next two years. It earned him DTM tests, but no race seat.

In 2013 he diversified, becoming a winner with Audi’s factory teams in FIA GT and ADAC GT Masters (the German GT series DTM is now a direct rival to) as well as becoming champion in Germany’s low-cost Dacia Logan Cup of all things.

Rast won the 2014 GT Masters title while getting his first taste of prototypes, and was then picked to join Audi’s LMP1 line-up for its penultimate Le Mans attack. The long-awaited DTM debut came in 2016 as a substitute, but it didn’t get the same attention as his winning LMP2 exploits or single-seater return with Team Aguri in FE’s Berlin E-Prix.

His dreams were finally fulfilled, and then surpassed in 2017 as he became DTM’s first rookie champion since the 1990s. He came four points short of a sophomore title, despite winning the final six races, and is now a three-time champion.

On top of his latest title success, Audi brought Rast back to FE this year in Berlin and he picked up his first single-seater podium and bagged himself a full-time drive with the factory Abt team for next season.

Photo: FIA Formula E

Rast’s story, and success, undoubtedly makes him DTM’s poster boy. Mercedes has had a few F1 proteges in the series, like Red Bull has in SF, but it can be queried if they earned DTM seats solely because F1’s top team had them spare.

In the end, F1 spat di Resta, Esteban Ocon and Pascal Wehrlein back out and they found salvation by returning to the DTM or, in Ocon’s case, switching allegiances. Rast meanwhile forged his own path, spent less money than his contemporaries in getting to a professional level, and later proved the DTM’s calibre of competition by matching the best in F1’s new single-seater world championship rival.

Rast’s DTM journey inspires Habsburg as much as it would drivers far younger, and another great example of a driver to look up to in the series is F1 grand prix winner Robert Kubica.

Attracting ex-F1 drivers has actually been a DTM strength, and most have raced there to end or extend their career rather than as a holding cell until they find a way back into F1. Here’s what Berger had to say about the topic, and if Aston’s likely 2021 DTM return (having competed via R-Motorsport in 2019) could incorporate its F1 signing Vettel.

“I’m sure Sebastian would say yes immediately. I think his path is F1. I would rather have Sebastian committed 100% to F1. So from today’s perspective: no. But maybe in the future it’s a possibility. We’ve had drivers like Jean Alesi, David Coulthard, Mika Hakkinen, many ex-F1 drivers are on this platform and that has to be the goal for the future.

“Be again where we were in the past. We need to have a platform that’s fascinating for drivers, who will be thrilled by the cars and the machinery. That’s where we will like to end up.”

The fascination was an attraction for Kubica, who alongside F1 reserve driver duties this year contested his rookie DTM season with ART Grand Prix – the big rival team when he raced in F3 Euro Series.

Kubica revealed to Formula Scout that racing in the support paddock actually played a part in his 2020 return:

“Lets start from many, many years ago. Being on the same weekend, on the same track as [the DTM] in the championship I was racing in – F3 Euro Series – which was I think one of the most challenging and most ‘looked at’ championships in the [lower] formulas, it was really something special.

“I remember crowds of people around the DTM paddock, grandstands, it felt really amazing. Probably that’s why I always followed DTM very closely, and somehow I did try to come back after 17 years to this paddock because in the end what attracts our sport and what makes it so special are fans.”

The COVID-19 pandemic meant spectators were barred in 2020 and cut – as it did for most series – the appeal to sponsors.

“DTM has always been very close and very open to fans,” continued Kubica. “It’s one of the few series which give opportunity to fans to come so close, to [be] part of race weekends, enter the paddock, come close to the teams, cars, and stuff like this.”

While Kubica hopes to see a return of spectator interaction in 2021, he’s decided he won’t stick around to race the GT3s.

The ruleset change means the loss of turbochargers, the Drag Reduction System, and a host of other technical upgrades that has kept DTM relevant not only as a final step in a driver’s career, but as a preparatory tool for F1.

“Regarding preparation of young drivers? We have seen some young drivers come into F1 via DTM, and I think it’s a good opportunity [for them],” added Kubica. “For sure, once the DTM switches to GT3, I think it will be less attractive to young drivers, to be honest. Because the driving style and what you learn in a GT car, it not necessarily works on formula cars.

“But definitely nobody’s putting any doubt about the drivers’ level and the competitiveness which we are having in DTM, they have been always very, very high level. Whatever year you look, there have been always amazing drivers in a very, very competitive field. And the teams.

“Once you get car manufacturers involved directly in the series, it brings the series into the highest level of professionalism, of the technical aspects and stuff like this. This is also one thing which is quite difficult with a small team like we are, to race against the teams which are backed by factories, and they have huge experience.

“I don’t know how the situation will be on this topic next year, but from what I understood, the DTM is trying to attract privateer teams, which they can handle and offer opportunities to race to young drivers. But as I said, I think the biggest limitation for young drivers in the future will be that DTM will use GT cars. And this isn’t exactly the same as F1.”

Habsburg called the ‘Class One’ vehicles “a F3 car with more power, more downforce, and a little bit more weight” with a similar driving style requirement, and is more optimistic about DTM’s GT3 future than Kubica.

“From the driver point of view, I think it’s a big shame and probably all of us will miss this feeling of driving the car, which looks like a touring car or a GT car but is more like a formula car,” Kubica said.

“This is what I think all drivers enjoy, the feeling of downforce, the ability of actually extracting maximum from those cars. But from the other end, if the change of cars will grant a good future for DTM, I think it’s the correct move.”

Habsburg and Kubica efficiently summarise how DTM’s overhaul could impact young drivers.

DTM Trophy could prove to be more affordable entry to becoming a professional than through lower-level single-seaters. If a driver can carve a route through the DTM paddock’s new structure, learn enough as a driver in the GT cars and impress a manufacturer there, then not only could they get find an opportunity later in life in FE or beyond, but having built professional connections so early in their career via the Trophy they could probably stay in racing far longer than the average junior single-seater entrant. And at the core of this image switch is ensuring there is still a DTM for those drivers to go to.

But at the same, so much of what made the DTM famous is now going, and being replaced by a ruleset neither new, inspiring or visually identifiable as the DTM. It will cost more than its sportscar rivals too.

Grid sizes may grow in 2021, and there will absolutely be more marques than the current two, but are the professional drivers going to stay loyal when there’s greater driving challenges elsewhere? And can a GT3 series populated by customer cars fitted with assists such as anti-lock braking really prepare a young driver for the extreme management skills needed in FE or the high-speed processing and ultra-professional world of F1?

And for all of Berger’s previous success, how did the DTM come to this point?

Further reading
The timeline of European F3’s demise – Teams’ memories of a F3 era
Creating the young driver competition 2020 never got to see
How W Series plans to rebound ‘bigger and better’ in 2021
How Robert Kubica set the perfect example for young drivers

Photo: GT World Challenge Europe

The post Why DTM’s sportscar switch could go two ways for young drivers appeared first on Formula Scout.

Audi Sport Abt has suspended its driver Daniel Abt for cheating in an Esports competition. The team needs a replacement capable of winning it titles and may need to look at its rivals to find the star it requires

Daniel Abt – runner-up to Mitch Evans in GP3 back in 2012 – has lost his Audi Sport ABT Formula E drive after he was found to have allowed simulator racer Lorenz Hoerzing to drive in his place during the latest FE Race at Home Challenge race.

The 27-year-old, who has driven for the team since the series’ inception in 2014, leaves behind a coveted seat for the remainder of the season alongside 2015-16 champion and current title contender Lucas di Grassi.

There will be plenty of drivers for Audi to choose from, not least one of its nine contracted drivers who will be displaced when the German manufacturer leaves the DTM later this year. Among those DTM refugees will be the obvious replacement picks in Robin Frijns and Nico Muller, who currently drive in FE for Virgin Racing and Dragon Racing respectively.

Although Audi supplies Virgin with its powertrain and loans Muller to Dragon, the automotive manufacturer may find it difficult to pry either driver from their respective team especially part-way through the season.

