Tatuus iMagazine

26 In addition to many high‐level drivers, new teams have joined the championship coming from Asia and Europe. “There are many reasons. The compact format, the fact of being in the Middle East, halfway between Asia and Europe and the choice to race in the winter break of the European championships, were contributing factor that brought in drivers from Europe or residing in Europe. On the other hand, people from Asia were subject to long periods of quarantine. European teams have begun to appear on our radar, and successful collaborations were established between European and Asian teams with a valuable exchange of know‐how.” In 2021, the series moved to the UAE as it was a necessity. When you will be back racing in Asia? “We have to pay close attention to the feedback we received from the teams and drivers. They appreciated the compact calendar in the Emirates. In previous seasons, we had already decided to run the whole season in the winter break of the other main championships. That move proved to be a winner, attracting many drivers. We would like to return to South East Asia, but I fear that it will be impossible in 2022 due to the restrictions due to Covid‐19 travel restrictions, which are still very tight in Asia. The plan for F3 Asia by FIA is therefore to focus on a winter series, with a compact calendar, and perhaps from 2023 to alternate races in the Middle East and others in South East Asia. In the short term, however, the 2022 series will repeat the 2021 format, with five rounds in the United Arab Emirates ". F3 Asia by FIA has been the first championship to believe in the Formula Regional concept. "From my point of view, the series bridges the gap between Formula 4 and Formula 3. The car is very close to the latter, with a significant increase in aerodynamics compared to F4, but less power than F3. The project was a great success. I believed in it from the outset, so much so that F3 Asia by FIA anticipated everyone, adopting the rule set before other European series. For us, it is a source of great satisfaction to have been the first to believe in the package featuring the Tatuus T318 chassis and the engine prepared by Autotecnica Motori.” This season, the F3 Asia by FIA championship ran four rounds alongside the Formula 4 UAE series. Is there a prospect of future collaboration? “We are already talking with UAE Formula 4 to increase our collaboration for 2022 and to join forces in several events. F4 UAE will be the first series to adopt the second‐generation F4 chassis. We expect several European teams to come to the Emirates to test the car and, since many of them are also involved in Formula Regional in Europe, they may well decide to enter F3 Asia by FIA too. Sharing the track at the same weekends can be beneficial for both promoters as a way to share the costs and the materials needed for live television, and to meet the needs of the teams from a logistical point of view. We are also confident that F4 will grow even stronger in Asia, so to establish new collaborations.”