1990 British Formula Three Championship

The 1990 British Formula Three season was the 40th season of the British Formula Three Championship, starting on 1 April at Donington Park and ending on 7 October at Silverstone following 17 races.

The season was notable for its domination by future Formula One champion Mika Häkkinen and fellow Finn and future F1 driver Mika Salo; both drove Mugen-Honda-powered Ralt chassis, prepared by West Surrey Racing and Alan Docking Racing respectively. Häkkinen started the year strongly with three wins from the first four races, but Salo responded with four victories in the next six events to establish an 11-point advantage over his rival. The 11th round of the series at Snetterton proved a turning point, however, as Salo spun out while leading, allowing Häkkinen to begin a sequence of six wins from the final seven rounds which would allow him to seal the title with two rounds to spare.

Häkkinen's reward would be a deal to race with the Lotus F1 team in 1991, although Salo's career momentum was ruined by a drunk-driving charge that forced him to move to Japan to further his career.^[1] Other drivers in the field that went on to enjoy success in international motorsport included Christian Fittipaldi, who went on to win the International Formula 3000 championship the following year before enjoying stints in F1 and CART, and future touring car and sportscar driver Peter Kox.

1990 also marked the start of a dominant period for Mugen-Honda engines, which would power each British F3 champion until 2005 with only one exception. Charles Rickett won the Class B title in a year-old Volkswagen-powered Ralt.

Drivers and Teams

Team	No	Driver	Class	Chassis	Engine	Rounds
Bowman Racing	1	Steve Robertson	A	Ralt RT33	Volkswagen-Spiess	All
	4	Philippe Adams	A	Ralt RT33	Volkswagen-Spiess	All
	12	Fernando Plata	A	Ralt RT33	Volkswagen-Spiess	1–7
		Stephen Hepworth				10–17
	14	Peter Kox	A	Ralt RT33	Volkswagen-Spiess	1–10, 12–17
	54	Charles Rickett	B	Ralt RT33	Volkswagen-Spiess	1–13
		Darren Shaw				14, 16
		Dana Brewer				15, 17
West Surrey Racing	2	Mika Häkkinen	A	Ralt RT34	Mugen-Honda	All
	3	Christian Fittipaldi	A	Ralt RT34	Mugen-Honda	All
	16	Minoru Tanaka	A	Ralt RT34	Mugen-Honda	All
Paul Stewart Racing	5	Paul Stewart	A	Reynard 903	Mugen-Honda	1–3
				Ralt RT34		4–17
	6	Derek Higgins	A	Reynard 903	Mugen-Honda	1–4
				Ralt RT34		5–17
Alan Docking Racing	7	Mika Salo	A	Ralt RT34	Mugen-Honda	All
	8	Hideki Noda	A	Ralt RT34	Mugen-Honda	All
Swallow Racing	10	Julian Westwood	A	Reynard 903	Mugen-Honda	1–4
				Ralt RT34		5–17
	11	Jonathan McGall	A	Reynard 903	Mugen-Honda	1–3
				Ralt RT34		4–17
Formula Services	18	Jose Cordova	A	Reynard 903	Alfa Romeo	1–4
		Adrián Fernández				5
Hubbard Racing	20	Hilton Cowie	A	Reynard 903	Opel	5–9, 13–15, 17
	94			Ralt RT33		3
	21	Niko Palhares	A	Ralt RT33	Opel	3–4
				Ralt RT34		5–9
	64	Pekka Herva	B	Reynard 893	Volkswagen-Spiess	14–15, 17
	91	Flurin Zegg	B	Ralt RT33	Opel	4
Racefax Motorsport	23	Alain Menu	A	Ralt RT32	Mazda	1–2, 4
	61	Dominic Chappell	B	Ralt RT32	Volkswagen-Spiess	1–3
				Ralt RT33		4–17
Dawson Auto Developments	25	António Simões	A	Reynard 903	Alfa Romeo	2–3, 5, 10–11, 13, 17
Tech-Speed Motorsport	27	Gary Ayles	A	Reynard 903	Volkswagen-Spiess	1–4, 6–9
		Scott Stringfellow				13
	28	Jordi Gené	A	Reynard 903	Volkswagen-Spiess	All
	58	Paul Smith	B	Reynard 873	Volkswagen-Spiess	10
Hepworth Racing	30	Stephen Hepworth	A	Reynard 903	Volkswagen-Spiess	1–6
		Jason Elliott				9–10
		Henrik Larsen				11–14
		Ross Hockenhull				16
Superpower Engineering	33	Paul Warwick	A	Reynard 903	Volkswagen-Spiess	1
				Ralt RT34	Mugen-Honda	2–9
		Bernard Dolan				10
		Gary Ayles				11–17
Team Itchi-Ban	37	Nic Jönsson	A	Reynard 903	Mugen-Honda	15–16
	38	Mikael Gustavsson	A	Reynard 903	Mugen-Honda	15
	39	Linus Lundberg	A	Reynard 903	Mugen-Honda	15
G-Son Racing	40	Fredrik Ekblom	A	Reynard 903	Volkswagen-Spiess	1
	60	Monica Stråth	B	Reynard 883	Volkswagen-Spiess	1
Diamond Racing	44	César Tiberio Jiménez	A	Reynard 903	Volkswagen-Spiess	4
	70		B	Reynard 893	Toyota	3
Reynard R&D	50	Jason Elliott	A	Reynard 903B	Mugen-Honda	11, 13, 15–17
Peter Lea Racing	51	Eddie Kimbell	B	Reynard 873	Alfa Romeo	1–13
		Sandy Brody				14–17
	56	Alan Tulloch	B	Reynard 883	Alfa Romeo	1–10, 13–17
Stronghold Racing	52	Steve Bradley	B	Ralt RT32	Toyota	1–4, 6, 8–11, 14
				Ralt RT33	Volkswagen-Spiess	15, 17
Steve Deeks	53	Steve Deeks	B	Reynard 883	Alfa Romeo	5–8, 10, 17
Tollbar Racing	55	Juan Serda	B	Ralt RT32	Volkswagen-Spiess	All
Davies Racing	57	Tony Davies	B	Ralt RT31	Volkswagen-Spiess	1, 4–6, 10, 17
Zeus Motorsport	66	Peter Sneller	B	Reynard 883	Volkswagen-Spiess	1–2, 4–8, 10–12, 15–17
Petroglobe International	67	Dana Brewer	B	Reynard 893	Alfa Romeo	13
Cram Motorsport	71	Rob Mears	B	Ralt RT33	Toyota	All
JWD Motorsport	83	Jack Dickenson	B	Ralt RT31	Toyota	4, 9
Carlton Tingling	85	Carlton Tingling	B	Reynard 883	Volkswagen-Spiess	15