Two-time DTM champion Rene Rast may also be an enticing option, although his FE experience is limited to a cameo for Team Aguri at the 2016 Berlin E-Prix and he’s now 33 years old. Young GT drivers Kelvin van der Linde and Mattia Drudi tested for Audi during March’s rookie test in Marrakech and will also be in outside contention for the seat.

Formula Scout presents five young drivers, and an older Audi-known star, who should be in consideration for an FE seat…

Maximilian Gunther GERMANY 22y/o
Currently 4th in 2019-20 FE, 17th in 2018-19 FE – 14th in ’18 F2, 2nd in 2016 FIA European F3, 5th in ’17 Macau GP

Following a breakout second season, BMW Andretti’s Maximilian Gunther must be a driver many teams will consider for a drive in the future. At 22 he is the series’ youngest victor after taking his maiden win in Santiago earlier this year, and he followed that up with second in Marrakesh shortly before the season was halted. He currently sits fourth in the standings, just two points behind his experienced (in a wider motorsport sense) team-mate Alexander Sims.

While Gunther’s junior single-seater record never included a title, it was still very solid. Twice a runner-up in ADAC Formel Masters, Gunther was also a 10-time race-winner in FIA European Formula 3. He was a distant runner-up to Lance Stroll in 2016 (but beat George Russell) and was a less distant third in 2017 behind Lando Norris and Joel Eriksson.

That led on to Formula 2 with the somewhat unfancied Arden outfit. He claimed an unremarkable 41 points from 22 races in a year when fellow rookies Norris and Russell fought over the title and earned Formula 1 seats. But it was Gunther’s first season on Pirelli tyres and he outscored highly-rated team-mate Nirei Fukuzumi by 24 points despite the Honda junior having spent the previous two years on Pirellis in GP3. Gunther also took a convincing reversed-grid win at Silverstone.

He hasn’t always had things easy in FE, after a difficult maiden season with Dragon that included seat-swapping with IMSA star Felipe Nasr. However, Gunther emerged as a rough diamond with some excellent drives. Many went unrewarded due to reliability issues, notably at Santiago, but a brace of fifths was the team’s strongest results by some distance. He also effectively ended triple World Touring Car champion Jose Maria Lopez’s FE career in the process.

Gunther would be a very strong asset to Audi if they’re able to pry him away from BMW. That seems impossible to do in the middle of the season, but they’ll be keeping an eye on his long-term future, that is certain.

Ferdinand Habsburg AUSTRIA 22y/o
2020 DTM, 18th in 2019 DTM, 4th in 2017 Macau GP, 7th in ’17 FIA European F3, 2nd in 2016 Euroformula, 4th in ’16 TRS

After R-Motorsport pulled its self-developed Aston Martins out of the DTM at the start of 2020, Ferdinand Habsburg had to find a seat elsewhere to secure a second season in the series. He found an additional berth at Audi customer W Racing Team. But with Audi set to leave the German touring car series at the end of 2020, it seems likely an Audi debut for Habsburg either won’t happen or will be short-lived. Perhaps his long-term future could be switched to a Formula E instead?

Up until the start of 2019, the Austrian’s motorsport career had been focused on single-seaters. He raced with Carlin in European F3 in 2017 and ’18, securing a handful of podium finishes and a victory at Spa-Francorchamps as a rookie. However, he lacked the consistency of his team-mates, and in 2018 the team struggled as a whole with the Hankook tyres. He was third best of the Carlin drivers again in the standings, 34 points behind rookie team-mate Sacha Fenestraz.

Perhaps because of this, he followed Fenestraz in not progressing to F2 in 2019. And while he did move to the DTM, it was clear a return to single-seaters was not off the cards. He raced in the Macau Grand Prix, after losing victory at the final corner in ’17, and he did shine – qualifying eighth on the toughest street circuit – even though it went far from planned.

If Habsburg were to get the FE seat, he would need the consistency he lacked in single-seaters. And it seems he has already made progress.

Consistency was actually one of Habsburg’s biggest strengths in 2019, and one of the aspects of his driving that convinced Audi to run him this year in the first place. He placed consistently just outside the top 10 and arguably had a more solid year than team-mate Paul di Resta, though he lacked the stand-out performances that earned points. A tally of just three points was not a fair representation of his rookie campaign, proven in that he was the only R-Motorsport driver to secure a 2020 seat.

Habsburg would be faced with a steep learning curve and a lot to prove as di Grassi’s team-mate, but Audi had the confidence he would step up for the 2020 DTM campaign. He could do the same in Formula E.

Joel Eriksson SWEDEN 21y/o
2020 ADAC GT Masters, 11th in ’19 DTM, 2nd in 2018 Macau GP, 2nd in 2017 FIA European F3, 2016 Masters of F3 winner

While BMW will be desperate to keep hold of Gunther, another one of its young stars has fallen out of favour with the German manufacturer over the past year and may prove to be a more realistic target for Audi.

After serving as Norris’s biggest rival in European F3 through 2017, BMW tempted Eriksson away from single-seaters and into its DTM line-up for 2018. He earned three podiums, including a win in a bizarre Misano night race in mixed conditions.

However, his two years in the DTM were littered with incidents and inconsistencies. He was somewhat unfairly shuffled out of his seat at the end of 2019 and moved into ADAC GT Masters, where his older brother and GP3 race-winner Jimmy also races.

While the series is a competitive and respectable GT championship, it’s easy to feel as if Eriksson’s full potential has not been shown and that he has unfinished business in single-seaters. His last race in a single-seater was when he finished second to runaway winner Dan Ticktum at the 2018 Macau GP.

At just 21 years old, Eriksson could be a long-term investment for Audi, who will be fully aware di Grassi is 35 years old. There’s the potential for Audi to mould Eriksson – who was powered by sister company Volkswagen in F3 – into a more complete, consistent driver in the same way BMW has been able to achieve with Gunther.

He’s also acting as Dragon’s test and reserve driver for the 2019-20 season so has FE experience and showed great adaptability when he graduated from F3 and finished fourth on his debut DTM weekend. At the very least, Dragon should consider promoting him to a race seat should Audi call on the services of Muller.

Sacha Fenestraz FRANCE/ARGENTINA 20y/o
2020 Super Formula, 2019 Japanese F3 champion, 6th in ’19 Super GT300, 3rd in 2018 Macau GP, 2017 FR Eurocup champion

Photo: Formula E

Former Renault junior Fenestraz hasn’t stopped bouncing back in style after his disappointing rookie European F3 season, which featured one win and 11th in the points after an early win on the streets of Pau. The street-based challenge of the end-of-year Macau GP provided the first opportunity to remind everyone of the talent he’d shown en route to the 2017 Formula Renault Eurocup title, and two Monaco wins, beating the likes of F1 juniors Robert Shwartzman and Dan Ticktum.

He finished seventh on his Macau debut in 2017, with little F3 experience, and his second effort with (then-struggling) Carlin resulted third place behind the dominant Ticktum and Eriksson. He sampled GP3, but a lack of funds following the loss of Renault’s support meant he made the bold switch to Japan. Despite considering quitting racing during the off-season, and facing all-new circuits, he won eight races on the way to a dominant Super Formula Lights title.

That title campaign was dovetailed with a step into sportscars in Super GT300. Again he impressed, and it earned him seats in Super Formula and Super GT’s top GT500 class for 2020 as a Toyota driver. Fenestraz may be considered crazy to walk away from such an opportunity, but FE has already come knocking and Audi may make an offer the Frenchman can’t refuse.

As with Eriksson, the 20-years-old is a potential long-term asset for Audi and one that Renault may regret letting go after one poor F3 season in which all of his team-mates also struggled. But Toyota will be keen to hold onto his services, especially with its reigning SF champion Nick Cassidy edging closer and closer to a FE switch of his own.

Jaguar was the first FE team to approach Fenestraz, offering him the chance to drive in Marrakech earlier this year in the rookie test, in which he was 10th fastest.

A lot will depend on when the SF and Super GT seasons begin and how many rounds they will feature. Fenestraz may prove too difficult for Audi to pry from Toyota for 2020, but don’t rule him out making it to FE in the near future.

