There is a lot of truth to Hillspeed team boss Richard Ollerenshaw’s assessment that the GB3 Championship has returned to the halcyon days of British Formula 3 following the reveal of next season’s calendar.
The UK single-seater category’s 2024 schedule includes three international race meetings as the Hungaroring in Hungary joins Spa in Belgium and Zandvoort in the Netherlands as foreign destinations. Add in two visits to the Silverstone Grand Prix circuit here in the UK and five of the eight race meetings next term will be held at current Formula 1 venues – a vital aspect for any junior single-seater championship.
The past four champions in the category – Luke Browning, Zak O’Sullivan, Kaylen Frederick and Clement Novalak – have all progressed up the single-seater ladder into F3 and even F2, where prior knowledge of European circuits is crucial if these young drivers are to make the grade at the next level.
The fact that championship organiser MotorSport Vision has added a third overseas round has generally gone down well with team bosses and should ensure that GB3 remains a high priority for up-and-coming drivers on the career ladder.
Over the past three seasons, the series has gone from strength to strength, which at one point during the 2021 campaign did not quite look to be the case. This was after MSV was forced into a mid-season name change by the FIA, losing the F3 moniker and rebranding as GB3.
Such a change in the middle of a campaign had the potential to derail momentum (especially in the immediate wake of the COVID-19 pandemic), spark confusion about where GB3’s place was in the pecking order of junior single-seater championships, and just generally turn people away. But instead, numbers have continued to grow, never dipping below 20 entries this season, and a championship-record 25 cars took the start at several rounds.
Just as important as healthy grids, though, is a competitive field, and this year no fewer than 10 drivers took at least one win, while the title battle between Callum Voisin and Alex Dunne went down to the finale.
The category headed to Zandvoort for the first time this season, where it was on the support bill alongside a direct competitor – Formula Regional European Championship by Alpine. GB3’s Tatuus MSV-022 machine proved to be on average two seconds a lap quicker than its European equivalent and, for significantly less budget, it showcased the strengths of the UK championship. All signs point to another strong entry next season, with Formula Ford frontrunner Ammonite Motorsport set to join the grid, creating the potential for 28 cars to line up at times.
But, while the championship continues to grow, nothing in motorsport stands still for long and plans are already being discussed about the next generation of car. Autosport understands that talks have been held with GB3 teams about when to introduce a new car, with suggestions it could be as early as the 2025 season. If such a move were to happen, it would mean the current car will have only been used for three years – hardly a long innings for such a well-received and competitive machine.
Notably, the Tatuus F4-T014 chassis is without a halo, which is an area that has become a focal point for the next-generation of GB4 car
The reason to push through with the change is that it could in theory then allow the Tatuus MSV-022 to move down MSV’s single-seater pathway and into GB4. This championship was created in 2022 as a low-budget entry into single-seaters, costing between £120,000 and £150,000 for a season, and currently uses the previous generation of F4 chassis.
Notably, the Tatuus F4-T014 chassis is without a halo, which is an area that has become a focal point for the next-generation of GB4 car. Arguably of more concern is that, while £50,000 has been awarded to the champion each year, there hasn’t been the necessary backing for them to step up the career ladder.
Nikolas Taylor was the inaugural champion but made only a one-off appearance in the F4 CEZ Championship this season as well as being a driver coach for the Fortec squad. While this year’s title winner, Tom Mills, believes it unlikely that he will be able to move up to GB3 in 2024 where budgets are close to £400,000.
It raises serious questions about GB4’s place in UK motorsport, even after only two seasons of being in existence – especially with some of the privateers on the grid struggling to get near the pace of the established teams – although there are some glimmers of hope that it’s providing a pathway. Last season’s runner-up Jarrod Waberski moved up to GB3 this term with Fortec, and American Colin Queen is set to do the same in 2024.
If the current GB3 chassis were indeed moved into GB4, would the jump in performance prove too much for many young drivers new to slicks and wings? And what raw performance would the new GB3 car be required to have in order for it be a significant level above that of GB4? They are questions that will be answered in time.
In GB3, MSV has created a successful championship that has the potential to attract some of the best junior talent in motorsport. But it must be careful to protect the future of this category at the expense of promoting another.
