FIA Formula 4

FIA Formula 4 is an open-wheel racing car category intended for junior drivers. There is no global championship, however individual nations can host their own championships to a world-wide set of rules and specifications.

The Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA) saw a need for clearer career path and stepping stone for drivers. There are many drivers wishing to graduate from Karting but can not afford the higher costs of Formula 3. In March 2013, it was announced that the creation of a new category, Formula 4, intended to meet this need. Draft regulations were agreed at a meeting of the World Motor Sport Council on March 6.

FIA Formula 4 will start off in 2014 as a single-make category before morphing into a multi-make slicks-and-wings formula based around a carbon chassis. It will use 1600cc engines capped at 150 bhp. Each championship will use a single make of engine, but different manufacturers may build engines for the formula in different countries. The engines will be equalised so that one version of Formula 4 is not faster than another.The intention should bring the cost down to under €100,000 per year to compete.

Former Formula 1 driver, Gerhard Berger acting as the FIA Single-Seater Commission president announced the creation of the category. It was noted that the market for national Formula 3 championships is very thin due to cost. In some countries, such as Italy, Formula 3 had been cancelled. In the place of the expensive categories, a number of separate categories have been created in several countries however there was no commonality between the cars from country to country. One such category is the similarly named British based BRDC Formula 4 which is unrelated to the FIA rules.

In November 2013, the Confederation of Australian Motor Sport (CAMS) announced that the FIA Formula 4 category will replace the Australian Formula Ford Championship commencing in 2015. This has left the continuation of Formula 3 racing in doubt in Australia.