Following in the footsteps of a famous father or brother is never an easy matter, and many parents do their utmost to prevent this from happening, to help the young pretender avoid potentially damaging comparison. In motor racing, however, there seem to be more young pretenders by the year. With as much financial help as can be afforded them, they generally work their way to the front end of the field, much to the chagrin of their contemporaries who are, in the main, convinced that talent can't be inherited. 

There is one brother of a famous racing driver who is set to change all this, and he is Paul Warwick, a driver tipped by many to collect this year's Lucas British Formula 3 crown. But it will be quite a fight.

Appreciably younger (15 years) than his Grand Prix driving brother, Derek, Paul was brought up into a motor sporting family, father Derry a longtime stock car driver. Derek was blooded in this rough and tumble world, and then so was Paul, before progressing to circuit racing and single seaters.

With practice lappery already under his belt in an FF1600 car before his 17th birthday, Paul took to the circuits and junior FF1600 as soon as he legally could. And from the word go in the 1986 season, Paul was a pace-setter. Many 'sons of' or 'brothers of' have taken a while to find their feet, but Paul's prior competition knowledge and lack of fear saw him winning from his very first race. Win upon win followed and Paul scooped both of the junior FF1600 crowns for his family-run team.

Having shown huge promise in the BBC Grandstand FF2000 winter series at the end of the year, even leading his first race in the more powerful category, Paul moved full time into FF2000 for 1987, and all looked primed for glory. He was to drive a new swift for Middlebridge Engineering, manager John Macdonald stepping down from Formula 1 to take charge. The rapid John Alcorn - his chief rival for F3 honours in 1989 - was his team mate, while Paul was happy with the team, a situation arose where there was little love lost between he and Alcorn. They acted as separate units under the same roof. As hard as the team worked, results just didn't come Warwick's way leaving him fifth at the year's end, one place ahead of his team mate, although Alcorn won twice. Admittedly, Paul won once at Zolder in the EFDA Euroseries and ended up second overall in that championship, but the season was a big disappointment.

There had been a glimmer during '87 though, and this was when Paul had a one-off F3 drive in the Cellnet Superprix, showing notably before crashing out. However, his drive had been with Eddie Jordan Racing and a relationship with the Irish team owner began.

"I liked Eddie immediately and so I guess that the way we were going to go for 1988 nearly all the time. And then the Camel deal came along and Eddie worked with us for that. What happened with this deal, was that Derek had met RJ Reynolds' Duncan Lee on a flight back from a Grand Prix, and that was the initial contact which we followed up with meetings before clinching the deal at the end of the year."

Interestingly, Paul's team mate would be another rival, Jason Elliott, who had finished '87 as top Briton in FF2000, as runner up to JJ Lehto. However, Paul immediately found this relationship easier than the one with Alcorn, although he entered it knowing that he would have to work hard to beat Elliott, let alone the opposition. The package of chassis and engine - always a crucial one in F3 - worked well, though. "Eddie had chosen for us to race Speiss-powered Reynards, and we were happy with that. We might have struggled a little at one point against the TOM'S Toyotas but the Speiss was as strong as any other engine by the end of the season."

With a strong run thwarted in the opening round followed by two points scoring finishes in the next two races, it looked as though Paul was but a few rounds away from victory, provided the mercurial Lehto and the willey Martin Donnelly could be pulled in. "We expected this to happen , too, having been as quick as Donnelly, bar maybe a tenth or two wherever we went. But we lost our way from race six on. Paul Owens came in from the Reynard factory to help us out, but it wasn't until the end of the season that we found our feet again, found some balance." In the end, Paul's best result in the late season patch was a third place at Brand's Hatch, equal only to his third place at Thruxton in round three, and he could only classify eighth overall, three places ahead of Elliott, but one behind Alcorn.

"It was a bad year for both of us. A very bad year, especially as I thought I had a good chance of the title when I signed for Eddie."

It was obvious that Paul would have to stay in F3 for a further season, so he started looking around for a drive for '89 halfway through the '88 season. "Cellnet was involved in the deal for this year all along. I've had a personal contract with Cellnet for two years now, and I spent much of last season talking to Jim Wright (of Cellnet) and Glenn Waters (of Intersport). In fact, I remember one race, at Snetterton at the end of July when they called me in and said they'd been watching me and were pleased with the way I was going, and that I should keep in touch for '89. That was good for my confidence, for sure."

