The World Series Formula V8 3.5, formerly the World Series by Nissan from 1998 to 2004, the Formula Renault 3.5 Series from 2005 to 2015 and the Formula V8 3.5 in 2016 and 2017, was a

motor racing Motorsport, motorsports or motor sport is a global term used to encompass the group of competitive sporting events which primarily involve the use of motorized vehicles. The terminology can also be used to describe forms of competition of two ...

series promoted by RPM Racing (1998–2004) and

Renault Sport Renault Sport () or Renaultsport, was the motorsport, performance and special vehicles division for Renault-badged cars. Renault Sport was officially established in 1976 as a merger between the Alpine and Gordini competition departments. It wa ...

(2005–2015).

History

The series came out of the Spanish Formula Renault Championship, which ran from 1991 to 1997. The World Series was founded as ''Open Fortuna by Nissan'' in 1998, and was mostly based in

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

, but visited other countries throughout its history, including France, Italy, Portugal and Brazil. The organization was handled by RPM Comunicacion, founded by Jaime Alguersuari Tortajada. The series changed name a number of times, usually adopting the name of its main sponsor, but was also known by other common names such as the unofficial "Formula Nissan". In its early years, the series used chassis built by Coloni, with a 2.0 L Nissan SR20 engine. The series slotted in between Formula Three and Formula 3000. In 2002, it adopted a new format, with chassis supplied by

Dallara Dallara is an Italian race car manufacturer, founded by its current President, Gian Paolo Dallara. After working for Ferrari, Maserati, Lamborghini and De Tomaso, in 1972 in his native village of Varano de' Melegari (Parma), Italy he created "D ...

and the engine upgraded to the VQ30. The series also became more international, with more than half of the race calendar held outside Spain. Renault started the Formula Renault V6 Eurocup in 2003, as a support series in

Eurosport Eurosport is a group of pay television networks in Europe and parts of Asia. Owned by Warner Bros. Discovery through Warner Bros. Discovery Sports#Warner Bros. Discovery Sports Europe properties, its international sports unit, it operates two ...

's Super Racing Weekends ( European Touring Car Championship and FIA GT Championship). The series ran with

Tatuus Tatuus is an Italian chassis manufacturer for a series of formula racing series, being first founded in 1980. The company is known for its association with Renault Sport for its production of the Formula Renault chassis. History The Tatuus ...

chassis and a Nissan 3.5 L V6 engine. In 2005, Renault left the Super Racing Weekend and started the World Series by Renault and the Formula Renault 3.5 Series, merging both the World Series by Nissan (whose engine contract had finished) and Renault V6 Eurocup. The Dallara chassis was retained, while the Renault V6 was improved to 425 PS.

Formula Renault 2.0 Eurocup Formula Renault Eurocup was a Formula Renault motor racing championship. Eurocup raced only on European circuits. It served as a support series to the Formula 3.5 V8, Formula Renault 3.5 Series as part of the World Series by Renault from 2005 to ...

and the

Eurocup Mégane Trophy The Renault Eurocup Mégane Trophy was a One-Design, one-make racing series created and managed by Renault Sport. The series has raced with the Renault Mégane Renault Sport since 2005 as part of the World Series by Renault. The Renault Eurocup ...

also joined the series in 2005 to support the main FR3.5 series. At the end of July 2015,

announced it would be withdrawing its backing to the Formula Renault 3.5 from 2016 onwards, handing the control of the series to co-organiser RPM. However, Renault Sport also said it would continue the World Series by Renault with the Renault Sport Trophy and the Formula Renault 2.0 Eurocup. As a result of this, RPM decided to change the series' name to Formula V8 3.5. In December 2016, the series' name was changed again to World Series Formula V8 3.5, giving extra recognition to the championship. On 17 November 2017 was announced that due to lack of entries the series would not take place in 2018 with a possibility of relaunch in the near future.

