Photo: ACI Sport

Prema has announced that Sebastian Wheldon will be part of its Formula Regional European Championship line-up this year.

The 17-year-old joined the Mumbai Falcons squad that Prema provides technical support to for a race-winning Formula Trophy cameo at the end of 2024, then raced for the Italian outfit across three championships in 2025.

He came seventh in Formula 4 Middle East with one podium, fourth in E4 with one victory and two other podiums, and his six wins in Italian F4 put him third in the standings. Later in the year he raced in the FIA F4 World Cup in Macau and came fourth.

“It feels great to be back with Prema and to move up to FREC this year. We had a really good first season, winning races in F4, and I’m looking forward to what we can accomplish in 2026!” said Wheldon.

“I feel adjusted to the European environment and feel at home within the team. I want to thank TWG Motorsports for continuing to support me. Excited for what’s ahead!”

TWG owns Cadillac’s Formula 1 team and Andretti Global, which races in Formula E and IndyCar.

Wheldon, son of the late 2005 IndyCar champion Dan, has been an Andretti junior since 2021. His single-seater career began in 2023, when he won the USA’s Skip Barber Formula Race Series, and the following year he was YACademy Winter Series runner-up then third in IndyCar support series USF Juniors with four victories.

Wheldon picked up his first competitive FRegional experience last month, racing for Mumbai Falcons in FRegional Middle East. He came fifth in the standings with three podiums and a pole.

“Sebastian has been really impressive since his very first steps with the team,” said Prema’s team principal and chief executive officer Stephen Mitas. “He is a hard worker and a strong competitor, and we are confident that, working together, we will be up to pace with the series’ new package.”

The final version of FREC’s 2026 calendar has been released, and features several differences from the draft schedule. Mugello was absent from the calendar for the first time last year, and had been set to return while the Nurburgring was in contention to be raced on by FREC for the first time.

With the season downscaling from 10 to eight rounds this year, those two tracks’ spots would have come at the expense of the Hungaroring and Imola. Instead, the latter two tracks will continue to host FREC and Imola will be one of four venues to have featured every season.

The Red Bull Ring hosts round one on April 24-26, then there are trips to Zandvoort (May 22-24), Spa-Francorchamps (May 29-31) and Monza (June 19-21). The paddock heads to the Hungaroring on July 3-5, and Paul Ricard is raced at two weeks later. After a summer break, Imola and Hockenheim host the last two rounds in the first two weekends of September.

It has been confirmed, as Formula Scout reported, that several rounds will feature three races.

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Photo: Prema

Van Amersfoort Racing has added Andrea Dupe to its 2026 Formula Regional European Championship line-up.

The 17-year-old Frenchman currently sits 20th in the FRegional Middle East standings with one round to go, having scored one point so far with G4 Racing.

Last year he raced for three different teams in Formula 4 as a single-seater rookie, starting off with AS Motorsport in Formula Winter Series where he came 17th in the points table. He joined PHM Racing for Italian F4 but switched to Prema after three rounds and no points. In the remaining four rounds he scored 20 points to come 22nd in the championship.

Prema also had Dupe in its E4 line-up for two rounds of three, and he failed to score.

“I am absolutely thrilled to be joining VAR for the upcoming season,” said Dupe. “Stepping up to FREC is a major milestone in my career, and doing it with such a prestigious team makes it even more special. VAR has been a top contender in this category for many years, but what truly stands out to me is the atmosphere—it’s a team where you immediately feel like part of a family. I can’t wait to get started and give my best for the colors of the team.”

VAR’s team principal Brad Joyce commented: “FREC is a demanding step, and we’re looking forward to working closely with Andrea as he prepares for the season and continues his development with the team.”

Also signing contracts with VAR this year are Thomas Bearman and Alexander Ruta, for triple programmes in FWinter Series, E4 and Italian F4. The first of those three is already underway, and the pair sit eighth and 16th in the standings. Bearman, the 16-year-old younger brother of Formula 1 racer Ollie, made the podium in round one.

