# 1990 British Formula Three Championship

The 1990 British Formula Three season was the 40th season of the British Formula Three Championship, starting on 1 April at Donington Park and ending on 7 October at Silverstone following 17 races.
The season was notable for its domination by future Formula One champion Mika Häkkinen and fellow Finn and future F1 driver Mika Salo; both drove Mugen-Honda-powered Ralt chassis, prepared by West Surrey Racing and Alan Docking Racing respectively. Häkkinen started the year strongly with three wins from the first four races, but Salo responded with four victories in the next six events to establish an 11-point advantage over his rival. The 11th round of the series at Snetterton proved a turning point, however, as Salo spun out while leading, allowing Häkkinen to begin a sequence of six wins from the final seven rounds which would allow him to seal the title with two rounds to spare.
Häkkinen's reward would be a deal to race with the Lotus F1 team in 1991, although Salo's career momentum was ruined by a drunk-driving charge that forced him to move to Japan to further his career. Other drivers in the field that went on to enjoy success in international motorsport included Christian Fittipaldi, who went on to win the International Formula 3000 championship the following year before enjoying stints in F1 and CART, and future touring car and sportscar driver Peter Kox.
1990 also marked the start of a dominant period for Mugen-Honda engines, which would power each British F3 champion until 2005 with only one exception. Charles Rickett won the Class B title in a year-old Volkswagen-powered Ralt.

## Drivers and Teams

| Team | Chassis | Engine | No. | Driver | Rounds |
| Class A ||||||
| Bowman Racing | Ralt RT33 | Volkswagen-Spiess | 1 | Steve Robertson | All |
| Bowman Racing | Ralt RT33 | Volkswagen-Spiess | 4 | Philippe Adams | All |
| Bowman Racing | Ralt RT33 | Volkswagen-Spiess | 12 | Fernando Plata | 1–7 |
| Bowman Racing | Ralt RT33 | Volkswagen-Spiess | 12 | Stephen Hepworth | 10–17 |
| Bowman Racing | Ralt RT33 | Volkswagen-Spiess | 14 | Peter Kox | 1–10, 12–17 |
| West Surrey Racing | Ralt RT34 | Mugen-Honda | 2 | Mika Häkkinen | All |
| West Surrey Racing | Ralt RT34 | Mugen-Honda | 3 | Christian Fittipaldi | All |
| West Surrey Racing | Ralt RT34 | Mugen-Honda | 16 | Minoru Tanaka | All |
| Paul Stewart Racing | Reynard 903 | Mugen-Honda | 5 | Paul Stewart | 1–3 |
| Paul Stewart Racing | Ralt RT34 | Mugen-Honda | 5 | Paul Stewart | 4–17 |
| Paul Stewart Racing | Reynard 903 | Mugen-Honda | 6 | Derek Higgins | 1–4 |
| Paul Stewart Racing | Ralt RT34 | Mugen-Honda | 6 | Derek Higgins | 5–17 |
| Alan Docking Racing | Ralt RT34 | Mugen-Honda | 7 | Mika Salo | All |
| Alan Docking Racing | Ralt RT34 | Mugen-Honda | 8 | Hideki Noda | All |
| Swallow Racing | Reynard 903 | Mugen-Honda | 10 | Julian Westwood | 1–4 |
| Swallow Racing | Ralt RT34 | Mugen-Honda | 10 | Julian Westwood | 5–17 |
| Swallow Racing | Reynard 903 | Mugen-Honda | 11 | Jonathan McGall | 1–3 |
