Euroformula Open Championship Explained

Pixels:216px
Category:Single seaters
Country/Region:Europe
Inaugural:2001
Tyres:Pirelli[1]
Drivers:10 (2023)
Teams:6 (2023)
Constructors:Dallara
Engines:Mercedes
Volkswagen
Champion Driver: Noel León
Champion Team: Team Motopark
Current Season: Euroformula Open Championship
Website:http://www.euroformulaopen.net/

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 Europe and Scandinavia that together used to form an important part of the established "career ladder" below Formula One. The championship's first season was held in 2001. In 2006, it was branded as the Spanish F3 Championship by Toyota, in deference to its sole engine supplier. In 2020, the championship ceased to be a F3-championship and will share its specifications with Japan's Super Formula Lights based on the previous-generation Formula Three standards, primarily with a choice of engines.

Profile

The Spanish Formula Three Championship was formed during Spain's recent growth period in motor racing that began with the Euro Open Movistar by Nissan, which eventually became the World Series by Renault when the two companies' motor racing programs were reorganised. The new championship replaced the previously existing Super Formula Toyota, a one-make series with performance similar to F3.

The European F3 Open championship has become successful by actively taking measures to control budget requirements. This provides a more achievable option for drivers who lack the major sponsorship portfolio that is required by leading Euroseries teams, and would otherwise have to look elsewhere for their next step up the career ladder.

With Renault's backing, the World Series has developed into a championship from which drivers can reach Formula One, and three major Spanish teams are established in GP2.[2] This has fostered new opportunities for the graduates of Spanish F3, which has, in turn, made the championship itself a success.[3]

In recent years the Championship has become much less centred in Spain, with races across Europe, and has successfully attracted famous non-Spanish teams to take part. The first was the British outfit Team West-Tec who went on to win two Driver's Championship titles in their first three seasons, and which were followed a year later by Italy's RP Motorsport who have won races each year since joining.

The championship was renamed to Euroformula Open Championship for 2014, after the FIA restricted the use of the Formula Three name to championships that do not follow the current engine regulations.[4]

Sub-divisions

Like British Formula Three, the series incorporates a second championship class for chassis specifications from the previous generation. The Copa was created in 2005, and provides an opportunity for drivers without competitive budgets, who would otherwise be left unable to progress from cheaper formulae. The name is derived from the chassis specification that all Copa entrants must use: the Dallara F308.

Equipment

The Euroformula Open Championship has used chassis from Italian constructor Dallara. During the first seasons, the Dallara F300 was used. The Dallara F305 debuted in 2005, the Dallara F308 in 2008, and the Dallara F312 in 2012. The secondary class was dropped during the 2014 season due to lack of entries. The current chassis is the Dallara 320, which debuted in 2020.

Originally, the European F3 Open Championship had a single engine supplier. From 2010 to 2018, the series used Toyota's F3 engine upgraded by the Spanish tuner Piedrafita Sport. In 2019, the series also allowed Mercedes-Benz and Volkswagen engines, and the Toyota engines were dropped after the first round of the season.

F1 tests

The exclusive use of the Toyota engine prompted Toyota to offer a Formula One test to each year's champion. The first driver to benefit from this was 2004 champion Borja García, who later graduated to GP2.[5]

Venues

Between 2001 and 2005, the Spanish F3 Championship had seven rounds, each with two races. Exceptions to this included the Valencia round in 2002 and the Jerez round in 2003, each of which had only one race, and Albacete, which held a single-race event in addition to its regular two-race event in 2005.

In every season from its inception until 2007, the championship made a regular visit to Estoril in Portugal. The 2006 season, which was expanded to eight rounds, included the championship's first visit to Magny-Cours in France.[6]

Since 2008 many circuits from further afield have been added to the schedule including visits to Magny Cours, Donington Park and Brands Hatch with major European motorsport venues including Spa, Monza, Silverstone and Hungaroring hosting rounds of the 2014 season as the series expands further into Europe.

