The championship's origins trace back to the Spanish Formula Renault Championship, which ran from 1991 to 1997. From this emerged the World Series by Nissan in 1998, founded as Open Fortuna by Nissan and organized by RPM Comunicacion under Jaime Alguersuari Tortajada. That series was primarily based in Spain but expanded internationally to include rounds in France, Italy, Portugal, and Brazil. It ran Coloni-built chassis with a 2.0-litre Nissan SR20 engine producing 250 bhp through to 2001, before upgrading to Dallara chassis and the Nissan VQ30 V6 in 2002.
In parallel, Renault launched the Formula Renault V6 Eurocup in 2003 as part of the Super Racing Weekend package alongside the European Touring Car Championship and FIA GT Championship. That series used Tatuus chassis and a 3.5-litre Nissan-derived V6 engine.
When Renault departed the Super Racing Weekend in 2005, it merged the World Series by Nissan (whose Nissan engine contract had expired) and the Formula Renault V6 Eurocup into a single new series: the Formula Renault 3.5. The merged championship retained the Dallara chassis while fitting the improved Renault V6 producing 425 PS. Formula Renault 2.0 Eurocup and the Eurocup Mégane Trophy joined as support series at the same weekend.
From 2008 to 2011, the championship ran the Dallara T08 chassis powered by a 3.5-litre Nissan VQ35 V6 producing 480 bhp with a rev limit of 8,500 rpm. A six-speed semi-automatic gearbox supplied by Ricardo with paddle-shift steering was standard, and car weight was set at 600 kg dry.
From 2012 onwards the series introduced the Dallara T12 chassis powered by a 3.4-litre Zytek V8 producing 530 bhp at 9,250 rpm. The cars were 15 kg lighter than their predecessors and incorporated a Drag Reduction System operating on principles similar to DRS in Formula One.
In late July 2015, Renault Sport announced its withdrawal of backing from Formula Renault 3.5 for 2016, handing control of the series to co-organizer RPM. Renault continued its involvement in the World Series by Renault through the Renault Sport Trophy and Formula Renault 2.0 Eurocup. RPM renamed the series Formula V8 3.5 for 2016, then World Series Formula V8 3.5 from December 2016. On 17 November 2017, the series announced it would not take place in 2018 due to insufficient entries, citing a possibility of a future relaunch that did not materialize.
The Formula Renault 3.5 Series and its predecessor World Series by Nissan produced an extraordinary number of Formula One drivers. Fernando Alonso won the championship in 1999 and went on to become a two-time Formula One World Champion. Robert Kubica won in 2005. Kevin Magnussen, Carlos Sainz Jr., and Heikki Kovalainen were all champions before reaching Formula One.
Other champions include Marc Gené (1998), Franck Montagny (2001 and 2003), Ricardo Zonta (2002), Giedo van der Garde (2008), and Robin Frijns (2012). Future Formula One regulars who competed without winning the championship include Sebastian Vettel, Daniel Ricciardo, Jean-Éric Vergne, Jules Bianchi, Stoffel Vandoorne, Pierre Gasly, and Esteban Ocon. Pietro Fittipaldi won the 2017 title and later competed in Formula One with Haas.
Beyond Formula One, the series also produced IndyCar champions including Will Power and Alex Palou, as well as World Touring Car Championship regulars such as Andy Priaulx and Tiago Monteiro.
At its peak the Formula Renault 3.5 Series was considered the most direct route from junior formulae to Formula One outside of GP2. Its high-downforce, high-power cars were closer in character to Formula One machinery than most junior categories, and teams such as Carlin, Tech 1 Racing, and ISR operated at a professional level that prepared drivers for the demands of the top tier. The series' dissolution in 2018 left a vacancy in the European junior ladder that subsequent series, including Formula 2, sought to fill.