Both Bearman and Ruta began their single-seater careers last year in FWinter Series, with the former racing for Hitech GP and the latter joining Cram Motorsport then switching to VAR for the final round. They came eighth and 21st respectively in the points table, and Bearman ended the season with his maiden podium.

Racing on home soil followed in British F4, and Bearman finished eighth in the championship. He took one win and one pole, and his tally of four other podiums included one in the non-championship round supporting F1’s British Grand Prix. Late in the year, he contested the FIA F4 World Cup in Macau and finished in the top 10 from 17th on the grid.

Ruta stuck with VAR for E4 and Italian F4, coming 13th in the former and 23rd in the latter. Seventh places were his best results in both championships.

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Photo: ACI Sport

Freddie Slater has followed up his Formula Regional European Championship title by being voted driver of the season by the paddock’s team principals and managers.

In a poll conducted by Formula Scout, each of the teams in the championship was asked to submit their ranking of the top 10 drivers for the 2025 season. To maintain objectivity, team principals were not allowed to vote for their own drivers. Points in the poll were awarded on a 10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1 basis.

Nine team principals participated, giving a maximum theoretical score of 80 points.

While Slater was unsurprisingly the first choice of many, he was not considered the best by all. As with the two previous winners, Andrea Kimi Antonelli and Rafael Camara, Slater fell one point short of a perfect score, as one team manager put him behind Matteo De Palo in second place.

The top positions mirrored the overall standings, although there were significant differences between the individual votes cast.

Trident’s De Palo was a clear second, although one team principal did rank him outside the top three.

R-ace GP’s Enzo Deligny and Van Amersfoort Racing’s Pedro Clerot were as inseparable in the voting as they had been in the overall points standings and finished tied for third place, although Clerot won a head-to-head comparison by five to three.

While the top five lined up in their championship positions, ART Grand Prix’s Taito Kato edged past R-ace GP’s Akshay Bohra for sixth by a single vote.

The performances of Sainteloc Racing’s Nikita Bedrin clearly got him noticed by his competitors, who ranked him eighth, three positions higher than his championship position.

Prema’s Rashid Al Dhaheri and R-ace GP’s Jin Nakamura tied on points for ninth.

A total of 16 drivers received at least one nomination, although surprisingly, only four drivers were included in every team’s top 10 ranking.

Those outside the combined top 10 were VAR’s Hiyu Yamakoshi and Dion Gowda, CL Motorsport’s Michael Belov, ART Grand Prix’s Kanato Le and two drivers who competed in fewer than half the rounds, Reno Francot and Ean Eyckmans, both driving for R-P-M.

Formula Scout would like to thank the following team principals and managers for their time in submitting ratings for the poll:

Ignacio Cristobal (Sainteloc Racing), Keith Donegan (RPM), Tristan Gommendy (Prema), David Li (CL Motorsport), Thibaut de Merindol (R-ace GP), Adrian Munoz (G4 Racing), Matthew Norman (Akcel GP), Mathieu Zangarelli (ART Grand Prix) and Luca Zerbini (Trident). Van Amersfoort Racing did not respond and therefore its drivers’ scores have been adjusted accordingly to ensure comparability.

2025 FREC teams’ driver poll results

The post Freddie Slater voted FREC driver of the season by team principals appeared first on Formula Scout.

Photo: FRME

ART Grand Prix’s Taito Kato topped Formula Regional Middle East pre-season testing at Yas Marina Circuit this week as the grid grew ahead of this weekend’s opening round.

Kean Nakamura-Berta led Mumbai Falcons team-mate Sebastian Wheldon in session one on Tuesday, with Pinnacle Motorsport’s Alex Powell beating Wheldon by 0.053 seconds to top the slower session two.

Wheldon pipped Van Amersfoort Racing’s Dion Gowda by 0.016s in session three, but did not improve on his previous best laptime.

Kato concluded Tuesday by lowering the pace to 1m48.053s in session four, leading MP Motorsport’s Christian Ho by 0.11s and Powell by 0.137s.

