1990 British Formula Three Championship Explained

The 1990 British Formula Three season was the 40th season of the British Formula Three Championship, starting on 1 April at Donington Park and ending on 7 October at Silverstone following 17 races.

The season was notable for its domination by future Formula One champion Mika Häkkinen and fellow Finn and future F1 driver Mika Salo; both drove Mugen-Honda-powered Ralt chassis, prepared by West Surrey Racing and Alan Docking Racing respectively. Häkkinen started the year strongly with three wins from the first four races, but Salo responded with four victories in the next six events to establish an 11-point advantage over his rival. The 11th round of the series at Snetterton proved a turning point, however, as Salo spun out while leading, allowing Häkkinen to begin a sequence of six wins from the final seven rounds which would allow him to seal the title with two rounds to spare.

Häkkinen's reward would be a deal to race with the Lotus F1 team in 1991, although Salo's career momentum was ruined by a drunk-driving charge that forced him to move to Japan to further his career.^[1] Other drivers in the field that went on to enjoy success in international motorsport included Christian Fittipaldi, who went on to win the International Formula 3000 championship the following year before enjoying stints in F1 and CART, and future touring car and sportscar driver Peter Kox.

1990 also marked the start of a dominant period for Mugen-Honda engines, which would power each British F3 champion until 2005 with only one exception. Charles Rickett won the Class B title in a year-old Volkswagen-powered Ralt.

Drivers and Teams

Team	Chassis	Engine	No.	Driver	Rounds
Class A
Bowman Racing	Ralt RT33	Volkswagen-Spiess	1	Steve Robertson	All
			4	Philippe Adams	All
			12	Fernando Plata	1–7
				Stephen Hepworth	10–17
			14	Peter Kox	1–10, 12–17
West Surrey Racing	Ralt RT34	Mugen-Honda	2	Mika Häkkinen	All
			3	Christian Fittipaldi	All
			16	Minoru Tanaka	All
Paul Stewart Racing	Reynard 903	Mugen-Honda	5	Paul Stewart	1–3
	Ralt RT34				4–17
	Reynard 903		6	Derek Higgins	1–4
	Ralt RT34				5–17
Alan Docking Racing	Ralt RT34	Mugen-Honda	7	Mika Salo	All
			8	Hideki Noda	All
Swallow Racing	Reynard 903	Mugen-Honda	10	Julian Westwood	1–4
	Ralt RT34				5–17
	Reynard 903		11	Jonathan McGall	1–3
	Ralt RT34				4–17
Formula Services	Reynard 903	Alfa Romeo	18	Jose Cordova	1–4
				Adrián Fernández	5
Hubbard Racing	Reynard 903	Opel	20	Hilton Cowie	5–9, 13–15, 17
	Ralt RT33		94		3
			21	Niko Palhares	3–4
	Ralt RT34				5–9
Racefax Motorsport	Ralt RT32	Mazda	23	Alain Menu	1–2, 4
nowrap	Dawson Auto Developments	Reynard 903	Alfa Romeo	25	António Simões	nowrap	2–3, 5, 10–11, 13, 17
Tech-Speed Motorsport	Reynard 903	Volkswagen-Spiess	27	Gary Ayles	1–4, 6–9
				Scott Stringfellow	13
			28	Jordi Gené	All
Hepworth Racing	Reynard 903	Volkswagen-Spiess	30	Stephen Hepworth	1–6
				Jason Elliott	9–10
				Henrik Larsen	11–14
				Ross Hockenhull	16
Superpower Engineering	Reynard 903	Volkswagen-Spiess	33	Paul Warwick	1
	Ralt RT34	Mugen-Honda			2–9
				Bernard Dolan	10
				Gary Ayles	11–17
Team Itchi-Ban	Reynard 903	Mugen-Honda	37	Nic Jönsson	15–16
			38	Mikael Gustavsson	15
			39	Linus Lundberg	15
G-Son Racing	Reynard 903	Volkswagen-Spiess	40	Fredrik Ekblom	1
Diamond Racing	Reynard 903	Volkswagen-Spiess	44	nowrap	César Tiberio Jiménez	4
Reynard R&D	Reynard 903B	Mugen-Honda	50	Jason Elliott	11, 13, 15–17
Class B
Peter Lea Racing	Reynard 873	Alfa Romeo	51	Eddie Kimbell	1–13
				Sandy Brody	14–17
	Reynard 883		56	Alan Tulloch	1–10, 13–17
Stronghold Racing	Ralt RT32	Toyota	52	Steve Bradley	1–4, 6, 8–11, 14
	Ralt RT33	Volkswagen-Spiess			15, 17
Steve Deeks	Reynard 883	Alfa Romeo	53	Steve Deeks	5–8, 10, 17
Bowman Racing	Ralt RT33	Volkswagen-Spiess	54	Charles Rickett	1–13
				Darren Shaw	14, 16
				Dana Brewer	15, 17
Tollbar Racing	Ralt RT32	Volkswagen-Spiess	55	Juan Serda	All
Davies Racing	Ralt RT31	Volkswagen-Spiess	57	Tony Davies	1, 4–6, 10, 17
Tech-Speed Motorsport	Reynard 873	Volkswagen-Spiess	58	Paul Smith	10
G-Son Racing	Reynard 883	Volkswagen-Spiess	60	Monica Stråth	1
Racefax Motorsport	Ralt RT32	Volkswagen-Spiess	61	Dominic Chappell	1–3
	Ralt RT33				4–17
Hubbard Racing	Reynard 893	Volkswagen-Spiess	64	Pekka Herva	14–15, 17
	Ralt RT33	Opel	91	Flurin Zegg	4
Zeus Motorsport	Reynard 883	Volkswagen-Spiess	66	Peter Sneller	1–2, 4–8, 10–12, 15–17
Petroglobe International	Reynard 893	Alfa Romeo	67	Dana Brewer	13
Diamond Racing	Reynard 893	Toyota	70	César Tiberio Jiménez	3
Cram Motorsport	Ralt RT33	Toyota	71	Rob Mears	All
JWD Motorsport	Ralt RT31	Toyota	83	Jack Dickenson	4, 9
Carlton Tingling	Reynard 883	Volkswagen-Spiess	85	Carlton Tingling	15

