Photo: Jakob Ebrey Photography
Single-seater powerhouse Carlin will not compete in British Formula 4 this year, on the back of its return to Formula 2 and new venture into IndyCar.
Carlin has contested British F4 since its inception in 2015 as MSA Formula, itself a replacement of British Formula Ford, and has taken a driver to the title in all three seasons.
In 2015 it ran now-McLaren reserve driver Lando Norris to victory, and repeated that success with Renault junior Max Fewtrell and Jamie Caroline in 2016 and ’17 respectively.
The team will retain a presence in Britain with its BRDC British Formula 3 squad, and will continue to compete in European F3, Euroformula Open, and Indy Lights.
A return to British F4 has not been ruled out, and the Mygale chassis will still be available for testing throughout the year.
“Due to an increase in the number of programmes the team is involved in this season, we will be taking a sabbatical from British F4 in 2018,” a Carlin spokesperson told AUTOSPORT.
“Having won every teams’ and drivers’ title since the series’ inception in 2015, we’re obviously very sad to miss the 2018 season, but will watch with interest the next batch of F4 stars coming through the ranks.
“We’d like to thank the organisers of British F4 and Ford Performance for their support over the last three seasons and look forward to rejoining the series in the future.”
In its three seasons in MSA Formula/British F4, Carlin won 34 of the 90 races ran, took 30 pole positions and 42 fastest laps.