2017 FIA F3 European Championship updates
25th enero 2017We´ve got access to the latest news regarding FIA F3 European Championship regulations changes. The biggest changes we will see on the Dallara F317 car will be the new Dallara updated aerodynamic kit. But there are more changes on the championship in order to make it more competitive and cost controlled to fill the grid.
-Eligible drivers
An age limit of 25 years has been imposed for drivers intending to participate in the championship in 2017. Also a maximum number of complete seasons the drivers are permitted to compete in the FIA F3 European Championship has been increased from three to four seasons.
-Prize money and reduced entry fees
Prize money fund for rookie drivers will remain in place in 2017 and will even be increased and expanded to also include the team and driver championships this year.
-Testing
As in previous years the FIA F3 European Championship will grant each driver twelve test days, consisting of six official and six private days. However, the rules on private testing have been tightened. Since December 18th 2016 no private testing is allowed in any type of car on any circuit being part of the Championship calendar. This means that an unrivalled amount of mileage per season – one of the main characteristics of F3 – will be maintained while at the same time costs are kept on an affordable level and performance advantages by testing a non F3 car on a championship circuit are eliminated.
-Engine
The running costs for one engine per season must not exceed 65,000€. Items like service costs have been included in order to avoid unregulated or hidden costs and allow for more transparency. Something interesting are the rules on penalties for engine change on 2017. As previous years, engine changes will still be harshly penalised if considered out of performance reasons, for replacements due to mechanical or electrical failures. If the engine change becomes necessary following an accident on track and the accident is judged to have been caused by a third party, no penalty will be incurred.
-Staff and truck limitation
Another important update on the championship will be the staff and facilities limitation for race weekends. The respective amount of operational team members has been established in close cooperation with the competitors and should guarantee better cost control and sporting fairness. A limitation on the number of trucks and trailer units being allowed in the paddock per team has been added too. This should even level for all teams.
-Data sharing
Teams have agreed to share information on throttle, brake and speed after the first qualifying session. With this point, smaller teams and rookie drivers will have better options to come closer to their competitors.
-Aerodynamics
For 2017 the aerodynamics development will be banned. This means that no bodywork modification or add-ons to gain aerodynamic performance will be permitted in o, hence costly wind tunnel testing will become unnecessary. Also on the 2017 Sporting Regulations are even more explicit and ban any wind tunnel testing altogether. Instead, the rolling chassis manufacturers are required to supply the aerodynamic data of the rolling chassis used by the competitor to the respective team. This measure eliminates the costly wind tunnel tests, but at the same time guarantees that teams have appropriate aerodynamic data to work with.