Technical

From 2008 to 2011, the chassis for the Formula Renault 3.5 Series is the

Dallara T08 The Dallara T08 was a racing car developed by Italian manufacturer Dallara for use in the Formula Renault 3.5 series, and was in use from 2008 to 2011. The T08 is the second generation of car used by the World Series by Renault/WS Formula V8 3.5, ...

and the engine a 3.5 litre V6 Nissan VQ35 unit producing 480 bhp with a rev limit of 8500 rpm. The gearbox is a 6 speed semi-automatic supplied by Ricardo with steering wheel paddle shift. Total weight of the car is 600 kg (dry). Starting from 2012 season, the Formula Renault 3.5 Series adopted a new chassis, the

Dallara T12 The Dallara T12 or Dallara FR35-12 is a racing car developed by Italian manufacturer Dallara for use in the World Series Formula V8 3.5, a series originally formed from the World Series by Renault top category. The T12 is the third generation o ...

, powered by a 3.4 litre V8 engine producing 530 BHP at 9250 rpm developed by Zytek. The cars have 50 more horsepower than previous season and lost 15 kg (33 pounds) of weight. In addition, a Drag Reduction System is used, which operates in a similar way to the one in use in

Formula One Formula One (also known as Formula 1 or F1) is the highest class of international racing for open-wheel single-seater formula racing cars sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The World Drivers' Championship, ...

Specifications

*Engine displacement: DOHC V8 *Gearbox: 6-speed paddle shift gearbox (must have reverse) *Weight: *Power output: *Torque output: *Fuel: Elf LMS 102 RON unleaded *Fuel capacity: *Fuel delivery:

Fuel injection Fuel injection is the introduction of fuel in an internal combustion engine, most commonly automotive engines, by the means of an injector. This article focuses on fuel injection in reciprocating piston and Wankel rotary engines. All comp ...

*Aspiration: Normally-aspirated *Length: *Width: *Wheelbase: *Steering: Power-assisted

rack and pinion A rack and pinion is a type of linear actuator that comprises a circular gear (the '' pinion'') engaging a linear gear (the ''rack''). Together, they convert rotational motion into linear motion. Rotating the pinion causes the rack to be driven ...

Champions

World Series by Nissan

NOTE – 1998–2001, mainly Spanish-based series (also known as Formula Nissan) with 2.0L engine.
NOTE – 2002–2004, international series with V6 engine.

World Series Light

Formula Renault 3.5 Series

World Series Formula V8 3.5

Notable drivers

;

drivers in the future and/or past *

Marc Gené Marc Gené i Guerrero (born 29 March 1974) is a Spanish professional racing driver. He is best known as a tester for Williams and Ferrari in Formula One, Minardi Formula One driver and factory driver for Peugeot's Le Mans team, with which he w ...

(1998: Champion, 2003: 12th), competed in Formula One for

Minardi Minardi was an Italian automobile racing team and constructor founded in Faenza in 1979 by Giancarlo Minardi. It competed in the Formula One World Championship from 1985 until 2005 with little success, nevertheless acquiring a loyal followin ...

and Williams. *

Fernando Alonso Fernando Alonso Díaz (; born 29 July 1981) is a Spanish racing driver currently competing for Alpine in Formula One. He won the series' World Drivers' Championship in and with Renault, and has also driven for McLaren, Ferrari, and Mi ...

(1999: Champion), competed in Formula One for

McLaren McLaren Racing Limited is a British motor racing team based at the McLaren Technology Centre in Woking, Surrey, England. McLaren is best known as a Formula One constructor, the second oldest active team, and the second most successful Formul ...

Ferrari Ferrari S.p.A. (; ) is an Italian luxury sports car manufacturer based in Maranello, Italy. Founded by Enzo Ferrari (1898–1988) in 1939 from the Alfa Romeo racing division as ''Auto Avio Costruzioni'', the company built its first car in ...

and was twice world champion with

Renault Groupe Renault ( , , , also known as the Renault Group in English; legally Renault S.A.) is a French multinational automobile manufacturer established in 1899. The company produces a range of cars and vans, and in the past has manufactured ...

. Competing for

Alpine Alpine may refer to any mountainous region. It may also refer to: Places Europe * Alps, a European mountain range ** Alpine states, which overlap with the European range Australia * Alpine, New South Wales, a Northern Village * Alpine National Pa ...

in 2021. *

Giorgio Pantano Giorgio Pantano (born 4 February 1979) is an Italian professional racing driver who drove for the Jordan Formula One team for much of the 2004 season before being replaced by Timo Glock. He also raced in Formula 3000. He retired from racing at t ...

