2017 Formula Virtual World Championship

2017 FVA Formula Virtual World Championship season
Drivers' Champion: Nathaniel Powers
Constructors' Champions: Downton
Previous: 2016	Next: 2018
Top tier: FV • IndyVirtual
Second tier: FV2 • VWRS
Third tier: FV3 • VERS • VARS • VOARS

The 2017 Formula Virtual season is the fifth season of the Formula Virtual World Championship. The series is a virtual motor racing championship run by Nic Morley for members of the F1 Fanatic website and is recognised by the Formula Virtual Association (FVA) governing body as the highest class of competition for virtual motor racing. Teams and drivers are participating in eighteen V-Prix's starting in Australia on 26 March and finishing in Brazil on 3 December as they compete for the World Drivers' and World Constructors' championships.

Adrien Simon started the season as the reigning Drivers' Champion, after winning his first title in the last race of 2016, but was knocked out of contention to retain it at the Canadian V-Prix. His team DS Mathershaw started the season as the defending Constructors' champions, having secured their first title at the 2016 Mexican V-Prix.

2013 Champion Nathaniel Powers became the first driver to win multiple titles, beating his rookie team mate Klaas van Snelheid by two points at the final race of the season in Brazil. Powers had the most wins with 7, poles with 10 and points with 286 - and set season records for all of them, while van Snelheid took six wins in his maiden campaign, the first of which came in only his third career start at the Japanese V-Prix. Defending Champion Adrien Simon finished third overall and was the only non-Downton driver to take multiple wins.

As a result of their dominance, Downton won their maiden Constructors' Championship in Bahrain with four races to go and ended the season on 570 points, 263 clear of DS Mathershaw. The final race saw a change for third place as former Champions Franklin overcame Westwood to finish ahead by just four points.

Teams and drivers

The following teams and drivers are currently scheduled to participate in the fifth season of the Formula Virtual World Championship.

Team	Constructor	Chassis	Engine	Tyre	No.	Race Drivers	Rounds	No.	Reserve Driver(s)
DS Automobiles Team Mathershaw	DS Mathershaw	RJM-005	Downton DS-2017	G	1	Adrien Simon	All	23	Thierry Xylander
					2	Allar Kangur	All
Meteor International FV Team	Meteor-Virgin	MM17	Virgin-VM02	G	5	Johan Halvosen	All	44	Jamie Gerrard
					6	Stuart Harrison	All
Finland's Ultimate Nordic FV Team	FUN-Volvo	FUN-510W	Volvo V12-900/17	G	3	Carson Davenport	All	34	Yrjänä Vähäsöyrinki
					4	Olen Inman	All
Franklin Honda	Franklin-Honda	JF-05	Honda VA1217E	G	11	Enrique Ruiz	All	18	Rodolfo de la Fuente
					12	Jochem van Snelheid	1–3
						Puccio Giodano	4–18
Ingram Grand Prix	Ingram-Honda	IGP Kestrel	Honda VA1217E	G	37	Nikolai Milkovich	1–5, 7–18	39	Diego Campos
						Diego Campos	6
					38	Jean Mattson	1–15, 17–18
						Diego Campos	16
Lopez FV Team	Lopez-Downton	DL-02	Downton DS-2017	G	25	Elroy Wagner	All	77	Viktor Östberg
					26	James Harding [N 1]	All
						Viktor Östberg	5
Lufthansa AMR	AMR	AMR-FV-3	AMR-APUXX17	G	91	Felix Beyer	All	93	Jarod Lindsey Dmytro Kovalenko
					92	Will Hoskins	All
Westwood Racing	Westwood-Renault	WR05	Renault RV17	G	69	Tumo Kinnumen	All	98	Nikolajis Christodoulou
					70	Finn Schnyder	All
Downton FV Team	Downton	BD05	Downton DS-2017	G	13	Klaas van Snelheid	All	17	Marcus Thunder
					14	Nathaniel Powers	All
Ocelot Japan Racing	Ocelot-Honda	Tempest	Honda VA1217E	G	81	Puccio Giodano	1–3	24	Enzo Domenicalli
						Jochem van Snelheid	4–18
					82	Karl Beckenbauer	1–9
						Aleksy Nowosinki	10–18
FIRST Motorsport	FIRST-Ford	Transform 17	Ford Zephyr 168	G	73	Arden Hutchinson	All	75	Oleksandr Zozulya
					74	Douglas Bacon	1–4
						Oleksandr Zozulya	5–18
North Star Racing	North Star-BMW	NSR-V02	BMW MPE-17	G	9	Judson Sikes	All	19	Gabriele García
					10	Aleksy Nowosinki	1–9
						Karl Beckenbauer	10–18
Olsbergs Team Holmqvist	Holmqvist-Renault	FH-002	Renault RV17	G	51	Aron Einarsson	1–5	53	Sebastian Bergkvist
						Lewis Ellington	6–18
					52	Kiara Thunder	1–7
						Hugh Dwyer	8–18

