For the 16-year-old, the only uncertainty turned out to be when rather than whether he would win the championship, which was strangely determined by the number of cars that appeared in the first race of the final round.

O'Sullivan is no stranger to unusual championship conclusions. He cruelly missed the British Formula 4 Championship with Carlin in 2020. At that time, the result of the last race was postponed by a lap due to the red flag changing the championship result. .

He decided to stay in the UK for his second single-seater racing season instead of racing in Europe and enter GB3 with Carlin, or then known as BRDC British Formula Three.

After continuing to win the championship with a dominant style, Formula Scout caught up with O'Sullivan at the end of the season.

"There are three main factors," O'Sullivan told Formula Scout of his decision to participate in the GB3 competition this year. "Some of them are affected by COVID-19. GB3 is not as expensive as other alternatives.

"The game is still there. This is a very, very competitive series-in qualifying, the top five are covered by two out of ten. And, for me, this is also a way to stay with Carlin. Opportunity. I think the relationship between the two sides is progressing very well, even if the F4 year was not so good."

O'Sullivan retained the same racing engineer in his F4 race. He went all out in the season opener, finishing third in the first race, and then from Chris Dietman Racing Team’s Al The spectacular first lap collision between Dun Simmons and Hitech GP's Bad Horsten took advantage of his first victory in the second race.

Despite giving Brands Hatch a point lead, O'Sullivan admitted that he was not completely satisfied at the time because he felt that he could not achieve the maximum result in qualifying.

"I think Brands could have done better. If I remember correctly, we only had one set of tires in qualifying, which cost us pole position.

"From the beginning, we were strong and won a race at Brands. Then we were very stable at Silverstone."

In the second round of the Silverstone circuit two more podiums, where he was forced to play Hitech's Reece Ushijima's second violin, who won pole position in both races.

In the third round of Donington Park, O’Sullivan truly established his authority for the first time this season, turning a double stroke into a victory in the first and second games, and then in the reverse race. Collided with Udo and retired. At the end of the season, he will win two more victories on the track, which makes him struggling in F4, which surprised him.

"Yeah, it's unexpected. I don't really like driving it. I have been trying to get good results in the past. It seems to be more effective for GB3 cars, so it goes well. We have been here twice, I was here on Thursday and Friday I was struggling a bit, but then I passed the qualifying and the match was also lost, so it’s great to have four victories here now."

The other double podium was completed during the traditional annual trek to Spa-Francorchamps in the championship. His teammate Christian Mansell won the first game by a rainy day. People's attention, Roman Bilinsky is the same, he won the first victory for Arden. Game two.

The early showers in the next qualifying round at Snetterton prevented some drivers from quickly entering the lap. O'Sullivan left in the first race and was ranked 7th. Fortec Motorsports won the pole position. Ollie Bearman) played for the second time this season.

This season's second collision with Udo Island put O'Sullivan in 17th place after a flat tire, but the fact that his opponent failed to complete the game limited his points lead.

"Two of the accidents (that happened during the season) were my champion opponents, so they were his fault, so it was not too expensive for me," O'Sullivan said. "If someone is going to hit me, he is the best person. Obviously, losing points is disappointing, but again, it could be worse."

Hitech's Sebastian Alvarez led O'Sullivan in the second game and won his only victory of the year, and O'Sullivan followed in the third game. This result was repeated, and he was on the podium twice in a row for the fifth round.

“Every time I don’t score, the next game is usually a good result. I try to recover as much as possible from any DNF we have. Consistency is the key. I’ve spent most of the season This was done, but not on other occasions."

O'Sullivan did not perform well in qualifying for his second visit to Silverstone this year, and another accident with a Hitech driver-this time Alvarez-put him in the first race Close to the back row again.

Simmons returned to form after experiencing difficult results and won the double crown, while Ford Formula 1600 star Jonathan Brown made Hillspeed's debut year with an outstanding podium in the first race.

After the top three collided in front of him, O'Sullivan saved a victory in a reversing race and, with the help of some of the closest chasers, who had a difficult weekend, was not far from the title of O'Sullivan. Leton Park played the penultimate round.

Winning pole position in the first game gave him a chance to win the championship in the remaining round. However, while vying for the lead with his 2020 F4 champion opponent Luke Browning (Luke Browning), he played a one-time GB3 game for Fortec after several tests-he made a rare mistake , And suffered his second retirement this season.

This will prove to be an important non-score. After climbing to sixth in the reverse grid race, O'Sullivan thought he had done enough to win the championship, but when he returned to the pit he was told he was four points short.