(1999: 21st), competed in Formula One for

Jordan Jordan ( ar, الأردن; tr. ' ), officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan,; tr. ' is a country in Western Asia. It is situated at the crossroads of Asia, Africa, and Europe, within the Levant region, on the East Bank of the Jordan Rive ...

. * Franck Montagny (2001: Champion, 2002: 2nd, 2003: Champion), competed in Formula One for Super Aguri, and with Andretti in

Formula E Formula E, officially the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship, is a single-seater motorsport championship for electric cars. The series was conceived in 2011 in Paris by FIA president Jean Todt and Spanish businessman Alejandro Agag, who is ...

. * Ricardo Zonta (2002: Champion) – 1997 FIA GT Champion, competed in Formula One for

BAR Bar or BAR may refer to: Food and drink * Bar (establishment), selling alcoholic beverages * Candy bar * Chocolate bar Science and technology * Bar (river morphology), a deposit of sediment * Bar (tropical cyclone), a layer of cloud * Bar (u ...

, Jordan and

Toyota is a Japanese multinational automotive manufacturer headquartered in Toyota City, Aichi, Japan. It was founded by Kiichiro Toyoda and incorporated on . Toyota is one of the largest automobile manufacturers in the world, producing about 10 ...

. * Justin Wilson (2002: 4th), competed in Formula One for

and

Jaguar The jaguar (''Panthera onca'') is a large cat species and the only living member of the genus '' Panthera'' native to the Americas. With a body length of up to and a weight of up to , it is the largest cat species in the Americas and the th ...

, and in

IndyCar INDYCAR, LLC, is an American-based auto racing sanctioning body for Indy car racing and other disciplines of open wheel car racing. The organization sanctions five racing series: the premier IndyCar Series with its centerpiece the Indianapolis ...

for Dale Coyne and

Andretti Autosport Andretti Autosport is an auto racing team that competes in the IndyCar Series, Indy Lights, Indy Pro 2000, and Formula E. The team also has a 37.5% ownership stake in the Australian Supercars Championship touring car team, Walkinshaw Andretti ...

amongst others. * Narain Karthikeyan (2002: 9th, 2003: 4th, 2004: 6th), competed in Formula One for Jordan and HRT in 2011. *

Heikki Kovalainen Heikki Johannes Kovalainen (; born 19 October 1981) is a Finnish racing driver competing in the Japan Rally Championship for Rally Team AICELLO. He raced in Formula One between 2007 and 2013 for the Renault, McLaren, Team Lotus, Caterham and ...

(2003: 2nd, 2004: Champion), competed in Formula One for

, Caterham and

Team Lotus Team Lotus was the motorsport sister company of English sports car manufacturer Lotus Cars. The team ran cars in many motorsport categories including Formula One, Formula Two, Formula Ford, Formula Junior, IndyCar, and sports car racing. More ...

. * Enrique Bernoldi (2003: 6th, 2004: 3rd), competed in Formula One for Arrows. *

Stéphane Sarrazin Stéphane Jean-Marc Sarrazin (born 2 November 1975) is a French professional racing driver. He has won races across a number of single-seater, sportscar and rallying disciplines and competitions, was French Formula Renault champion in 1994, and ...

(2003: 7th), competed in Formula One for

, currently with Venturi Grand Prix in the FIA Formula E Championship. * Tiago Monteiro (2004: 2nd), competed in Formula One for Jordan and

Midland Midland may refer to: Places Australia * Midland, Western Australia Canada * Midland, Albert County, New Brunswick * Midland, Kings County, New Brunswick * Midland, Newfoundland and Labrador * Midland, Ontario India * Midland Ward, Kohima, Nagal ...

/ Spyker. Currently competing in World Touring Car Cup (WTCR) with ALL-INKL.DE Munnich Motorsport, using a Honda Civic Type R TCR (FK8). * Robert Kubica (2005: Champion), has competed in Formula One for BMW Sauber,

and

Williams F1 Williams Grand Prix Engineering Limited, currently racing in Formula One as Williams Racing, is a British Formula One motor racing team and constructor. It was founded by former team owner Frank Williams and automotive engineer Patrick Head ...