| Swallow Racing | Ralt RT34 | Mugen-Honda | 11 | Jonathan McGall | 4–17 |
| Formula Services | Reynard 903 | Alfa Romeo | 18 | Jose Cordova | 1–4 |
| Formula Services | Reynard 903 | Alfa Romeo | 18 | Adrián Fernández | 5 |
| Hubbard Racing | Reynard 903 | Opel | 20 | Hilton Cowie | 5–9, 13–15, 17 |
| Hubbard Racing | Ralt RT33 | Opel | 94 | Hilton Cowie | 3 |
| Hubbard Racing | Ralt RT33 | Opel | 21 | Niko Palhares | 3–4 |
| Hubbard Racing | Ralt RT34 | Opel | 21 | Niko Palhares | 5–9 |
| Racefax Motorsport | Ralt RT32 | Mazda | 23 | Alain Menu | 1–2, 4 |
| Dawson Auto Developments | Reynard 903 | Alfa Romeo | 25 | António Simões | 2–3, 5, 10–11, 13, 17 |
| Tech-Speed Motorsport | Reynard 903 | Volkswagen-Spiess | 27 | Gary Ayles | 1–4, 6–9 |
| Tech-Speed Motorsport | Reynard 903 | Volkswagen-Spiess | 27 | Scott Stringfellow | 13 |
| Tech-Speed Motorsport | Reynard 903 | Volkswagen-Spiess | 28 | Jordi Gené | All |
| Hepworth Racing | Reynard 903 | Volkswagen-Spiess | 30 | Stephen Hepworth | 1–6 |
| Hepworth Racing | Reynard 903 | Volkswagen-Spiess | 30 | Jason Elliott | 9–10 |
| Hepworth Racing | Reynard 903 | Volkswagen-Spiess | 30 | Henrik Larsen | 11–14 |
| Hepworth Racing | Reynard 903 | Volkswagen-Spiess | 30 | Ross Hockenhull | 16 |
| Superpower Engineering | Reynard 903 | Volkswagen-Spiess | 33 | Paul Warwick | 1 |
| Superpower Engineering | Ralt RT34 | Mugen-Honda | 33 | Paul Warwick | 2–9 |
| Superpower Engineering | Ralt RT34 | Mugen-Honda | 33 | Bernard Dolan | 10 |
| Superpower Engineering | Ralt RT34 | Mugen-Honda | 33 | Gary Ayles | 11–17 |
| Team Itchi-Ban | Reynard 903 | Mugen-Honda | 37 | Nic Jönsson | 15–16 |
| Team Itchi-Ban | Reynard 903 | Mugen-Honda | 38 | Mikael Gustavsson | 15 |
| Team Itchi-Ban | Reynard 903 | Mugen-Honda | 39 | Linus Lundberg | 15 |
| G-Son Racing | Reynard 903 | Volkswagen-Spiess | 40 | Fredrik Ekblom | 1 |
| Diamond Racing | Reynard 903 | Volkswagen-Spiess | 44 | César Tiberio Jiménez | 4 |
| Reynard R&D | Reynard 903B | Mugen-Honda | 50 | Jason Elliott | 11, 13, 15–17 |
| Class B ||||||
| Peter Lea Racing | Reynard 873 | Alfa Romeo | 51 | Eddie Kimbell | 1–13 |
| Peter Lea Racing | Reynard 873 | Alfa Romeo | 51 | Sandy Brody | 14–17 |
| Peter Lea Racing | Reynard 883 | Alfa Romeo | 56 | Alan Tulloch | 1–10, 13–17 |
| Stronghold Racing | Ralt RT32 | Toyota | 52 | Steve Bradley | 1–4, 6, 8–11, 14 |
| Stronghold Racing | Ralt RT33 | Volkswagen-Spiess | 52 | Steve Bradley | 15, 17 |
| Steve Deeks | Reynard 883 | Alfa Romeo | 53 | Steve Deeks | 5–8, 10, 17 |
| Bowman Racing | Ralt RT33 | Volkswagen-Spiess | 54 | Charles Rickett | 1–13 |
| Bowman Racing | Ralt RT33 | Volkswagen-Spiess | 54 | Darren Shaw | 14, 16 |
| Bowman Racing | Ralt RT33 | Volkswagen-Spiess | 54 | Dana Brewer | 15, 17 |
| Tollbar Racing | Ralt RT32 | Volkswagen-Spiess | 55 | Juan Serda | All |
| Davies Racing | Ralt RT31 | Volkswagen-Spiess | 57 | Tony Davies | 1, 4–6, 10, 17 |
| Tech-Speed Motorsport | Reynard 873 | Volkswagen-Spiess | 58 | Paul Smith | 10 |
