The 2022 GB3 Championship has got all the makings of a blockbuster classic with rivalries from British Formula 4 carrying on into this year, mixed with experienced drivers out to prove a point to the motorsport world. This is our full 2022 GB3 season guide.

By Richard Smyth

Four of the top five in the 2021 British F4 Championship all make the step up to the GB3 Championship, which will have a completely fresh look with a brand new car featuring the halo being used for this season.

It will once again support the British GT Championship around various English racing circuits along with joining the GT3 and GT4 cars on their trip to the Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps, Belgium in late July. The series will also have its own headline event at Silverstone on the final weekend in July with the GB4 Championship also supporting the series at all but the round in Belgium.

Expectations

You would assume that the drivers who have experience in this series would be expected to do well and compete at the very front of the grid, but this is feeder series racing and it isn’t always the case.

A lot of these drivers have experience racing in single-seaters in a competitive manner with the British F4 Championship and the brand new car will only help narrow the gap between the rookie and experienced drivers. 

It will be fascinating to have such a large grid starting the season with a few drivers still to be announced and with a tour of the Red Bull Formula One headquarters and a FIA F3 test available for the Championship winner, there is a lot at stake when lights go out for the start of the season. 

Check out our F1 Feeder Series Podcast with Zak O’Sullivan (reigning GB3 champion) or continue reading below the video

Drivers & teams

Hitech GP

Bryce Aron – #4

The 18-year-old American driver remains with the team that saw him claim ten top-10 finishes in his first year in the GB3 Championship. 

He is a former winner of the Team USA Formula Ford scholarship programme, and he also took part in the 2020 Walter Hayes Trophy, finishing third.

Luke Browning – #5

The 2020 British F4 champion is returning to national racing in the UK after taking part in the ADAC F4 and Italian F4 championships last year. 

Browning has already tasted success in the GB3 Championship, winning the second race at Oulton Park last season in his debut weekend in the series while driving for Fortec Motorsport.

Cian Shields – #6

Making the step up from karting is Cian Shields, who will be racing in cars for the first time this season.

His successful karting career has seen him compete across both the UK and Europe, and has plenty of testing experience in GB3 cars since last winter as he attempted to learn the British circuits that he will be racing on this season. 

Carlin

Roberto Faria – #7

The 18-year-old is making the switch from Fortec Motorsport to Carlin this season as he prepares for another season in the championship.

The Brazilian driver will be hoping to mount a title challenge this season after claiming several podiums and a race victory last year. 

Javier Sagrera – #31

After spending the 2021 season at Elite Motorsport, Javier Sagrera makes the switch to Carlin for the 2022 campaign. 

The 18-year-old Spanish driver claimed second place at Brands Hatch last season and has previous experience of racing in Spanish F4. 

Callum Voisin – #35

Anglo-Swiss driver Callum Voisin was named as Carlin’s first signing for this season’s GB3 Championship after impressing in Ginetta Juniors. 

He finished sixth overall last season in the Ginetta Junior Championship and he will be making his first step into single seater racing this season. 

Chris Dittmann Racing

McKenzy Cresswell – #8

After impressing with a third place finish in the British F4 Championship last season, McKenzy Cresswell makes the step up to the GB3 Championship with Chris Dittmann Racing.

He won six races in British F4 last season, more than any other driver in what was his first single-seater campaign.

Whatsapping with McKenzy Cresswell

Branden Lee Oxley – #68

Remaining with Chris Dittmann Racing for 2022 is Branden Lee Oxley, who impressed on debut with a fifth place finish in qualifying on a very wet Snetterton circuit.

He has previously raced in Spanish Touring Cars before moving into single-seaters with Spanish F4. He also made a one-off appearance at the Imola round of the Euroformula Open Championship. 

Douglas Motorsport

Marcos Flack – #11

Another driver making the step up from British F4 is Australian Marcos Flack, who impressed in his debut single-seater championship last season. 

He scored three overall podium finishes along with a Rookie Class Cup win during the season. He will be combining his GB3 campaign with the Italian F4 Championship, after racing in Italian F4 and ADAC F4 last season.

Tommy Smith – #16

The Australian driver will remain with Douglas Motorsport this season after joining the team for three of the final four race weekends of the season.

His best finish over these three weekends was 12^th place at both Snetterton and Silverstone and will be hoping to push further up the grid with extra testing time over the winter. 

Max Esterson – #42

The current Walter Hayes Trophy winner makes the step up to the GB3 Championship this season. He has impressed in his career so far, with Esterson only starting karting back in 2019. 

He is a familiar name within the world of sim-racing and has won many high-profile events since he started in the virtual world back in 2011. 