^{[N 1]} Harding was entered in the French V-Prix, but withdrew following practice.

Team changes

• Downton and DS announced they would withdraw their engine supply for 2017, forcing Lopez and Ocelot to look elsewhere. Ocelot later entered into a technical partnership with Franklin, and confirmed they would run with Honda engines, while DS and Downton reversed their decision to not supply Lopez.
• Westwood decided against running their own engines for a fourth season and instead returned to being a customer, provided with engines by Renault in a link-up with Holmqvist.
• FUN switched engine suppliers from Yamaha to Volvo, who will make their debut in the series as an engine supplier.

Driver changes

• Judson Sikes - who had been on loan at North Star from Ocelot in 2016 - remained with the team after they brought out his contract.
• Enzo Domenicalli will return to the series as reserve driver for Ocelot after his horror accident in the 2015 Japanese V-Prix that - combined with Rossi's withdrawal from the championship - ruled him out of the 2016 season.
• Having raced with the team in 2016, Kiara Thunder will remain with Holmqvist after they purchased her contract from Downton.
• Marcus Thunder will step down to reserve driver duties at Downton and instead switch to IndyVirtual. He will be replaced by Klaas van Snelheid, who will move up to the series from FV2.
• Oleksandr Zozulya will be promoted by FIRST to be their reserve driver, replacing Jamie Gerrard who will return to Meteor as reserve driver.
• Elroy Wagner will leave Franklin after two seasons to switch to Lopez, replacing Jochem van Snelheid who will leave the team to go the other way and take Wagner's seat at Franklin. Abel Osterhagen will also leave Lopez while Viktor Östberg joins as reserve driver, replacing Osterhagen.
• Olen Inman will leave DS Mathershaw after a single season and switch to FUN, replacing Will Hoskins who left the team after joining part-way through the 2016 season.
• DS Mathershaw reserve driver Allar Kangur will replace Inman at the team while former youth driver Thierry Xylander will fill the reserve role.
• Finn Schnyder is set to be promoted by Westwood to the race team alongside Tumo Kinnumen, while Nikolajis Christodoulou - who was parachuted into the seat to replace Kip Maxwell midway through 2016 - will step back to the reserve duty he filled at the start of the previous season.
• Having left FUN, Will Hoskins was later announced at AMR driving alongside Felix Beyer. The team also signed Dmytro Kovalenko as a second reserve driver after he left Downton.
• Jacinto van Slooten left his position of reserve driver at North Star and was replaced by Gabriele García.
• Rodolfo de la Fuente was promoted by Franklin to the reserve driver role, replacing Felipe Cesar who left the team to race in IndyVirtual.

