Renault Formula 1 development driver Oliver Rowland expressed his appreciation for the Formula Renault 3.5 championship following its closure at the end of the 2017 season.
The series yielded eventual F1 stars such as Fernando Alonso, Robert Kubica, Kevin Magnussen and Carlos Sainz Jr. During its height, it was a serious rival to F1’s main feeder series GP2.
Renault withdrew its backing from the series at the end of 2015, the year Rowland took the title with eight victories in 17 races.
The number of average grid entries dropped dramatically over the following two years, with just 10 cars lining up for the final race of the 2017 season.
“It was amazing,” Rowland told Read Motorsport at the Autosport International Show at the NEC.
“There was always loads of fans there, it was like we were the priority, free at Silverstone, great for sponsors and fans alike.
“On Formula 2 race weekends, most people are there to watch F1 but World Series, everyone was there to watch that.
“It was never the same when it stopped having its own race weekends from 2016 onwards.
“So yeah a bit of a shame, but that’s racing these days, things are very expensive.”
Rowland raced with DAMS in his second full-time campaign in F2 last year, finishing third in the drivers’ championship, with 10 podiums and two race wins. His season was plagued with reliability issues and disqualifications through no fault of his own.
The Brit identified his highlight of 2017 as his Monaco feature race win.
“Monaco, you can’t beat it,” Rowland said when asked to name his highlight.
“I remember the first time I went there with World Series, I was like wow, I’m here when I stopped on the grid.
“I should have won in World Series, but I crashed at the first corner.”
Rowland drew comparisons between his maiden FR 3.5 season in 2014, with his troublesome 2017 F2 season.
“Yeah there was nothing I could do [about the bad luck],” he added.
“It reminds me of my first year of World Series, I should have comfortably finished second behind Sainz.
“Pierre Gasly ended up second because I had a steering wheel brake, fuel pump issue at Paul Ricard, all sorts of trouble.
“The next year I went and won the championship.”