Jake Dennis ENGLAND 24y/o
Currently 10th in 2020 IGTC, 17th in 2019 DTM, 4th in 2016 GP3, 3rd in 2015 FIA European F3, 4th in 2013 FR Eurocup

The start of Jake Dennis’s car racing career was heavy with silverware, with titles in InterSteps and the Formula Renault Northern European Cup in successive years. This was bookended by Dennis winning the 2012 Aston Martin Autosport BRDC Young Driver of the Year Award.

At the time, the award was McLaren-backed and Dennis got his first taste of F1 in the manufacturer’s 2011 machine at Silverstone a year later. While he said the car was out to kill him at first, his run was remembered for how quickly he started to push the limits, and his aggressive attacking of the National layout’s kerbs.

While that may have been over six years ago, it points to skills that are useful for the one-day, street-based format that most FE events tend to be. And what of Dennis’s street circuit form?

In 2015 he raced in European F3 and totally dominated the Pau Grand Prix weekend. He topped his qualifying group by over three-quarters of a second in the wet and converted race one pole into victory in a style that had previously eluded him in the nimble F3 cars. The feat was repeated in race two.

Pole position for the grand prix itself came by almost half a second, and Dennis led 23 of the 28 laps with damaged left-front suspension. With five to go, Antonio Giovinazzi broke through Dennis’ defence and he lost further places before a last-lap crash left him in 23rd. The experience Dennis has gathered in the five years since would suggest if he was in the same predicament in an FE race now, it would end far better.

In 2016 he took two wins and fourth in the GP3 standings with Arden, before a switch to sportscars with WRT. He impressed immediately, and his Arden links enabled a move to Aston Martin customer R-Motorsport for 2018. Stronger results and then a DTM seat with the brand followed (as well as a Red Bull F1 test role). Dennis made the most of his DTM drive and by the end of the year, he was only a few points off his more experienced team-mates 2010 champion di Resta and Daniel Juncadella.

Dennis has experience of representing a manufacturer at the top-level of motorsport and is thoroughly deserving of a return to single-seaters and could feasibly be lured from Aston Martin’s stable. Although his lack of any FE experience will hurt him, he’s demonstrated that’s he’s a highly-adaptable driver.

And one that missed the boat…

Ed Jones UAE 25y/o
2020 DTM, 13th in 2018 IndyCar, 14th in 2017 IndyCar, 2016 Indy Lights champion, 2013 Euroformula champion

One year too old to make our list, but we deemed it wrong not mention one of Audi’s newest recruits Ed Jones. Audi’s somewhat left-field signing of the former IndyCar star to its DTM line-up was a testament to the 25-year-old’s ability.

He mirrored Dennis in racing in the Intersteps and FR NEC championship in 2011 and ’12, albeit with less success. Jones switched to F3 in Euroformula for 2013, where he skipped the opening round but still won the title.

For 2014 he moved to the FIA’s European championship, but struggled to shine against the likes of Giovinazzi, Esteban Ocon and Max Verstappen. He worked with Carlin to cross over to America together for 2015 and tackle Indy Lights, where he won his firs three races but had to wait until his second season to win the title – with a little assistance from team orders.

Jones had two solid years in IndyCar with Dale Coyne Racing then Chip Ganassi Racing, but could only find a part-time deal for 2019 and eventually settled on to return to racing in Europe for 2020. Audi was evidently aware that Jones hadn’t shown the extent of his true potential during his three years in a stacked IndyCar field, where he was quickly usurped by the new youngsters on the block like Colton Herta, Patricio O’Ward and Oliver Askew.

With no FE experience, Jones is an outside contender, but one which could be easily slotted in for the remainder of the season with minimal financial expense before a long-term option is signed for the 2020-21 season.

Written by Josh Suttill, Bethonie Waring, Craig Woollard and Elliot Wood

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On October 13 2019, the Dallara F312/317 Formula 3 car was signed off after eight years of service. Formula Scout spoke to some of the category’s top teams – and a top journalist – to share their favourite moments

Eight F3 championships in Asia and Europe, as well as the prestigious Macau Grand Prix, made use of Dallara’s era-defining F312 chassis between 2012 and 2019, when its FIA homologation was stripped as the new vision for F3 came into play.

In 2017 an aerodynamic and safety-based update was made to the car, with a noticeably lower nose profile being introduced. That design had several dramatic moments at Macau, first with the stunning conclusion of the 2017 grand prix, and then a year later with Sophia Floersch’s horror shunt that ultimately contributed to the cars being overlooked for Macau last year and changes being made to the circuit.

The F312 was, and still is, a popular car with more club-based racers in series such as the MSVR and Austrian F3 Cups, and the F2000 Italian Trophy. While still used in international series, it enabled the more confident and enthusiastic racers to take their efforts into higher profile series – such as CF Racing’s toe-in-the-water debut in Euroformula last year.

Drivers and teams praised the F312/F317 for its high quality and ability to train drivers well, although its relevance was decreased once the higher formulae switched to heavier machinery over F3’s lightweight philosophy. But the standard of racing, and the drivers and teams, still made FIA European F3 the top driver development series until its untimely decline.

Interest in the style of car has prompted Dallara to design a successor, without the F3 moniker, that will be used in Euroformula and the renamed Super Formula Lights (formerly Japanese F3) from this year onwards.

Motopark FIA European F3 Norisring 2018
2019 Euroformula driver and teams champion, ’19 Japanese F3 driver and teams champion, 2017 & ’18 Macau GP winner

Photo: Davide Pastanella / Red Bull Content Pool

Motopark team principal Timo Rumpfkeil, never an emotional sort, has two stunning Macau Grand Prix victories to pick from, but went for a performance that was arguably more to do with what his team did off-track than what happened in the race.

At the start of the second race on the Norisring street circuit in 2018, Dan Ticktum stalled on the grid and was rear-ended by Carlin’s accelerating Ameya Vaidyanathan. Ticktum went to hospital with a painful headache, the car ended up “shattering into a million bits”, but already had an engine and gearbox reattached by the time Ticktum arrived at hospital.

He took to the grid of the final race of the weekend, in his rebuilt car, in third place. In a safety car-filled encounter, Ticktum amazingly took victory by 0.057 seconds from team-mate Juri Vips.

“It was a massive effort from the team to bring the car back into one piece, to repairing a complete car in three hours with engine change, gearbox change, all the bodywork changed,” Rumpfkeil tells Formula Scout. “Which was something I doubted to be possible as we started, and to bring the car back to the grid and then win the race, is probably something which even had more emotions than winning in Macau.”

Motopark joined European F3 in 2015, and took its first win at Zandvoort with its German F3 champion Markus Pommer.

“It was a great effort to win in the first year joining European F3, when the other teams had three years head-start on the car. But then Zandvoort has never produced really the most exciting races, so after the start it was pretty much done. If you keep your senses together, it?s a 35-minute wait until the race is over. That?s been remembered well, but not so emotional.”

Carlin Macau GP Grand Prix 2012
2017 European F3 driver champion, 2012 & ’13 British F3 driver champion, ’12 & ’16 Macau GP winner, ’16 & ’19 Pau GP winner

Photo: GEPA pictures/Dutch Photo Agency

Carlin marked itself out as the team to beat in Britain when the Dallara F312 was introduced, but it found the opposition a little tougher on the continent.

Its first Euro Series win with the car came via Jazeman Jaafar at Brands Hatch, and it added a few more when the British and European paddocks combined grids on several occasions. A move to a new factory meant Carlin was unable to do windtunnel work with the F312, and racing in two championships meant it was adapting to two different tyre manufacturers.

The Macau GP was run using Yokahama rubber, putting all European teams on a level playing field against each other. It was the Japanese teams that therefore had the tyre advantage, but Carlin had a secret weapon to utilise.

A few weeks before, Formula Renault 3.5 race-winner Antonio Felix da Costa had obliterated the field in a MSVR F3 Cup cameo with Carlin in an older F3 car, to ensure he was eligible for Macau entry, and after a test day at Silverstone in the F312 he travelled to the Far East wanting to win.

He was third fastest in both free practice sessions, just 0.037 seconds off the pace despite his car inexperience, and was fastest in the first qualifying session of the weekend. Despite having new tyres at his disposal he failed to improve in the all-important Q2, but that was still good enough for second place behind Alex Lynn’s stonking pole lap for Fortec.