"I also had Camel in mind, and wanted to keep them with me, as things were looking good with them too. We talked quite a lot with Dick Bennetts about me joining West Surrey Racing, but deep down he wanted to stay with Marlboro, which is what happened with Allan McNish going there. Then we had a look with Paul Stewart Racing as another place to go with Camel money. The thing is, though, that I rate Glenn as highly as Dick, so we were always in touch with Intersport, and when Dick started to fade away in negotiations I was hard onto going to Intersport, and we ended up doing a deal a fortnight after the race in Macau."

At almost the same time as Paul placed his signature on the letter of intent to Intersport, FF1600's Italian whizzkid Vincenzo Sospiri - a former World Karting Champion - signed up for the other seat at Intersport. "Once again, I will have a good team mate, one who will expect you to win, as it's your second season in F3. So there's more pressure. Last year I got away with things because I was new. This year I'm going to run out of excuses, have to dig deeper into 'the book'."

The Year Ahead

For the first time in many seasons, F3's old guard will have gone, leaving the young bloods to collect the laurels. From those remaining for a second shot, Alcorn was the highest placed in 1988 with Warwick next, and it is between the pair that the honours for the opening rounds are likely to be divided before the newcomers find their feet.

Paul is convinced that will be the case too: "As far as the first five races, to start with, because the championship is normally won there, I would say that Alcorn is going to be very strong as he has been going very well in testing. McNish will be good too, and his team mate Derek Higgins as well. Higgins could surprise a few people, actually. Really, there are a number of people who might challenge, not just Alcorn, although he is the main threat."

"Mika Hakkinen could be quick, but he hasn't been out much yet in testing, so it's hard to say. I think he will go well, though, as he is obviously a very good driver. I've watched him and he looks very smooth, which is what you need to be in F3: smooth and receptive to the very stiff chassis."

"There's Rickard Rydell and he could be there for Eddie ( Jordan ), but there's a whole list of drivers who could get up to the front. I mean, Otto Rensing is a possibility because of all his experience in F3. However, I really don't know much about the team, Paul Stewart Racing."

"Of course, Jason still hasn't found a drive, but if he does he will be very quick. He's leaving it a bit late to get settled, though."

"Then there are other drivers who might come up to the front as the season goes on, like Mika Salo. Richard Dean could show well too, as he has been going fast in testing recently for Jim Lee Racing. David Brabham might come on strong, but I can't see him as a challenge at the moment. The same goes for his team mate at Bowman, Stephen Robertson."

"My main advantage, apart from my year's experience in F3 and that I'm mad enough to think taking Stowe flat in fifth is quite normal (!!??) , is that I have a really good relationship with my team. I like Glenn and my engineer,'Indy', and two mechanics are great guys. This is important. They are experienced, too. Also, everyone's so keen, that's what I like. It's not just the team pushing to win the title, but the sponsor, too. Cellnet are very good like that, and Peter Walker of Cellnet probably wants to win the title more than anyone, and Glenn, too. "

The Engine Factor

When brother Derek was racing against Nelson Piquet and Chico Serra in F3 a decade ago, everyone had a Toyota engine in the back. And that was that. Now, the matter is more complex. There is a real choice. Intersport acts as agent for TOM'S Toyota engine, so it comes as no surprise that this is the motive power behind Paul's Reynard. The engine claimed three of the four top title placings in '88, but it has changed for '89, it's spinning weight being lighter and the power band being widened and strengthened.

The main threat is expected to come from Honda's Mugen unit which will be the power behind McNish, Higgins, Rensing and Stewart.

"Another thing that's different for this year, more than anything, is that I've stopped work for the first time, so I'm a professional racing driver at last, employed by Cellnet. It's pretty crazy for F3, but that's the way it has to be in this modern age."

With the assuredness of a champion, Paul is confident of where his racing career is heading. Very sure. "The way I look at it is that I'm going to do well this year in F3, and will finish in the top three in the championship. Obviously you can't ever say that you're going to win it, because it's impossible to say that. We're going to win races, for sure, and then I've got to move, or want to move into the European F3000 series. Then, I believe I have the talent to go straight on to F1."

"In conclusion, predicting a top three for F3 at the end of the season. It will be myself, McNish and the third one is difficult. It might be Sospiri, but i don't think he will quite make it, maybe come fourth, or somewhere in the top six. Alcorn ought to be in the top three, but I have a feeling he is going to slip away during the season. In fact, the only thing that worries me is that I'm going to line up at Thruxton for the first race with Alcorn alongside me on the front row, and then we're going to have a rough ride into the first corner."

The confidence is there, though, and a chat with Paul leaves one in no doubt that he will give his all to claim the title. Aged 20, Paul has time on his side, but he doesn't want to hang about. He wants the rest to follow him home. After all, it's the family business to make Warwick trailers...

This interview was taken from AUTOSPORT Vol 114 No 11 ( March 16th 1989)