From 2001, the circuits used in the Euroformula Open Championship are listed as:

NumberCircuitsRoundsYears
1 Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya232001–present
2 Circuito de Jerez202002–2011, 2013–2018
3 Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps162008–present
4 Autodromo Nazionale di Monza152009–present
5 Circuit Ricardo Tormo132001–2011
6 Circuito do Estoril122001–2007, 2015–2018, 2022
7 Circuito del Jarama112001–2010
Circuit Paul Ricard 112012–2013, 2015–present
9 Circuito de Albacete92001–2008
Hungaroring92012, 2014, 2017–present
11 Silverstone Circuit72013–2019
Red Bull Ring72015–2016, 2019–present
13 Circuit de Nevers Magny-Cours62006–2011
Algarve International Circuit62011–2014, 2021, 2023–present
15 Brands Hatch32010–2012
Nürburgring32012–2014
17 Valencia Street Circuit22008
Circuit de Pau-Ville22019, 2022
Mugello Circuit22020, 2023
Imola Circuit22021–2022
21 Donington Park12009
Hockenheimring12019, 2024

Points system

SeasonsRace123456789101112131415PPFLPG
20012003Race20181614121098765432112
2004Race1210865432111
20052006Race121086543211
20072008Race 1131196543211colspan=2
Race 212108654321colspan=9
20092011Race 114121086532111
Race 2121086543211
20122020Race25181512108642111
2021–presentRace251815121086421112*

Champions

Spanish Formula Three

Drivers

scope=colSeasonscope=colDriverscope=colTeamscope=colPolesscope=colWinsscope=colPodiumsscope=col width="40"Fastest lapsscope=colPointsscope=colClinchedscope=col width="50"Margin
2001 Ander Vilariño Racing Engineering7687196Race 12 of 1439
2002 Marcel Costa E.V. Racing2293190Race 11 of 1316
2003 Ricardo Maurício Racing Engineering4672190Race 11 of 136
2004 Borja García Racing Engineering89108149Race 14 of 1418
2005 Andy Soucek Llusiá Racing2371112Race 13 of 133
2006 Ricardo Risatti TEC-Auto3578118Race 15 of 1615
2007 Máximo Cortés Escuderia TEC-Auto4679117Race 16 of 164
2008 Germán Sánchez Campos F3 Racing145488Race 17 of 174

Teams

scope=colSeasonscope=colTeamscope=colPolesscope=colWinsscope=colPodiumsscope=col width="40"Fastest lapsscope=colPointsscope=colClinchedscope=col width="50"Margin
2001 Racing Engineering87139113Race 14 of 1419
2002 Racing Engineering2492108Race 12 of 1319
2003 Racing Engineering46103119Race 12 of 1326
2004 Racing Engineering9102110179Race 10 of 1418
2005 Racing Engineering2371252Race 9 of 13128
2006 Racing Engineering14141155Race 16 of 169
2007 Escuderia TEC-Auto47179197Race 16 of 1630
2008 Campos F3 Racing34127134Race 15 of 1744

Junior Cup

scope=colSeasonscope=colDriverscope=colTeamscope=colPolesscope=colWins (Junior)scope=colPodiums (Junior)scope=col width="40"Fastest lapsscope=colPoints (Junior)scope=colClinchedscope=col width="50"Margin
2001 Juan Antonio del Pino Meycom001073Race 13 of 1423
2002 Andy Soucek Racing Engineering0000113Race 7 of 1316
2003 Ricardo Risatti EV Racing
Elide Racing
00 (8)1 (10)070 (96)Race 12 of 1328
2004 Javier Villa EV Racing
Elide Racing
00 (10)0 (11)029 (108)Race 13 of 1428

Trofeo Ibérico

scope=colSeasonscope=colDriverscope=colTeamscope=colPolesscope=colWins (Trofeo)scope=colPodiums(Trofeo)scope=col width="40"Fastest lapsscope=colPoints (Trofeo)scope=colClinchedscope=col width="50"Margin
2003 Borja García GTA Motor Competición11 (0)7 (4)280 (182)Race 5 of 54
2004 Borja García Racing Engineering79 (5)10 (5)8149 (63)Race 6 of 613
2005 Andy Soucek Llusiá Racing23 (2)7 (3)1112 (77)Race 5 of 619
2006 Roldán Rodríguez Campos Racing24 (3)5 (3)3103 (65)Race 6 of 66