Race calendar and results

Round	Circuit	Date	Pole Position	Fastest Lap	Winning Driver	Winning Team	Class B Winner
1	Donington Park	1 April	Mika Häkkinen	Mika Häkkinen	Mika Häkkinen	West Surrey Racing	nowrap	Dominic Chappell
2	Silverstone	8 April	Mika Häkkinen	Mika Salo	Mika Salo	Alan Docking Racing	Charles Rickett
3	Thruxton	16 April	Mika Häkkinen	Mika Häkkinen	Mika Häkkinen	West Surrey Racing	Charles Rickett
4	Brands Hatch	29 April	Mika Häkkinen	Mika Häkkinen	Mika Häkkinen	West Surrey Racing	Charles Rickett
5	Silverstone	7 May	Mika Salo	Mika Salo	Mika Salo	Alan Docking Racing	Juan Serda
6	Brands Hatch	20 May	Mika Häkkinen	Mika Häkkinen	Mika Salo	Alan Docking Racing	Dominic Chappell
7	Thruxton	28 May	Mika Salo	Mika Häkkinen	Mika Salo	Alan Docking Racing	Charles Rickett
8	Silverstone	10 June	Mika Häkkinen	Mika Salo	Steve Robertson	Bowman Racing	Charles Rickett
9	Donington Park	1 July	nowrap	Christian Fittipaldi	nowrap	Christian Fittipaldi	nowrap		West Surrey Racing	Charles Rickett
10	Silverstone	14 July	Mika Salo	Mika Salo	Mika Salo	nowrap	Alan Docking Racing	Charles Rickett
11	Snetterton	5 August	Mika Salo	Mika Häkkinen Mika Salo	Mika Häkkinen	West Surrey Racing	Charles Rickett
12	Oulton Park	12 August	Mika Häkkinen	Mika Häkkinen	Mika Häkkinen	West Surrey Racing	Charles Rickett
13	Silverstone	27 August	Mika Häkkinen	Mika Häkkinen	Mika Häkkinen	West Surrey Racing	Charles Rickett
14	Brands Hatch	2 September	Mika Häkkinen	Mika Häkkinen	Mika Häkkinen	West Surrey Racing	Darren Shaw
15	nowrap	Donington Park	nowrap	16 September	Mika Häkkinen	Mika Häkkinen	Mika Häkkinen	West Surrey Racing	Dominic Chappell
16	Thruxton	23 September	Paul Stewart	Mika Salo	Mika Salo	Alan Docking Racing	Darren Shaw
17	Silverstone	7 October	Mika Häkkinen	Steve Robertson	Mika Häkkinen	West Surrey Racing	Peter Sneller

Häkkinen and Salo set identical fastest lap times and were subsequently both awarded an additional point.