After bettering a fast-starting Felix Rosenqvist in the qualification and main race, da Costa took a hard-earned double win and his first grand prix triumph. It was also Carlin’s first Macau win since Takuma Sato in 2001.

Fortec Motorsports Macau GP Grand Prix 2013
2014 British F3 driver champion, 4th in 2013 European F3 teams standings, 5th in ’16, ’17 & ’19 Euroformula teams standings

To Fortec’s Euroformula boss Mick Kouros, engineering Pipo Derani to third in the 2013 Macau GP was Fortec’s greatest achievement with the Dallara F312.

“It was an exceptionally strong field, and you had to not only have a fast car but a fast driver to be on that podium,” Kouros gleams proudly.

Fortec turned up to the event with a crack line-up of Derani, Tom Blomqvist, John Bryant-Meisner, Will Buller and Ed Jones, and with two previous podiums: second place with Heikki Kovalainen in 2002, and third from pole with Alex Lynn in 2012.

Derani didn’t look like he’d be replicating that result in free practice, but was fifth fastest in the first qualifying session. Blomqvist bumped him down to seventh in the second session, although he was top of the timesheet at one point.

A collision at the start immediately put Blomqvist out of the qualification race, and gained Derani one spot. He was gifted another when Prema’s Lucas Auer crashed ahead of him, and thus he started the main race from fifth. Possibly the best start of his life meant he dicing for second on the run to the first braking zone at Lisboa in the main race. Three into one with Raffaele Marciello and Felix Rosenqvist was risky, and Derani was the only one to emerge unscathed – and in second place.

He lost the position to da Costa on a safety car restart shortly after, and eventually the damaged Marciello got through too. The Prema man then crashed, and Derani was back in a podium position.

After fending off pressure from ThreeBond with T-Sport’s Alexander Sims, Derani met the chequered flag in third to the elation of Fortec. Derani didn’t remain in single-seaters for long, instead carving out a career in American sportscars.

Hitech GP FIA European F3 Pau 2016
2nd in 2016 European F3 team standings, 3rd in 2018 European F3 team standings, 3rd in ’16 European F3 driver standings

Photo: FIA F3 European Championship

The Hitech name was revived in 2015 by former GP3 racer Oliver Oakes, with his Silverstone-based team entering two European F3 rounds with future Formula E star Sims. It had a top five finish and a fastest lap by its fourth race, and was already a formidable squad when it entered F3 full-time a year later with Ben Barnicoat, Nikita Mazepin and George Russell.

In the season opener it took its first podium through Russell, and a first win one round later at the Hungaroring with Barnicoat.

The next races were on the Pau street circuit, and the team-mates topped their group in Q1. Prema’s Lance Stroll was faster in the other qualifying group, but Hitech struck back in the first two races of the weekend.

A poor start for Stroll handed Barnicoat the lead in a damp race one, which he turned into a dominant win, and Russell was similarly assertive in the equally wet conditions of race two. Had it not been for qualifying several rows back for race three, the Pau GP itself, one of the pair would likely have made it a triple win for Hitech.

Russell won again at Spa-Francorchamps, while Jake Hughes and Enaam Ahmed added victories in 2017 and ’18. Ahmed’s early season winning spree sent him into an unexpected championship lead before sinking to ninth in the points.

Hitech has since gone on to dominate in regional F3, first in Asia and then through its contract with W Series, and is one of several of the European F3 teams that successfully jumped ship to the newly created FIA F3 Championship last year. Its ambitions have now stretched to Formula 2, a first for the Hitech name since a GP2 partnership with Piquet Sports in 2005.

RP Motorsport Euroformula Silverstone 2017
2012, ’14, ’15, ’17 & ’18 Euroformula driver champion, ’12, ’13, ’14, ’15, ’17 & ’18 Euroformula teams champion

Photo: Fotospeedy

RP Motorsport is the most successful team in Euroformula Open history, and therefore it was a tricky task for team manager Niki Rocca to pick one highlight amongst 11 titles and close to 80 wins before its success in the series dried up last year.

The veteran Italian named a few dominant performances, and it was Harrison Scott’s 2017 double win at Silverstone that stood out the most.

Despite spinning midway through the session, Scott took a dominant pole in Q1. His banker lap prior to his spin was good enough for pole, and he ended up 0.751s clear. A “remarkable” car then propelled him to a 14.547s win in the 15-lap first race, one of the most dominant performances seen in championship history.

He returned on Sunday with another dominant pole, once again showing stunning pace on used tyres prior to his pole lap, and took top spot by an enlarged 1.062s. There was spots of rain and a strong destabilising wind through the first corner in race two, meaning Scott wasn’t as dominant, but he still met the chequered flag with over 10s in hand to his nearest opponent.

So dominant was Scott that he skipped the Barcelona season finale, having already won the title, and his Silverstone record of two wins, two poles and two fastest laps was repeated at Paul Ricard and Jerez. It wasn’t the first time that RP Motorsport had achieved that feat, having completed it at Paul Ricard in 2012, Jerez and Spa in 2014, and Paul Ricard and Jerez in 2018.

RP may not return to Euroformula in 2020 after its disastrous showing last year, but the series would sorely miss the Italian squad if it departs entirely.

Campos Racing Euroformula Monza 2016
2016 Euroformula driver and teams champion, 2nd in 2014 & ’15 Euroformula teams standings

Photo: Fotospeedy

Formula Scout’s choice for the best race of 2016 was also Campos’s favourite in F3, and had one of the coolest endings to a junior single-seater race of the last 10 years.

The Spanish team’s lead driver Leonardo Pulcini had won five races that season, and was looking to complete his first weekend double in the second race at Monza.

Drivex School’s Nikita Troitskiy initially led the way, before being reeled in by team-mate Ferdinand Habsburg and Pulcini. The two had banged wheels down the straights while disputing second place, and they soon cleared the inexperienced Troitskiy.

A lock-up for Pulcini four laps from home lost him the time he’d gained on leader Habsburg, but two laps later he utilised the slipstream down Monza’s main straight and made contact with Habsburg again while trying to pass at the first chicane.

On the final lap, Pulcini dived to the inside of Habsburg at Curve Grande and they ran side-by-side through the corner. Pulcini got ahead but Habsburg fought back at the Roggia chicane and regained the lead by cutting across the inside.

Habsburg weaved left and right down the straight after Ascari, but after eventually choosing to defend the inside, Pulcini took more speed around the outside of Parabolica, the final corner of the race, to steal victory and completed his double.

Campos mentioned another Euroformula race as a joint favourite: Alex Palou’s debut success in 2014. The IndyCar-bound Spaniard made his first car racing start with the team in the Euroformula Winter Series, then stunned by taking victory, pole and fastest lap in the main series’ opening race at the Nurburgring – in just his second car racing appearance.

Prema FIA European F3 All of it
2012 F3 Euro Series driver and teams champion, 2013, ’14, ’15, ’16 & ’18 European F3 driver and teams champion

Prema was the dominant force through much of the revived European F3, winning 12 titles out of 13 attempts. It’s therefore unsurprising than team boss Rene Rosin could not pick out just one race as Prema’s favourite.

?Choosing only one moment from that extremely successful period is impossible as they were simply too many,” says Rosin.

“Having won the drivers? championship almost every season from 2012 to 2018 (with very talented drivers such as Dani Juncadella, Raffaele Marciello, Esteban Ocon, Felix Rosenqvist, Lance Stroll and Mick Schumacher) and all team titles in those years is something I am personally extremely proud of.

“All of those moments had one thing in common: a hardworking, passionate group of people combined with some of the most talented drivers of this decade. It has been a privilege to be able to witness the exceptional racing we had over those years and they will be forever remembered as some of the most successful moments of the team?s history.?

In 2015 and ’16, Prema won 20 races in a season, and its ’15 campaign led by F3 veteran Felix Rosenqvist included an astonishing 23 poles, 18 fastest laps and 46 podiums. However it was in 2018 when the team finally broke the 1000-point barrier across one year. Not only that, but it also won the Pau GP thrice, Macau GP twice, the Masters of F3 and in British F3.

