Although the first British Formula Ford Championship was not held until 1976, Formula Ford's roots lie firmly in the British racing scene, with the first Formula Ford race having been held at Brands Hatch in 1967. That inaugural race was the precursor to the birth of the domestic championship and helped inspire similar series in Australia and New Zealand.
The series started with the 1600cc Ford Kent engine and used it until Ford introduced its newer, more powerful 1800cc Ford Zetec engine. Though the engine change did not affect other technical regulations — which still called for steel space frames, more economical to build and run than carbon-fibre alternatives — the increased power accelerated chassis development and caused several smaller manufacturers to exit the market. The Zetec specification lasted twelve years until the Ford Duratec engine was introduced in 2006, providing better handling and slightly reduced weight despite a return to 1600cc capacity.
The championship allowed two specifications of Formula Ford car to race simultaneously: the current-generation EcoBoost car and the previous-generation Duratec car. The series was multi-chassis, featuring manufacturers such as Van Diemen and Mygale. To keep costs manageable, cars were constructed from steel rather than carbon fibre. From 2013, the championship comprised thirty rounds held at ten events in support of the British Touring Car Championship.
A twenty-minute qualifying session determined the grid for all weekend races. The driver's fastest lap set the grid for race one, their second-fastest time set the grid for race two, and their third-fastest time set the grid for race three, with all three races run over fifteen miles.
The biggest changes came in 2012 when the Ford EcoBoost engine and specification were adopted as the main class. The EcoBoost car marked a substantial change in direction for Formula Ford racing, introducing a turbocharged petrol engine of smaller capacity and, for the first time in the series, a sequential gearbox.
The championship served as the launching pad for some of motorsport's most celebrated names. Ayrton Senna won his first single-seater championship in British Formula Ford before progressing through Formula Three and onto Formula One. Jenson Button, who went on to win the 2009 Formula One World Championship, similarly used the series as his initial proving ground in car racing.
The Formula Ford Festival, an associated annual event held at the end of the British racing season at Brands Hatch in Kent, brought together Ford-powered single-seaters from competitions across Europe and beyond. Administered by the British Racing and Sports Car Club, the event allowed rare direct comparisons of drivers competing in different Formula Ford championships around the world.
From 2015 onwards, the championship was replaced by MSA Formula, conforming to FIA Formula 4 regulations. The new series used a carbon-fibre monocoque Mygale chassis powered by a Ford 1.6-litre EcoBoost engine tuned to a maximum of 160 PS, with all engines prepared by the same race engine preparer to limit costs. Hankook supplied all tyres and Sadev provided the sequential paddle-shift transmission and data-logging system. Many of the teams and drivers that competed in the final season of British Formula Ford moved directly to MSA Formula.
The British Formula Ford Championship established a template for entry-level single-seater racing that influenced similar championships worldwide. Its insistence on steel-spaceframe construction and relatively modest power kept costs within reach of a broad field of aspiring drivers, while the high-quality competition produced by those constraints made it a reliable indicator of future talent. The Formula Ford Festival in particular became a prestigious proving ground, giving young drivers the opportunity to measure themselves against the best of their generation in a single high-profile weekend.