Copa de España de F3

scope=colSeasonscope=colDriverscope=colTeamscope=colPolesscope=colWins (Copa)scope=colPodiums(Copa)scope=col width="40"Fastest lapsscope=colPoints (Copa)scope=colClinchedscope=col width="50"Margin
2005 Arturo Llobell Campos Racing000016 (86)Race 15 of 154
2006 German Sanchez Escuela Profiltek000119 (108)Race 15 of 1615
2007 Christian Ebbesvik Team West-Tec00 (7)0 (13)07 (118)Race 16 of 160
2008 Natacha Gachnang Team West-Tec10 (5)0 (12)276 (110)Race 16 of 161

European F3 Open

Drivers

scope=colSeasonscope=colDriverscope=colTeamscope=colPolesscope=colWinsscope=colPodiumsscope=col width="40"Fastest lapsscope=colPointsscope=colClinchedscope=col width="50"Margin
2009 Bruno Méndez Campos Racing24118145Race 16 of 162
2010 Marco Barba Cedars Motorsport36108154Race 12 of 1642
2011 Alex Fontana Corbetta Competizioni1271120Race 15 of 165
2012 Niccolò Schirò RP Motorsport34117272Race 16 of 165
2013 Ed Jones Team West-Tec F346103256Race 16 of 169

Teams

scope=colSeasonscope=colTeamscope=colPolesscope=colWinsscope=colPodiumsscope=col width="40"Fastest lapsscope=colPointsscope=colClinchedscope=col width="50"Margin
2009 Campos Racing461410117Race 16 of 167
2010 Cedars Motorsport36108116Race 15 of 1624
2011 Team West-Tec2481101Race 16 of 166
2012 RP Motorsport882310138Race 14 of 1641
2013 RP Motorsport66267128Race 16 of 162

Copa F306/300

scope=colSeasonscope=colDriverscope=colTeamscope=colPolesscope=colWins (Copa)scope=colPodiums (Copa)scope=col width="40"Fastest lapsscope=colPoints (Copa)scope=colClinchedscope=col width="50"Margin
2009 Callum MacLeod Team West-Tec00 (7)1 (12)041 (106)Race 14 of 1627
2010 Noel Jammal Cedars Motorsport00 (5)0 (8)024 (89)Race 16 of 165
2011 Fabio Gamberini Team West-Tec01 (10)3 (14)079 (130)Race 14 of 1612
2012 Kevin Giovesi DAV Racing00 (10)1 (11)093 (110)Race 13 of 1638
2013 Richard Gonda Drivex School00 (7)0 (10)010 (100)Race 15 of 1619

Euroformula Open

Drivers

scope=colSeasonscope=colDriverscope=colTeamscope=colPolesscope=colWinsscope=colPodiumsscope=col width="40"Fastest lapsscope=colPointsscope=colClinchedscope=col width="50"Margin
2014 Sandy Stuvik RP Motorsport1011125332Race 14 of 1689
2015 Vitor Baptista RP Motorsport56127291Race 16 of 165
2016 Leonardo Pulcini Campos Racing37158303Race 12 of 1656
2017 Harrison Scott RP Motorsport1112139340Race 12 of 16118
2018 Felipe Drugovich RP Motorsport10141610405Race 12 of 16159
2019 Marino Sato Team Motopark69115309Race 15 of 18130
2020 Yifei Ye CryptoTower Racing12111612369Race 16 of 18121
2021 Cameron Das Team Motopark17166382Race 22 of 2467
2022 Oliver Goethe Team Motopark7111812473Race 24 of 2657
2023 Noel León Team Motopark5*7*15*11*367*Race 20 of 2392*

