The ACI is pleased to announce that its national Formula 4 series is back for another season. Once again, up to 40 competitors will be taking part in this year's championship.
Last year's rules which are no longer valid are retained for reference, but greyed out and scored through, with replacement following immediately after. Additions for 2019 are marked in blue.
Entry Rules
Your team must be based in Europe. The majority of teams must be based in Southern Europe, but exceptions can/will be made on a case-by-case basis. You may not name your entity [Team Name] Italy (or any similar permutation) to denote locality, and your team must be registered with a single nationality.
Each team may have between 1-3 cars, but 3 car entries are limited and their acceptance is entirely at my personal discretion, based on realism of the attempted entry.
Drivers must also be from Europe or North Africa. Exceptions may be made if a good enough case for it is argued.
The usual experience rules apply - if they've done anything higher than F4 before, forget about it! There are exceptions though - a handful of gentlemen over-35 drivers, who have achieved notability (or rather, notoriety) either in canon or in real life are permitted.
To avoid people skirting the Team Mentor RNG factors, teams named after and managed by real life drivers are only permitted where said team already exists in reality, e.g. Trulli GP, Vincenzo Sospiri Euronova, etc.
Team Mentor
This F4 series does have one feature the others do no - driver mentors. The idea is to sign an experienced, top level driver to help tutor and mould your youngster into better racing drivers. This crucially means a driver who starts off bad may not necessarily stay bad - there is a chance you'd be better off waiting for the various mid-season tests and see if they improve, rather than just impluse-sacking a struggling driver.
The quality of team mentor you recruit will affect the likelihood and degree of improvement for your youngsters. They will have no effect on any gentlemen racers in your team - so if your team is a single-car gentlemen entry for example, you don't need one. In fact, it is an optional feature, but it doesn't cost anything, so it's just a case of whether you wish to go to the effort of signing someone or not.
Real-life drivers can be signed in this role, but are subject to a tough RNG. You won't manage better than a 50% chance, unless said RL driver is intrinsically linked to that team in some manner (to cite a historical example, the percentage chance for Mark Webber at MW Arden would be higher than 50%, or citing a 2018 Italian F4 example, Jarno Trulli fulfilling this role at Trulli GP). There is no RNG for fictional drivers - just go negotiate a deal with their DEC holder.
Race Format
Two heats with an equal split of cars will take place, with the Top 10 from each heat graduating to the weekend finale. All 3 races will use the standardised F4 points system, with races being approximately 60km long each for all races.
Participants who commit driving infractions will be penalised to the standardised FIA Formula 4 Penalty Regs. The criteria for penalties, and currently active license points, is available at the foot of the post. These penalties are applicable across all accredited Formula 4 series, which at time of writing are;
- North America
- South America
- Anglo-Irish
- Italy
- Asia
- World Final
There are two class championships which run parallel to the regular overall championship. Firstly, the Coppa Signori for non-professional drivers over the age of 35 will continue, and a new class for rookie drivers has also been established, which has been christened the Trofeo Primavera. Rookie drivers are classed as such if they have raced in 2 or less Formula 4 race weekends before the start of the current calendar season. A driver who has completed 3 or more race weekends in other Formula 4 series, or any other series of equal or higher standing, are not eligible for the Trofeo Primavera, even if they are debuting in this specific regional series.
Provisional Calendar
The calendar has been increased by three events to nine full weekends, plus two mid-season tests after Rounds 3 and 6. Two very brief jaunts out of Italy will occur; once just across the Piedmont border into Monaco, and the other sailing across to Bastia, on the island of Corsica - one with a very strong historical connection to Italy and the other a little further round the Adriatic coast from Italy's eastern border, to the Croatian city of Rijeka, the former host of the Formula 1 Yugoslavia GP at the local Automotodrom Grobnik.
The following forms the provisional calendar;
1. Autodromo Nazionale Monza - April 6-8
2. Autodromo Enzo e Dino Ferrari - April 26-28*
3. Vallelunga Circuit - May 10-12
T. Autodromo Internazionale del Mugello - May 18
4. Automotodrom Grobnik-Rijeka - June 21-23
5. Autodromo Treviso - July 5-7
6. Autodromo di Franciacorta - July 19-21
T. Autodromo Internazionale del Mugello - July 26
7. Circuit de Monte-Carlo - September 6-8**
8. Autodromo Riccardo Paletti - September 20-22
9. Autodromo Internazionale del Mugello - October 4-6
2019 Provisional Calendar - Venue Map
* Supporting F1, F2 & F3
** Supporting ARWS
Liveries
As this series is running in rFactor, I am hoping to do some short clips, maybe 2 minutes per race or so, with the most important moments of the races. Therefore, liveries will be featured. You can either design your own, or request some help from someone. For those who wish to design their own car, a PSD template of the Tatuus FA010 is included below.
Important utilities
2019 season wiki page
Tatuus FA010 template
Helmet template
Formula 4 Penalty List (all regions)
