| Category | Single seaters |
|---|---|
| Country or region |  United Kingdom |
| Inaugural season | 1951 |
| Drivers | 41[a][1] |
| Teams | 16[b][2] |
| Constructors | Dallara Lola Dome Mygale |
| Engine suppliers | Mugen-Honda AMG-Mercedes |
| Drivers' champion |  Daniel Ricciardo |
| Teams' champion | Carlin Motorsport |
| Official website | Britishf3international.com |
 Current season |
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The British Formula Three Championship is a national motor racing championship that takes place primarily in the United Kingdom with a small number of events in mainland Europe. It is a junior-level feeder formula that uses small single seater Formula Three chassis. Its current official title is the Cooper Tires British Formula 3 International Series. Notable former champions include Nelson Piquet, Mika Häkkinen, Ayrton Senna, Emerson Fittipaldi, and Sir Jackie Stewart.
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History
The first Formula Three championship to take place in the UK was the Autosport F3 championship held in 1951, which was won by Eric Brandon. By 1954, it had evolved into a national-level series and was organised by the British Racing and Sports Car Club (BRSCC).[3] This was the 500cc period of Formula Three, which was active in the UK and other countries until 1959, at which point Formula Three was adapted into Formula Junior. In this period, there were often two or three series running concurrently and a single national series had yet to be firmly established.[4] The FIA reintroduced Formula Three in 1964, and there were two F3 championships held in the UK that year, won by Jackie Stewart and Rodney Banting. This was not the last occasion of two or more F3 championships running concurrently in the post-1964 era: from 1970 to 1973, there were three regional series (the Lombard North, John Player, and Forward Trust championships) and there were normally two series between then and 1978.[3] In 1984, the series adopted a B class for competitors with older chassis, which is now known as the National class.[5]
Equipment
Like most Formula Three championships, competitors in British F3 are permitted to use any eligible chassis. The minimum and maximum age of a chassis specification is dictated by the class in which its driver competes: International class entrants must use a chassis that meets the FIA's technical regulations as applicable to 2009, while National class entrants are restricted to cars that meet the 2007 FIA regulations.[6] In practice, this means that class A cars must have been designed for the current three-year model cycle and class B cars must date from the previous cycle.
Dallara has been dominant since the mid-1990s – in both results and numbers – but the chassis of some of its main competitors have been adopted in small numbers. The Lola B06/30 and the Mygale M07/F3 are each represented by two-car teams and the older Dome F106 is used by a two-car team in the Scholarship class.[7] In the interests of parity, identical tyres are supplied by Avon.
Two engine manufacturers – AMG-Mercedes (tuned by H.W.A) and Mugen-Honda (tuned by Neil Brown Engineering) – are currently represented on a full-time basis.[7] The Speiss-Opel was used by Swiss Racing Team in a one-off appearance at Monza only. The regulations demand that all class B entrants must use Mugen-Hondas of an identical specification, prepared and sealed by Neil Brown Engineering Limited.[8]
All entrants in the series must use control tyres from a single supplier. Since 1982, these have been manufactured by Avon Tyres but, from the 2009 season onwards, these will be re-branded as Cooper Tires, as Cooper becomes the championship's official title sponsor.
Events
The championship comprises eleven rounds, each with two races. The scoring system is identical for both races and both classes, arranged as follows:
| 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | 5th | 6th | 7th | 8th | 9th | 10th |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 20 | 15 | 12 | 10 | 8 | 6 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 1 |
A bonus point is awarded for the fastest race lap in each class.[9] The event schedule takes place over three days (normally Friday to Sunday) with free practice sessions on the first day and two qualifying sessions (normally 30 minutes per session) on the second day. Each qualifying session determines the starting order for one of the two races that take place on the final day of the event. The race distance is set according to the number of laps that can be completed in a 30 minute period at any given circuit. If the requisite number of laps have not been completed after that time, the chequered flag is shown at the end of the current lap.[10]
Champions
See also
Notes
a. ^ Includes the Championship class (A) and the National class (B).
b. ^ Teams that are represented in both classes have been counted as single entities.
References
- ^ 2008 Drivers From fota.co.uk. Retrieved 24 March 2008.
- ^ 2008 Teams From fota.co.uk. Retrieved 24 March 2007.
- ^ a b British F3 Champions From motorsportsetc.com. Retrieved on 4 September 2007.
- ^ Formula 3 Story From clarinet.fi. Retrieved 5 September 2007.
- ^ British F3 Champions From clarinet.fi. Retrieved 5 September 2007.
- ^ 2007 British F3 Series Sporting Regulations: Article 4.2 pp.14
- ^ a b 2007 Entry List From speedsportmag.com. Retrieved 5 September 2007.
- ^ 2007 British F3 Series Sporting Regulations: Article 4.5 pp.15
- ^ 2007 British F3 Series Sporting Regulations: Article 1.6 pp.2-3
- ^ 2007 British F3 Series Sporting Regulations: Articles 2.2 to 2.6 pp.4-5
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