When news broke last week that Formula Regional (FR) would be replacing Formula 3 (F3) as the Macau Grand Prix’s marquee event, the local reaction was one of shock and dismay, with many people taking to social media to express their discontent over what they perceived to be a subpar replacement.
The dissatisfaction was not only limited to the public. Several F3 drivers told autosport.com that they considered the decision by the Fédération Internationale de L’Automobile (FIA) to be a downgrade.
[See more: What you need to know about the Macau Grand Prix’s shift from F3 to FR racing]
Racer Gabrielle Minì pointed out that, “F3 is a big, big step from Formula Regional … [because] in Formula Regional, the car is really heavy compared to the power you have … and also, in the high-speed corners, in F3 there is much more [lift].”
Although the initial reaction has been far from positive, the shift to FR and the effect that it will have on the Macau Grand Prix is perhaps not as detrimental as some may think.
Will Formula Regional have an impact on the Macau Grand Prix?
For starters, Macao is not losing its F3 race. As Patrick Chu, a business professor at the University of Macau and a former contributor of the Hong Kong magazine Car Plus tells Macao News, FR is actually an “F3 series that does not use the name F3.”
As a matter of fact, the Regional F3 races that took place in places such as Europe, Japan, Oceania and the Middle East, including the F3 Asian Series and the F3 Japanese Championship, have all been rebranded under the FR moniker in recent years.
Chu explains that FR sits between the national F4 championships and the FIA F3 World Championships, acting as a springboard for the latter, which Chu notes “is the only series that can [now] be named as F3 and runs exclusively in support of Formula 1 races.”
[See more: Macau Grand Prix organisers shrug off the loss of Formula 3 racing]
On the surface, the decision to scrap the FIA F3 World Cup Macau in favour of FR does appear to be a downgrade. From a purely performance standpoint, FR cars are powered by engines with 270 brake horsepower (bhp), which are akin to the vehicles that competed in Macao prior to 2019. In contrast, the F3 International vehicles during the 2019 and 2020 Macao Grand Prix operated on 380 bhp, with their specifications based on former GP3 Series vehicles.
Despite this, local racer André Couto, the F3 champion of the Macau Grand Prix in 2000 pointed out in a recent interview with TDM that the differences are miniscule. “Formula 3 to Formula Regional is only a few seconds slower,” he said. “It could be 4, it could be 5, it could be 6, it could be 3 and so on. It depends on the tires that each one will use.” As well, the F3 winner said that both types of vehicles use high-quality Italian chassis, with the FR and F3 vehicles employing the Tatuus and Dallara chassis respectively.
As for the F3 race itself, Chu mentions that the FIA had very little reason to continue holding an standalone non-championship F3 World Cup in Macao to cap off the F3 season, as there already exists a FIA F3 World Championship series. The academic notes that “the top racer of [the] FIA Formula 3 Championship would have no incentive to come to Macao to have one more Formula 3 World Cup since he is [already] crowned as the champion of the only Formula 3 series in the world.”
[See more: Goodbye, Formula 3. The Macau Grand Prix loses its main attraction]
Introducing the FR World Cup to Macao, on the other hand, offers the city an opportunity to establish a more useful and practical international competitive event. As Chu notes, “the FIA expects the top racers of different [national FR] championships to gather in Macao to have a final race [for the FR World Cup].” In that sense, the stakes are much higher than the FIA F3 World Cup Macau, with the former sports magazine writer describing the FR event in Macao as a “real World Cup.”
In short, the switchover is not the regression that some are making it out to be. This point was made clear by Couto, who told TDM that “I believe that it will not change anything in terms of competitiveness and the level of entertainment for the spectators, because the drivers will be the same ones who are racing in Formula 3 … and some are also racing in the Formula Regional.”
Chu says better communication would make the public more accepting of the switch. “The Macau Grand Prix Organisation Committee should make some videos to introduce the concept and history of FR, as well as the relationship between FIA F3 Championship and the different FR championships,” he suggests.
Will the loss of Formula 3 have an impact on tourism in Macao?
In terms of the impact that the shift to the FR will have on Macao’s tourism industry, Glenn McCartney, an associate professor in integrated resort and tourism management at the University of Macau, states that the effect will be minimal.
“In general, [in] the big picture of Macao’s tourism industry, there will be very little impact because there’s so much going on in the calendar in the year,” he tells Macao News. “It’s been elevated in recent months … with the gaming concessions doing more.”
McCartney also points out that even though the F3 race is the largest event in the Grand Prix, there continue to be other types of races that attract spectators such as himself, including the motorcycle races that have drawn him to the Guia Circuit over the past two decades.
[See more: Guangzhou looks set to get its own Formula 1 racetrack]
He also mentions that rather than being laser focused on the development of a singular headline race, more attention should be paid to “building on [the Grand Prix] in a way that adds more value and may bring new visitation to Macao.” For example, he notes that sporting events now include celebrities and musical performances by international artists as part of their programme.
Over the coming months, promoting the new FR World Cup will be a priority for the organisers. In this area, McCartney states that engagement with the local community through “co-creation” events such as the Tap Seac Square Auto Show, where the public has a chance to meet racers and see the race cars up close, can generate “more interest and involvement.” Meanwhile, he highlights the importance of leveraging social media such as Tik Tok as a means of storytelling to attract younger demographics to the races.
Whether or not the Macau Grand Prix’s new direction will bear fruit remains to be seen. There are certainly big shoes to fill, considering the F3’s reputation as a launch pad for motorsport giants such as Lewis Hamilton and Michael Schumacher. But as McCartney notes, “the new [FR] race is going to have to link into that continuation that this is an important race.”
