With two young New Zealanders forging a path in the new FIA Formula 3 Championship and some exciting movements pending in the local single-seater premier class, it seems a handy time to take a closer look at the machinery being piloted by Marcus Armstrong and Liam Lawson, and how the new spec puts the Castrol Toyota Racing Series in a unique position of advantage over some of its ‘outlier’ rivals.
The 2019 F3 car is a one chassis, one engine affair, doing away with the long-standing situation where manufacturers would burn through cash trying to outdo each other and have the ‘it’ engine for a season. Opel, VW, Mercedes and others have all been down that rabbit-hole with little in terms of measurable marketing benefit to show for having their names on the engine covers.
Going ‘single make’ puts much greater emphasis on driver ability and how each driver interacts with their team – and on the engineers and ‘spanners’ who fettle each car.
So what does an F3 car look like in the new Millennium?
The new F3 car is a massive step up from last year’s. For the few who do not already get the difference, this is GP3 tech with an overlay of F3 branding. It was launched at the traditional post-season GP3 test at Yas Marina Circuit in Abu Dhabi and will race in the 2019, 2020 and 2021 seasons.
The aim of the car is to reduce costs while maximising performance, which means the GP3 engine, gearbox, electronics and rear wing to name a few. The dampers and springs are mounted on top of the monocoque like they are on the current TRS car.
Designed for racing. the 3.4-litre Mecachrome V6 engine delivers 380bhp at 8,000rpm as it did in GP3. That’s a huge step up from 2018 F3 cars – or TRS for that matter – where 215-230 bhp was the norm.
Marcus Armstrong says he’s very happy with the power of the engine so far and the adjustment to a car with more power, more weight and different aero has been relatively easy.
New this year are Pirelli tyres designed to challenge the driver with a relatively short window of best performance. These can catch out a driver, especially when the rears are over-worked during a race of quali session.
Also new are revised aero parts that reduce the central ‘fin’ over the engine, and the cars have unlimited DRS, which is intended to increase overtaking.
The Dallara also runs a steel Halo safety device, which weighs 13.5 kg (on its own, but we need to add in reinforcing in the tub and firewall to absorb shock loadings during a crash).
Crystal ball gazing into the Toyota headquarters
Meanwhile, the decision to change to a ‘halo’ chassis for 2019 means frantic off-season work for Toyota Racing New Zealand but ensures the category is even more relevant to the careers of Asian, US and European drivers.
The current FT50 has run for five years and had been expected to be good for ten; the FT40 that started the whole concept ran for ten.
TRNZ manager Mark Whitaker and outgoing motorsport boss Steve Boyce have both said TRS would follow the FIA’s guidance on when – and whether – to introduce the Halo at this level.
Because it isn’t possible to retrofit a Halo to the FT50, the championship will run a new car – the FT60 – from this coming summer. A Halo must feed loads into all parts of the tub in order to protect the driver, which means it will add significant weight in the centre of the car, changing its polar moment and centre of gravity. So there’s going to be a heap of winter testing required to deliver a full fleet of cars to the 2020 grid – but nothing like the flurry behind the scenes before FT50 broke cover.
That increased weight indicates a need for more power, which the current 1.8-litre 2ZZGE isn’t likely to be able to deliver with the reliability the championship has become known for. So, a new engine? And if so, what new engine?
- A naturally aspirated unit would follow established practice at TRNZ since 2005.
- A turbo, following the trend in road cars that delivers more performance from smaller power units?
- A big displacement four? There’s a whole TRD programme in the USA based around 2.4-litre naturally aspirated four cylinder engines, though they could well be physically too big for this level of single-seater.
- A vee engine, setting weight lower in the chassis and following the impetus of the GP3 transition to F3?
Obviously, the move is a big one and will once more be based around a production unit from the Toyota family stable. The move underscores Toyota’s ongoing long term commitment to furthering the hopes of young Kiwi racers, and also raises the prospect of the current fleet being sold – to the right buyer – in going condition.
In terms of power, any new engine programme will also need to follow the lead of F3 so that racers can see the clear progression up from the smaller, lower powered categories like F4, using TRS over the summer and then into F3.
All of this brings racers contesting the coming summer series a clear advantage over Formula Renault, Regional F3, MRF in India or the US-based championships. Though the final FT60 spec isn’t public yet, Toyota’s bean counters will already have amortised the FT50 off the books, leaving the way clear for a car that bridges the gap to that raw and challenging Dallara in F3.
What will the spec of the FT60 be? We’re likely to know sooner rather than later.
Comparing drives
Castrol Toyota Racing Series Tatuus – Toyota FT50, 1.8-litre n/a
215 bhp (165 kW)
MRF series Dallara-Renault F3, 2.0-litre Duratec n/a
200-210 bhp (150-160 kW)
Asian F3 Tatuus F3 T-318, Alfa 1.8 turbo
270 bhp (201 kW)
British F3 Tatuus –Cosworth, 2.0 n/a
230 bhp (171 kW)
Formula Renault Barazi-Epsilon, 2.0 Renault n/a
210 bhp (160kW)
Notes:
- 1/ Traditionally, all regional/national F3 cars have engines built from a production block and making 200 bhp (150 kW), breathing through a 28 mm restrictor on the air intake
- 2/ The new engines such as those in use in Asian F3 are seen as an excellent intermediary step for drivers coming up to the new F3 series
- 3/ Transmissions across the categories above are mostly Sadev six or seven speeds
- 4/ For their final season, the FT50 TRS cars had a different gearbox spec with a lower first gear that made them easier to get off the line.
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