New series for 2010, PIRELLI tyres... anyone think this series could be more successful than the F2 series?

Absolutely, they roll with F1

Definately. It has attracted some of the premier lower-formulae teams like ART and Carlin. F2 seemed pretty irrelevant. If anything, GP3 may supplant Euro F3 as the stepping stone to GP2 and F1 (which is the intention).

Remains to be seen if there is room for both F2 and GP3.

Could that mean that Pirelli will also be convinced to supply F1 post-2010?

Quite. Not another single seater series... please. Who's behind this one then? Palmer won't be happy.

Probably. For the fact it follows the F1 circus more closely more than anything. But I can't help think that it only dilutes what is already available and I still maintain the more traditional route through British F3 etc. is the way to go. It's only in these categories that a driver can fully understand a non-spec car and its setup.

I don't think it will be too hard to be more successful than F2. It was a series won by a GP2 outcast no younger than Hamilton and Rosberg, and not to mentioned tarnished by the death of Henry Surtees. Will GP3 be held as part of the GP weekends? That would be a huge factor in it favour.

All racing series will take a while to be established. While there were only a handful of talented drivers in the series - Wickens and Aleshin, for example (Soucek doesn't count because he was four years older than anyone else) - eventually those ranks will grow.

True, but I think the fact that GP3 will run with the main F1 circus, along with the problems F2 faced this year means that it may never get the chance to take off as it might.

It does seem a bit of a duplicate of Euro F3.

I take it GP3 is cheaper than Euro F3? That could make it popular, especially if it has better TV/press.

Well, GP3 should cost about the same as British or Euro F3 for the drivers. The GP3 series will certainly enjoy a higher visibility thanks to tie-up with GP2 and F1. Now, if drivers and their daddies prefer the GP3 route, it might create some problems for sundry F3 formulae around the globe. There are only so many dads with the means and desire to spend $1 million/year for their baby.

I'd say F2 is safe. It is FIA's pet project, a season's race seat is relatively cheap, and it promises to be the most 'equal' spec with the drivers making the biggest contribution to the result. We'll see.

I think the ultimate plan is that GP3 will serve as a feeder series into GP2 while Formula 3 will feed into Formula 2. The idea is that it broadens the talent pool that Formula One teams can harvest new talent from and prevents a situation where Formula One becomes a case where all the GP2 or F2 drivers are simply racing around in different cars. I wouldn't be surpirsed if Formula Renault and the World Series by Renault did something similar since WSR drivers are eligible for Superlicences.

maybe the organiser gets a nice sum for these junior formula ?

Wasn't the International Formula Master series going to become GP3 originally

I can't see IFM surriving because even without GP3 the grids were only about 12 cars big in the last rounds of the series.

This is unnecessary.

IFM, GP3, WSR, F3, F2, etc. etc.

Diluting the talent pool just serves to make it even more difficult to rate the good drivers against each other. There is no room for anything new.

???

Why would a innovative, team-led series like F3 lead to F2? A series that takes the notion of a 'spec' series to a whole new dimension.

I'm a massive fan of F3 and i think its a super formula. But GP3 has so much on its side. How much more exposure could you want for a junior formula??

I should add that keeping F3 healthy should be at the top of F1's priorities. Where else can the next generation of mechanics and engineers train on non-spec single seaters? You will end up with a dumbed-down workforce who have never ran a problematic or unreliable car in thier lives....

Makes for an interesting next generation of F1 engineers... if you dent the sidepod in practice, thats youre aero gone until you write the chassis off and have to get a new car!!

Seriously though, I presume a lot of the junior formulae use engineers at least som of whom will have more general automotive experience, so will know enough to build on it when they need to

Euro FBMW race winner Michael Christensen joins MW Arden.

http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/80773

That's the first driver to be confirmed, isn't it?

I'm worried that GP3 might kill the F3 Euro, there's a couple teams moving from one series to the other...

no. Also FMaster drivers Simon Trummer and Pål Varhaug have announced their participation - both with Jenzer Motorsport.



http://jenzermotorsport.ch/content/view/189/1/lang,EN/



http://www.eracemotorblog.it/2009/10/06/gp...era-in-gp3.html




I agree. If not kill, at least makes it weaker...

More drivers announced!

ART reveals its complete line-up: Esteban Gutierrez moves to GP3 with ART after last year competing in F3 Euro with them. Alexander Rossi and Pedro Enrique will be his team-mates.

Tech 1 Racing has signed up with Doru Sechelariu.

