Formula One may get all the glory â€" and rightfully so â€" but it's not the only racing formula out there. There are many steps along the motorsports ladder, but they're all run by different authorities and under different names. There's GP2, GP3, Formula Three, Auto GP, Formula Renault, Formula Ford, Formula BMW, Formula Vee... the list goes on, and leaves some rungs missing on the ladder up to the big leagues in some countries. But Gerhard Berger is keen on fixing that. The former F1 driver - winner of ten grands prix for teams like Ferrari, McLaren and Benetton â€" serves as the president of the FIA's Single-Seater Commission, and he's out to launch a new class of Formula 4 around the world. The idea is to provide a stepping stone between karting and Formula 3, which is too expensive for many would-be racers to get into without the sponsorship that can be attracted in lower formulae.
Rather than launch the new FIA F4 category as one unified series, with one engine and one chassis, the idea is to make it as diverse as possible. Individual countries are being encouraged to run their own F4 championship, yet each can choose its own engine supplier (conforming to a common 1.6-liter, 150-horsepower standard) and different chassis suppliers are being invited to participate.
One of them is Dallara, the Italian chassis constructor that makes race cars for numerous other single-seater series, including IndyCar and the FIA's new Formula E series. Dallara has given little in the way of details about the new design, but it looks to incorporate a comprehensive aero package including front and rear wings and underbody ground effects.The FIA is calling for carbon-fiber construction to keep things light, strong and safe. Similar to its F3 chassis, however, Dallara plans on adapting the new F4 platform to accommodate different engine installations, including a possible hybrid version, for whatever power the individual national series organizers choose.
Dallara expects to launch the new car next spring, when it will have to compete with other chassis constructors as well on racetracks around the world. In addition to launching new series in some countries, Berger and company are looking to bring into the fold existing championships like Germany's ADAC Formel Masters, France's Signatech Formula 4, Italy's Formula Abarth and Britain's Formula Ford - many of which already have their own constructors in place.
- Dallara launches its own Formula 4 car.
- The new car will hit the ground in spring 2014.
Since 2008 Dallara has its small formula car successfully running in Europe (ADAC/Germany) and Asia (MRF/India) and will now design and build a car according to the new FIA F4 technical regulations, with the shakedown expected in spring 2014.
The new car design has already started and makes extensive use of the in-house full scale professional car simulator that allows to test engineering solutions and validate them by the driver, before starting the production.
Similar to our highly successful Formula 3 cars the new Formula 4 will be designed for various engine installations. The possibility of an electro-hybrid version is also under investigation.
Finally the customer will have its last word on some design details specific to its championship requirements which lead us internally to call it 'Flexible Designed Formula'.
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