Photo: Jakob Ebrey Photography
GB3 has changed the format for its reversed-grid races and confirmed how many FIA superlicence points its drivers can earn this year.
Since 2018, when the championship was known as BRDC British Formula 3, race weekends have featured two races with grids set from the order in qualifying and then a third race in which the full qualifying order is reversed to form the grid.
Now there will be a change, with races one and two following the same format as previously but race three’s grid now being set by reversing the top 12 from qualifying. For 13th place and below, the qualifying order will be used pending any grid penalties.
This therefore impacts GB3’s points system, which since 2018 has awarded drivers a point for each position gained in a reversed-grid race. For 2024, drivers will be able to get a maximum of 12 points from a charge up the race three order, even if they pass 13 cars or more.
John Bennett, who is about to embark on his third season in GB3, called the revised format “a better system” than what was used previously.
“I think before, the reversed grids were a bit too powerful,” he said. “They were really fun, and good for the drivers, but it meant that if you did not finish, you could give away a lot of points. The full reversed grid caused a lot of safety cars and a lot of incidents outside of most drivers’ control, so I think a top-12 reversal will calm it down a bit.”
Appendix L of the FIA’s International Sporting Code has been updated for 2024 to scrub all mentions of national F3 championships, since none that are recognised by the FIA still exist after BRDC British F3’s rebranding to GB3 in 2021, and in the table of series that award superlicence points ‘National F3 championships’ has been replaced by ‘GB3 Championship partnered by the BRDC’.
That means this year’s GB3 champion will earn 10 superlicence points, with the runner-up taking seven, third place in the standings taking five, fourth place earning two and fifth place earning one. It is the same points distribution as North America’s third-tier series USF Pro 2000 and the all-female Formula 4-spec F1 Academy series, and less than what national F4 championships award.
GB3 has also announced a private testing ban of its cars (regardless of who owns them and if they are raced in the championship or not) at the Hungaroring, Spa-Francorchamps and Zandvoort. Private testing at British circuits will remain unlimited.