Race calendar and results

Round	Circuit	Date	Pole Position	Fastest Lap	Winning Driver	Winning Team	Class B Winner
1	Donington Park	1 April	Mika Häkkinen	Mika Häkkinen	Mika Häkkinen	West Surrey Racing	Dominic Chappell
2	Silverstone	8 April	Mika Häkkinen	Mika Salo	Mika Salo	Alan Docking Racing	Charles Rickett
3	Thruxton	16 April	Mika Häkkinen	Mika Häkkinen	Mika Häkkinen	West Surrey Racing	Charles Rickett
4	Brands Hatch	29 April	Mika Häkkinen	Mika Häkkinen	Mika Häkkinen	West Surrey Racing	Charles Rickett
5	Silverstone	7 May	Mika Salo	Mika Salo	Mika Salo	Alan Docking Racing	Juan Serda
6	Brands Hatch	20 May	Mika Häkkinen	Mika Häkkinen	Mika Salo	Alan Docking Racing	Dominic Chappell
7	Thruxton	28 May	Mika Salo	Mika Häkkinen	Mika Salo	Alan Docking Racing	Charles Rickett
8	Silverstone	10 June	Mika Häkkinen	Mika Salo	Steve Robertson	Bowman Racing	Charles Rickett
9	Donington Park	1 July	Christian Fittipaldi	Christian Fittipaldi	Christian Fittipaldi	West Surrey Racing	Charles Rickett
10	Silverstone	14 July	Mika Salo	Mika Salo	Mika Salo	Alan Docking Racing	Charles Rickett
11	Snetterton	5 August	Mika Salo	Mika Häkkinen Mika Salo1	Mika Häkkinen	West Surrey Racing	Charles Rickett
12	Oulton Park	12 August	Mika Häkkinen	Mika Häkkinen	Mika Häkkinen	West Surrey Racing	Charles Rickett
13	Silverstone	27 August	Mika Häkkinen	Mika Häkkinen	Mika Häkkinen	West Surrey Racing	Charles Rickett
14	Brands Hatch	2 September	Mika Häkkinen	Mika Häkkinen	Mika Häkkinen	West Surrey Racing	Darren Shaw
15	Donington Park	16 September	Mika Häkkinen	Mika Häkkinen	Mika Häkkinen	West Surrey Racing	Dominic Chappell
16	Thruxton	23 September	Paul Stewart	Mika Salo	Mika Salo	Alan Docking Racing	Darren Shaw
17	Silverstone	7 October	Mika Häkkinen	Steve Robertson	Mika Häkkinen	West Surrey Racing	Peter Sneller

^1 Häkkinen and Salo set identical fastest lap times and were subsequently both awarded an additional point.