Mid-season changes

• Following the 2017 Japanese V-Prix - in which Franklin team boss Jamie Franklin was critical of Jochem van Snelheid's performance - it was announced they had agreed a deal with technical partners Ocelot to switch van Snelheid with Puccio Giodano for the remainder of the season.
• Prior to the 2017 French V-Prix it was announced Oleksandr Zozulya would replace Douglas Bacon as race driver at FIRST for the remainder of the season, with Bacon stepping back into the reserve role.
• After practice for the French V-Prix, it was announced by Lopez that James Harding was still suffering the effects of the crash at the previous round in China, and would be replaced for the race by the teams reserve driver Viktor Östberg.
• Following the French V-Prix, Holmqvist announced they were to part company with Aron Einarsson with immediate effect. The day after, it was confirmed a deal had been agreed with IndyVirtual team Kannan GP to swap Einarsson and Lewis Ellington for the remainder of the season.
• On 11th May Ingram announced reserve driver Diego Campos was to make two final race appearances before leaving the team at the end of the season. Campos will take over Nikolai Milkovich's car for his home race in Spain and Jean Mattson's in the United States - the scene of his and the team's maiden victory in 2014.
• In the build-up to the Austrian V-Prix, Holmqvist announced that Hugh Dwyer would join the team replacing Kiara Thunder, who would go the other way to take Dwyer's seat at Grip Autosport in IndyVirtual for the remainder of the season.
• Following the British V-Prix it was announced by North Star that their driver Aleksy Nowosinki would be leaving the team with immediate effect in a deal to swap him for the remainder of the season with Ocelot driver Karl Beckenbauer.

Calendar

The following eighteen events are scheduled to take place in 2017.

Round	V-Prix	Circuit	Date
1	Australian V-Prix	Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit, Phillip Island	26 March
2	Malaysian V-Prix	Sepang International Circuit, Kuala Lumpur	2 April
3	Japanese V-Prix	Fuji Speedway, Oyama	16 April
4	Chinese V-Prix	Shanghai International Circuit, Shanghai	23 April
5	French V-Prix	Circuit Paul Ricard, Le Castellet	7 May
6	Spanish V-Prix	Circuito Permanente de Jerez, Jerez de la Frontera	21 May
7	German V-Prix	Hockenheimring, Hockenheim	5 June *
8	Austrian V-Prix	Red Bull Ring, Spielberg	25 June
9	British V-Prix	Silverstone Circuit, Silverstone	9 July
10	Belgian V-Prix	Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps, Francorchamps	30 July
11	Italian V-Prix	Autodromo Nazionale Monza, Monza	6 August
12	Portuguese V-Prix	Autodromo do Estoril, Estoril	17 September
13	Turkish V-Prix	Istanbul Park, Istanbul	24 September
14	Bahrain V-Prix	Bahrain International Circuit, Sakhir	15 October
15	Canadian V-Prix	Circuit Gilles Villeneuve, Montreal	29 October
16	United States V-Prix	Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Indianapolis	5 November
17	Mexican V-Prix	Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez, Mexico City	26 November
18	Brazilian V-Prix	Autódromo José Carlos Pace, São Paulo	3 December

^* The German V-Prix was due to run on 4 June, however track break-up caused the postponement of the race until 5 June.

Calendar changes

• The Austrian V-Prix returned to the calendar after a two year absence - once again taking place at the Red Bull Ring in Austria - replacing the Dutch V-Prix.

• The Australian V-Prix was set to be once again held at the Albert Park circuit, however complications with the agreement saw the race moved to Phillip Island.

Rule changes

Driver/car ratio

The driver/car ratio will be amended ahead of the season to place more emphasis on driver skill as opposed to car performance than there has been for the 2015 & 2016 seasons. While development will still be very important, drivers will now be able to make more of a difference.

Tyres

After two seasons both Michelin and Firestone will depart the series as it makes a return to a sole tyre manufacturer, as was the case in 2013 & 2014. This sole manufacturer will be Goodyear, who make their debut in Formula Virtual at the first race of the season.

Bidding

The option for a team to withdraw a bid on a driver was removed before the season, ensuring teams would only bid on drivers they were genuinely interested in signing. Each team will be allowed one 'joker' bid that they can withdraw, but only if approved by Nic Morley.

Driver retirements

Any driver who is aged 32 or older and is not re-signed at least two races before the end of a season, will officially retire from Formula Virtual. All drivers will automatically retire at the end of the season in which they turn 38 years old. Teams cannot prematurely retire drivers.

Driver improvement points

With the introduction of a driver retirement age, the improvement points age bands were amended as follows:

• 28 and under: +2%
• 32 and under: +1%
• 34 and under: +0%
• 36 and under: -1%
• 37 and under: -2%

Added to each ability area.

