The GB3 Championship is a

single seater An open-wheel single-seater (often known as formula car) is a car with the wheels outside the car's main body, and usually having only one seat. Open-wheel cars contrast with street cars, sports cars, stock cars, and touring cars, which have the ...

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 or

Karting Kart racing or karting is a road racing variant of motorsport with open-wheel, four-wheeled vehicles known as go-karts or shifter karts. They are usually raced on scaled-down circuits, although some professional kart races are also held on ...

. 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. The championship was rebranded to GB3 Championship in August 2021.

History

On 23 March 2016, the

FIA FIA is the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (English: International Automobile Federation), the world's governing body for all forms of motor sport where four or more wheels are used. Fia or FIA may also refer to: People * Fia Backs ...

and MSA revealed to the

FIA World Motor Sport Council The World Motor Sport Council (WMSC) is a major organ within the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile's governance structure. Its primary role is amending current regulations and drafting new regulations for all of international motor spo ...

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. The series will co-headline seven of eight rounds with the

British GT Championship The British GT Championship is a sports car racing series based predominantly in the United Kingdom. The series was originally created by the British Racing Drivers' Club in 1993 and, for its first two seasons, was known as the National Sports GT ...

. The BRDC British Formula Three Championship notably does not use a FIA

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 dri ...

car, instead using a car based on the Formula 4 specification that is elevated to the pace of F3 cars. The car is designed by Italian manufacturer

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 c ...

to the F3 safety regulations including side impact panels, front and rear carbon impact structures, wheel tethers and extractable seat. British engine and electronics manufacturer

Cosworth Cosworth is a British automotive engineering company founded in London in 1958, specialising in high-performance internal combustion engines, powertrain, and electronics for automobile racing (motorsport) and mainstream Automotive industry, ...

provides the engine and related control electronics for the FA-016. The car also uses a unique Sadev limited slip differential.The Tatuus-Cosworth BRDC British F3 Car
nbsp;– BRDC British F3, 17 January 2018 The cars are around the same pace as the previous FIA F3 specification car used prior to the series folding in 2014. The FIA have previously been stringent with assigning of national F3 status. The

Euroformula Open Championship The Euroformula Open Championship (formerly the Spanish Formula Three Championship, European F3 Open Championship) is a junior formula racing series based in Spain. It was one of six national and international Formula Three championships in Europ ...

had to drop the F3 moniker due to it using an old specification

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 create ...

F312 Formula 3 car and low specification engine that did not meet the standards set by the FIA's single-seater commission. The granting of the national F3 status to the Tatuus-Cosworth highlights the pace of the car in relation to the FIA's other formula specifications. 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 750 Motor Club is a motor racing club in the UK. It was founded in 1939 to promote the sporting use of the Austin 7. '750' refers to the near-750cc Austin 7 engine. It later led to racing and the 750 Formula where specials are raced. Famous membe ...

before being awarded to MotorSport Vision. Under the BRDC F4 moniker, British driver

Jake Hughes Jake Hughes (born 30 May 1994) is a British racing driver and winner of the inaugural BRDC Formula 4 Championship. He has won multiple races at Formula 3 level, and is set to compete in the 2022–23 Formula E season with Neom McLaren. Career ...

was the first champion of the series in

2013 File:2013 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: Edward Snowden becomes internationally famous for leaking classified NSA wiretapping information; Typhoon Haiyan kills over 6,000 in the Philippines and Southeast Asia; The Dhaka garment fa ...

, driving for Lanan Racing. The championship top three of Hughes, vice-champion

Seb Morris Sebastian "Seb" Morris (born 30 November 1995) is a professional racing driver from Marford, who lives in Chester, Cheshire. He won the 2017 British GT Championship. He also won the 2017 Sunoco Challenge which gave him the prize drive in the Num ...

and

Charlie Robertson Charles Culbertson Robertson (January 31, 1896 – August 23, 1984) was an American professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball as a pitcher, and is best remembered for throwing a perfect game in 1922. He was the last surv ...

were all finalists in that year's

McLaren Autosport BRDC Award The Aston Martin Autosport BRDC Award is an award set up in 1989 to reward and recognise young racing drivers from the UK. As its names suggest, the award is backed by Aston Martin, motorsport magazine Autosport, and the British Racing Drivers' Cl ...