, also competed in the World Rally Championship. Currently competing in Formula One as a reserve driver for

Alfa Romeo Racing Italian motor manufacturer Alfa Romeo has participated many times in Formula One. It currently participates as Alfa Romeo F1 Team Orlen while being operated by Sauber Motorsport AG. The brand has competed in motor racing as both a constructor ...

. *

Markus Winkelhock Markus Winkelhock (born 13 June 1980) is a German professional racing driver. He is the son of Manfred Winkelhock and nephew of Joachim Winkelhock, both of whom were Formula One drivers in the 1980s. During his brief Formula One career he led the ...

(2005: 3rd), one-off Formula One drive for Spyker (Nurburgring 2007). *

Kamui Kobayashi is a Japanese professional racing driver who competes in the FIA World Endurance Championship for Toyota Gazoo Racing (GR) and in the Super Formula Championship for KCMG . He previously competed in Formula One, Formula E, the GP2 Series, and the ...

(2005 Eurocup: 1st) has competed in Formula One for

, Sauber and Caterham. * Karun Chandhok (2005: 29th) has competed in Formula One for HRT and Team Lotus. *

Pastor Maldonado Pastor Rafael Maldonado Motta (; born 9 March 1985) is a Venezuelan professional racing driver, who competed in Formula One for the Williams (2011–2013) and Lotus (2014–2015) teams and as a Pirelli test driver until 2017. Before entering F ...

(2005: 25th; 2006: 3rd) has competed in Formula One for Williams and

Lotus Lotus may refer to: Plants *Lotus (plant), various botanical taxa commonly known as lotus, particularly: ** ''Lotus'' (genus), a genus of terrestrial plants in the family Fabaceae **Lotus flower, a symbolically important aquatic Asian plant also ...

. *

Sebastian Vettel Sebastian Vettel (; born 3 July 1987) is a German racing driver who competed in Formula One from 2007 to 2022 for BMW Sauber, Scuderia Toro Rosso, Toro Rosso, Red Bull Racing, Red Bull, Scuderia Ferrari, Ferrari, and Aston Martin in Formula One ...

(2006: 15th, 2007: 5th − 1st after seven races, when withdrew to compete in F1) has competed in Formula One for BMW Sauber, Scuderia Toro Rosso, was four time Formula One world champion with

Red Bull Red Bull is a brand of energy drinks of Austria, Austrian company Red Bull GmbH. With 38% market share, it is the most popular energy drink brand as of 2019. Since its launch in 1987, more than 100 billion cans of Red Bull have been sold worldwid ...

, and

. Competing for

Aston Martin Aston Martin Lagonda Global Holdings PLC is an English manufacturer of luxury sports cars and grand tourers. Its predecessor was founded in 1913 by Lionel Martin and Robert Bamford. Steered from 1947 by David Brown, it became associated with ...

in 2021. * Giedo van der Garde (2007: 6th, 2008: Champion) GP2 Series has competed in Formula One. * Jaime Alguersuari (2009: 6th) has competed in Formula One for Scuderia Toro Rosso. *

Daniel Ricciardo Daniel Joseph Ricciardo ( "Ricardo", ; born 1 July 1989) is an Italian-Australian racing driver who last raced in Formula One driving for McLaren, under the Australian flag. He made his debut at the 2011 British Grand Prix with the HRT ...

(2010: 2nd; 2011: 5th) competed in Formula One for HRT, Scuderia Toro Rosso,

, and

. Competing for

Mclaren McLaren Racing Limited is a British motor racing team based at the McLaren Technology Centre in Woking, Surrey, England. McLaren is best known as a Formula One constructor, the second oldest active team, and the second most successful Formul ...

in 2021. * Jean-Éric Vergne (2010: 8th; 2011: 2nd) competed in Formula One for Scuderia Toro Rosso, currently competing for Techeetah in Formula E. * Robin Frijns (2012: Champion) Caterham F1 third driver for 2014. * Jules Bianchi (2012: 2nd) last competed in Formula One with Marussia. On 5 October 2014, during the Japanese Grand Prix, Bianchi lost control of his Marussia in very wet conditions and collided with a recovery vehicle, suffering a brain injury. He underwent emergency surgery and was placed into an induced coma, and remained comatose until his death on 17 July 2015. * Will Stevens (2012: 12th; 2013: 4th; 2014: 6th) has competed in Formula one for Caterham and

Manor Marussia The Marussia F1 Team (subsequently Manor Marussia F1 Team) was a Formula One racing team and constructor which was based in Banbury, Oxfordshire and then later Dinnington, South Yorkshire in the United Kingdom and competed with a Russian lice ...

