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Formula racing in iRacing can be tackled from a number of angles. All iRacing subscribers can get their first taste of an open-wheeled car with the Formula Vee car included in an iRacing subscription. This, in my opinion, is one of the most enjoyable cars for starting any iRacing career, and it is a great way of earning your first Class D license.
If you wish to continue in an open-wheeled car after graduating from Formula Vee, you can take a few new paths. Popular series include the Formula 1600 Fixed series. This is another rookie series that uses a car similar to the Formula Vee, the Ray FF1600.
Moving out of the Rookie series and into Class D, you have the more aerodynamic-dependent open-wheeled FIA Formula 4 Challenge series. This is the next logical step on the path to the Formula A series and is the most popular Class D formula series.
In this guide, I’m going to examine the Formula 4 car in detail. I’ll discuss the car’s characteristics and how to improve your lap times with it. I’ll also examine the series you can use the car in and how much it costs to participate in those series.
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Introducing the Formula 4 car
Which iRacing series use the F4 car?
How are Formula 4 races structured?
F4 car handling characteristics
Introducing the Formula 4 car
The current iteration of the FIA F4 car in iRacing was first introduced in 2022 as the second generation F4 car, and was developed to increase participation in open-wheeled motorsport globally.
It is the first high downforce-orientated open-wheeled car that you can jump into once you progress out of the Rookie license level. Aerodynamic and grip levels aren’t quite as high as with the Dallara F3 car, however, the FIA F4 is the perfect step up the ladder.
An overview of the Formula 4 car in iRacing
- Car: FIA F4
- Engine: 2000cc, inline 4-cylinder
- Power: 160bhp
- Transmission: 6-speed sequential
- Fuel tank: 40L
- Aerodynamics: Adjustable front and rear wings
What setup areas are adjustable on the FIA F4 car?
When using the FIA F4 car in an open series, you get a fair bit of adjustability over the car setup.
Aerodynamic adjustments
Adjusting the front and rear wing angles can change the aerodynamic setup for the front and rear of the car, varying the amount of downforce generated. This is a great way of tuning the car’s handling characteristics and prioritising front-end grip or rear stability.
Suspension adjustments
As well as the aero setup, you can adjust a lot of the suspension setup. Available changes include adjusting the anti-roll bar stiffness, the dampers and the spring rate. These changes will all affect how your car behaves over kerbs and bumps, and how the car handles weight balance changes.
You can also change the suspension geometry by adjusting the tyre camber, toe-in and the caster. Making changes to these areas will adjust the overall grip at specific points around a track as well as tyre temperature and wear.
Download our Formula 4 car setups for iRacing
Give yourself a head start with our optimised F4 car setups for the current iRacing season.
Our Formula 4 car setups include qualifying and a race setup along with a complete datapack including telemetry data, replay and delta files.
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Download F4 car setups
Which iRacing series use the F4 car?
There are currently a total of five different series that use the FIA F4 car in iRacing, and all of the series can be accessed with a Class D formula license. This gives sim racers a good choice of tracks to choose between, with each series highlighting tracks from different parts of the world.
The current series that you can participate in with the FIA F4 car are;
- FIA Formula 4 Challenge – Fixed
- FIA Formula 4 Challenge
- FIA F4 Esports Regional Tour – Asia Pacific
- FIA F4 Esports Regional Tour – Americas
- FIA F4 Esports Regional Tour – Europe
The FIA Formula 4 Challenge is by far the most popular of these series, with high participant counts each week in both the fixed and open series.
The three regional tour series use the same FIA F4 car and 20 minute race structure. However, they limit themselves to tracks from each specific region. It is great if you own a lot of content from one region, such as a lot of European tracks, and it can make participating in a Formula 4 series a little cheaper.
iRacing and FIA launch official FIA F4 eSports championship
The popularity of the Formula 4 series has reached the attention of both iRacing and the FIA, as the two brands have announced an official eSports championship using the FIA F4 car.
The championship starts in September 2024 as part of 2024S4, and features four events and eight rounds. Drivers will be able to compete for a $25,000 prize pool and each race will be broadcast live on iRacing’s own social channels.
Drivers can qualify for the eSports championship by competing in the FIA F4 Regional Rour series during 2024S3. The top 10 drivers from each of the three regional tours will be invited to join the global championship and compete for a share of the $25,000 prize.
How much does a complete Formula 4 series cost to run in iRacing?
Competing in any Formula 4 series will cost you some money, as the FIA F4 car isn’t included in an iRacing subscription. The car costs $11.95 and is the only required purchase to compete, as there are free tracks on the schedule of all Formula 4 series.
At the time of writing, the FIA Formula 4 Challenge series includes the highest number of free tracks, with six out of twelve tracks included as part of your membership. The remaining six tracks are all premium circuits, costing $14.95 each. It is worth noting that this cost can change each season as the tracks change and is based on 2024 Season 3.
This brings the grand total to compete in the FIA Formula 4 Challenge to $101.65 before bulk discounts are applied.
- FIA F4 car = $11.95
- 6 x premium tracks = $14.95 x 6 = $89.70
- Total cost to compete in FIA Formula 4 Challenge = $101.65
Learn how to save money iRacing by using bulk discounts.
Participating in the FIA F4 regional tours can be a good way to save money if you already own some of the tracks. However, if you don’t own any additional iRacing content, these series can be even more costly than the FIA Formula 4 Challenge, as some of the circuits used are less popular premium tracks.
How are Formula 4 races structured?
Formula 4 races are designed to use a sprint race format, promoting close racing with less emphasis on race strategy. The races are 20 minutes long and use a standing start, much like most Formula series.
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There aren’t any mandatory pit stop requirements, and the slick tyres generally last an entire race session. This lets you race hard from the start until the finish without managing tyre wear or fuel levels.
Due to the popularity of the FIA Formula 4 series, races are scheduled to start at quarter to the hour, every two hours. The fixed and open series alternate their start times to ensure that every hour, there is a new race starting. This structure means at 4:45pm, 6:45pm, 8:45pm etc, you will have an open FIA F4 race, and at 3:45pm, 5:45pm, 7:45pm, you will have a new fixed race starting.
F4 car handling characteristics
The Formula 4 car is heavily reliant on the downforce generated from its front and rear wing, which is a big departure from the Formula Vee and Formula 1600 cars in the Rookie series.
This reliance on downforce allows the F4 car to carry much higher speeds through medium and high-speed corners. The slick tyres generate an excellent grip, emphasising higher cornering speeds.
With a lot of downforce and limited power, the FIA F4 car is a lot of fun to drive and can be very forgiving. It can be set up with higher levels of downforce to ensure you won’t suffer too much from understeer or oversteer, letting you attack most tracks. With that said, the FIA F4 car shouldn’t be taken too lightly, as you can lose control easily if you push too hard.
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Article written by Rich
Founder of SimRacingSetups.com
Rich is the co-founder, and one of the main F1 setup creators and content writers for SimRacingSetups. With over a decade of experience as a graphic designer, marketing director, competitive sim racer and avid motorsport fan, Rich founded SimRacingSetup.com to share his passion and knowledge of sim racing and Formula 1 with other sim racers.
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