2016 Formula V8 3.5 championship winning team Arden Motorsport have announced their departure from the championship ahead of the 2017 season, with the team believing there is no room for both this category and the FIA Formula 2 Championship.
Formula V8 3.5 has seen a decline in entries since Renault withdrew its backing at the end of the 2015 season, with only twelve cars participating in the recent test at Motorland Aragon, with Arden amongst those struggling to attract drivers with sufficient budget in order to race.
Arden joined the category, then known as Formula Renault 3.5, back in 2012, and have taken race wins with Antonio Felix da Costa, Egor Orudzhev and Aurélien Panis in that time, with the last two having race for the outfit last year, taking seven wins between them and ensuring the Constructors’ title.
“We don’t think there’s room at the top for Formula 2 and Formula V8,” said general manager Julian Rouse to Autosport. “We told the organisers about two months ago that we wouldn’t be doing it, but kept it quiet out of respect for them.
“We’ve had a good relationship with them over the past few years, and after winning the championship last year it’s nice to come out of it on top and look back on it with fond memories.”
