Following a final meeting between the World Motorsport Council this week, the FIA released the schedule for the 2014 European F3 Championship.
The calendar, which increases from ten to eleven rounds, will begin at Silverstone in April and continue through to the Hockenheimring in mid-October.
In between, the series makes a very welcome return to Pau, but also makes moves to the Hungaroring, Spa-Francorchamps and Imola, with an F3 debut at the Moscow Raceway coming in July. The European F3 Championship will play support to the WEC at Silverstone and the WTCC at Spa-Francorchamps, while also taking in visits to the Hockenheimring (twice), Hungaroring, Norisring, Moscow Raceway, Red Bull Ring and the Nurburgring.
The penultimate round at the famed Imola circuit in October is a standalone event for now, while the Grand Prix de Pau in mid-May is to be headlined by Formula 3 for the first time since 2012.
According to the FIA Single-Seater President and former Grand Prix race winner, Gerhard Berger, the calendar represents the best possible mixture of challenges. “The calendar we have succeeded in putting together for 2014 will enable drivers to continue their apprenticeship of topflight racing at several leading Formula 1 circuits, as well as at two venues that have played an important part in the history of Formula 3.”
Regarding Formula 3’s place as a supporting player for the DTM, WEC and WTCC, Berger was buoyant, backed up by a strengthened manufacturer and competitor base for the new season. “Our determination to reposition Formula 3 as a core feeder series to Formula 1 is poised to gather strength in 2014,” noted the former Ferrari and McLaren driver.
Berger continued, “The combined efforts of the FIA and the championship’s promoter ITR have attracted new engine suppliers and teams, and Formula 3 is gradually recovering the role it should never have lost in motorsport. Without losing sight of the need to contain costs, the arrival of new-generation engines and the introduction of new technical regulations will provide the necessary foundations for Formula 3 to grow sustainably and become an inescapable stepping stone for drivers who wish to go on to compete in Formula 1 and other professional championships.”
2014 FIA F3 European Championship calendar: April 19-20: Silverstone, Great Britain (supporting WEC) May 3-4: Hockenheim, Germany (DTM) May 10-11: Pau, France (standalone) May 31-June 1: Hungaroring, Hungary (DTM) June 21-22: Spa-Francorchamps, Belgium (WTCC) June 28-29: Norisring, Germany (DTM) July 12-13: Moscow Raceway, Russia (DTM) August 2-3: Red Bull Ring, Austria (DTM) August 16-17: Nürburgring, Germany (DTM) October 11-12: Imola, Italy (standalone) October 18-19: Hockenheim, Germany (DTM)
