The Spanish Formula Three Championship was formed during a period of growth in Spanish motor racing, following the success of the Euro Open Movistar by Nissan. It replaced the Super Formula Toyota, a one-make series with performance similar to Formula Three. The championship aimed to provide a more accessible option for drivers without extensive sponsorship by actively controlling budget requirements. In 2006, it was branded as the Spanish F3 Championship by Toyota, in deference to its sole engine supplier. The series began to expand its reach across Europe, attracting non-Spanish teams. The British outfit Team West-Tec joined and won two Driver's Championship titles in their first three seasons, followed by Italy's RP Motorsport. The championship was rebranded as the Euroformula Open Championship in 2014, after the FIA restricted the use of the Formula Three name to championships adhering to specific engine regulations.
The Euroformula Open Championship has consistently used chassis from Italian constructor Dallara. The Dallara F300") was used in the early seasons, followed by the Dallara F305 in 2005, the Dallara F308 in 2008, and the Dallara F312 in 2012. The current chassis, the Dallara 324, debuted in Super Formula Lights in 2024 and was chosen for Euroformula Open for the 2025 season, emphasizing affordability. From 2010 to 2018, the series used Toyota's F3 engine, upgraded by the Spanish tuner Piedrafita Sport. In 2019, the series expanded its engine options to include Mercedes-Benz and Volkswagen engines, with the Toyota engines being dropped after the first round of that season.
In 2005, the Copa class was introduced, similar to British Formula Three's approach of incorporating a second championship class for previous-generation chassis specifications. This provided an opportunity for drivers with smaller budgets to progress from cheaper formulae. The Copa class required entrants to use the Dallara F308 chassis. However, the secondary class was discontinued during the 2014 season due to a lack of entries.
The exclusive use of the Toyota engine for a period led Toyota "Toyota Racing (Formula One team)") to offer a Formula One test to each year's champion. Borja García, the 2004 champion, was the first driver to benefit from this opportunity, later progressing to GP2.
Between 2001 and 2005, the Spanish F3 Championship had seven rounds, each with two races. Exceptions to this included the Valencia round in 2002 and the Jerez round in 2003, each of which had only one race, and Albacete, which held a single-race event in addition to its regular two-race event in 2005. In every season from its inception until 2007, the championship made a regular visit to Estoril in Portugal. The 2006 season, which was expanded to eight rounds, included the championship's first visit to Magny-Cours in France. Since 2008, many circuits from further afield have been added to the schedule including visits to Magny Cours, Donington Park and Brands Hatch with major European motorsport venues including Spa, Monza, Silverstone and Hungaroring hosting rounds of the 2014 season as the series expands further into Europe. The 2025 calendar will feature eight circuits, including Spa and Hockenheimring.
This article is based solely on the supplied corpus. No external sources were consulted; claims that could not be substantiated against the corpus were omitted under the drop-the-claim rule.
Gallery · 4 related images
