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OPEN MINDED FOR SINGLE SEATERS
Opinion piece from our editor at the F1 Australian Grand Prix this weekend for the single seater racing class and how to get up the pyramid.
Formula One returned to Australia for the opening round of the 2025 season.
From that, two things are certain. One is that there will be a 2025 Australian F1 Grand Prix victor to add to one of the longest Grand Prix awards lists on record.
The second is that young hearts and minds will steer towards a career in motorsport with the goal of Formula One.
Just for a moment, forget all the dreary statistics on the difficulties in making it to the pinnacle of F1 and let these kids dream and let’s look at the realities of getting a start in open-wheel racing.
The opening round of the 2025 Hi-Tec Oils Super Series at Winton Raceway wasn’t short on open wheeled categories. It also demonstrated that competition wasn’t the sole domain of intra driver battles. The options for potential open wheel seats have never been as vast, with multiple players offering potential pathways for young drivers as they make the transition from karts into circuit racing.
We met sixteen year-old Christian Sasso, who has chosen the Hyper Races Australian Driver’s Championship (ADC) for his debut. Whilst spectating at Winton, Sasso was also on hand to watch a few of his former karting mates the inaugural round of the Stars and Renegades Formula Ford Series.
Formula Ford and the Hyper Racers – ADC are just two in an array of categories, many holding historical or international significance.
From the European pedigreed Formula Ford and recently rebranded GB3 and GB4 categories, to Hyper Racers and the ‘good old’ US originated Formula Vees, there is an abundance of choice.
That brings with it a degree of difficulty in deciding upon a category and series that best suits individual need, desire and budget.
With that in mind, we have profiled a range of categories and their merits.
Formula Ford has long been the ‘go-to’ category for young drivers transitioning from karts to cars. It provided perhaps the best value per dollar in terms of developing driver skills both behind the wheel and in car set-up. Traditionally it was seen as the ideal starting point for any driver with dreams of higher level competition.
Indeed, the Formula Ford Driver to Europe Series, run from 1970 to 1997, launched the international careers of Larry Perkins, Russell Ingall and Marcos Ambrose to name just a few.
A fair spattering of current Supercar drivers, including Tickford teammates Cameron Waters and Thomas Randle also began their senior careers behind the wheel of a Formula Ford.
More recently those Formula Ford graduated have headed to the United States and FF2000 in the Pathway to Indy program.
Aspiring FF drivers aren’t short on options in 2025.
There is the Australian Formula Ford Series, which links back to the glory days of the Driver to Europe era, though a trip overseas isn’t amongst the current prize package.
The series runs primarily with State rounds, giving competitors the opportunity to run in both competitions.
A potential test day with a Supercars team is predicted to be the major prize for 2025, while televised races are shown through the Blend Line TV You Tube site.
State level racing sees Kent and the larger Duratec engined cars run together, with a stand alone national Kent title run separately each year.
Pro’s- The spiritual home of Formula Ford with links to the early days of the category. Provides opportunity for the winner to ink their name alongside some of the legends in Australian Motorsport. Potential test with a leading Supercar team for the series winner.
AASA are the new kids on the block with the announcement of the 2025 Formula Ford Stars and Renegades Championship. Duratec (Stars) and Kent (Renegades) engined cars will compete alongside each other for a share of a $50,000 prize pool, which includes cash awards and drive options amongst an ever increasing list of rewards.
That includes TA2 tests and a round of the 2026 Australian Driver’s Championship in a Hyper Racing Car through the newly formed AASA Driver Academy.
Drivers as young as 14 can compete in the open-age category, giving those with aspirations of international competition a year’s experience before qualifying for their European racing licence.
Two rounds of the championship will take place over each meeting. That provides somewhat of a reset button rather than have competitors undertake a recovery mission through the traditional progressive grid format.
More importantly the entire championship will be televised free-to-air on SBS in addition to the Kayo streaming service.
The Championship appears to cater to a broader group of drivers. From those simply wishing to gain seat time, learn national circuits and develop their racecraft, to those on a quick climb up the ladder towards European competition.
“We decided to bring Marcos Ambrose Motorsport back to life and we’ve pulled a few extra people in to really make it a success,” said Ambrose on the announcement of his two car team for the Stars and Renegades Championship.
“We’ve put a deal together with Mike Borland from Spectrum to run his cars and we’ve got great support from the manufacturer as well to set-up a nice Formula Ford program around this two-car attack.
“It’s wonderful that the AASA has taken on Formula Ford and given it a platform. A national series with great television coverage and it’s a quality place to go racing, plus I really like the way the Hi-Tec Super Series runs. I’ve watched it grow during the past few years and the opportunity for Formula Ford is really important.”
“The need for high quality racing to progress is important and I believe the Hi-Tec Oils Super Series will allow us to do that.”
