Photo: Jakob Ebrey Photography
GB4 will no longer be a series for Formula 4 cars in 2025 as it will switch to a modified version of the chassis currently used by sister series GB3.
The news comes a few days after GB3 announced that next year it will replace the Tatuus MSV-022 car, which it has raced for the past three seasons, with a heavily upgraded and faster Tatuus MSV GB3-025 which is expected to reduce the performance gap to FIA Formula 3.
This will technically be the fourth generation of what started off as an F4 car. The halo-shod MSV-22 is an upgraded version of the MSV F4-016, which was in use by BRDC British F3/GB3 for six years, and that car was based around the Tatuus F4-T014 that is now a decade old and has been raced by GB4 since its inaugural season in 2022.
GB4 teams purchased those cars second-hand from teams in Europe, and this has enabled drivers to compete with significantly smaller budgets compared to FIA F4 series which use second-generation, halo-shod chassis.
The F4-T014 was only ever expected to have a three-year shelf life in GB4 before it needed to be replaced, and for next season the series will switch to a modified version of the MSV-022 which will be renamed as a MSV GB4-025 to reflect changes in specification that include a lower downforce single-plane front and rear wing setup, a shortened diffuser and a new engine cover incorporating a centrally-placed airbox rather than a side-mounted air intake.
The car will be powered by a normally-aspirated two-litre Mountune engine, a departure from the turbocharged units currently used in GB4 and elsewhere in F4, and will match the power-to-weight ratio of the F4-T014 which will enable the series to maintain its minimum age limit of 15 years old for drivers.
Several teams compete in both GB3 and GB4, including Arden, Elite Motorsport and Fortec Motorsports.
“The Tatuus MSV-022 GB3 car has been one of the most widely-acclaimed packages in junior single-seater racing for quite some time, and in its new GB4 evolution, the car will maintain the championship’s cost-effective focus, while offering a significant steps forward in safety,” said Jonathan Palmer, chief executive officer of GB3 and GB4 promoter MotorSport Vision.
“The move towards a naturally aspirated engine will ensure even greater parity from a well trusted power unit. With a proven, reliable and extremely popular technical package, combined with a class-leading prize pot in excess of £120,000, the new-look GB4 championship will become an even stronger first step on the ladder towards for the most talented young drivers emerging from karting, Ginetta Junior and other junior categories, before moving on to F4 or GB3 and hopefully all the way up to F1.”