In the coming years it it likely that more of its former F3 stars, whether they be in the driving seat or part of the behind-the-scenes action, will be making their way to the highest echelons of motorsport.

Van Amersfoort Racing FIA European F3 Hockenheim 2015
3rd in 2014 European F3 driver standings, 3rd in 2015 European F3 teams standings, 2nd in ’15 Macau GP

Narrowing down all of his F3 races down to just one in the timeframe given was a difficult task for Frits Van Amersfoort, boss of the eponymous team, so Formula Scout has selected one on the Dutchman’s behalf.

FR2.0 Eurocup graduate Charles Leclerc set the track record in the pre-event test for the 2015 season opener at Silverstone, and made his way to two pole positions. The latter he converted into a victory, and Leclerc departed second in the points.

The championship reconvened a month later at Hockenheim, where VAR was not confident of success, but Leclerc once again saved his best till last for the team and outdid Prema’s experienced Felix Rosenqvist for race three victory.

A wet circuit meant the race was led away by the safety car, before poleman Rosenqvist and his tail-happy car was left to fend off the seemingly planted car of Leclerc. Rosenqvist’s start gap was efficiently reduced by Leclerc, who had 945 laps less applicable experience on the circuit.

Leclerc’s first attempt at the lead resulted in brief contact at the hairpin, and a outside-to-inside move at the same corner a few laps later resulted in Leclerc pinching the lead through the following corner. The safety car came out just moments later, and when it returned to the pits there were only two laps of the shortened race to go.

Once unleashed up front, Leclerc immediately set the fastest lap and pulled out a three-second lead for a win that certainly left an impact. It was reminiscent of VAR’s previous success story the year before, where single-seater rookie Max Verstappen also made his name known with victory at Hockenheim then added another nine before moving on to F1.

Double R Racing Macau GP Grand Prix 2015
2nd in 2013 British F3 teams standings, 3rd in 2014 British F3 teams standings, 3rd in 2019 Euroformula teams standings

Double R returned to the continent last year in Euroformula and finished third in the teams standings. There were no wins, but one pole position and several podiums certainly pleased Anthony ‘Boyo’ Hieatt and his squad.

The Woking-based team first raced the Dallara F312 in British F3, but mostly struggled. A refreshed line-up in 2013, led by Jagonya Ayam proteges Sean Gelael and Antonio Giovinazzi led to a change of fortunes, and in the reversed grid race at Silverstone they scored a one-three finish. Double R’s next double podium was the final ever British F3 race in 2014.

Two-time Brazil F3 Open winner Felipe Guimaraes scored in a part-time European F3 campaign that year, and the team signed off its chassis with a fruitless two-car effort the next year.

Weak driver line-ups had mostly squandered any good results for Double R, which has a working relationship with Dallara outside of racing, but it was still highly rated and attracted top talents for its Macau entries.

FR3.5 star Kevin Korjus raced in 2012 and ’13, ex-DTM racer Roberto Merhi came fourth in 2014, and Sims made the podium a year later. The Briton qualified 13th due to an odd tyre graining issue, but he made up an incredible 10 places in the qualification race. Seven of those came on the opening lap, where he was assisted by a collision up ahead, and he gained his final position from a penalty for on-the-road winner Giovinazzi. In the main race he was in fourth for a short while, but otherwise had a car more than capable of being on the podium.

Sims came back in 2016, but it was racing returnee Dan Ticktum who was the stronger Double R driver. He finished eighth in the qualification race in just his second weekend in the car, but was punted out of the top 10 in the main race.

Marcus Simmons [journalist] FIA European F3 Norisring 2015
Has been to over 200 Dallara F3 races

Photo: FIA F3 European Championship

F3 expert Marcus Simmons probably knows the Dallara F312/F317 better than any other journalist, and by his own calculations in a Autosport magazine column (October 24 2019), he has been to 220 races at 78 different events, and seen 200 of the 240 drivers who raced the car using an FIA-spec engine (excluding Euroformula from 2012 to ’18).

Simmons has an even greater selection of races than the teams to choose from, but at least he was quick to pick a favourite.

“I think I’ll choose Norisring 2015 – Alex Albon/Leclerc/Russell all run wide late on at Turn 1 and let Maximilian Gunther in for his maiden win.”

The three future F1 talents made their error after a safety car restart (the last of four) late in the race, allowing fellow rookie Gunther – now a FE race-winner with BMW Andretti – to sneak by.

Poleman Albon and fellow front row starter Russell traded the lead over the first few laps, before Albon stretched out a lead after the first safety car period. Numerous bouts of chaos led to three more interruptions, and a five-minute fight to the end.

Albon lost his lead this time midway around the lap, and dropped another spot to Leclerc at the last corner. Leclerc then dived down the inside of Russell at Turn 1, but it only sent he and Russell wide. Instead of capitalising, Albon also ran wide and Mucke Motorsport’s Gunther – who had started 12th on the grid – took a lead he would not give up in the remaining time.

For pure excitement, and few would disagree, Simmons highlights the 2017 Macau GP and its dramatic career-redefining conclusion won by Dan Ticktum. It was a race that cemented why the Dallara F317 was such a popular car.

Further reading
What could Euroformula?s 2020 car mean for the future of ?F3?? (June 2019)
The timeline of European F3?s demise (March 2019)
Top 10 European Formula 3 drivers that F1 missed out on (February 2019)
Was Schumacher a worthy winner of the final European F3 season? (December 2018)
How Ticktum?s Macau Grand Prix glory showed his class as well as luck (November 2017)

The post Teams’ memories of a Formula 3 era appeared first on Formula Scout.

2015

Photo: Sam Bloxham/GP2 Series Media Service

One of junior single-seaters’ best all-time talents had to wait two years too long for his deserved promotion to Formula 1 with McLaren, and while remaining patient Stoffel Vandoorne kept himself busy by dominating GP2.

The Belgian, who won four times (including his debut race) in his rookie season, remained with ART Grand Prix for a second year and won the first four feature races. Three second places in the sprint races meant he already had a massive 76-point lead. Each of his wins had not come easy, with an ill-timed safety car in Bahrain and DRS failure at Barcelona preceding a pitstop battle with Alexander Rossi in Monaco and a bad stop leading to a charge through slower traffic at the Red Bull Ring.

More bad luck in the pits harmed him at the Hungaroring, but he returned to the top step at Spa-Francorchamps in dominant style, and won again in Sochi and Abu Dhabi. His reward: Formula Scout’s top driver and a Super Formula seat.

Racing with GP2 most weekends was GP3, where Esteban Ocon and Luca Ghiotto had an unusual but enticing?title battle. ART driver Ocon jumped Trident’s Ghiotto at the start of the Barcelona season opener and took an impressive win over his rival, then never stood on the top step again. Nine successive second places while Ghiotto took four wins and little else meant the points lead changed hands multiple times and the title went down to a final race duel, won by Ocon.

Another future star, Lando Norris, won the best race of the year, climbing from 10th on the grid to win at Thruxton in British Formula 4 with a last-lap overtake. The story of 2015 was the rise of FIA F4, with seven new series emerging.

2016

Photo: Indianapolis Motor Speedway

Had Belardi Auto Racing’s Felix Rosenqvist contested the full season, there would have been a seven-way title fight in Indy Lights in 2016. Instead we only got six drivers battling it out until the final round, which was slimmed to three for the last race.

Schmidt Peterson Motorsports’ rookie Santiago Urrutia was set for the title in said race until the last lap, as Ed Jones controversially passed Carlin team-mate Felix Serralles to become champion. Juncos Racing’s Kyle Kaiser and Zach Veach (Belardi) were just behind in the points, with Andretti’s Dean Stoneman pipping Serralles to fifth. The six were covered by 1.5 races’ worth of points.

Stoneman’s last-lap Freedom 100 win was memorable, but it couldn’t beat Euroformula Open’s at Monza for best race. Leonardo Pulcini and Ferdinand Habsburg frantic duel concluded when Pulcini went around the outside at Parabolica.

The big story of 2016 was Prema’s arrival in GP2 with Pierre Gasly and Antonio Giovinazzi. The Italian team was the top squad in European F3, but had not ventured into any higher categories since racing in Formula Renault 3.5 seven years previous.