Fortec Motorsport

Zak Taylor – #21

The British driver moves up to the world of GB3 after spending the 2021 campaign in British F4. He claimed victory at Brands Hatch, along with podiums at Thruxton, Snetterton, Knockhill and Donington Park.

After starting his karting career back in 2016, Taylor moved to Ginetta Juniors in 2019, before standing on the podium multiple times during his 2020 campaign in the series. 

Mikkel Grundtvig – #43

Staying with Fortec Motorsport for this season is Mikkel Grundtvig who impressed during 2021, taking two race victories during the season. 

He moved to the GB3 Championship on the back of competing in the Danish Endurance Championship, where he won the overall championship. 

Joel Granfors – #50

The Swedish driver is joining the GB3 Championship from British F4, where he was a race winner at Thruxton. 

He finished fourth in the standings and remained in title contention right through to the season finale at Brands Hatch. 

Elite Motorsport

John Bennett – #27

Making the step up to single-seater racing with Elite Motorsport is John Bennett who was runner up in the Ginetta GT5 Championship last season.

He took five race victories during 2021 before embarking on a winter testing programme to help him prepare for the 2022 GB3 Championship. 

Tom Lebbon – #34

Tom Lebbon will continue with Elite Motorsport for another season in the GB3 Championship, hoping to build a title challenge.

After 18 top ten finishes last season, including a podium at Donington Park. He will also be hoping to show the consistency he did when he won the 2020 Ginetta Junior Championship with a year already with the team helping him massively in this aspect. 

James Hedley – #67

Competing in his first full season of GB3 for Elite Motorsport is James Hedley, who raced for the team at the Donington Park round in October.

He managed to obtain a tenth-place finish and is a member of the BDRC Rising Star programme. He started out karting as a 11-year-old before racing in British F4, finishing fifth in the standings last season. 

JHR Developments

Matthew Rees – #53

The 2021 British F4 Champion is making the step up to the GB3 Championship with a new team on the grid, JHR Developments. 

This is also the same team which he won his British F4 title with and will be hoping to go for yet more silverware after claiming four race victories and a further seven podiums last season. 

Hillspeed

Nick Gilkes – #64

After joining the GB3 Championship mid-way through last season, Hillspeed have a full-season entry this time with British-Canadian Nick Gilkes racing for the team. 

Gilkes is the youngest ever Toyo Tires Ontario F1600 Champion, with him also taking the title in the  Canadian F1600 Championship.

His sister Megan Gilkes made history in the opening round of the GB4 Championship taking victory in the series’ first weekend to add to her W Series race victory.

Whatsapping with Nick Gilkes

Arden Motorsport

David Morales – #77

The American driver is making the step up to the GB3 Championship with the same team that he raced for in the British F4 Championship. 

He claimed two podiums and two pole positions during his campaign and competed in the Formula Regional Asian Championship earlier this year.

Alex Connor – #TBC

Returning to the GB3 Championship this season after missing the second-half of the last campaign. He impressed in the opening half of the season, finishing second at Silverstone and picking up two further podiums at Donington Park. 

He also has experience of being in the Formula One paddock after competing in the F4 UAE Championship in 2019, where he took the race victory. 

Season calendar 

Rounds 1/2/3: Oulton Park – 16/18 April

Rounds 4/5/6: Silverstone – 7/8 May

Rounds 7/8/9: Donington Park – 28/29 May

Rounds 10/11/12: Snetterton – 25/26 June

Rounds 13/14/15: Spa – 23/24 July

Rounds 16/17/18: Silverstone – 30/31 July

Rounds 19/20/21: Brands Hatch – 10/11 September

Rounds 22/23/24: Donington Park – 15/16 October

Live streaming

This season the GB3 Championship has a complete TV overhaul with all rounds being live streamed on the MSV TV Youtube channel.

You can also catch highlights from every round on Sky Sports F1. 

Points system

For the first two races of the weekend, the GB3 Championship will use the following format:

1st:	35pts	6th:	17pts	11th:	10pts	16th:	5pts
2nd:	29pts	7th:	15pts	12th:	9pts	17th:	4pts
3rd:	24pts	8th:	13pts	13th:	8pts	18th:	3pts
4th:	21pts	9th:	12pts	14th:	7pts	19th:	2pts
5th:	19pts	10th:	11pts	15th:	6pts	20th:	1pt

The third race of the weekend is a reverse grid race where drivers will receive an additional point for every position gained. The points system for that race is as follows: 

1st:	20pts	6th:	10pts	11th:	5pts
2nd:	17pts	7th:	9pts	12th:	4pts
3rd:	15pts	8th:	8pts	13th:	3pts
4th:	13pts	9th:	7pts	14th:	2pts
5th:	11pts	10th:	6pts	15th:	1pts

Header photo credit: Jakob Ebrey Photography