Mygale F4 racer 2015 Review

Do you know who’ll be the next Mark Weber, Daniel Riccardo or Will Power? Chances are the answer’s no.

In fact, there’s only one thing harder than picking the next Australian to make a name for him or herself on the world open-wheel racing car stage, and that’s actually doing it.

The road to Formula One is anything but easy. Even if you put aside the need to find literally millions of dollars worth of sponsorship to ease your way, there’s been anything but a clear path in terms of racing classes.

But racing’s international governing body, Federation Internationale de l’Automobile (FIA), is aiming to change that with the formalisation of a graded licensing structure that is designed to award those racers that progress through FIA affiliated series on the way to F1.

The first step along the way is the new ‘nursery’ grade, Formula 4 — and Australia is one of the first nations to adopt the series.

The new formula kicks off later in 2015 with a seven-round series that will run a grid of up to 20 of the strictly-controlled open-wheelers at selected rounds of the V8 Supercars circus.

Behind the series is local governing body Confederation of Australian Motor Sport (CAMS), which has taken the unprecedented step of purchasing the brand-new F4 cars from their manufacturer, Mygale.

CAMS will lease the cars to up and coming racers and -- with series sponsor, caravan and RV giant Jayco -- will offer one of the richest prizes in Australian racing for the inaugural championship winner.

Mind you, there is catch — to be eligible to win the potential $250,000 purse, you’ll have to be under 19. No better illustration of the point of the whole exercise — to find and foster new Australian racing talent.

Designed as a stepping stone to a European F4 or even F3 drive, the Jayco Australian F4 Championship will be strictly controlled.

The cars are identical, as are the Fiesta ST-based engines and six-speed sequential gearboxes that power them. Although drivers are free to set up their cars individually, suspension and braking systems are also controlled. All cars will run identical Hankook tyres.

Youngsters can sign on with a number of teams that will specialise in running the cars, or build up their own operation. CAMS retains ownership of the cars and is the sole ‘sales’ agent Down Under.

The number of test days will also be strictly controlled — six are planned. Long-time professional racer and CAMS General Manager of Motor Sport Development Cameron McConville will coordinate the championship on behalf of the governing body.

It was McConville, along with Karl Reindler and Euro F3 participant Anton DePasquale, who were on hand to steward motoring.com.au through its all too brief experience of the pocket-sized F4 racer at Winton Motor Raceway in north eastern Victoria.

They may be entry-level racers designed to ease the transition from kart to proper wings-and-slicks open-wheeler, but little on four-wheels prepares you for your first experience of an open-wheeler — even a well behaved and forgiving car like the Mygale F4.

The closest I’ve come is riding high-performance motorcycles — such is the direct connection between human and machine.

Alas the connection wasn’t perfect in the case of my F4 drive. In preparation of accommodating a range of drivers, the F4 crew had pushed the pedal box forward out of my reach. At very first flush, I thought I’d miss out.

Extra padding and an even more supine driving position than normal allowed me to reach the clutch, brake and throttle pedals — just. It was far from ideal but at least it meant I could get a couple of laps.

Those familiar with open-wheelers (not me) reckon the F4 cockpit is on the large side and the room in the tunnel (around the pedals) significantly more than most F3 designs.

It still felt pretty tight to me and coupled with my ‘lay back and think of Silverstone' driving position, meant that even the steering wheel-mounted gearshift indicator was hard to see.

Once underway the all-important button on the lower half of the yoke that would allow me to select neutral or reverse if I miscued, was gone. The starter and ignition low on the left under the cowl was a find-by-feel-only prospect.

One slip-up and I’d be stranded, unable to see to restart the car.

As it was I shouldn't have worried. At the modest pace I was lapping, the F4 was a sweetie — albeit one that, with a couple of notable exceptions, needed considerable muscle to tend.

Power assistance is an anathema in open-wheelers so the clutch, brakes and steering are all 100 per cent manual. And in the F4 all are big-car heavy. The clutch has a super-narrow take up point. The brakes require a very substantial push and the steering will have your arms screaming enough in a few laps.

In contrast, as tested, the F4’s throttle was feather-light — so much so that on Winton’s two longer right-handers the g effect on the weight of your foot was enough to make it feel like the throttle was sticking.

Requiring the lightest of touches too were the electrically actuated shift paddles. Road car makers like to say their shifts are effortless and fast but they need to take a look at how the racing world relates to these terms.

There's no heavy spring or detente on the F4’s paddles so just a one-finger brush is enough. Any other time it’s best not even resting your digit on the thin alloy blade.

Upshifts are full-throttle and downshifts are probably best done with a slight manual throttle blip. Had I fitted the car better I would have been tempted to left-foot brake to make this easier but as it was I was just happy to be out there.

It’s hard to convey just how direct the connection is with the front wheels. A road car — even the very best racier versions thereof — has an essential delay between the time you turn the wheel, the car moves and settles on its suspension and then reacts and turns. The F4 dials this process back to milliseconds.

There’s no body roll to mention and the turn initiation feels instantaneous. It’s first noticed as your helmeted head gets shoved in the opposite direction to the corner.

If you get the turn-in right you're rewarded with the apex of the corner disappearing under the front tyre. With all the grip (at my pace), you’re able to pick up what feels like 100 per cent of the throttle right from the apex.

But the weight of the steering is such that if you get the initial turn-in wrong, it’s almost impossible to wind on more lock. I almost ran wide the first two times around the right-left half loops on the back half of Winton’s layout.

That direct connection is no less noticeable in the straights. As speed increases it’s important to keep your hands firm but soft, as it’s easy to amplify any movement over lumps and bumps.

The only corners I felt it prudent to test the braking ability of the Mygale were the old Turn One and the left-hander off the back straight. At my pace there was never even a hint of lock-up and although I thought I was being brave enough, truth is I could have increased my speed and halved braking distances and still easily made it around.

The difference in familiarity with this sort of car and outright ability was amply demonstrated when McConville and then DePasquale jumped into the little F4 and reeled off laps that were properly fast.

It was pleasing at least to hear both of them comment that throttle and steering weighting is something they will work on with Mygale before the season starts.

McConville was concerned the young karters coming through, in particular, would have trouble racing with the steering weight as it was.

There are racing pundits that question whether CAMS should be involved in the promotion of F4, or indeed, whether the formula is the right way to go for Australian racing. I'll leave that discussion to those better equipped to argue the pros and cons.

Aussie racers, it seems, are voting with their wallets — already CAMS says around 12 of the 20 seats available for the 2015 title are filled, at a cost of around $180,000 each.

Whether the series finds the next Ricciardo is yet to be determined. If the racing ends up as close as predicted, F4 will at the very least put open-wheel racing back on the casual motorsport fan’s agenda. And that has to be a positive step.

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