Formula 4 Australian Championship
The first iteration of the Formula 4 Australia Certified by the FIA Championship
CategoryFIA Formula 4
CountryAustralia
Malaysia
RegionOceania
Asia
Inaugural season2015
ConstructorsMygale (2015–2019)
Tatuus (2024)
Engine suppliersFord (2015–2019)
Stellantis FIRE (2024)
Tyre suppliersHankook (2015–2019)
TBD (2024)
Drivers' championAustralia Luis Leeds
Teams' championAustralia Team BRM
Current season

Formula 4 Australian Championship Certified by FIA is an upcoming Australian motor racing series for open-wheel cars complying with FIA Formula 4 regulations. The inaugural championship, known as the CAMS Jayco Australian Formula 4 Championship, was organised from 2015 to 2019.

Formula 4 was developed and certified by the FIA as the pre-eminent open-wheel development category across the globe; the critical step between elite junior karting, Formula 3 and ultimately Formula 1. Cameron McConville was the original Category Director, with Karl Reindler as Driver Coach and Driving Standards Observer for the championship.

History

In November 2013, the Confederation of Australian Motor Sport (CAMS) announced that it would introduce the FIA Formula 4 category to Australia. This was followed on 12 March 2014[1] by the official launch of the Australian F4 Championship. Australian F4 cars were to use the French Mygale chassis and Ford EcoBoost engine,[1] and the series would comprise seven rounds in conjunction with V8 Supercars events.[2]

Australian recreational vehicle manufacturer Jayco was confirmed as the championship's title sponsor in December 2014 as part of a three-year agreement from 2015 onward.

The first round was held at Townsville on 11 July 2015. AGI Sport's Will Brown was the category's first race winner, with Team BRM's Jordan Lloyd claiming the overall round victory.

Lloyd would then go on to secure the inaugural championship and a $150,000 prize courtesy of Jayco's Road To The World initiative, which assisted Lloyd in securing a USF2000 seat in 2016. Lloyd also received a European Formula 3 test courtesy of Carlin Motorsport.

The series struggled for grid numbers from the outset. The first round had 13 cars and that grid size would not be exceeded until 2019 and then only once. The 2018 season never had more than eleven cars and all bar one round of the 2019 season had only eight cars. On the 4th of September 2019, it was announced that the series would not be contested in 2020 but there was a possibility it could continue in the future.[3]

On 28 November 2023, it was confirmed that China-based Top Speed, which promotes the Formula Regional Middle East Championship, Formula Regional Asian Championship and Formula 4 championships in the Middle East and South East Asia regions, will promote the revived Formula 4 Australian Championship. The revived series will be a Southern Hemisphere autumn to winter series (May to September) as the cars will be sourced from the other series organised by Top Speed. This will allow either the Middle East or South East Asia champions to participate and gain further Superlicence points under FIA policies. Four rounds will be held in Australia, with a spring final in Malaysia.[4]

Car

The original championship featured Mygale designed and built cars constructed of carbon fibre and featuring a monocoque chassis. Power is provided by a 1.6-litre turbocharged Ford EcoBoost engine.[5]

The revived championship will use the Tatuus F4-T421 chassis with the Abarth engines.[4]

Champions

Drivers

Season Driver Team Races Pole Wins Podium Fast lap Points Margins
2015 Australia Jordan Lloyd Australia Team BRM 21 5 12 18 11 441 54
2016 Australia William Brown Australia Team BRM 18 4 6 13 4 316 45
2017 Australia Nicholas Rowe Australia AGI Sport 21 7 8 16 11 378 78
2018 Australia Jayden Ojeda Australia AGI Sport 21 5 14 17 15 412 58
2019 Australia Luis Leeds Australia AGI Sport 18 8 9 17 8 365 99

Rookie

Season Driver Team
2015 Australia William Brown Australia AGI Sport
2016 Australia Simon Fallon Australia Dream Motorsport
2017 Australia Ryan Suhle Australia Zagame Motorsport
2018 Australia Lochie Hughes Australia Team BRM
2019 Australia Luis Leeds Australia Team BRM

Circuits

  • Bold denotes a circuit will be used in the 2024 season.
Number Circuits Rounds Years
1 Victoria (state) Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit 6[lower-alpha 1] 2015–2019
2 New South Wales Sydney Motorsport Park 5 2015–2019, 2024
3 Queensland Queensland Raceway 4 2015–2018, 2024
Victoria (state) Sandown Raceway 4[lower-alpha 2] 2015–2017
5 Queensland Surfers Paradise Street Circuit 3 2015–2017
6 Tasmania Symmons Plains Raceway 2 2016, 2018
Victoria (state) Winton Motor Raceway 2[lower-alpha 3] 2018
South Australia The Bend Motorsport Park 2[lower-alpha 4] 2019, 2024
9 Queensland Townsville Street Circuit 1 2015
New South Wales Homebush Street Circuit 1 2015
Western Australia Barbagallo Raceway 1 2017
New Zealand Pukekohe Park Raceway 1 2018
Victoria (state) Albert Park Circuit 1 2019
14 Malaysia Sepang International Circuit 0 2024

Notes

  1. ↑ Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit hosted 2 rounds in 2019.
  2. ↑ Sandown Raceway hosted 2 rounds in 2017.
  3. ↑ Winton Motor Raceway hosted 2 rounds in 2018.
  4. ↑ The Bend Motorsport Park hosted 2 rounds in 2019, and it will host 2 rounds in 2024.

References

  1. 1 2 "CAMS LAUNCHES AUSTRALIAN FORMULA 4 CHAMPIONSHIP AT AUSTRALIAN GRAND PRIX". CAMS. 12 March 2014.
  2. ↑ "CAMS announces exciting new Formula 4 teaming with V8 Supercars".
  3. ↑ "Australian Formula 4 to be axed after 2019". www.motorsport.com. Retrieved 4 September 2019.
  4. 1 2 van Leeuwen, Andrew. "Formula 4 to be relaunched in Australia". Speedcafe. Speedcafe Pty. Retrieved 28 November 2023.
  5. ↑ Test driving F4: the new pathway to Formula One, www.smh.com.au Retrieved 21 December 2015
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