FRECA is considering introducing a push-to-pass for 2022

It's no secret that the spectacle inherent to the Regional Formula by Alpine is insufficient. And it's not throwing a wrench into the pond to say that. Drivers, teams, spectators and promoters alike share this observation. The cause is heavy cars loaded with aerodynamics which make overtaking difficult. “On a regular basis, and knowing that we don’t have DRS, you need a delta of one and a half seconds per lap to overtake an opponent” we hear regularly in the paddock from the drivers.

In Valencia, during the final race weekend (September 25-26), only five maneuvers were recorded outside of the first lap over the entirety of the two races. Qualifications and starts are therefore of considerable importance since they alone govern, in general, the final rankings of the races. For example, if we take the results of the current year, all the drivers who started in pole position during the sixteen races contested crossed the finish line in the lead. Only Grégoire Saucy at Castellet and Franco Colapinto at Red Bull Ring didn't win, but that's only because they were stripped of their success due to a disqualification on the Swiss side, and a penalty for the Argentinian.

The FIA ​​is not against the idea

However, the fault does not lie at all with the organizers of the championship who are Alpine and the ACI. The latter are in fact required to field the Tatuus T-318 single-seaters in compliance with the FIA ​​technical regulations for Regional F3, which do not provide for an overtaking facilitation system. But the fact remains that after the superb success of the merger of the Formula Renault Eurocup and Formula Regionale Europe, this absence of on-track maneuvers could be a huge obstacle to the prosperity of this new championship, at a time when certain drivers are moving directly from Formula 4 to Formula 3. The establishment of a DRS would be too expensive a solution, and its permanent use as in F2 and in F3 would not be in line with the spirit of this level of the pyramid, which pits inexperienced drivers against each other and who must still concentrate on their progress in terms of driving before having to deal with permanent fights in platoon. 

There then remains the possibility of setting up a push-to-pass button system, which has the advantage of not being too complicated to develop on a technical level, and which would not be as expensive as a DRS . The FIA, which is obviously the decision-maker in this type of matter, kindly received this idea supported by FRECA itself in an attempt to improve the attractiveness of the championship. The Commission car of the international body has in fact asked the promoter of FRECA to work on the subject and to present a complete project in order to assess the feasibility of the system. 

The lack of battle on track pushes FRECA promoters to question the possible implementation of a push to pass system.

According to our information, the main reflections mainly revolve around the modalities of its establishment. How many uses would be permitted? Would there be a limited count? Would the latter be calculated per race? By meeting? Should there be an activation zone? And if so, how do you make the system work? Should we limit it only to cars that are in the second? In short, it’s a whole system that needs to be thought about. But the promoter is aware of the interest and the need to act to counter this feeling of inevitability which sometimes reigns in races in the category. Nothing has been decided yet, but the thoughts are moving in the right direction, and this is already excellent news for the show. The future of the series will surely go through this.