Due to the position obtained in the third game, a total of 26 points per round-based on the theoretical maximum of 27 cars entering-if there are fewer than 23 cars entering, O'Sullivan will even start in the final round Become a champion before.

This is indeed what happened. Twenty-one cars participated in the qualifying for the Donington Park final-this is the joint record for the series-which means O'Sullivan has done enough.

"It's very long and weird," O'Sullivan revealed the six weeks of waiting after Alton Park to determine whether he is the champion. "Some celebrations, we already know that I won."

O'Sullivan celebrated the championship in the best way. After winning the fourth and fifth pole positions, he won the Jack Cavill Cup best qualifier of the season, turning them all into victories.

He once again steadily returned to eighth in the reverse starting race, which also ensured that he scored the highest position in the eight rounds.

"We ended the game with two victories in the first two games. Not only did the season go as planned, but Donington also went well. This is a good way to end the season.

"I'm very happy that this season is going well. It's a good thing to end it, almost one round ahead of schedule, the championship is a bit endless. Nevertheless, I really enjoy working with all Karin's employees this year, and everything is planned. "

In recent weeks, O’Sullivan’s outstanding performance has brought two great opportunities. The first is to participate in the Aston Martin Motorsport BRDC Awards evaluation held at Silverstone and was selected as one of the four finalists. one.

O'Sullivan said before the start of the event: "I'm really excited. It's a really good opportunity to simulate work, exercise, and of course, actually drive the three great cars that day." "This is personally for me. It’s a great development. Of course, the £200,000 prize is a great addition. If I win, I will win. If not, I’m very happy that I have the opportunity to participate in the competition."

After that, he went to Valencia to participate in the official post-season test of FIA Formula 3 with Carlin-this is the award arranged by GB3 for his title.

"This is a great opportunity to drive [FIA F3] cars and learn Valencia. This is a track that has undergone a lot of series of tests. I think GB3 is a great opportunity to put this series on the international stage. Way."

The mandatory name change to GB3 mid-season initially caused some uncertainty as to what the loss of the iconic British F3 nickname would mean for the future of the series.

However, with the announcement of the launch of a new halo car in 2022 shortly afterwards, and with 21 powerful cars competing at the end of the season, we have every reason to be optimistic about the health of the series under the new name.

The Tatuus MSV-022, launched next year, will ensure that the series remains relevant, as the halo safety function has become a mandatory requirement for all FIA single-seater series. As the car retains some elements of its predecessor, the series has been able to minimize the cost of the new car, and at the same time give it a visual appeal by adding side-mounted air intakes to increase horsepower.

A new GB4 feeder series was also approved in 2022, and it will run with its parent GB3 series in most events. Using the first-generation Tatuus chassis previously run by the F4 series in Germany, Italy and Spain, these cars are now sold at a relatively low cost, as these series will switch to brand new halo machines next year.

GB3 teams Hillspeed, Fortec, Arden and Elite Motorsport have been confirmed as potential participants in the new series, and JHR Developments, who is absent from GB3 this season, at least five teams competing in other places also plan to join them. Since the annual budget is estimated to be half of the 2022 FIA F4 Top Championship, it is expected that the first season of the GB4 will be of high interest.

Listen to Formula Scout's review of the O'Sullivan season in our latest podcast, which you can also find on Breaker, Google Podcasts, Overcast, Pocket Casts, RadioPublic, Castbox, Apple Podcasts and Spotify.

10. Tom Lebbon Elite Motorsport standings 9th, 288 points (1 podium) – Quallfying Pace 100.70% Qualifier average 7.6, competition average 8.4

Lebbon and teammate Javier Sagrera had little choice in the competition. They competed with single-seater rookie Elite Motorsport in their first season at this level. Sagrera was on the podium for the first time in the reverse start of the season opener, and then Lebbon was on the podium during his first visit to Donington Park. Lebbon was ahead of his teammates in points, but was significantly faster of the two in qualifying.

9. Frederick Lubin Arden ranked 11th in the standings (6 rounds), with 263 points (2 podiums) – QP 100.67%, QA 9.2, RA 7.6

Lubin made a solid start in the British F4 match against Arden, finishing fourth in both rounds of the first round. But he was forced to miss the next two games due to a serious illness-myocarditis. After returning, he was initially in poor physical condition, but he recovered in the last two rounds by reaching the podium in the reverse race.

