The Florida Winter Series was a single-seater racing category organised by the

Ferrari Driver Academy Ferrari Driver Academy is an initiative from Formula One team Scuderia Ferrari to promote young talent inside its own organisation, with several drivers being selected and funded by the team, being under long-term contracts. Some notable former ...

. The series was launched on October 18, 2013 and held its inaugural and only season in 2014.

The series

The series held all its races in the state of

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

. Due to the mild climate, sports facilities and logistics Florida was chosen to host all four rounds of the inaugural championship. For the first race many high-profile drivers were attracted.

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, ...

driver

Jules Bianchi Jules Lucien André Bianchi (; 3 August 1989 – 17 July 2015) was a French motor racing driver who drove for the Marussia F1 Team in the FIA Formula One World Championship. Bianchi had previously raced in Formula Renault 3.5, GP2 and Form ...

and

IndyCar Series The IndyCar Series, currently known as the NTT IndyCar Series under sponsorship, is the highest class of regional North American open-wheel single-seater formula racing cars in the United States, which has been conducted under the auspices of ...

driver Simona de Silvestro were among them. Notable stars from the series included

Max Verstappen Max Emilian Verstappen (; born 30 September 1997) is a Belgian-Dutch Auto racing, racing driver and the 2021 Formula One World Championship, 2021 and 2022 Formula One World Championship, 2022 Formula One World Champion. He Formula One drivers ...

and

Lance Stroll Lance Strulovitch (born 29 October 1998), better known as Lance Stroll, is a Canadian–Belgian racing driver competing under the Canadian flag in Formula One. He has driven for Aston Martin since , having previously driven for Williams and R ...

, and

Nicholas Latifi Nicholas Daniel Latifi (born 29 June 1995) is a Canadian racing driver who last raced for Williams Racing under the Canadian flag in the 2022 Formula One World Championship. Latifi made his Formula One debut at the 2020 Austrian Grand Prix a ...

; all of whom made it to Formula One. Ed Jones eventually won an INDYCAR developmental series that led to him earning a full-time INDYCAR ride.

The car

The series used the

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 ...

FA010B chassis. This car is also used in

Formula Abarth Formula Abarth was an open wheel racing series based in Italy and Europe aimed at karting graduates. The inaugural season was in 2010, effectively replacing the Formula Azzurra. Abarth have taken over the supporting Project Youth initiative, th ...

and other regional championships. The car is built to

Formula 3 Formula Three, also called Formula 3, abbreviated as F3, is a third-tier class of open-wheel formula racing. The various championships held in Europe, Australia, South America and Asia form an important step for many prospective Formula One driv ...

safety regulations to ensure the drivers safety. The car is powered by a 1400cc

Fiat Fiat Automobiles S.p.A. (, , ; originally FIAT, it, Fabbrica Italiana Automobili di Torino, lit=Italian Automobiles Factory of Turin) is an Italian automobile manufacturer, formerly part of Fiat Chrysler Automobiles, and since 2021 a subsidiary ...

- FPT engine producing 190 hp.

Cancellation

On November 6, 2014,

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 ...

cancelled the Florida Winter Series for the 2015 season.

References

External links

* {{Ferrari Ferrari 2013 establishments in Florida Auto racing series in the United States Formula racing series Motorsport competitions in Florida