F3 could headline Macau ‘junior single-seater festival’

Parallel negotiations are ongoing for F3 to return for the first time since 2019 to fight out the prestigious crown this November, and for international Formula Regional and Formula 4 grids to feature too.

China’s strict reaction to the COVID-19 crisis made it impossible for an international field to be assembled from 2020-22, and the country’s domestic F4 series stepped in to compete for the Macau GP.

The Macau GP ran from 1983-2018 for leading runners from the world’s F3 championships, and had one year in 2019 for the new F3 category.

While organisers of the Formula 1-supporting FIA F3 series are understood to be lukewarm about the plan to return to Macau, the governing body is keen to make it happen.

The FIA F3 Championship finishes in early September at Monza, but a sticking point is the logistical challenge of getting the cars out to the Far East between post-season testing and engine supplier Mecachrome’s wish to have the powerplants at its premises in December for rebuilds.

FIA single-seater strategy and operations director Francois Sicard, formerly team boss of the DAMS F2 squad, told Motorsport.com: “We are working on this project, which is not easy because in the past it was a different concept – we had different F3 championships and Macau was like a final, with the best drivers from each championship.

“We are trying to see how we could organise it because there is still interest and an appetite for that race.

“We will have to overcome some logistical issues because Macau is in November and the F3 teams want to do their winter tests and the engines need rebuilding, so it’s a tricky situation.”

With the old F3 category, cars were air-freighted to Macau thanks to subsidies from the event organisers, and sea-freighted back to base, unless teams paid extra for an air-freight return to get the cars back for December test programmes.

But with the new F3, testing is prohibited outside official sessions, meaning teams do not have the same financial incentive.

“The only way to make it happen is to air-freight to Macau and back to Europe,” added Sicard. “Because of the cost, we are looking to find a solution and it’s not an easy task.

Richard Verschoor, MP Motorsport

Photo by: Alexander Trienitz

“We are confident it can happen and we will be happy to find a solution, but it’s early to say.”

China-based Top Speed, meanwhile, is in negotiations with the Macau Grand Prix Organizing Committee to supply grids of FRegional and F4 machinery.

The company is the driving force behind the hugely successful FRegional Middle East and F4 UAE championships, which this year took place across Dubai, Kuwait and Abu Dhabi in January and February.

For its 70th running, as it did with its 60th in 2013, the Macau GP is adding a second weekend of racing – seven days before the main event on 16-18 November – and this is the target of Top Speed, which provided grids a decade ago for the extra weekend for its Asian-based Volkswagen Scirocco Cup, Lamborghini Super Trofeo and Formula Masters China series.

“Every time there is an anniversary there is a double weekend,” Top Speed boss Davide de Gobbi told Motorsport.com.

“Having extra track time, they are looking for support events which they usually assign to local races, and we have approached them to see if they are interested in having F4 and Formula Regional.

“We are under discussion to have both and I am confident we will have 25 to 28 cars for each.”

Of the 10 FIA F3 teams, Prema Racing, MP Motorsport, Hitech Grand Prix, Van Amersfoort Racing and PHM Racing were all involved in Top Speed’s FRegional Middle East and F4 UAE series this year, with Rodin Carlin also present in F4 UAE.

One team has indicated to Motorsport.com that, with the current grid of Formula 2 drivers having largely missed out on competing in the Macau GP during the COVID era, there could even be demand from them to step back for the event, causing some degree of squad rotation in all three categories should they all make it onto the Macau bill.