The iconic Pau Grand Prix has finally reached a deal to have a F3-spec series as the main event of its 2019 edition, . It will be the Euroformula Open, a series that already had its 2019 schedule released, with no Pau GP on it.
After all the changes regarding F3 that the FIA has made for the upcoming years, the Pau Grand Prix, whose 2019 edition will be held between the 17th and the 19th of May, was a question left with no answer until a few days ago. The new FIA F3 was the result of merging the GP3 with FIA European F3, but the series schedule will be like GP3’s, with all rounds supporting a F1 GP weekend.
Given that situation, the main series for the prestigious event had to change, and the New Formula Masters, promoted by former FIA F3 organization after the GP3 ‘fusion’, was also not the solution. This new series will not race through the Pau streets because its schedule is exactly the same as DTM’s.
Finally, the Pau GP organization was able to reach an agreement with GT Sport, Euroformula Open promoter, so the series raced the GP. This series uses very similar F3-spec cars to FEM, but the required budget to race is much lower. This year, moreover, there will be new engine suppliers as Volkswagen and Mercedes join Toyota. The series is working on a balance of performance to mantain the equality between the three engine suppliers, but there is also the possibility of splitting the grid in two categories.
This announcement was planned for Monday, but the French event, where Formula Renault NEC and French F4 will still be the support series, confirmed it this Saturday via Twitter.
NEWS Nous sommes ravis de vous annoncer que le #GPPau2019 accueillera cette année une nouvelle compétition de F3 : l'EuroFormulaOpen ! Et ce ne sera pas la seule nouveauté des 2 week-end! #GPPau #F3 @Ville_Pau #Pau https://t.co/HbSSwD0Xyq
— Grands prix De Pau (@GPdePau) December 8, 2018
This agreement also causes a change in EFOpen schedule, which becomes a 9-round season. The Pau GP will be the second event and it will be held three weeks after the opening round in Paul Ricard and one week before the series race in Hockenheim for the first time ever.