The series was founded in Spain in 1998 as the Open Fortuna by Nissan championship, promoted by RPM Racing with Nissan as title partner. Fernando Alonso won the championship in 1999 under the Euro Open MoviStar by Nissan name, providing an early illustration of the series's capacity to launch future stars. Heikki Kovalainen won the championship in 2004 in the series's final season under the World Series by Nissan banner.
A parallel support category, World Series Light, ran from 2002 to 2004.
From 2005, when Renault Sport took over promotion from RPM Racing, the championship became the Formula Renault 3.5 Series, operating as part of the broader World Series by Renault package. The technical package for the 2008–2011 seasons centred on the Dallara T08 chassis powered by a 3.5-litre Nissan VQ35 V6 engine producing 480 bhp, with a six-speed semi-automatic Ricardo gearbox and a car weight of 600 kg dry. From 2012 the series adopted the Dallara T12, powered by a 3.4-litre Zytek V8 producing approximately 530 bhp, also with a six-speed Ricardo gearbox. Michelin supplied tyres throughout the Renault-backed era.
Robert Kubica won the inaugural Formula Renault 3.5 title in 2005 with Epsilon Euskadi. In 2011 Robert Wickens and Jean-Eric Vergne fought one of the series's most celebrated championship battles as teammates at Carlin. Wickens, backed by Marussia, and Vergne, a Red Bull junior, entered the Barcelona season finale separated by only two points. A collision between the pair in the decisive race ended both their races; Wickens was declared champion, while Vergne was left to reflect on a title that had slipped away after a penalty at Monza — initially imposed on him for cutting the Roggia chicane, then overturned — had swung momentum during the season. Kevin Magnussen won the 2013 championship, going on to a Formula One career with McLaren, Renault, and Haas. Pierre Gasly, Esteban Ocon, Roberto Merhi, and Jules Bianchi were among the other notable competitors during the Renault 3.5 era.
The series was particularly favoured by the Red Bull Junior Team. Between 2006 and 2017, Helmut Marko placed 16 Red Bull juniors in the championship; eight of them finished in the top three of the standings and several made it to Formula One under Red Bull backing. Of those who progressed to F1, only Pierre Gasly and Brendon Hartley spent time in GP2 before making the step up.
When Renault Sport withdrew its backing after 2015, RPM Racing retook control and rebranded the championship as Formula V8 3.5 for 2016. The series ran two final seasons on a reduced calendar, with rounds held alongside WEC, WTCC, International GT Open, and other events rather than at Formula One weekends.
Pietro Fittipaldi was the standout competitor in 2016 and returned the following year. The 2017 season was the last. Fittipaldi took the 2017 title, driving for the Lotus entry fielded by Charouz Racing System, which was also crowned teams' champion. Insufficient entries led the series to fold after 2017.
The World Series Formula V8 3.5, in its various forms, launched the careers of two Formula One world champions — Fernando Alonso and Sebastian Vettel — along with Robert Kubica, Heikki Kovalainen, Robert Wickens, Jean-Eric Vergne, Kevin Magnussen, Carlos Sainz Jr., Pierre Gasly, and many others. Its combination of powerful machinery, representative circuits, and Formula One-adjacent calendar made it one of the most prestigious single-seater pathways in European motorsport for nearly two decades.
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