Teams

scope=colSeasonscope=colTeamscope=colPolesscope=colWinsscope=colPodiumsscope=col width="40"Fastest lapsscope=colPointsscope=colClinchedscope=col width="50"Margin
2014 RP Motorsport13132210152Race 14 of 1651
2015 RP Motorsport57138121Race 15 of 1610
2016 Campos Racing37179120Race 14 of 1618
2017 RP Motorsport12131710134Race 12 of 1644
2018 RP Motorsport10141611180Race 11 of 1678
2019 Team Motopark11153311262Race 12 of 18168
2020 CryptoTower Racing17162616244Race 12 of 18129
2021 Team Motopark5162918277Race 23 of 2469
2022 CryptoTower Racing312418358Race 23 of 2478
2023 Team Motopark5153615325Race 15 of 23124

Rookies

scope=colSeasonscope=colDriverscope=colTeamscope=colPolesscope=colWins (rookie)scope=colPodiums (rookie)scope=col width="40"Fastest lapsscope=colPoints (rookie)scope=colClinchedscope=col width="50"Margin
2016 Ferdinand Habsburg Drivex School42 (10)12 (15)1247 (140)Race 12 of 1642
2017 Nikita Troitskiy Drivex School20 (7)9 (14)4222 (124)Race 14 of 1629
2018 Bent Viscaal Teo Martín Motorsport41 (14)12 (15)2246 (138)Race 12 of 1648
2019 Liam Lawson Team Motopark24 (6)7 (9)1179 (92)Race 18 of 189
2020 Niklas Krütten Team Motopark00 (9)5 (13)0153 (140)Race 16 of 1828
2021 Casper Stevenson Van Amersfoort Racing02 (6)4 (20)0217 (178)Race 19 of 2435
2022 Vladislav Lomko CryptoTower Racing26 (21)19 (25)5416 (226)Race 22 of 2664
2023 Jakob Bergmeister Team Motopark00 (10)3 (16)0148 (150)Race 12 of 2340
2024 Fernando Barrichello Team MotoparkRace 13 of 24

Spanish F3 Drivers

scope=colSeasonscope=colDriverscope=colTeamscope=colPolesscope=colWinsscope=colPodiumsscope=col width="40"Fastest lapsscope=colPointsscope=colClinchedscope=col width="50"Margin
2014 Sandy Stuvik RP Motorsport4442118Race 5 of 613
2015 Konstantin Tereshchenko Campos Racing5453134Race 5 of 637
2016 Leonardo Pulcini Campos Racing1243105Race 6 of 611
2017 Devlin DeFrancesco Carlin Motorsport0130119Race 5 of 622
2018 Felipe Drugovich RP Motorsport0130157Race 5 of 653

Spanish F3 Teams

scope=colSeasonscope=colTeamscope=colPolesscope=colWinsscope=colPodiumsscope=col width="40"Fastest lapsscope=colPointsscope=colClinchedscope=col width="50"Margin
2014 RP Motorsport558456Race 5 of 614
2015 Campos Racing546348Race 6 of 69
2016 Campos Racing125342Race 6 of 65
2017 RP Motorsport456450Race 5 of 67
2018 RP Motorsport356372Race 4 of 628

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: GT Sport announces tyre supply partnership with Pirelli for the Euroformula Open, starting with immediate effect . 2024-05-28 . www.euroformulaopen.net . en.
  2. https://web.archive.org/web/20070625012732/http://www.f1prospects.com/2006/04/gp2_racing_engi.html Racing Engineering Season Preview
  3. http://www.f1prospects.com/2006/05/over_the_weeken.html Over the Weekend – April 29–30, 2006
  4. News: The Euroformula Open is born!. 14 February 2014. Euroformula Open Championship. GT Sport. 15 February 2014. 23 February 2014. https://web.archive.org/web/20140223011517/http://f3open.net/article.php?cont=515. dead.
  5. http://www.autosport-atlas.com/article.asp?id=41691 Toyota F1 test for Spanish champ
  6. http://www.formula3.cc/content/view/6584/44/ 2006 Spanish F3 Calendar