8. Roberto Faria Fortec Motorsports ranked 5th with 360 points (1 victory, 4 fastest laps, 9 podiums) – QP 100.66%, QA 7.3, RA 6.6

On the pre-match test day, Faria was often found close to the top of the schedule, but this could not be fully replicated in qualifying, and his average level was ranked seventh throughout the season. After a mixed start this year, he did find his form in the midway stage. He won his first victory in Spa's third race, becoming the last driver to win the British F3 race, which was the last race before the series was renamed GB3. Four consecutive podium finishes in the next five games put him second in the standings, but some events late in the season-not all of his own cause-caused him to slip back to fifth. Bit.

7. Bart Horsten Hitech GP standings 6th place, 333 points (2 strokes, 4 laps fastest lap, 3 podiums) – QP 100.37%, QA 5.6, RA 7.9

Horsten's average qualifying speed was only surpassed by Bearman and O'Sullivan throughout the year. Racing problems prevented Horsten from qualifying for Snetterton, and he lost his luck several times during the year. The double shots in Spargandi were the highlights of the Australian this season, but he was unable to translate them into victories. He briefly claimed his first victory in the second red flag game at Alton Park, but it was cancelled after the official announcement of Browning as the winner of the countdown an hour later.

6. Roman Bilinski Arden ranked 7th in the standings (6 rounds), 313 points (3 wins, 1 fastest lap, 7 podiums) – QP 100.90%, QA 8.5, RA 5.3

Billinsky was rescued from the difficult British F4 race held by Carlin and participated in Arden's GB3 race-starting from the third round, Arden won in this year's series, and some good conditions ensured the return of the transition. He has been on the podium five times in six games, including two victories across Spa and Snetterton, but two Silverstone retirements prevented him from increasing this record. In the last two rounds, Arden's form declined, but the Poles won for the third time in the reverse grid race at Alton Park.

5. Christian Mansell Carlin ranked third with 371 points (2 wins, 1 fastest lap, 5 podiums)-QP 100.64%, QA 7.6, RA 7.1

Mansell is the only driver to complete every race this season. This stability made him third in the championship and helped Carlin win the first team championship. He can be said to be his start at Brands at the beginning of this year. He won from seventh in the reverse race and then won his second victory at Spa in the rain. He was on the podium three more times, including third in another heavy rain in the final round, but accidents in the other two games that weekend cost him the chance to win the championship and runner-up.

4. Reece Ushijima Hitech GP ranked 4th with 366 points (2 victories, 3 pole positions, 3 fastest laps, 7 podiums) – QP 100.74%, QA 6.8, RA 7.1

Udo had a strong performance in the second full season of racing, and his two victories on the Silverstone circuit put him into an early championship battle. But the double retirement in Donington's next game prevented this momentum, and he only regained his best form in the last two rounds. A flat tire in the final race put him fourth in the standings, but he completed the race as a top driver in the powerful Hitech stable.

3. Ayrton Simmons Chris Dittmann Racing ranked second with 381 points (4 victories, 3 pole positions, 1 fastest lap, 5 podiums) – QP 100.57%, QA 8.6, RA 7.1

Simmons is the first choice for many to win the preseason. He consolidated his reputation by winning two pole positions and winning a victory in the first round of Brands Hatch. However, the collision with Horsten in the second game changed his course of the season, and chassis damage was discovered in the next round. Despite the replacement of the bathtub, his reversing victory in the second round was his only podium in the next four games. However, his recovery later in the season helped him save second place in the standings.

2. Ollie Bearman Fortec Motorsports 14th place (3 rounds), 163 points (1 victory, 2 pole positions, 1 fastest lap, 4 podiums) – QP 100.17%, QA 1.3 , RA 4.9

Bearman only participated in three of the eight rounds, focusing mainly on ADAC and the Italian F4 Championship, but this was enough for him to leave his mark. He surpassed O'Sullivan in every round, set the second fastest lap at Brands Hatch, and then took pole position at Snetterton and Silverstone later this year. He managed to win once from nine games, but due to reliability issues that kept him out of a strong position twice, his total number of wins could easily increase.

1. Zak O'Sullivan Carlin ranked first with 545 points (7 victories, 5 pole positions, 7 fastest laps, 14 podiums)-QP 100.21%, QA 3.1, RA 4.3

Despite getting such significant points, O'Sullivan is not out of reach every weekend, and sometimes others can beat him. But even if he did not win, he was still on the podium. By the end of the 24 games, he had been on the podium 14 times, including 7 podiums. But his title is not just about consistency. O'Sullivan has won three more wins than anyone else, as well as more pole positions, fastest laps and position points gained in the reverse start race. O'Sullivan's advantages in all aspects have helped him achieve A huge victory.

More information on GB3 GB3 will visit the F1 circuit with halo cars from F4 to GB3 from the UK

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