Championship Standings

Points in brackets include dropped scores – only the best 14 of 17 scores count towards the championship

Pos.	Driver	DON	SIL	THR	BRH		BRH	THR	SIL	DON	SIL	SNE	OUL	SIL	BRH	DON	THR	SIL	Pts
Class A
1	Mika Häkkinen	1	(3)	1	1	2	2	2	Ret	(6)	2	1	1	1	1	1	2	1
2	Mika Salo	2	1	2	4	1	1	1	2	5	1	(7)	2	2	Ret	3	1	Ret
3	Steve Robertson	3	2	Ret	Ret	3	3	Ret	1	Ret	3	2	Ret	4	3	Ret	9	3	49
4	Christian Fittipaldi	4	14	5	6	7	6	4	8	1	6	3	Ret	DSQ	5	Ret	4	2	36
5	Peter Kox	Ret	4	3	2	5	Ret	6	5	2	Ret		Ret	Ret	Ret	Ret	6	4	28
6	Philippe Adams	11	Ret	6	10	4	20	Ret	9	9	4	4	5	6	2	2	Ret	11	25
7	Paul Stewart	6	23	Ret	11	9	Ret	13	4	4	Ret	5	4	3	6	Ret	3	13	21
8	Jonathan McGall	Ret	5	Ret	12	10	11	5	3	7	10	17	3	7	7	Ret	Ret	6	13
9	Derek Higgins	Ret	7	Ret	5	8	4	9	22	3	Ret	Ret	Ret	Ret	4	Ret	Ret	7	12
10	Paul Warwick	17	Ret	4	3	Ret	5	7	6	10									10
11	Minoru Tanaka	5	8	Ret	8	13	Ret	3	Ret	Ret	5	Ret	Ret	10	12	Ret	5	8	10
12	Hideki Noda	7	6	Ret	DNS	6	9	11	16	Ret	Ret	Ret	6	5	11	4	10	Ret	8
13	Jason Elliott									Ret	8	DNS		20		5	8	5	4
14	Julian Westwood	Ret	12	8	9	14	7	10	7	8	7	Ret	7	8	9	6	7	10	1
15	Jordi Gené	10	10	9	13	12	Ret	DSQ	10	Ret	11	6	8	9	10	7	Ret	9	1
16	Fernando Plata	8	9	7	7	11	8	12											0
17	Gary Ayles	20	Ret	11	14		Ret	8	14	Ret		Ret	Ret	Ret	8	8	19	12	0
18	Henrik Larsen											8	Ret	11	13				0
19	Stephen Hepworth	13	16	15	Ret	15	12				Ret	9	9	Ret	14	15	20	Ret	0
20	Alain Menu	9	Ret		DNS														0
21	Bernard Dolan										9								0
22	Niko Palhares			Ret	Ret	Ret	10	NC	11	Ret									0
23	Jose Cordova	DNS	11	10	DNS														0
24	António Simões		13	Ret		Ret					12	10		Ret				Ret	0
25	Hilton Cowie			12		Ret	Ret	DSQ	12	11				12	Ret	Ret		Ret	0
26	Ross Hockenhull																11		0
27	Nic Jönsson															Ret	13		0
28	Scott Stringfellow													15					0
	Fredrik Ekblom	Ret																	0
	Adrián Fernández					Ret													0
	Linus Lundberg															Ret			0
	César T. Jiménez				DNS														0
	align=left nowrap	Mikael Gustavsson																DNS		0
Class B
1	Charles Rickett	Ret	15	13	15	Ret	21	14	13	12	13	11	10	13					101
2	Dominic Chappell	12	19	DNS	Ret	Ret	13	15	15	Ret	15	Ret	11	14	16	9	14	Ret	72
3	Eddie Kimbell	Ret	18	14	16	17	16	17	19	15	Ret	12	DNS	16					43
4	Rob Mears	18	Ret	16	Ret	Ret	14	Ret	18	13	16	14	Ret	Ret	17	10	15	DSQ	42
5	Peter Sneller	Ret	17		DNS	Ret	15	16	Ret		14	15	12			DSQ	16	14	39
6	Juan Serda	16	20	20	17	16	18	18	21	16	20	16	13	18	20	DSQ	18	18	33
7	Steve Bradley	DSQ	21	18	Ret		17		20	14	19	13			19	12		16	23
8	Darren Shaw														15		12		20
9	Alan Tulloch	15	22	19	18	18	19	19	Ret	Ret	21			17	21	11	Ret	Ret	20
10	Sandy Brody														Ret	Ret	17	15	8
11	Steve Deeks					Ret	DNS	DNS	17		18							17	8
12	Monica Stråth	14																	6
13	Tony Davies	19			19	19	22				22							DNS	6
14	Pekka Herva														18	Ret		Ret	4
15	César T. Jiménez			17															3
16	Dana Brewer													19		14		19	3
17	Paul Smith										17								2
18	Carlton Tingling															13			2
19	Jack Dickenson				DNS					17									1
	Flurin Zegg				DNS														0

External links

• The official website of the British Formula 3 Championship

Notes and References

1. Web site: Formula 1 News, Live Grand Prix Updates, Videos, Drivers and Results - ESPN.