New cars for either Formula 2 or Formula 3 are not on the horizon at the moment, according to the boss of both series, in an ongoing bid to alleviate costs.
The championships have historically operated on three-year cycles though the GP2/11, which preceded the current F2/18 car, was run for seven seasons.
Formula 2’s F2/18 is in its fourth season of operation though has undergone development with new components introduced, most notably in 2020, when revisions were made to accommodate the 18-inch tyres.
The F3/19, which was an evolution of predecessor GP3/16, was introduced to coincide with the relaunch of FIA Formula 3 in 2019.
Both cars are due to be retained for 2022 which would mean the F3/19 being extended beyond its current cycle.
“The F3 car will continue next year even if it is at the end of its cycle, like we have done for F2,” Bruno Michel told select media, including MotorsportWeek.com.
“For F2 we did a heavy upgrade kit with the 18-inch tyres so we always had the possibility, in F2 or F3, to do some upgrade kits.
“We always try and limit the costs of the upgrade kit to make sure we don’t need to build a complete new car.”
Michel believes some outfits in the championships would not be able to justify spending money on new cars in the current climate.
“We are on a cycle where we try to save as much money as possible,” he said.
“I think some teams would struggle to buy three new cars in F3 or two new cars in F2 so we are going ahead with these cars, with possibilities of upgrading it year after year.
“No decision has been made on upgrades but we have a development car and we are working on it constantly.”
Interesting that the only hint on technical development mentioned concerns performance.
One major change in the F3/19, though very quiet, was the introduction of front bulkhead penetration specification and dynamic testing. FIA never stated whether this was an empirical safety measure, or a carefully reviewed analysis of the Billy Monger accident; they never publicly issued the inquiry/panel reports after taking over from the ANS (UK).
FIA keep saying safety is paramount, but rarely include it as a factor in any announcements ie Track Limits fiasco!