Gerhard Berger: Too Many Junior Series

President of the FIA Single Seater Commission and former F1 driver, Gerhard Berger, feels that motorsport currently has too many junior formulae which are masking the abilities of the best drivers. In the view of Berger, the system should be updated in order to ensure that the best competitors can truly showcase their talents.

Although money has always been an object in motorsport, the careers of the drivers can now be jeopardised by a lack of room in certain series. Having to look for opportunities elsewhere, their racing abilites can be overlooked as some are not always able to compete with other big upcoming names.

In the latest edition of InMotion magazine, Berger said: “People are complaining that the best drivers are now all spread out. You can’t look at the British Formula 3 Championship, for example, and say, ‘He is certain to get to Formula 1.’

“These days the best drivers are all over the place: one in Formula 3, one in GP3, one in Formula Renault and one in Formula Abarth. The system no longer does what it is supposed to do, which is to give a highly talented driver a CV he can use to progress to Formula 1. I went through the system myself and I have seen it for 30 years now. I am sure that I can bring something to the sport, because of the contacts I have made during my career, and maybe having the right strengths to help sort out what is required.”
Although he has a number of ideas, Berger is putting his priorities straight.

“The most urgent thing is to sort out Formula 3. For me this has always been the most important class for young drivers. That is where you can really see, for the first time, how much talent someone has.
Nowadays there are so many championships, even inside Formula 3 itself. There are national championships holding races outside their own countries and each series has different regulations. Some countries have championships that are not very strong, with only eight or ten cars, and others have A, B and C classes and so on. You have different engine rules as well. It’s not Formula 3 as we knew it.”

Berger finished third overall in both the German and European Formula 3 Championships before he entered F1. On top of this, he achieved podium finishes at the prestigious Macau and Monaco F3 events. He went on to win ten F1 Grands Prix, pick up 12 pole positions and finish on the rostrum 48 times between 1986 and 1997.



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