. *

Sergey Sirotkin Sergey Olegovich Sirotkin ( rus, Серге́й Оле́гович Сиро́ткин, p=sʲɪrˈɡʲej ɐˈlʲeɡəvʲɪtɕ sʲɪˈrotkʲɪn; born 27 August 1995) is a Russian former professional racing driver who competed in Formula One in ...

(2013: 8th) competed in Formula One for Williams. *

Kevin Magnussen Kevin Jan Magnussen (born 5 October 1992) is a Danish racing driver currently competing in Formula One for Haas F1 Team. He is the son of four-time Le Mans winner and former Formula One driver Jan Magnussen. Kevin Magnussen came up through McLa ...

(2013: Champion) competed in Formula One with

in 2014–2015,

2016, and Haas 2017–2020, 2022. * Stoffel Vandoorne (2013: 2nd) competed in Formula One for

. Reserve driver for

Mercedes Mercedes may refer to: People * Mercedes (name), a Spanish feminine name, including a list of people and fictional characters with the given name or last name Automobile-related * Mercedes (marque), the pre-1926 brand name of German automobile m ...

and currently competing in Formula E with

. * Roberto Merhi (2014: 3rd; 2015: 14th) has competed in Formula One for

. *

Carlos Sainz Jr. Carlos Sainz Vázquez de Castro (; born 1 September 1994), otherwise known as Carlos Sainz Jr. or simply Carlos Sainz, is a Formula One drivers from Spain, Spanish racing driver currently competing in Formula One for Scuderia Ferrari. He is th ...

(2014: Champion) competed in Formula One for Scuderia Toro Rosso,

(on loan from Scuderia Toro Rosso) and

. Competing for

in 2021. * Alfonso Celis Jr. (2014: 27th; 2015: 16th; 2016: 11th; 2017: 3rd)

Force India Force India Formula One Team Limited, commonly known as Force India and later Sahara Force India, was a Formula One racing team and constructor based in Silverstone, United Kingdom, with an Indian licence. The team was formed in October 20 ...

development driver from 2016 until 2017. *

Esteban Ocon Esteban José Jean-Pierre Ocon-Khelfane (; born 17 September 1996) is a French racing driver who competes for Alpine in Formula One. He made his Formula One debut for Manor Racing in the 2016 Belgian Grand Prix, replacing Rio Haryanto. He move ...

(2014: 23rd) competed in Formula One for

and Renault F1. Competing for

in 2021. * Pierre Gasly (2014: 2nd) competed in Formula One for Scuderia Toro Rosso. Currently competing in Formula One for

AlphaTauri AlphaTauri or ''variant'', may refer to: *Aldebaran, also known as Alpha Tauri (α Tau) *AlphaTauri (fashion brand), fashion brand *Scuderia AlphaTauri, Formula One team since 2020; formerly Scuderia Toro Rosso See also * * * * * A Tauri * Al ...

. * Pietro Fittipaldi (2017 Champion) competed in Formula One for

Haas F1 Team Haas Formula LLC, competing as Haas F1 Team, is an American-licensed Formula One racing team established by NASCAR Cup Series team co-owner Gene Haas in April 2014. The team originally intended to make its debut at the start of the season b ...

. Reserve/development driver for

. ; Champions in other categories * Andy Priaulx (2001: 18th) – 2004 European Touring Car Championship (ETCC) Champion, 2005, 2006 and 2007 World Touring Car Championship (WTCC) World Champion * Matteo Bobbi (2001: 11th, 2002: 6th) – 2003 FIA GT Champion *

Alex Lloyd Alex Lloyd (born 19 November 1974) is an Australian singer-songwriter. Four of his albums, ''Black the Sun'', '' Watching Angels Mend'', '' Distant Light'' and ''Alex Lloyd'', released between 1999 and 2005, made the top ten on the ARIA charts ...