Finances

Driver prices will undergo big changes akin to those in 2014 when they were severely reduced. The driver prices from 2017 onwards are:

• 1st: £10,000,000
• 2nd: £9,500,000
• 3rd: £9,000,000
• 4th: £8,500,000
• 5th: £8,000,000
• 6th: £7,500,000
• 7th: £7,000,000
• 8th: £6,500,000
• 9th: £6,000,000
• 10th: £5,500,000
• 11th: £5,000,000
• 12th: £4,500,000
• 13th: £4,000,000
• 14th: £3,500,000
• 15th: £3,000,000
• 16th: £2,500,000
• 17th: £2,000,000
• 18th: £1,750,000
• 19th: £1,500,000
• 20th: £1,250,000
• 21st: £1,000,000
• 22nd: £900,000
• 23rd: £800,000
• 24th: £700,000
• 25th: £600,000
• 26th and below: £500,000

Season report

Pre-season

• See also: 2017 Formula Virtual pre-season testing

Results and standings

V-Prix's

Round	V-Prix	Pole position	Fastest lap	Winning driver	Winning constructor	Report
1	Australian V-Prix	Nathaniel Powers	Enrique Ruiz	Enrique Ruiz	Franklin-Honda	Report
2	Malaysian V-Prix	Jochem van Snelheid	Adrien Simon	Adrien Simon	DS Mathershaw	Report
3	Japanese V-Prix	Nathaniel Powers	Klaas van Snelheid	Klaas van Snelheid	Downton	Report
4	Chinese V-Prix	Klaas van Snelheid	Klaas van Snelheid	Nathaniel Powers	Downton	Report
5	French V-Prix	Nathaniel Powers	Nathaniel Powers	Klaas van Snelheid	Downton	Report
6	Spanish V-Prix	Nathaniel Powers	Nathaniel Powers	Nathaniel Powers	Downton	Report
7	German V-Prix	Puccio Giodano	Adrien Simon	Nathaniel Powers	Downton	Report
8	Austrian V-Prix	Nathaniel Powers	Klaas van Snelheid	Klaas van Snelheid	Downton	Report
9	British V-Prix	Puccio Giodano	Nathaniel Powers	Nathaniel Powers	Downton	Report
10	Belgian V-Prix	Nathaniel Powers	Nathaniel Powers	Klaas van Snelheid	Downton	Report
11	Italian V-Prix	Klaas van Snelheid	Klaas van Snelheid	Klaas van Snelheid	Downton	Report
12	Portuguese V-Prix	Enrique Ruiz	Klaas van Snelheid	Nathaniel Powers	Downton	Report
13	Turkish V-Prix	Nathaniel Powers	Allar Kangur	Adrien Simon	DS Mathershaw	Report
14	Bahrain V-Prix	Nathaniel Powers	Klaas van Snelheid	Nathaniel Powers	Downton	Report
15	Canadian V-Prix	Puccio Giodano	Enrique Ruiz	Karl Beckenbauer	North Star-BMW	Report
16	United States V-Prix	Klaas van Snelheid	Nathaniel Powers	Allar Kangur	DS Mathershaw	Report
17	Mexican V-Prix	Nathaniel Powers	Hugh Dwyer	Klaas van Snelheid	Downton	Report
18	Brazilian V-Prix	Nathaniel Powers	Hugh Dwyer	Nathaniel Powers	Downton	Report

Drivers' standings

Points are awarded to the top ten classified finishers using the following structure:

Position	1st	2nd	3rd	4th	5th	6th	7th	8th	9th	10th
Points	25	18	15	12	10	8	6	4	2	1