| G-Son Racing | Reynard 883 | Volkswagen-Spiess | 60 | Monica Stråth | 1 |
| Racefax Motorsport | Ralt RT32 | Volkswagen-Spiess | 61 | Dominic Chappell | 1–3 |
| Racefax Motorsport | Ralt RT33 | Volkswagen-Spiess | 61 | Dominic Chappell | 4–17 |
| Hubbard Racing | Reynard 893 | Volkswagen-Spiess | 64 | Pekka Herva | 14–15, 17 |
| Hubbard Racing | Ralt RT33 | Opel | 91 | Flurin Zegg | 4 |
| Zeus Motorsport | Reynard 883 | Volkswagen-Spiess | 66 | Peter Sneller | 1–2, 4–8, 10–12, 15–17 |
| Petroglobe International | Reynard 893 | Alfa Romeo | 67 | Dana Brewer | 13 |
| Diamond Racing | Reynard 893 | Toyota | 70 | César Tiberio Jiménez | 3 |
| Cram Motorsport | Ralt RT33 | Toyota | 71 | Rob Mears | All |
| JWD Motorsport | Ralt RT31 | Toyota | 83 | Jack Dickenson | 4, 9 |
| Carlton Tingling | Reynard 883 | Volkswagen-Spiess | 85 | Carlton Tingling | 15 |

## Race calendar and results

| Round | Circuit | Date | Pole Position | Fastest Lap | Winning Driver | Winning Team | Class B Winner |
| 1 | Donington Park | 1 April | Mika Häkkinen | Mika Häkkinen | Mika Häkkinen | West Surrey Racing | Dominic Chappell |
| 2 | Silverstone | 8 April | Mika Häkkinen | Mika Salo | Mika Salo | Alan Docking Racing | Charles Rickett |
| 3 | Thruxton | 16 April | Mika Häkkinen | Mika Häkkinen | Mika Häkkinen | West Surrey Racing | Charles Rickett |
| 4 | Brands Hatch | 29 April | Mika Häkkinen | Mika Häkkinen | Mika Häkkinen | West Surrey Racing | Charles Rickett |
| 5 | Silverstone | 7 May | Mika Salo | Mika Salo | Mika Salo | Alan Docking Racing | Juan Serda |
| 6 | Brands Hatch | 20 May | Mika Häkkinen | Mika Häkkinen | Mika Salo | Alan Docking Racing | Dominic Chappell |
| 7 | Thruxton | 28 May | Mika Salo | Mika Häkkinen | Mika Salo | Alan Docking Racing | Charles Rickett |
| 8 | Silverstone | 10 June | Mika Häkkinen | Mika Salo | Steve Robertson | Bowman Racing | Charles Rickett |
| 9 | Donington Park | 1 July | Christian Fittipaldi | Christian Fittipaldi | Christian Fittipaldi | West Surrey Racing | Charles Rickett |
| 10 | Silverstone | 14 July | Mika Salo | Mika Salo | Mika Salo | Alan Docking Racing | Charles Rickett |
| 11 | Snetterton | 5 August | Mika Salo | Mika Häkkinen Mika Salo | Mika Häkkinen | West Surrey Racing | Charles Rickett |
| 12 | Oulton Park | 12 August | Mika Häkkinen | Mika Häkkinen | Mika Häkkinen | West Surrey Racing | Charles Rickett |
| 13 | Silverstone | 27 August | Mika Häkkinen | Mika Häkkinen | Mika Häkkinen | West Surrey Racing | Charles Rickett |
| 14 | Brands Hatch | 2 September | Mika Häkkinen | Mika Häkkinen | Mika Häkkinen | West Surrey Racing | Darren Shaw |
| 15 | Donington Park | 16 September | Mika Häkkinen | Mika Häkkinen | Mika Häkkinen | West Surrey Racing | Dominic Chappell |
| 16 | Thruxton | 23 September | Paul Stewart | Mika Salo | Mika Salo | Alan Docking Racing | Darren Shaw |
| 17 | Silverstone | 7 October | Mika Häkkinen | Steve Robertson | Mika Häkkinen | West Surrey Racing | Peter Sneller |
^1 Häkkinen and Salo set identical fastest lap times and were subsequently both awarded an additional point.