Gasly gave Prema a debut pole, and Giovinazzi did the same in Baku two rounds later, but it was a tricky start. In the season’s first third, Gasly scored thrice and Giovinazzi twice. The upside: Gasly got two podiums and Giovinazzi won both Baku races.

Thereon, Prema was on top of the car and its own luck, and the title became a straight race between its drivers. Gasly ended a 1015-day wait for a win in the Silverstone feature race, which he repeated at the Hungaroring and Monza. Giovinazzi won three of the next four races, and led going in to the season finale. Gasly won the first race in the desert though, winning him the title.

It was his team-mate who bagged Formula Scout’s?driver of the year accolade, given he was a rookie who had come straight from F3, with no experience of higher downforce machinery or Pirelli tyres, and come just seven points short of the title.

2017

You could include only the last two laps of the Macau Grand Prix and it would still be race of the year. Dan Ticktum, in his third weekend in ‘proper’ F3, stole victory at the last corner on the last lap as Sergio Sette Camara and Ferdinand Habsburg crashed ahead after Habsburg’s brave overtake. It was a lucky but well-earned win for Ticktum, while Habsburg still finished fourth.

That excitement was spread out over a season in ADAC F4’s title battle, which put Prema’s Juri Vips and Marcus Armstrong against Van Amersfoort Racing’s Felipe Drugovich. Vips won race one of the season, but was a fairly anonymous presence on paper. On track he was fighting his rivals though, and took two wins to team-mate Armstrong’s three.

Their closeness – just 4.5 points separated them come season’s end – contrasted with Drugovich. The Brazilian had seven wins and more poles than the Prema pair combined, but two retirements. This hurt in the season finale as a technical issue in the penultimate race lost him the points lead, which was irreclaimable against an on-form Vips and Armstrong in the title decider.

Charles Leclerc overcame personal tragedy to win the Formula 2 title and was best driver of the year. He didn’t turn pole into victory on his Bahrain debut, but pitted in the sprint to win and also won at Barcelona, Baku, the Red Bull Ring and Silverstone.

He was fastest in Hungaroring qualifying but a technical infringement meant he started at the back. He made it to fourth in a hard race, followed by another fourth and a dominant Spa win. That was taken by another infringement, and it wasn’t until a tyre management masterclass at Jerez almost ruined by a erroneous radio message that he was on top again and won the title. He was handed a Sauber F1 seat for 2018, then one at Ferrari this year. He already has two wins and seven poles.

Billy Monger’s recovery from the loss of his lower legs in a British F4 crash in April was utterly inspiring, and it was a huge story when he returned to a race car in July. Once amble on prosthetics, he did a Brands Hatch track walk with British F4.

2018

Photo: Andy Hone / FIA Formula 2

F1’s star rookie crop – Red Bull Racing’s Alex Albon, McLaren’s Lando Norris and Williams’ George Russell – attracted a lot of attention in 2018 with their F2 title battle. It was a story with a happy ending for all three, despite two of them losing out.

Norris, driving for Carlin, started the season with victory from pole, a win that was to be the only of his season. DAMS’ Albon and ART’s Russell picked up their first wins in Baku, and Russell won the feature races at Barcelona and Paul Ricard. Albon took three poles, but started slow in Spain and lost a Monaco win to a pit-entry crash. After 10 races, Norris still led the points.

A win and a second place at the Red Bull Ring finally put Russell in the lead, which was when his victory run ended and Albon’s begun. He won the Silverstone and Sochi features and the Hungaroring sprint, but Russell, voted?driver of the year, responded with the Monza and Sochi sprints. Norris was out of title contention, but already had his McLaren F1 seat in the bag.

Russell dominated in Abu Dhabi to win the title, having earned himself a Williams F1 seat before the season finale, while Nissan e.dams Formula E signing Albon lost second in the points to Norris. One day later, Toro Rosso signed Albon for F1.

Norris’s wet-weather charge in the Hungaroring feature contributed to it being the best?race of the year, with Nyck de Vries putting in a similarly impressive performance for a dominant win in a race of changing conditions and lots of overtaking.

The Toyota Racing Series started the year with a close title battle between M2 Competition team-mates Robert Shwartzman, Richard Verschoor and Marcus Armstrong. Shwartzman won the title with consistency, taking one win and always finishing fifth or above. Verschoor was fastest, winning six races, but as in 2017 he was denied the title by bad luck. Armstrong used local knowledge and maturity, but a last lap car issue in the final race cost him a podium and the title in the super close series.

2019

Photo: Fotospeedy

Little over two years after his life-changing crash, Monger made sport history by becoming the first disabled grand prix winner.

The 20-year-old pulled a strategic blinder in Pau, choosing to pit for wet compound tyres at the end of the warm-up lap after rain started to fall. An early safety car meant he lost no time with his decision, while most of the field remained on slick tyres, and he scythed his way through the grid as the rain continued with an advantage of up to two seconds per lap.

When the leading Motopark duo crashed, Carlin’s Monger was promoted to the lead but he had to deal with a safety car restart and a crash of his own that bent his steering. Despite that, he stretched out a lead to take his first single-seater race win.

Liam Lawson may have won that race had he not hit his Motopark team-mate Julian Hanses, but the rookie still had a good year which began by triumphing in a title battle with Ferrari junior and M2 team-mate Armstrong in TRS.

Each won five races, and massively impressed their team, but tension built between the two after some robust on-track fights and this culminated in the title-deciding New Zealand GP. A side-by-side battle for the lead, where both pushed the envelope of risk a little too far, resulted in Lawson going off. He rejoined in fourth, but was back behind Armstrong after a restart. The leader was then penalised for the scuffle, leaving Lawson to take the grand prix and the title behind the displeased Armstrong.

W Series made an impactful debut in 2019, with the story of its all-female line-up run by Hitech GP proving popular in the grandstands and giving some deserved attention to drivers who otherwise may not have received it.

Formula Scout’s top driver of 2019 will be revealed on December 31. You can view the rest of the 2019 Top 50 here.

The post Formula Scout Review of the 2010s Part 2: 2015 – 2019 appeared first on Formula Scout.

The sporting world has already been treated to thrilling world cup finals in cricket, netball and rugby this year, and motorsport will look to add to that list with its Formula 3 stars in this weekend’s Macau Grand Prix

There’s lots to be excited about when talking about the 2019 Macau GP, with a new car, new drivers and a circuit with new elements that could all add to the show. It’s the mixture of the familiar features and the unknown ones that make the event so cherished within motorsport, and is where many faces made their name known before achieving success in Formula 1.

This year’s capacity grid of 30 cars has a 50/50 split between rookies and returning drivers, but six of the 10 teams have never visited the circuit before. Unsurprisingly, this makes Macau winners ART Grand Prix, Carlin and Prema the favourites straight away, along with the younger Hitech GP team that took pole on its first attempt back in 2016 with George Russell.

Whether the Dallara F3 2019 cars used by FIA F3 Championship will produce the same kind of competitive order – or racing – as the previously used Dallara F317 did is up for debate, and will only be found out during the main grand prix race itself on Sunday.

The success of that, and the revisions to the iconic Lisboa corner after Sophia Floersh’s horror crash in 2018, will determine whether this is the start of a new era in Macau or an ambitious false start.

The comeback kid trying to make history

One of the most scrutinised young drivers of the present day, Dan Ticktum is attempting to become the first ever driver to win the Macau GP three times in a row.

Since his crushing weekend-long display with Motopark in the city-state last year, he’s had a somewhat turbulent 12 months.

The 20-year-old began 2019 with an uninspiring Asian F3 Winter Series (AF3WS) campaign which ended one round early, and his Super Formula lasted three races before he lost his seat and was ejected from the Red Bull Junior Team.

Ticktum returned to racing for two rounds of the Regional F3-spec Formula Regional European Championship several months later, then pencilled his Macau deal with three-time grand prix winner Carlin.

That put Ticktum in one of Carlin’s cars for the mostly wet post-season FIA F3’s test at Valencia, where was 14th fastest. His inexperience in the car, and its Pirelli tyres, will act as the biggest stumbling block to him earning a hat-trick of wins.

