The GB3 Championship is a single seater motorsport series based in the United Kingdom. The championship is the UK's premier single-seater category, and is aimed at young racing drivers moving up from FIA Formula 4 championships, the GB4 Championship or Karting. Having previously been known since 2013 as the BRDC Formula 4 Championship, the championship was renamed the BRDC British Formula 3 Championship with the backing of the FIA in March 2016.[1] The championship was rebranded to GB3 Championship in August 2021.[2]
 | |
| Category | Single seaters |
|---|---|
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Inaugural season | 2013 |
| Constructors | Tatuus |
| Engine suppliers | Ford Duratec |
| Tyre suppliers | Pirelli |
| Drivers' champion |  Louis Sharp |
| Official website | www |
 Current season | |
Like most junior formula series, it is a spec series, meaning all competitors use identical cars, engines, and tyres. While not officially branded as a Formula Regional series, the car specification for the 2025 season conforms to that of Formula Regional. Previous cars have been similar in performance to FR.[3]
History
editOn 23 March 2016, the FIA and MSA revealed to the FIA World Motor Sport Council that an agreement had been reached the day prior to rebrand the BRDC Formula 4 Championship in order to reflect the increased pace of the new car designed for the 2016 season, and to fill the void left after the British Formula 3 Championship folded in 2014.[4]
BRDC British F3 morphed out of the BRDC F4 category, which ran for three seasons before the new car was introduced.
The F4 name was operated by the 750 Motor Club before being awarded to MotorSport Vision. Under the BRDC F4 moniker, British driver Jake Hughes was the first champion of the series in 2013, driving for Lanan Racing. The championship top three of Hughes, vice-champion Seb Morris and Charlie Robertson were all finalists in that year's McLaren Autosport BRDC Award.
In 2014, George Russell was crowned champion following a dramatic victory in the season finale at Snetterton. Russell beat his Lanan Racing teammate Arjun Maini by just three points and went on to win the 2014 McLaren Autosport BRDC Award later in the year.
Will Palmer was crowned the 2015, champion after a dominant campaign in which he took 12 victories from the 24 races. His HHC Motorsport teammate Harri Newey finished as runner-up, with Palmer subsequently named as the winner of the McLaren Autosport BRDC Award in December.
In the first season of BRDC British F3, Matheus Leist secured the championship in the final weekend of the season, while British driver Lando Norris won three races and was named the winner of the 2016 McLaren Autosport BRDC Award in December.
Enaam Ahmed claimed the title after a dominant campaign in 2017 which saw him win a total of 13 races.
Linus Lundqvist won the championship in 2018, which also saw him claim a prize drive at the 2019 24 Hours of Daytona. Subsequent champions were Clement Novalak and Kaylen Frederick, both driving for Carlin.
In August 2021 the series was renamed as GB3 Championship, after the FIA decided to restrict the use of "F3" to the FIA Formula 3 Championship, and the 2021 car did not meet FIA standards for Formula Regional accreditation[5]. British racing driver Zak O'Sullivan was the first to win the title under the new name.[6] The following month, MSV announced a new support series would be launched with the GB4 Championship.[7]
Shortly after the rebrand, the series announced a new car would be used for 2022, the Tatuus MSV-022, with performance and safety upgrades including the addition of the halo.[8] The new car has proven to be around two to three seconds a lap quicker than its predecessor.[9]
For 2025, the series will introduce the Tatuus MSV GB3-025, which will feature "F1-inspired aero", DRS and a new Mountune 2.0L generating 280bhp, among other changes.[10].
Chassis specifications
editGB3 Championship Car
edit| Tatuus MSV-022 | |
|---|---|
| Constructor | Tatuus |
| Engine | 2.0L Duratec |
| Valvetrain | |
| Lubrication | Dry sump |
| Torque | |
| Horsepower | 250 bhp spec |
| Engine management | Cosworth |
| Ignition system | |
| Transmission | Sadev SL75 LW 6-speed sequential |
| Suspension | Double wishbone Pushrod |
| Chassis | Carbon-fibre |
| Tires | Pirelli (2015) |
| Brakes | AP Racing 4-piston calipers |
| Wheelbase | 2760 mm |
| Front track | 1514 mm |
| Rear track | 1485 mm |
| Weight | 598 kg including driver |
The Tatuus MSV-022 car is a significantly more powerful car than Formula 4 machinery, with a more sophisticated aerodynamic package and increased downforce which elevates its pace to equivalent to Formula Regional European Championship cars.
The car utilises a carbon-fibre Tatuus chassis equipped with the Halo and is powered by a two-litre normally aspirated 250bhp spec Mountune engine. The MSV-022 meets all the latest FIA Formula 3 safety regulations including side impact panels, front and rear carbon impact structures, wheel tethers and extractable seat.
An improved aerodynamic set-up includes a highly adjustable front-wing and two piece rear-wing, and an F1-style front splitter and rear diffuser, and underfloor aerodynamics.
It features a six-speed sequential gearbox with paddle shift provided by Sadev and fitted with a limited-slip differential, unique to GB3.
Pirelli provides both dry and wet tyres to the GB3 Championship.