## Championship Standings

Points in brackets include dropped scores – only the best 14 of 17 scores count towards the championship
| Pos. | Driver | DON | SIL | THR | BRH | SIL | BRH | THR | SIL | DON | SIL | SNE | OUL | SIL | BRH | DON | THR | SIL | Pts |
| Class A ||||||||||||||||||||
| 1 | Mika Häkkinen | 1 | (3) | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 2 | Ret | (6) | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 121 |
| 2 | Mika Salo | 2 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 5 | 1 | (7) | 2 | 2 | Ret | 3 | 1 | Ret | 98 |
| 3 | Steve Robertson | 3 | 2 | Ret | Ret | 3 | 3 | Ret | 1 | Ret | 3 | 2 | Ret | 4 | 3 | Ret | 9 | 3 | 49 |
| 4 | Christian Fittipaldi | 4 | 14 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 6 | 4 | 8 | 1 | 6 | 3 | Ret | DSQ | 5 | Ret | 4 | 2 | 36 |
| 5 | Peter Kox | Ret | 4 | 3 | 2 | 5 | Ret | 6 | 5 | 2 | Ret | | Ret | Ret | Ret | Ret | 6 | 4 | 28 |
| 6 | Philippe Adams | 11 | Ret | 6 | 10 | 4 | 20 | Ret | 9 | 9 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 2 | 2 | Ret | 11 | 25 |
| 7 | Paul Stewart | 6 | 23 | Ret | 11 | 9 | Ret | 13 | 4 | 4 | Ret | 5 | 4 | 3 | 6 | Ret | 3 | 13 | 21 |
| 8 | Jonathan McGall | Ret | 5 | Ret | 12 | 10 | 11 | 5 | 3 | 7 | 10 | 17 | 3 | 7 | 7 | Ret | Ret | 6 | 13 |
| 9 | Derek Higgins | Ret | 7 | Ret | 5 | 8 | 4 | 9 | 22 | 3 | Ret | Ret | Ret | Ret | 4 | Ret | Ret | 7 | 12 |
| 10 | Paul Warwick | 17 | Ret | 4 | 3 | Ret | 5 | 7 | 6 | 10 | | | | | | | | | 10 |
| 11 | Minoru Tanaka | 5 | 8 | Ret | 8 | 13 | Ret | 3 | Ret | Ret | 5 | Ret | Ret | 10 | 12 | Ret | 5 | 8 | 10 |
| 12 | Hideki Noda | 7 | 6 | Ret | DNS | 6 | 9 | 11 | 16 | Ret | Ret | Ret | 6 | 5 | 11 | 4 | 10 | Ret | 8 |
| 13 | Jason Elliott | | | | | | | | | Ret | 8 | DNS | | 20 | | 5 | 8 | 5 | 4 |
| 14 | Julian Westwood | Ret | 12 | 8 | 9 | 14 | 7 | 10 | 7 | 8 | 7 | Ret | 7 | 8 | 9 | 6 | 7 | 10 | 1 |
| 15 | Jordi Gené | 10 | 10 | 9 | 13 | 12 | Ret | DSQ | 10 | Ret | 11 | 6 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 7 | Ret | 9 | 1 |
| 16 | Fernando Plata | 8 | 9 | 7 | 7 | 11 | 8 | 12 | | | | | | | | | | | 0 |
| 17 | Gary Ayles | 20 | Ret | 11 | 14 | | Ret | 8 | 14 | Ret | | Ret | Ret | Ret | 8 | 8 | 19 | 12 | 0 |
| 18 | Henrik Larsen | | | | | | | | | | | 8 | Ret | 11 | 13 | | | | 0 |
| 19 | Stephen Hepworth | 13 | 16 | 15 | Ret | 15 | 12 | | | | Ret | 9 | 9 | Ret | 14 | 15 | 20 | Ret | 0 |
| 20 | Alain Menu | 9 | Ret | | DNS | | | | | | | | | | | | | | 0 |
| 21 | Bernard Dolan | | | | | | | | | | 9 | | | | | | | | 0 |
| 22 | Niko Palhares | | | Ret | Ret | Ret | 10 | NC | 11 | Ret | | | | | | | | | 0 |
| 23 | Jose Cordova | DNS | 11 | 10 | DNS | | | | | | | | | | | | | | 0 |