Pos Driver AUS MAL JPN CHN FRA ESP GER AUT GBR BEL ITA POR TUR BHR CAN USA MEX BRA Points 1 Nathaniel Powers 4 Ret 4 1 2 1 1 Ret 1 2 Ret 1 2 1 2 21 3 1 286 2 Klaas van Snelheid 5 Ret 1 2 1 2 4 1 2 1 1 3 Ret 6 6 4 1 3 284 3 Adrien Simon 2 1 2 Ret 3 6 2 Ret 8 Ret 6 13 1 4 24 2 2 8 191 4 Enrique Ruiz 1 Ret 8 12 4 8 11 6 3 8 10 2 Ret 7 3 3 4 5 149 5 Tumo Kinnumen 9 4 7 6 6 5 Ret 7 6 4 2 6 5 3 8 13 21 13 127 6 Allar Kangur 3 Ret 3 8 5 9 3 Ret 11 6 8 14 Ret 2 Ret 1 16 Ret 116 7 Finn Schnyder 10 3 6 4 11 20 7 8 Ret 10 Ret 4 3 5 5 5 13 10 105 8 Arden Hutchinson 14 7 10 3 9 3 5 4 9 5 11 Ret 8 12 9 12 6 4 99 9 Karl Beckenbauer 19 12 Ret Ret 21 23 17 15 21 3 9 5 4 10 1 7 24 6 79 10 Oleksandr Zozulya TD TD 8 19 DSQ 2 10 7 3 7 13 8 13 9 9 2 76 11 Puccio Giodano 20 18 20 Ret 7 Ret 6 Ret 5 12 4 10 Ret 9 4 6 15 9 61 12 Hugh Dwyer 3 4 11 Ret 8 6 15 10 22 5 12 50 13 Lewis Ellington 7 Ret 5 Ret 9 5 12 7 Ret 12 8 7 7 50 14 Will Hoskins 15 6 9 5 15 4 12 Ret Ret 18 Ret 11 11 13 11 11 10 11 33 15 Judson Sikes 7 13 Ret 10 20 10 8 10 Ret 24 7 9 10 11 7 10 8 Ret 33 16 Jochem van Snelheid 6 2 11 16 23 22 15 18 22 23 19 22 20 Ret 22 Ret 23 Ret 26 17 Elroy Wagner 8 Ret 5 9 12 11 Ret 16 12 13 12 15 9 17 14 15 11 21 18 18 Kiara Thunder Ret 5 Ret 19 24 12 9 12 19 Felix Beyer 11 9 12 7 18 Ret 10 17 16 17 14 18 15 14 16 16 14 15 9 20 Aleksy Nowosinki 12 10 14 13 14 24 Ret 9 7 Ret Ret Ret 21 20 23 20 Ret Ret 9 21 James Harding Ret 8 15 Ret PO 14 18 Ret 14 14 Ret 16 Ret 18 25 14 17 19 4 22 Aron Einarsson 13 Ret Ret 11 10 1 23 Stuart Harrison 18 16 17 Ret 16 13 16 11 Ret 15 Ret 19 14 Ret 17 23 18 16 0 24 Douglas Bacon Ret 11 13 Ret TD 0 25 Johan Halvosen Ret 15 16 14 17 16 13 12 13 16 13 20 12 Ret 15 Ret 12 Ret 0 26 Olen Inman Ret 14 21 15 22 15 Ret 13 19 19 15 17 17 16 21 19 Ret 18 0 27 Viktor Östberg TD 13 TD TD TD 0 28 Carson Davenport 16 17 Ret Ret Ret 17 Ret 14 15 20 18 Ret 16 Ret 20 18 20 14 0 29 Jean Mattson 21 19 18 17 19 18 14 Ret 18 22 16 23 18 Ret 19 19 20 0 30 Nikolai Milkovich 17 20 19 18 Ret Ret Ret 17 21 17 21 19 19 18 24 22 17 0 31 Diego Campos 21 17 0 Pos Driver AUS MAL JPN CHN FRA ESP GER AUT GBR BEL ITA POR TUR BHR CAN USA MEX BRA Points

Key Colour Result Gold Winner Silver 2nd place Bronze 3rd place Green Points finish Blue Non-points finish Purple Classified retirement Did not finish (Ret) Red Did not qualify (DNQ) Black Disqualified (DSQ) White Did not start (DNS) Race cancelled (C) Blank Did not practice (DNP) Excluded (EX) Did not arrive (DNA) Withdrawn (WD)