Pro’s- Nationally televised series on free-to-air with streaming on Kayo. Cash prizes and testing/race options for the series winners. Lower age bracket enables international aspirants the opportunity to complete a season of local racing prior to reaching minimum ages requirements for European competition.
Formula Ford racing at the state level is the final option. The major benefits of these series are the lower travel costs and multiple rounds at the same venue. There is usually some televised coverage through Blend line TVor other You Tube channels. Participation and passion is more of focus than ambition, with a sprinkling of career minded pilots interspersed amongst seasoned purists.
Pro’s – Localised competition equates to less travel and lower costs, whilst still being able to compete on the National stage at local rounds.
AU4 and AU3 are also relatively new to Australia, though there have derived from previously run championships. Both are geared towards those inclined towards European or American ventures.
AU4 is the brainchild of AGI Sport’s Adam Gotch, who takes on the role of AU4 Championship series founder, manager and series promoter.
“AGI Sport has been focused on developing young Australian and New Zealand drivers on local circuits before taking them overseas to compete in Europe and the USA,” Gotch said.
“But it’s not the same as competing in a national-level championship. Our best talent has had to leave the country at a young age to gain this experience. The AU4 Championship changes that.”
In a similar move to the Stars and Renegades Series, fourteen-year-olds will be able to drive the Mygale Eco-boost machines, with more recent Tatus-Abarth outright class restricted to drivers fifteen years and over.The Championship is slated to run primarily with the newly created Trophy Series at Sydney Motorsport Park and Shell V-Power Motorsport Park. A single round is also scheduled for Phillip Island.
Organisers have also announced a prize pool which includes testing options in the United States in Formula 4 or Formula Regional cars for the outright AU4 winner.
The winner of the Junior Cup for first-gen cars will receive free entry into the 2026 season into the second-gen class as well as a test in a Tatus car.
Pro’s- Direct links to Formula 4 championships across the world in cars which correlate to those run internationally. A potential precursor for European or US bound F4 drivers. May also act as a forerunner to the UAE F4 Summer series. Lower age bracket for the Mygale competitors enables potential international aspirants a season of racing in Australia before reaching minimum licensing age for European and UK competition.
AU3 runs the current Toyota Formula Regional series cars, which are to be shipped across the Tasman for a mid-year debut at Phillip Island.
The series aims to deliver an affordable option for aspiring drivers through Tim Macrow Racing and Motorsport Australia.
AU3 aligns with the GB3 brand in England, which has seen the likes of Lando Norris, George Russell and Oliver Bearman all graduate to Formula 1.
The prize pool sits at an encouraging $60,000, including a multi-day test with GB3 team Hillspeed for the series winner and a subsidised test for the runner-up.
“It’s really exciting to provide a proper pathway locally and to give drivers relevant experience at the fraction of the cost,” Tim Macrow said.
Pro’s- Direct links to Castrol Toyota Formula Regional Series, British GB3 series and Formula Regional championships throughout the world. A potential precursor to a European F3 campaign.
Hyper Racers and the Australian Driver’s Championship features five rounds in three states spread between the Hi-Tec Oils Super Series and Victorian Motor Racing Championship, with a sixth round yet to be announced.
The platform is promoted as our most economical form of open wheel auto racing. Long tyre life and low engine wear suggests minimul ongoing costs over the course of the season.
Hyper Racers have been likened to those run in the GB4 and GB3 championships, offering young drivers the opportunity to develop transferable skills using just a fraction of their racing budget.
Christian Sasso chose ADC on that very basis, figuring that he could run an entire season of the ADC for the price his peers were spending on a single round of the National Formula Ford series.
The ADC is self-billed as Australia’s fastest growing national Open-Wheeler category.
Pro’s- Low cost, high performance category with wings and slick racing at a fraction of the cost. Maintenance and consumables such as tyres are all long life.
Formula Vees date back to the 1960s where a grass roots open wheel category was put forward to promote the German manufacturer.
Australia soon caught the bug with competitions running from the mid-1960s to the present day.
Series are held on State racing calendars, with a stand alone nationals event run under the Motorsport Australia banner.
A more recent national series has also commenced with the Hi-Tec Oil series.
The cars are also quite inexpensive to run, when compared to Formula Ford and offer some of the closest racing one will ever witness on a racetrack.
Pro’s – Low costs in comparison to most open wheel categories with a mix of state, historic and national level competition. Close racing develops driver skills and spatial awareness. Most events streamed via You Tube based media.
It is not a complete list of open wheel competition across our shores. To say otherwise will only serve to incite riots amongst the historic and open formula fraternities not mentioned, nor ignored.
So there you have it. A mix of open wheel categories for aspiring Formula One drivers, or for those simply happy to don the helmet, feel the breeze and dream.
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