(2005: 40th) – 2007 Indy Lights champion. *

Simon Pagenaud Simon Pagenaud (born 18 May 1984) is a French professional racing driver. He is contracted to drive the No. 60 Honda for Meyer Shank Racing in the IndyCar Series. After a successful career in sports car racing that saw him taking the top class ...

(2005: 16th) – 2006 Atlantics Champion 2016 IndyCar champion. * Davide Valsecchi (2006: 10th, 2007: 16th) –

2012 GP2 Series The 2012 GP2 Series season was the forty-sixth season of the second-tier of Formula One feeder championship and also eighth season under the GP2 Series moniker and also the first season after merging with the GP2 Asia Series. The championship wa ...

Champion. *

Will Power William "Will" Steven Power (born 1 March 1981) is an Australian motorsports driver who currently competes in the IndyCar Series, driving for Team Penske. He is the 2014 and 2022 IndyCar Series champion and the 2018 Indianapolis 500 champion. ...

(2005: 7th) 2014 IndyCar champion. * Miloš Pavlović (2005: 17th; 2006: 11th; 2007: 3rd) – 2014 Lamborghini Super Trofeo ; Other notable drivers * Álvaro Parente (2006: 5th; 2007: 1st) GP2 Series winner, has driven and stood on the podium for Super Nova Racing,

Ocean Racing Technology Ocean Racing Technology (ORT) was a racing team that took part in both the GP2 Main Series and the GP2 Asia Series Championships. The team, owned by Tiago Monteiro and José Guedes, was formed at the end of the 2008 season after being purchased f ...

Scuderia Coloni Coloni Motorsport, also known as Scuderia Coloni, was an auto racing team from Italy. Formed by Enzo Coloni in 1983, the team participated in Formula Three between 1983 and 1986, before racing in Formula One as Enzo Coloni Racing Car Systems bet ...

, and Racing Engineering * Esteban Guerrieri (2008: 8th, 2009: 19th, 2010: 3rd) 2011 and 2012 Indy Lights runner-up for

Sam Schmidt Motorsports The IndyCar Series operation of McLaren (competing as Arrow McLaren due to sponsorship) is based in Indianapolis and was founded by former IndyCar driver Sam Schmidt in 2001 as Sam Schmidt Motorsports. After a series of partnerships and name ...

. 2019 WTCR runner-up.

Television broadcast

World Series by Renault races were broadcast live as part of a package of the combined open-wheel and touring car races on the pan-European

subscription channel or its sister stations Eurosport2 and British Eurosport. Eurosport is also on-sold to several non-European networks, extending World Series by Renault's international reach as far as South East Asia and Oceania. The races are also carried live by Estonia channel Kanal 12 and Spain channel

Aragon TV Aragon ( , ; Spanish and an, Aragón ; ca, Aragó ) is an autonomous community in Spain, coextensive with the medieval Kingdom of Aragon. In northeastern Spain, the Aragonese autonomous community comprises three provinces (from north to sout ...

. Abbreviated highlights packages were carried by several other television networks and stations, including the British channels

Sky Sports Sky Sports is a group of British subscription sports channels operated by the satellite pay television company Sky Group (a division of Comcast), and is the dominant subscription television sports brand in the United Kingdom and Ireland. It ...

and MotorsTV, the Dutch

RTL 7 RTL 7 is a Dutch free-to-cable television channel that was launched as ''Veronica'' on 1 September 1995. RTL 7 is RTL Nederland's "men's channel" with action films, reality television about crime and professions, soccer, motorsport and talk sho ...

channel, ESPN Star Sports in Asia,

Speed In everyday use and in kinematics, the speed (commonly referred to as ''v'') of an object is the magnitude of the change of its position over time or the magnitude of the change of its position per unit of time; it is thus a scalar quanti ...

in South America and

Esporte Interativo TNT Sports is a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery in Brazil responsible for sports broadcasts on TNT and Space channels in the country. Esporte Interativo started as a television channel, inaugurated on January 20, 2007 with the live broadcas ...

in Brazil.

References

External links

*
Grupo Alesport (RPM Racing) Official website

World Series by Renault Official website
{{Class of Auto racing Recurring sporting events established in 1998 Recurring sporting events disestablished in 2017