Constructors' standings

Pos. Constructor Car No. AUS MAL JPN CHN FRA ESP GER AUT GBR BEL ITA POR TUR BHR CAN USA MEX BRA Points 1 Downton 13 5 Ret 1 2 1 2 4 1 2 1 1 3 Ret 6 6 4 1 3 570 14 4 Ret 4 1 2 1 1 Ret 1 2 Ret 1 2 1 2 21 3 1 2 DS Mathershaw 1 2 1 2 Ret 3 6 2 Ret 8 Ret 6 13 1 4 24 2 2 8 307 2 3 Ret 3 8 5 9 3 Ret 11 6 8 14 Ret 2 Ret 1 16 Ret 3 Franklin-Honda 11 1 Ret 8 12 4 8 11 6 3 8 10 2 Ret 7 3 3 4 5 236 12 6 2 11 Ret 7 Ret 6 Ret 5 12 4 10 Ret 9 4 6 15 9 4 Westwood-Renault 69 9 4 7 6 6 5 Ret 7 6 4 2 6 5 3 8 13 21 13 232 70 10 3 6 4 11 20 7 8 Ret 10 Ret 4 3 5 5 5 13 10 5 FIRST-Ford 73 14 7 10 3 9 3 5 4 9 5 11 Ret 8 12 9 12 6 4 175 74 Ret 11 13 Ret 8 19 DSQ 2 10 7 3 7 13 8 13 9 9 2 6 North Star-BMW 9 7 13 Ret 10 20 10 8 10 Ret 24 7 9 10 11 7 10 8 Ret 121 10 12 10 14 13 14 24 Ret 9 7 3 9 5 4 10 1 7 24 6 7 Holmqvist-Renault 51 13 Ret Ret 11 10 7 Ret 5 Ret 9 5 12 7 Ret 12 8 7 7 113 52 Ret 5 Ret 19 24 12 9 3 4 11 Ret 8 6 15 10 22 5 12 8 AMR 91 11 9 12 7 18 Ret 10 17 16 17 14 18 15 14 16 16 14 15 42 92 15 6 9 5 15 4 12 Ret Ret 18 Ret 11 11 13 11 11 10 11 9 Lopez-Downton 25 8 Ret 5 9 12 11 Ret 16 12 13 12 15 9 17 14 15 11 21 22 26 Ret 8 15 Ret 13 14 18 Ret 14 14 Ret 16 Ret 18 25 14 17 19 10 Meteor-Virgin 5 Ret 15 16 14 17 16 13 12 13 16 13 20 12 Ret 15 Ret 12 Ret 0 6 18 16 17 Ret 16 13 16 11 Ret 15 Ret 19 14 Ret 17 23 18 16 11 Ocelot-Honda 81 20 18 20 16 23 22 15 18 22 23 19 22 20 Ret 22 Ret 23 Ret 0 82 19 12 Ret Ret 21 23 17 15 21 Ret Ret Ret 21 20 23 20 Ret Ret 12 FUN-Volvo 3 16 17 Ret Ret Ret 17 Ret 14 15 20 18 Ret 16 Ret 20 18 20 14 0 4 Ret 14 21 15 22 15 Ret 13 19 19 15 17 17 16 21 19 Ret 18 13 Ingram-Honda 37 17 20 19 18 Ret 21 Ret Ret 17 21 17 21 19 19 18 24 22 17 0 38 21 19 18 17 19 18 14 Ret 18 22 16 23 18 Ret 19 17 19 20 Pos Constructor Car No. AUS MAL JPN CHN FRA ESP GER AUT GBR BEL ITA POR TUR BHR CAN USA MEX BRA Points

Key Colour Result Gold Winner Silver 2nd place Bronze 3rd place Green Points finish Blue Non-points finish Purple Classified retirement Did not finish (Ret) Red Did not qualify (DNQ) Black Disqualified (DSQ) White Did not start (DNS) Race cancelled (C) Blank Did not practice (DNP) Excluded (EX) Did not arrive (DNA) Withdrawn (WD)

External links

• The official website of Formula Virtual
• The forum
• The finances websites