i remember when A1GP came to my city... for mexico stage, FD also came.. i was excited cuz commercials of cool crashes and stuff... finnaly it was crap nobody saw it... it was after the A1 GP race though
But there's also Formula 3 and open wheel cars are generally called formulas (or so I was told). So in racing terminology would something that has a label of "formula" should be open wheel?
Formula D CAN'T suck. It's actually the highest level of drifting in North America. Drifters pro US Pro-AM, West Drift Series and DMCC are hardly doing Formula D because of the level of competition. It's like if you were saying D1GP sucks, which is totally false. It's just a bit sad to see some rich kids like Nick Hogan being in Nopi Drift (which we will say is between Intermediate and Pro) when some much better drifters are stuck in the amateur series for monetary reasons. And even though drifting is cheap, it's still damn expensive because mainly of tires but also the high risk of scrapping your car. And yes I would say that Formula D is the prestigious stuff in here because you won't find such a combination apart from in Japan where they drift for 15 years +.
But formula 3 could consist of less factors and parts compared to formula 1, making it a different/lower formula. 1 Being the best, 3 being 3rd best. (doesnt have to be).
What about GP2? Thats not a "formula". Its a Grand Prix Series. .
But there's no series under the "formula" name that doesn't use some sort of open wheel (excluding drift). Open wheels dont have to be called formulas (but I've also heard GP2 and IndyCar drivers sometime refer to their cars as formulas) but can the word formula be labeled for a series that doesn't use open wheel at all?
It can and does.
-TV coverage sucks
-There's a lot of politics that are screwing it up.
-Big names from other motorsports are taking rides away from skilled drivers. Not to mention the fact that some of them bring a bad attitude to drifting.
The term Formula originated from single seater designed and purpose built according to a standard set of rules(formula). Although it's not the only type of racing running with this methedology, it's widely acknowledged that Formula refers to openwheel type of racing.
The reasoning? well in the US "stock car" doesn't mean stock car, "Funny cars" ain't funny and "international championships" is more like interstate championship. So how'd you expect them to get it right.
Formula cars are called "Formula" because they are built to a set of strict specifications: ie. a "formula".
That reasoning applies to most racing categories these days, but back in the 30s, 40s, and 50s, racing cars in one category could look very different from each other despite racing in the same series. So clever boffins came up with the idea of building cars to a set template, or a formula, hence the name.
In modern times, formula cars usually mean strictly-regulated open-wheel, single-seater racing cars.
Well, that's kind of close.
Formula 1 is indeed called Formula 1 with the meaning 1 being "best". Same with the old Formula 2, and of course Formula 3.
But there are variations.
Formula 3000 was so named because they used 3000cc engines. F3000 replaced F2.
GP2 is still a formula series. GP2 replaced F3000 when F3000 became too un-formula. F3000 was getting very expensive, so FIA regulated it with spec engines (Judd/Zytek) and spec chassis (Lola). But it was already on its way down, so good old Flavio (Renault F1 boss) and Bernie Ecclestone (F1 commercial boss) created GP2 to replace F3000 as a F1 feeder series, sponsored by Renault itself.
There is also Formula Renault, which comes in two flavours: Formula Renault 2.0 which race nationally and in Europe, and Formula Renault 3.5 which race in the World Series by Renault. There was also the old Formula Renault V6 Eurocup, which became defunct and was moved to Asia to become the Asian Formula Renault V6 championship.
Formula Renault 2.0 race predominantly in European countries, with a pan-European championship. A strong French championship, the home of Formula Renault, still runs as a West European cup. There is a British Formula Renault championship too. Incidentally, the FOX in LFS is based on Formula Renault 2.0, although it is strangely slower than the real-life car (by about 30km/h).
Speaking of Formula Renault, there was also the Formula Nissan series. The Formula Nissan World Series became defunct and merged with the remnants of Formula Renault V6 Eurocup and formed the World Series by Renault, using an uprated version of the same Renault V6 engine, but with newer Dallara chassis.
Then there is Formula Nippon, which is actually Formula 3000, Japanese style. Engines are produced by Honda and Toyota (which are much more powerful than the old Judd/Zytek engines of the original F3000), with all teams using FN spec chassis produced by Lola.
We can't forget Formula BMW, featured in LFS. Basically a tiny Mygale chassis mated with a BMW K1200 motorcycle engine, and a semi-auto gearbox.
Then there is Formula BMW's rival series, the very old Formula Ford. These have no wings, normal H-pattern 4-speed manual gearboxes, and powered by 1600cc Ford engines. These have been around for yonks and yonks, and still going strong. There is a national championship in almost every country that has a racing track. The best drivers can meet up at the annual Formula Ford Festival at Brands Hatch, UK, which has produced some spectacularly weird crashes!
Finally an honourable mention to Formula Vee, which was the stable racing series in Germany. Chassis is similar to, but smaller and more primitive than Formula Ford. Engines come from the old 1200cc or 1600cc Volkswagens, mated with 4-speed H-pattern manual gearbox. Cheaper than Formula Ford, they are still popular for making the transition from karting to real cars for people with limited budgets.
So, a short (chuckle) overview of Formula racing! Now, back to the topic...
They are pretty similar, although F3000 initially wasn't a spec series. It was just a way of using up (IIRC) old DFVs that the turbos had made pointless, and Bernie bought a shitload of. However, the costs ballooned as more engine makes came in, Judd entered a modified Honda IndyCar unit, a Mugen unit showed up that caned the Cosworths and Cosworth built a new engine. A Lambo engine was rumoured but never showed up. It was all getting stupid.
There weren't spec chassis, although at one point Dallara had a virtual monopoly.
In 1996 they made it more sensible, they made the cars spec (the tyres became spec in the 80s). Costs ballooned in the early noughties and the idea got scrapped in 2005 and replaced with GP2.
GP2 has 4 litre V8s (up from three litre, I imagine to cut costs due to engine rebuilds) and ground effect.
No-one who has ever won a F3000 or GP2 championship had ever won the WDC. Yet.
and open wheel cars are generally called formulas (or so I was told). So in racing terminology would something that has a label of "formula" should be open wheel?
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Now, back to the topic... 