However, if he’s successful it will provide the much-needed career boost to remind everyone why he’s still one of the top junior single-seater talents. While his maiden Macau GP victory was certainly fortunate given the dramatic final lap, his 2018 win was a testament to how one driver can be a cut above the rest in an event that rewards the best.

His knowledge of the circuit, as well as Carlin’s, should place him right among the victory favourites even after enduring the disjointed and woeful 12 months he’s been through. And send a message to his potential Formula 2 rivals of 2020.

Prema’s champions looking to end 2019 on a high

The odds are somewhat stacked against FIA F3 champion Robert Shwartzman. Just two of the past 10 Macau winners were champion of their respective series in the same year. Prema also hasn’t won since 2015, and that was with the somewhat overqualified Felix Rosenqvist. Furthermore, Shwartzman was consistently the fourth-best Prema driver at Macau last year.

However, given the hugely impressive season Shwartzman has had, he’s probably not too worried about the past. He instantly gelled with the FIA F3 car, and the consistently strong performances he demonstrated throughout 2019 is exactly what is needed to win Macau. More than that, he showed he was more adept than anyone in getting the most out of a lowly grid spot.

Looking for redemption in the intra-team rivalry is Marcus Armstrong. A mixture of bad luck and inconsistency meant he only just stole second in the standings from Jehan Daruvala at the final round and finished 64 points adrift of Shwartzman.

Armstrong made a solid Macau debut last year, finishing eighth in the main race as the second-best rookie. If he can use that experience as a base, he has a decent shot at ending 2019 as Prema’s top dog.

A knee injury means Daruvala won’t be at Macau, but it does give Prema’s FREC champion Frederik Vesti a well-earned top seat. Vesti into last year’s Macau weekend with limited F3 experience, but left with a respectable 15th place, after a crash in the qualification race left him 25th on the grid.

He’s unlikely to be in victory contention like his two team-mates, but the weekend will be a decent springboard ahead of a likely FIA F3 season with Prema.

The more successful Schumacher sequel?

While it didn?t occur last year despite expectation, there is again the opportunity of a Schumacher family triple at Macau.

Mick Schumacher was unable to emulate his father Michael over the past two years, but his cousin David has the opportunity to emulate his own father, and 1995 Macau winner, Ralf.

The latest Schumacher on the racing scene spent a single year in Formula 4 before stepping up to the newly created FREC with his dad’s US Racing team for 2019. He impressed, winning four times against Prema’s might, and showed he could control races from the front. As a reminder, he never visited the podium in ADAC F4 or his Euroformula Open cameo last year.

Schumacher also raced in AF3WS this year and then the final FIA F3 round at Sochi, although he could make no real impact in the latter with Campos Racing. The result there didn’t reflect how quickly he adapted to the car.

All recent tradition has gone out of the window with the new car, but Macau historically is one of those circuits where track position is more than critical to a good result, and Schumacher’s pace with Sauber Junior Team by Charouz in the post-season test had him mired firmly in the lower section of the congested midfield. Valencia shares little with Macau though.

A victory would be a long shot, predominantly because other teams will likely be stronger, but Macau can produce truly unexpected results. If Schumacher were to re-create family history, hopefully it won?t come with the same mass pile-up his father had to deal with on his way to victory.

Will Ilott finally get lucky in the city?

Callum Ilott has not been lucky when it comes to Macau. The Sauber junior is one of the most experienced drivers on this year?s entry list, and has already raced in the grand prix four times before. Though he?s never finished higher than fifth, he?s shown plenty of potential, and almost always been a victory bet.

His 2015 debut with Carlin, at the end of his first year in cars, was a disaster. Ilott crashed four times and injured his hand, and was then dropped by the Red Bull Junior Team. He bounced back with Van Amersfoort Racing in 2016, finishing in fifth.

The momentum continued through to 2017 with Prema, as he won the qualification race but then finished 15th in the grand prix after contact with Motopark’s Joel Eriksson shortly after a full course yellow led to a lengthy pit stop.

While Ilott moved from F3 to GP3 for 2018, he linked back up with Carlin to make another Macau return. He qualified second and finished third in the qualification race, but sank to seventh in the grand prix. His weekend was mostly remembered for an unbelievable manoeuvre to avoid the crashed car of Marino Sato at one of the tightest parts of the circuit.

This year, Ilott will be one of two F2 drivers (along with Jenzer Motorsport’s Arjun Maini) racing in the new F3 cars. He didn’t attend the Valencia test, but was a winner in championship predecessor GP3, and some strong F2 performances over the year proved that he’s still improving on his talent. His experience of Macau’s streets should play in his favour despite his lack of FIA F3 mileage, but once again it’s luck that could be the deciding factor.

The F1 juniors taking a stand

Photo: Fotospeedy

Hitech has refreshed its Prema-rivalling FIA F3 line-up for Macau, bringing in Renault junior Max Fewtrell and Red Bull junior Yuki Tsunoda alongside the Super Formula-experienced – and Red Bull-backed – Juri Vips.

Vips won three times this year and briefly looked like he could have challenged Prema’s trio for the title. He was clearly the class of the F3 field outside of the dominant outfit and was rapid on his bitter 2018 Macau debut. Victory this year would be no surprise.

Fewtrell spent his year racing for ART and mostly underwhelmed in what turned out to be a tricky season for the team. He did finish second twice but only scored six times. Tsunoda is the more likely frontrunner, having moved from Jenzer Motorsport where he won a race and scored all of the team’s points. His progression since leaving Japanese F4 has been massive, and that he ended both his FIA F3 and Euroformula Open campaigns on a high suggests there’s more to come in Macau.

Replacing Fewtrell at ART is DTM racer Ferdinand Habsburg, eager to take the win that could have been his in 2017. Despite limited single-seater running in 2019, he looked very comfortable in the Valencia test, topped by team-mate Christian Lundgaard. The Renault junior’s talent has been masked by Prema’s dominance, and Macau victory would be sweet revenge.

HWA Racelab, the only other team to win in FIA F3, has had a lot to learn in its debut single-seater season but its wealth of experience from elsewhere meant it scored solidly with Jake Hughes. The Englishman is a Macau specialist of sorts, and could very feasibly be the driver to beat if his smooth style proves best for one-lap pace in the more powerful cars.

In contrast to Hughes, Enaam Ahmed struggled on his Macau debut last year and originally did not plan to contest this year’s race. A call-up to test for Prema at Valencia then led to another test with Campos Racing, which swiftly signed him. In an inexperienced line-up it will probably be difficult to feature in the top 10 without some personal brilliance.

Written by Josh Suttill, Bethonie Waring, Craig Woollard & Elliot Wood

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Photo: Macau Grand Prix

Two-time Macau Grand Prix winner Dan Ticktum and Ferdinand Habsburg, who lost the 2017 race at the final corner, will return to the race this year.

A provisional entry list has been released for the November 14-17 event, which will run using the FIA Formula 3 Championship cars for the first time.

Ticktum will join FIA F3 regulars Felipe Drugovich and Logan Sargeant at Carlin, having taken his 2017 and ’18 wins with the Motopark team which missed out on a slot in FIA F3 this year.

?I wasn?t sure if I?d have the chance to return to Macau again and so to be able to come back with Carlin this year is very exciting,” said Ticktum.

“Macau is the most incredible circuit and obviously I?ve been a race winner there in the past so that is obviously the aim again this year.

“It?s a really exciting challenge for me driving the new FIA F3 car for the first time in Macau, but hopefully I can get to grips with that and the Pirelli rubber quickly.?

Habsburg took the lead of the Macau GP in 2017 at the final corner, only to crash a few yards later on degraded rubber and finish fourth for Carlin.

This time he joins ART Grand Prix, visiting Macau for the first time since 2009, which also fields its FIA F3 race-winner Christian Lundgaard and Sebastian Fernandez, who contested the season with Campos Racing.

Other full line-ups include Prema, with its title dominating trio of Robert Shwartzman, Marcus Armstrong and Jehan Daruvala; Hitech GP, which has signed Max Fewtrell from ART and Yuki Tsunoda from Jenzer to join Juri Vips, and Sauber Junior Team by Charouz.

