This is a developing story. More details will be added as they become available.

The Formula 4 United States Championship will now begin their season in May after canceling their opening round previously scheduled for April 11-14 at NOLA Motorsports Park in Louisiana due to delays in delivering the new Ligier JS F422 cars, a representative of the series confirmed in an email to USOpenWheelNation.

Despite having a field of over 30 cars for the opener last year, only three drivers have been announced for F4 US so far. The series expressed optimism that as time goes on, the entries will continue to grow as the season progresses.

Multiple drivers who competed in F4 US last season told USOpenWheelNation over social media that added costs associated with the new car have made it difficult for them to compete in the series in 2024 due to financial reasons. As a response, a separate series called the Ligier JS F4 Series running cars from the previous generation of FIA F4 was created and will race at NOLA next month. The series estimates that 20-24 entries will compete in Ligier JS F4.

“The reason we kept the JS F4 car around is the price point,” Scott Goodyear, the race director in F4 US, said in an interview last month. “(It’s for) people who are coming out of karting and getting into it.”

During that interview, Goodyear provided a price point of approximately $150,000 to compete in the JS F4 Series, lower than the $210,000-$220,000 to drive in F4 US and less than half the $325,000 needed to be put together by drivers to compete in F4 US’s parent series, the Formula Regional Americas Championship. Goodyear said he believes the cost of competing in F4 US is cheaper than competitor series USF Juniors.

The Ligier JS F422 was adopted by the series for 2024 and replaced a previous Ligier model from 2016. Goodyear said that the change was in order to comply with the FIA’s recent homologation requirements necessary to remain as an official Formula 4 series overseen by the sanctioning body.

“We will probably start off with eight or ten cars and continue growing,” Goodyear said. “I don’t think that’s uncommon to start off and then it will continue to grow as it always does.”

The new car F4 US will run adopted numerous safety features including the crash-protection device above driver’s heads commonly referred to as the halo. The series reiterated excitement surrounding the improvements to the engine, aerodynamics and brakes.

The series will now begin on May 16 when the teams travel to Wisconsin to race at Road America. The Formula Regional Americas Championship and Ligier JS F4 Series will both race at NOLA on the scheduled weekend of F4 US.