Shaping up nicely!

Why are the teams having to use the GP2 series website to announce their GP3 drivers? Why the hell have the series promoters not launched the GP3 website as yet?

Yea, I was wondering the same thing but it should be there soon, well at least I hope so.

Just asking Victor_RO, who the heck is that?

Sorry for the nationalistic outburst there... Romanian racing driver, he's been in FBMW over the last two years and in 2008 he won both the FBMW Asia races at the Singapore GP meeting (having raced in the European series throughout '08 and '09).

I'm just glad he's getting a shot in a higher formula. We've got another couple of drivers in WSR, and one of them (although he's technically a Belgian) got a few outings in GP2.

This is good news, Rossi vs Gutierrez will be interesting.

It will also be interesting to see if Enrique can bounce back from his poor 2009 campaign with Manor.

Very nice to see Rossi with a seat. Hopefully a few more Americans will join him in the near future.

I think if a series is going to have a spec chassis, then it should be like Formula 2, ie completely equal. Things like GP2, WSR and GP3 manage to combine the worst features of both spec and non-spec series i.e. no technical interest, but also no level playing field. My dream junior formulae set up would be a few regional Formula 2-style championships, where the best performing drivers from these would be invited into 'Champions League' style races that take place on the Formula 1 weekends.
I know people suggest that junior formulae should be non-spec with many different car/engine combinations, well that was the case about 15 years ago and it was incredibly frustrating. Back then fans complained that they should all be one make since you just couldn't tell who the best drivers really were. Drivers quite regularly had their careers trashed by being stuck in the wrong chassis for one year. Unlike in Formula 1, no one notices a driver working miracles with a dud car in the junior formulae, so a lot of talents slipped through the net. If you want technical innovation and engineers to learn their trade outside Formula 1, I'd have thought GT racing and Touring cars are good environments for that in any case.

Ahh nice can't wait to see Pal in GP3 very good friend of mine I hope he does well!

curiously the reason formula palmer audi kinda bombed was rich dads couldnt buy a advantage

Michael Herck I suppose? He's got better I have to say. One more year in GP2 and he could be a midfield driver! What happed to Mihai Marinescu anyway, he looked pretty good in BMW a couple of years ago?

^ Don't know exactly. He competed in a few WSR races last year, but I suppose it was sponsorship trouble which kept him away from completing the season. At times he's been employed as co-commentator for the Romanian F1 coverage. Both Marinescu and Herck raced a few times for Interwetten, Marinescu then found a seat somewhere else for a couple of races. Herck drove in GP2 for DPR(?).

Last time I heard about him, I heard he was also looking at GP3(I think).

I think Victor's talking about Marinescu, lol. He did WSR this year.

http://www.driverdb.com/drivers/4002/career/

Okay, sorry for the slight diversion. Back to GP3.

Interesting, Bottas chose to stay in F3ES, while Esteban chose to escape. It will be interesting to see the other signings, but I suppose the stronger drivers will stay in F3ES/BF3, just like Bottas.
Victor, Herck's father is owner of DPR and actually Michael is born in Bucarest.
Good luck to Doru @ Tech 1, he couldn't translate his testing pace into race pace this last season for some reason.

http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/85482

22 penalties before the race?

What a circus.

But who was the clown?

Another crash fest developing here (with yet another example of a car launching and going airborne - both drivers alright, don't know their names sorry) FOM have not found a great angle to replay from (just shown from an onboard)...

Concerned at why medical car has been deployed for such an innocuous looking collision between Jakes and another driver. Hope driver / marshalls are okay (for example a marshall maybe got struck by a car when moving the cars out of the way - I really hope not.)

Unforgiveable crash under the safety car there on the main pit straight... This is like a demolition derby, not single seater racing!

What the hell?!





http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/86207

yes, clever but dirty move.

Dirty? Thought it was genius. The team didn't break any rules by doing so.

Very clever! Not everyone would have the balls to do that.

Another clever move today, this time by Adrien Tambay who managed to win the race by staying on slicks. The rain wasn't as heavy as in yesterday's event, but still it affected him, as he was leading by some 15 seconds at best, finally just beat the others.

Indeed, to come from 28th and finish first by rolling the dice and staying out on slicks was inspired. Also lead to an interesting game of cat-and-mouse towards the end of the race.

GP3 is quickly becoming my favourite feeder category, especially when it comes to good ol' fashioned entertainment!

Congratulations to Esteban Gutierrez - 1st ever GP3 champion!

http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/86572