Photos: Tatuus
Motorsport UK will ditch British Formula 4’s engine supplier Ford for Abarth when it takes over the championship in 2022, and has announced it will also use Tatuus’s second-generation chassis.
Since its creation in 2015, the series has used a Mygale chassis paired with a Ford EcoBoost engine – a partnership that began in the preceding British Formula Ford championship that was organised by RacingLine and Ford Performance.
But RacingLine and Ford are conceding their organisation roles with British F4 to Motorsport UK, the United Kingdom’s motorsport governing body, which wants to make the series more competitive against continental series that use Tatuus cars.
“We are delighted to welcome Tatuus and Abarth to the British F4 championship and look forward to the support they will provide to Motorsport UK’s ambitions for the series,” said Motorsport UK’s chief executive officer Hugh Chambers.
“The Tatuus-Abarth package is the most commonly used chassis-engine combination in the 10 other F4 championships around the world, potentially offering a greater pool of drivers the opportunity to test themselves against the cream of talent competing in the UK.”
Tatuus’s first generation FIA F4 car is used in six series across the globe, and it’s already been announced that the Spanish and United Arab Emirates championships will use its halo-shod successor. The Italian championship has told Formula Scout that it will introduce the T-421 for its 2022 season as well. There are in fact 15 other active F4 series in addition to Britain’s.
Abarth and Renault are the only two engine manufacturers to announce the design of new power units to coincide with the next generation of F4 machinery, while Ford was yet to confirm if it had plans for a new engine to be used in F4.
Chambers added: “These supply agreements bring to a conclusion the championship’s history of being powered by Ford engines and Motorsport UK would like to underline our appreciation for the immense contribution played by Ford Performance to the growth of the championship in the seven seasons since its inception, an important legacy that we respect and will seek to build upon.”