Championship Standings

Class A

Points in brackets include dropped scores – only the best 14 of 17 scores count towards the championship

Pos.	Driver	DON	SIL	THR	BRH	SIL	BRH	THR	SIL	DON	SIL	SNE	OUL	SIL	BRH	DON	THR	SIL	Pts
1	Mika Häkkinen	1	(3)	1	1	2	2	2	Ret	(6)	2	1	1	1	1	1	2	1	121 (126)
2	Mika Salo	2	1	2	4	1	1	1	2	5	1	(7)	2	2	Ret	3	1	Ret	98 (99)
3	Steve Robertson	3	2	Ret	Ret	3	3	Ret	1	Ret	3	2	Ret	4	3	Ret	9	3	49
4	Christian Fittipaldi	4	14	5	6	7	6	4	8	1	6	3	Ret	DSQ	5	Ret	4	2	36
5	Peter Kox	Ret	4	3	2	5	Ret	6	5	2	Ret		Ret	Ret	Ret	Ret	6	4	28
6	Philippe Adams	11	Ret	6	10	4	20	Ret	9	9	4	4	5	6	2	2	Ret	11	25
7	Paul Stewart	6	23	Ret	11	9	Ret	13	4	4	Ret	5	4	3	6	Ret	3	13	21
8	Jonathan McGall	Ret	5	Ret	12	10	11	5	3	7	10	17	3	7	7	Ret	Ret	6	13
9	Derek Higgins	Ret	7	Ret	5	8	4	9	22	3	Ret	Ret	Ret	Ret	4	Ret	Ret	7	12
10	Paul Warwick	17	Ret	4	3	Ret	5	7	6	10									10
11	Minoru Tanaka	5	8	Ret	8	13	Ret	3	Ret	Ret	5	Ret	Ret	10	12	Ret	5	8	10
12	Hideki Noda	7	6	Ret	DNS	6	9	11	16	Ret	Ret	Ret	6	5	11	4	10	Ret	8
13	Jason Elliott									Ret	8	DNS		20		5	8	5	4
14	Julian Westwood	Ret	12	8	9	14	7	10	7	8	7	Ret	7	8	9	6	7	10	1
15	Jordi Gené	10	10	9	13	12	Ret	DSQ	10	Ret	11	6	8	9	10	7	Ret	9	1
16	Fernando Plata	8	9	7	7	11	8	12											0
17	Gary Ayles	20	Ret	11	14		Ret	8	14	Ret		Ret	Ret	Ret	8	8	19	12	0
18	Henrik Larsen											8	Ret	11	13				0
19	Stephen Hepworth	13	16	15	Ret	15	12				Ret	9	9	Ret	14	15	20	Ret	0
20	Alain Menu	9	Ret		DNS														0
21	Bernard Dolan										9								0
22	Niko Palhares			Ret	Ret	Ret	10	NC	11	Ret									0
23	Jose Cordova	DNS	11	10	DNS														0
24	António Simões		13	Ret		Ret					12	10		Ret				Ret	0
25	Hilton Cowie			12		Ret	Ret	DSQ	12	11				12	Ret	Ret		Ret	0
26	Ross Hockenhull																11		0
27	Nic Jönsson															Ret	13		0
28	Scott Stringfellow													15					0
	Fredrik Ekblom	Ret																	0
	Adrián Fernández					Ret													0
	Linus Lundberg															Ret			0
	César T. Jiménez				DNS														0
	Mikael Gustavsson																DNS		0

Class B

Pos.	Driver	DON	SIL	THR	BRH	SIL	BRH	THR	SIL	DON	SIL	SNE	OUL	SIL	BRH	DON	THR	SIL	Pts
1	Charles Rickett	Ret	15	13	15	Ret	21	14	13	12	13	11	10	13					101
2	Dominic Chappell	12	19	DNS	Ret	Ret	13	15	15	Ret	15	Ret	11	14	16	9	14	Ret	72
3	Eddie Kimbell	Ret	18	14	16	17	16	17	19	15	Ret	12	DNS	16					43
4	Rob Mears	18	Ret	16	Ret	Ret	14	Ret	18	13	16	14	Ret	Ret	17	10	15	DSQ	42
5	Peter Sneller	Ret	17		DNS	Ret	15	16	Ret		14	15	12			DSQ	16	14	39
6	Juan Serda	16	20	20	17	16	18	18	21	16	20	16	13	18	20	DSQ	18	18	33
7	Steve Bradley	DSQ	21	18	Ret		17		20	14	19	13			19	12		16	23
8	Darren Shaw														15		12		20
9	Alan Tulloch	15	22	19	18	18	19	19	Ret	Ret	21			17	21	11	Ret	Ret	20
10	Sandy Brody														Ret	Ret	17	15	8
11	Steve Deeks					Ret	DNS	DNS	17		18							17	8
12	Monica Stråth	14																	6
13	Tony Davies	19			19	19	22				22							DNS	6
14	Pekka Herva														18	Ret		Ret	4
15	César T. Jiménez			17															3
16	Dana Brewer													19		14		19	3
17	Paul Smith										17								2
18	Carlton Tingling															13			2
19	Jack Dickenson				DNS					17									1
	Flurin Zegg				DNS														0

References

External links

• The official website of the British Formula 3 Championship