The braking system is supplied by AP Racing and features 4-piston front calipers and floating, grooved and ventilated discs with 2-piston rear caliper and fixed vented rear disc.
Twin wishbone suspension with two-way adjustable dampers and adjustable front and rear anti-roll bars will provide drivers with plenty of scope for set-up changes.
Points system
editPoints are awarded to all finishing drivers in each race, except the reverse grid race two, using the following system in 2013:
| Place | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Points | 30 | 25 | 20 | 18 | 16 | 15 | 14 | 13 | 12 | 11 | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 1 |
Points are awarded to all finishing drivers in each race, using the following system since 2014:
| Races | Position, points per race | |||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | 5th | 6th | 7th | 8th | 9th | 10th | 11th | 12th | 13th | 14th | 15th | 16th | 17th | 18th | 19th | 20th | |
| Races 1 & 3 | 35 | 29 | 24 | 21 | 19 | 17 | 15 | 13 | 12 | 11 | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 1 |
| Reverse grid race (2) | 25 | 22 | 20 | 18 | 16 | 15 | 14 | |||||||||||||
In the reverse grid races, an extra point is awarded per position gained compared to each drivers' starting position.
Champions
editOperating under 750 Motor Club
editAll champions were British-registered.
| Season | Champion | Class A2 | Class B | Class C | Class D | Class E |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2006 |  Chris Lewis
|
Chris Vinall
|
Peter Monk
|
Paul Rider
|
Malcolm Scott
| |
| 2007 | Steve Savage
|
Chris Kite
|
Clive Yorath
|
Stuart Wright
|
Jennifer Scott
| |
| 2008 | Jeremy Walker
|
Clive Yorath
|
Oliver Sirrell
|
|||
| 2009 | Jonathan Weston-Taylor [11]
|
Will Thompson
(As Revelation Series) |
Charles Adrian
|
Paul Presgraves
|
||
| 2010 | Malcolm Scott
|
David Woodsworth-Dale
|
Clive Yorath
|
Paul Presgraves
|
John Whitbourn
|
|
| 2011 | Oliver Sirrell
|
Charles Adrian
|
Ashley Dibden
|
Scott Moakes
|
BRDC Formula 4 Championship
edit| Season | Champion | Jack Cavill Pole Position Cup | Winter Series Champion | Autumn Trophy Champion | The Who Zooms Award |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2013 | Jake Hughes
|
Jake Hughes
|
Matthew Graham
|
not awarded |  Gosia Rdest
|
| 2014 | George Russell
|
George Russell
|
Will Palmer
|
not awarded | |
| 2015 (2015 AT) | Will Palmer
|
Will Palmer
|
not awarded | Ben Barnicoat
|
BRDC British Formula 3 Championship
edit| Season | Champion | Secondary champion |
|---|---|---|
| 2016 |  Matheus Leist
|
J: Ricky Collard A: Enaam Ahmed
|
| 2017 | Enaam Ahmed
|
J: Enaam Ahmed D: Carlin
|
| 2018 |  Linus Lundqvist
|
not awarded |
| 2019 | Clément Novalak[a]
| |
| 2020 |  Kaylen Frederick
|
GB3 Championship
edit| Season | Champion | Secondary champion |
|---|---|---|
| 2021 | Zak O'Sullivan
|
not awarded |
| 2022 | Luke Browning
| |
| 2023 | Callum Voisin
| |
| 2024 |  Louis Sharp[12]
|
Notes
edit- ^ Clément Novalak is a Franco-Swiss driver who competed under a British licence.
References
edit- ^ "British F3 is back!". Archived from the original on 26 March 2016. Retrieved 11 May 2016.
- ^ "British F3 rebranded as GB3 Championship". GB3 Championship. 2 August 2021. Archived from the original on 2 August 2021.
- ^ Series, Feeder (25 July 2024). "Why more and more drivers are trying out Britain's top single-seater series". Feeder Series. Retrieved 11 December 2024.
- ^ BRDC Formula 4's British Formula 3 rebrand goes ahead for 2016 – Autosport, 23 March 2016
- ^ Mackley, Stefan (3 August 2021). "British F3 forced into name change after FIA decision". Autosport. Retrieved 11 December 2024.
{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ "GB3 - Race 1: O'Sullivan wins the title in style with lights to flag victory". GB3 Championship. 16 October 2021. Archived from the original on 21 October 2021. Retrieved 20 October 2021.
- ^ "NEWS: NEW GB4 CHAMPIONSHIP FOR 2022". 7 September 2021. Retrieved 4 November 2021.
- ^ "GB3 to introduce new halo-shod car for 2022". 15 August 2021.
- ^ "Things you may have missed from the Oulton Park". GB3 Homepage. 20 April 2022. Retrieved 23 April 2024.
- ^ Brabner, George (12 June 2024). "GB3 to introduce 'F1-inspired' Tatuus car for 2025 season". Feeder Series. Retrieved 19 June 2024.
- ^ "Jonathan Weston Taylor Clinches 2009 Title". Archived from the original on 12 December 2010. Retrieved 13 June 2010.
- ^ https://www.gb-3.net/news/2024/sept/29/thoughts-of-a-champion-louis-sharp