Finally, a comprehensive overview of almost 20 years of F1’s main talent-feeding series has been compiled into a book. ‘Formula 3000 – Where legends earned their stripes’ is well worth the wait.
Formula 3000 ran from 1985 up until 1994. With Alonso, Montoya, Webber, Bourdais and Damon Hill, F3000 produced notable F1 world champions and race winners. With Gilles de Ferran and Sebastien Bourdais, F3000 produced notable ChampCar/IndyCar champions as well. But overall, there are many champions in F3000 who never got their break in Formula 1. Do the names of Stefano Modena, Luca Badoer, Björn Wirdheim, still ring a bell.
Redundant DFVs
To his great credit, author James Newbold addresses both the successes and the mysterious failures of drivers and teams during their spell in Formula 3000. The series started as a plan to do something useful with the naturally-aspirated 3-litre Cosworth DFV engines, superfluous in the turbocharged F1 era. At the same time, Formula 2 had become a very expensive series. March, Lola and Ralt were quick to build chassis for the very first championship, consisting of twelve championship rounds in Europe, and one end-of-season guest race in Curaçao. Christian Danner was F3000’s first champion.
F1’s waiting room
Formula 3000 sees two distinct periods. The first run up to 1996 was seen as the open era, with multiple chassis constructors and engine manufacturers. Generally, a much-loved period, where small differences could make a big difference, and often one race result could prove decisive in the title hunt. Erik Comas, Roberto Moreno, Stefano Modena and Ivan Capelli are just a few of the particular talents that emerged in F3000, the final step of the ladder before reaching Formula 1.
Insight and analysis
Newbold’s book brings a season-by-season review of the races. Things are put into perspective with current comments from drivers and team owners. The sheer number of voices present shows the amount of work Newbold put into his book, yet there are some notable absentees: Johnny Herbert, Damon Hill, Alonso,… However, we do not want to stress who isn’t in the book, but rather who is. Newbold has quotes in there from almost anyone who mattered: Montoya, Bourdais, Comas, Christian Fittipaldi, the team owners and even – in the meantime, late – Gil de Ferran.
Career-ending crashes
Sidebars bring info on the more exotic aspects of F3000: trick fuels, racing at Birmingham, how Lola unexpectedly got the single-make chassis contract for 1996,… The first part of the book serves as a reminder of how in the early days, F3000 became a career-ender for a few drivers in single-seaters. Marco Campos, who did not survive injuries sustained in a crash at Magny-Cours (France), is remembered as well.
Full results, rich in insights and analysis, lavishly illustrated; ‘F3000’ is now the reference book on the series. One small comment is the author’s choice to almost literally reproduce what his interviewees say. A journalistic choice, which we can understand, but at times, the message lacks clarity.
At €87,95 ($102), Evro Publishing remains committed to fairly priced books, keeping them accessible to a large audience. In return, expect 416 pages, 350 photographs, a hardcover presentation and hours of reading pleasure. That sounds like money well spent.
Author: James Newbold
ISBN: 9781910505946
Publisher: Evro Publishing
Pages: 416
Hardcover
Price: €87.95 ($102)