| 24 | António Simões | | 13 | Ret | | Ret | | | | | 12 | 10 | | Ret | | | | Ret | 0 |
| 25 | Hilton Cowie | | | 12 | | Ret | Ret | DSQ | 12 | 11 | | | | 12 | Ret | Ret | | Ret | 0 |
| 26 | Ross Hockenhull | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | 11 | | 0 |
| 27 | Nic Jönsson | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Ret | 13 | | 0 |
| 28 | Scott Stringfellow | | | | | | | | | | | | | 15 | | | | | 0 |
| | Fredrik Ekblom | Ret | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | 0 |
| | Adrián Fernández | | | | | Ret | | | | | | | | | | | | | 0 |
| | Linus Lundberg | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Ret | | | 0 |
| | César T. Jiménez | | | | DNS | | | | | | | | | | | | | | 0 |
| | Mikael Gustavsson | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | DNS | | 0 |
| Class B ||||||||||||||||||||
| 1 | Charles Rickett | Ret | 15 | 13 | 15 | Ret | 21 | 14 | 13 | 12 | 13 | 11 | 10 | 13 | | | | | 101 |
| 2 | Dominic Chappell | 12 | 19 | DNS | Ret | Ret | 13 | 15 | 15 | Ret | 15 | Ret | 11 | 14 | 16 | 9 | 14 | Ret | 72 |
| 3 | Eddie Kimbell | Ret | 18 | 14 | 16 | 17 | 16 | 17 | 19 | 15 | Ret | 12 | DNS | 16 | | | | | 43 |
| 4 | Rob Mears | 18 | Ret | 16 | Ret | Ret | 14 | Ret | 18 | 13 | 16 | 14 | Ret | Ret | 17 | 10 | 15 | DSQ | 42 |
| 5 | Peter Sneller | Ret | 17 | | DNS | Ret | 15 | 16 | Ret | | 14 | 15 | 12 | | | DSQ | 16 | 14 | 39 |
| 6 | Juan Serda | 16 | 20 | 20 | 17 | 16 | 18 | 18 | 21 | 16 | 20 | 16 | 13 | 18 | 20 | DSQ | 18 | 18 | 33 |
| 7 | Steve Bradley | DSQ | 21 | 18 | Ret | | 17 | | 20 | 14 | 19 | 13 | | | 19 | 12 | | 16 | 23 |
| 8 | Darren Shaw | | | | | | | | | | | | | | 15 | | 12 | | 20 |
| 9 | Alan Tulloch | 15 | 22 | 19 | 18 | 18 | 19 | 19 | Ret | Ret | 21 | | | 17 | 21 | 11 | Ret | Ret | 20 |
| 10 | Sandy Brody | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Ret | Ret | 17 | 15 | 8 |
| 11 | Steve Deeks | | | | | Ret | DNS | DNS | 17 | | 18 | | | | | | | 17 | 8 |
| 12 | Monica Stråth | 14 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | 6 |
| 13 | Tony Davies | 19 | | | 19 | 19 | 22 | | | | 22 | | | | | | | DNS | 6 |
| 14 | Pekka Herva | | | | | | | | | | | | | | 18 | Ret | | Ret | 4 |
| 15 | César T. Jiménez | | | 17 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | 3 |
| 16 | Dana Brewer | | | | | | | | | | | | | 19 | | 14 | | 19 | 3 |
| 17 | Paul Smith | | | | | | | | | | 17 | | | | | | | | 2 |
| 18 | Carlton Tingling | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | 13 | | | 2 |
| 19 | Jack Dickenson | | | | DNS | | | | | 17 | | | | | | | | | 1 |
| | Flurin Zegg | | | | DNS | | | | | | | | | | | | | | 0 |