Debuting team Charouz has drafted in Macau regular Callum Ilott from its Formula 2 line-up, and is also running Formula Regional European Championship stars Enzo Fittipaldi and David Schumacher.

David Beckmann has switched from ART to Trident, along with another FREC graduate in Olli Caldwell, with HWA retaining Jake Hughes and Keyvan Andres as expected.

As exclusively reported by Formula Scout, MP Motorsport will retain Liam Lawson alongside his Euroformula Open rival Lukas Dunner.

Provisional 2019 Macau Grand Prix entry list

Prema: Marcus Armstrong, Jehan Daruvala, Robert Shwartzman
Hitech GP: Juri Vips, Max Fewtrell, Yuki Tsunoda
ART Grand Prix: Christian Lundgaard, Ferdinand Habsburg, Sebastian Fernandez
Trident: Olli Caldwell, David Beckmann, TBA
HWA Racelab: Jake Hughes, Keyvan Andres, TBA
MP Motorsport: Lukas Dunner, Liam Lawson
Jenzer Motorsport: Charles Leong, Andreas Estner, TBA
Sauber Junior Team by Charouz: Callum Ilott, David Schumacher, Enzo Fittipaldi
Carlin: Logan Sargeant, Felipe Drugovich, Dan Ticktum
Campos Racing: Alessio Deledda, TBA, TBA

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Alexander Bardinon will drive for Van Amersfoort Racing for the rest of the Formula Regional Europan Championship season, having previously raced for Mas du Clos Racing Team.

The Mas du Clos team is owned by Bardinon’s family, which is also behind Circuit du Mas du Close in France, and the combination made its championship debut in the second round of the season at Vallelunga.

Bardinon missed the Paul Ricard season opener to a hand injury, and the 17-year-old is currently 13th in the standings having failed to score points on his debut.

?2019 will act as a building block towards being competitive in 2020,” said Bardinon.

“I am fully focused on making progress and I look very much forward doing this with the professional guidance of Van Amersfoort Racing! The last couple of days I?ve spent time with the team in The Netherlands, preparing for Hungary.”

VAR already runs one car for team regular Sophia Floersch, and its second car was occupied by former European Formula 3 star and Aston Martin DTM driver Ferdinand Habsburg for the mid-season Hungaroring test last month.

Habsburg was the fastest of the cars there, beating DR Formula by RP Motorsport’s Igor Fraga by half a second. Championship leader Frederik Vesti as third, with Floersch and Vesti’s Prema team-mate Olli Caldwell completing the top five.

One of the teams that competed in that test and will be making its debut in this weekend’s races at the Hungaroring is Technorace. The Italian squad has previously raced in Italian Formula 4, and will field FIA Central European Zone F3 title contender Tom Beckhauser.

The 20-year-old Czech had raced in Asian F3 this year with BlackArts Racing, but has ended that deal early and will enter the next two FREC rounds instead.

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One-time European Formula 3 race winner Ferdinand Habsburg will race in the DTM for the new Aston Martin R-Motorsport outfit this year.

On Tuesday morning, the team announced Habsburg as well as 2012 Euro F3 champion Daniel Juncadella, who has raced for Mercedes’ now-axed DTM programme for the last five years, winning his first race in the series last year at Brands Hatch.

They will join the already-announced ex-F1 driver and fellow Mercedes refugee Paul di Resta and rookie Jake Dennis in a four-car line-up.

After finishing runner-up to Leonardo Pulcini in the 2016 Euroformula Open Championship, Habsburg made his European F3 debut in 2017 with Carlin, finishing an impressive seventh in the championship, winning at Spa and ending the year one corner away from victory at the Macau Grand Prix.

However, Habsburg had a difficult second season in Euro F3, ending the season 13th in the drivers’ championship with just one podium to his name.?Inbetween his Euro F3 campaign, he dabbled in sportscars, making his Daytona 24 hours debut last year and finishing the race fifth as well as contesting?the Estoril round of International GT Open.

The new Aston Martin DTM squad is being run by the Austrian R-Motorsport GT team in association with HWA, which managed Mercedes’ success in the series.

?Racing in the DTM was always a dream for me,? Habsburg said. ?Did I think I?d get the opportunity at 21? Probably not, but I?ve spent some time with R-Motorsport and I really believe this is an incredible team with which I can grow and learn.

“It?s not only exciting to be in the DTM, but it?s really exciting to be part of the R-Motorsport programme ? they are racing and winning in top level motorsport around the globe.?

Habsburg is the second driver to move to DTM directly from Euro F3 in as many years, following Joel Eriksson’s rookie year with BMW last season, which he preceded by finishing runner-up to Lando Norris in the 2017 Euro F3 campaign.

Jonathan Aberdein has been linked to making a similar move with Audi in time for the coming season.

The nine-round 2019 DTM season gets underway at Hockenheim on May 4, supported by Euro F3’s successor Formula European Masters, as well as the new W Series.

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Prema’s Mick Schumacher set the fastest time of the two-day Formula 3 European Championship test at the Red Bull Ring, exactly a tenth of a second ahead of Ferdinand Habsburg.

The 1m22.828s lap time set by Schumacher during the morning of the second day of testing eclipsed the fastest time of Dan Ticktum (Motopark) on Monday, when Schumacher was only 0.001 seconds adrift.

After Carlin only had one driver in the top 10 times during the first day of testing at Spielberg, Habsburg set the second quickest time in the morning and was the fastest driver on track during the afternoon session.

Carlin occupied the top three times in the afternoon, with Sacha Fenestraz being only one of three drivers to set their fastest lap during the second session of the day. His lap was 0.15 seconds off his team-mates morning time but was good enough to put him third overall.

Team-mates Jehan Daruvala finished ninth, before coming third in the afternoon.

After Ticktum was quickest on day one, Sebastian Fernandez was the quickest Motopark driver during day two in fourth, with Hitech’s fastest driver of the day Enaam Ahmed 0.01 seconds behind in fifth.

Schumacher’s Prema team-mates Robert Shwartzman and Marcus Armstrong finished sixth and eighth overall, with Hitech’s Alex Palou sandwiched between the two.

Ticktum’s fastest lap of the day was only good enough for 10th overall?and was 0.212 seconds slower than his time on Monday.

The European F3 paddock didn’t put in as many laps during the second day of testing, with three drivers including Schumacher setting 10 laps or less in the afternoon session following snow over the lunch break.

Combined day two times

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Ferdinand Habsburg will remain with Carlin for a second season in the Formula 3 European Championship, with the aim of winning the title.

The Austrian finished seventh last year in his rookie season, taking one win at Spa-Francorchamps, and came within 300 yards of winning the Macau Grand Prix.

Habsburg previously raced in Euroformula Open, where he finished second in 2016, and has contested the Toyota Racing Series, Formula Renault 2.0 and FR1.6 since stepping up to cars in 2014.

The 20-year-old also made his sportscar debut last weekend in the Daytona 24 Hours, finishing an impressive fifth overall.

?I am pumped to announce that I am re-joining Trevor [Carlin] and his incredible team this year,” Habsburg said.

“I can?t wait to get back to racing with the Carlin boys that I have become very close with over the last 14 months.

“Feeling comfortable within a team is going to be a big strength that we will take advantage of ? we?re going to hit this year?s championship hard from round one. The team has an incredible history of developing the world?s top drivers and I?m going to work hard to make sure I do them proud.”

Trevor Carlin added: ?We?re so happy to have Ferdinand back in the team for the 2018 season.? The progress he has made in the car since he first joined us in 2017 is amazing and his passion and determination was clear for everyone to see in Macau in November.

“Out of the car, Ferdinand remains completely professional and one of the nicest drivers to deal with, I?ve no doubt he will be a great asset to the team in 2018.?

Habsburg’s signing means that he and Jehan Daruvala will remain team-mates for another year, and will be partnered by EF Open race-winner Devlin DeFrancesco and Formula Renault Eurocup champion Sacha Fenestraz.

Prema and Motopark also have four car line-ups as of now, with Hitech on three after signing BRDC British F3 frontrunner Ben Hingeley yesterday.

The European F3 season starts on May12 in Pau.

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