. 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 Arjun Maini (born 10 December 1997) is an Indian professional racing driver, currently competing in the DTM. He has previously also competed in FIA Formula 2 Championship with Trident Racing, as well as Campos Racing. Early life Maini comes ...

by just three points and went on to win the 2014

later in the year.

Will Palmer William Palmer (born 15 February 1997) is a British Motor racing driver, the son of Jonathan Palmer and brother of Jolyon Palmer. He is a past winner of the McLaren Autosport BRDC Award. He won the BRDC F4 Championship in 2015 having previously ...

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

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

in December.

Enaam Ahmed Enaam Ahmed (born 4 February 2000) is a British- Pakistani racing driver. Ahmed currently competes in the Indy NXT with Cape Motorsports, having previously driven for RP Motorsport in the 2021 season. He previously raced in the 2020 FIA Form ...

claimed the title after a dominant campaign in 2017 which saw him win a total of 13 races.

Linus Lundqvist Linus Lundqvist (born 26 March 1999) is a Swedish racing driver. He currently competes in Indy Lights driving for HMD Motorsports with Dale Coyne Racing. He is the 2022 Indy Lights champion. He is also the 2020 Formula Regional Americas Champi ...

won the championship in 2018, which also saw him claim a prize drive at the 2019

24 Hours of Daytona The 24 Hours of Daytona, also known as the Rolex 24 At Daytona for sponsorship reasons, is a 24-hour sports car endurance race held annually at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Florida. It is run on the Sports Car Course layo ...

. Subsequent champions were

Clement Novalak Clement or Clément may refer to: People * Clement (name), a given name and surname * Saint Clement (disambiguation)#People Places * Clément, French Guiana, a town * Clement, Missouri, U.S. * Clement Township, Michigan, U.S. Other uses * ...

and

Kaylen Frederick Kaylen Frederick (born 4 June 2002) is an American-German race car driver who is currently racing in the 2023 FIA Formula 3 Championship for ART Grand Prix. He was the last champion of the British Formula 3 Championship in 2020. Career Kar ...

, both driving for Carlin. In August 2021 the series was renamed as GB3 Championship; British racing driver

Zak O'Sullivan Zak O'Sullivan (born 6 February 2005) is a British racing driver of Irish descent who is set to compete in the 2023 FIA Formula 3 Championship for Prema Racing. He most recently competed in the 2022 FIA Formula 3 Championship for Carlin. He is ...

was the first to win the title under the new name. The following month, MSV announced a new support series would be launched with the

GB4 Championship The GB4 Championship is a single seater motorsport series based in the United Kingdom. The championship is operated by MotorSport Vision with support from the BRDC, and is aimed at young drivers graduating from karting or club level motorsport ...

. 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. The new car has proven to be around two to three seconds a lap quicker than its predecessor.https://www.gb-3.net/news/2022/things-you-may-have-missed-from-the-oulton-park-gb3-opener

Chassis specifications

GB3 Championship Car

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 European Formula Regional Series 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

Points are awarded to all finishing drivers in each race, except the reverse grid race two, using the following system in 2013: Points are awarded to all finishing drivers in each race, using the following system since 2014: In the reverse grid races, an extra point is awarded per position gained compared to each drivers' starting position.

Champions

Operating under 750 Motor Club

All champions were British-registered.

BRDC Formula 4 Championship

BRDC British Formula 3 Championship

GB3 Championship

Notes

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:BRDC British Formula 3 Championship Auto racing series in the United Kingdom 2006 establishments in the United Kingdom Recurring sporting events established in 2006