The Formula Three category, including this championship, is part of the established career ladder up which European drivers progress to the Formula One world championship, the highest form of single seater racing defined by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA), motorsport's world governing body.

Other Formula One drivers who also raced in the series include 4-time world champion Sebastian Vettel, Adrian Sutil, Kamui Kobayashi and Nico Rosberg.

Races were held at Monaco, the Nürburgring in Germany, Anderstorp in Sweden, Monza in Italy and Croix-en-Ternois in France.

The series title was won by Australian Larry Perkins driving a Ralt-Ford run by Team Cowangie.

[5] The new partnership between the FFSA and DMSB spelled the end of national Formula Three in France with the closure of the French Formula Three Championship, but Germany's national championship was effectively supplanted by the creation of the Recaro Formel 3 Cup, though the DMSB initially attempted to block its creation.

Notable venues have included Pau and Le Mans in France; Brands Hatch in Britain; Circuit de Catalunya in Spain; Estoril in Portugal; Adria in Italy; and Spa-Francorchamps in Belgium.

The FFSA and DMSB created the new championship around the FIA-sanctioned[10] F3 formula of multiple chassis builders and production-based 4-cylinder 2-litre engines with control supplies of tyres and fuel.

Since its first Formula Three championship win with ASM in 2004, Mercedes' success has been influential in its growth in popularity among the Euro Series' teams, and has left Spiess-Opel as the only remaining competition.

[19] When the series began, all entrants took a conservative approach to their choice of chassis supplier and opted for the established Dallara F302/F303.

In the opening round of 2004, a pair of Anglo-Japanese Lola-Dome F106/03 chassis were entered by Coloni Motorsport before the team returned to the Italian F3 Championship.

[vague] It also attracts the best junior single-seater teams from European countries that include France, Germany, Britain, Italy and Switzerland.

Others, such as Alexandre Prémat, Jamie Green, Bruno Spengler, and Alexandros Margaritis compete in the DTM;[citation needed] The inaugural season attracted a strong entry list, comprising the best teams from the merged French and German championships.

The first Euro Series drivers' champion was Ryan Briscoe of Australia, driving a Dallara-Opel F303 run by Prema Powerteam, based in Italy.

Briscoe's would be the only championship title to date for a driver using an Opel-powered car, as the Mercedes-backed ASM Formule 3 rose to prominence in 2004.

For the third year in succession, the teams' title was won by ASM and the champion driver – Paul di Resta – was using one of its Mercedes-powered Dallaras.

Sebastian Vettel joined di Resta and two other drivers in ASM's expanded line-up, and finished the year as the championship's runner-up.

The use of the reverse-grid system contributed to a much closer championship and a record number of winners, with eleven different drivers reaching the top step of the podium.

Mercedes gave di Resta a placement in the DTM[29] and went on to race for Force India Formula One Team.