Powell set a 1m48.519s to top session five by 0.105s over Trident’s Maximilian Popov, with a 0.285s gap to MP’s third-placed Alexander Abkhazava.

ART GP’s Kabir Anurag was 22nd, but jumped to first in session six with a 1m48.857s, topping the timesheet by 0.184s over Kato while Race Performance Motorsport’s Jan Przyrowski trailed by 0.485s in third.

Anurag improved to 1m48.829s in session seven, denying Wheldon top spot by 0.01s and Ho by 0.027s. Kato was fourth, 0.137s behind.

VAR’s Francisco Macedo set a 1m48.358s to top session eight by 0.212s over Powell and 0.229s to Ho, with a second splitting the top 22.

During testing, nine drivers were announced as joining FRME’s grid. R-ace GP’s line-up now exceeds its car count, as Gerrard Xie will race in rounds one and two then Emanuele Olivieri will contest rounds three and four.

Euroformula and GB3 race-winner Xie spent 2025 in the FIA Formula 3 Championship, and last year R-ace ran Olivieri to the Formula 4 Middle East title and second in the FIA F4 World Cup.

The Prema-run Mumbai Falcons team has promoted Salim Hanna, new Williams Formula 1 junior Nakamura-Berta and Wheldon from its F4 squad. Wheldon came third in Italian F4 and fourth in E4 last year, while Hanna was fourth and seventh.

Macedo, who was 14th in Eurocup-3 last year, has joined VAR for FRME and the FRegional European Championship while Trident has told Formula Scout that Luka Sammalisto has left its 2026 FREC line-up but not shared why.

CL Motorsport will run Michael Belov, Newman Chi and Enea Frey in FRME after fielding them part-time in FREC last year.

The ultra-experienced Belov came seventh in FREC’s 2022 season, 11th in FRME predecessor the FRegional Asian Championship and 13th in the FRegional-spec Formula Renault Eurocup back in 2020, and last year was 15th in both FREC and the FRegional-based Eurocup-3.

His 2026 team-mates primarily spent 2025 in F4. Chi came fifth in Italian F4 and ninth in F4 Middle East, while Frey was ninth in Formula Winter Series and 14th in E4.

Test results

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Photo: ACI Sport

Dion Gowda will remain at Van Amersfoort Racing to spend a second year racing in Formula Regional.

He will start 2026 in FRegional Middle East, which gets underway next week at Yas Marina Circuit, then race in the FRegional European Championship. Both will be using Tatuus’s new second-generation chassis, the T-326.

Gowda raced in FREC last year, and came 12th in the standings with two fifth places as his best race results. That was enough to make him the top driver in the championship’s rookie classification by 36 points, although he was heavily outscored by his team-mates.

He also drove for Xcel Motorsport in two GB3 rounds. Sixth place was his highest finish, and he came 25th in the standings.

“I’m very happy to be sticking with VAR for the 2026 FRegional campaign,” said the 18-year-old Indian. “We had a solid first season together and I believe we can continue and improve on that form for 2026.”

In FRME, Gowda will be team-mate to Formula 4 graduate Yuhao Fu.

“We’re excited to continue working with Dion,” VAR’s team principal Brad Joyce said. “In his rookie season with us, he already proved his ability in FRegional machinery. Dion is a very professional and respectful driver with a positive attitude, making him a real pleasure to work with. The Middle East rounds will give him the perfect chance to get fully familiar with the new car, helping both him and the team head into the European championship ready to fight for strong points.”

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Photo: Williams F1 Team

Italian Formula 4 champion Kean Nakamura-Berta has joined the Williams Formula 1 team’s driver academy as he moves up to Formula Regional for 2026.

The London-born Japanese-Slovak driver was previously tied to the Alpine Academy from 2022 until 2024, which was his first full year in single-seater racing after an impressive karting career including World and European titles.

He finished runner-up to Freddie Slater in the United Arab Emirates Formula 4 championship and came sixth in Italian F4 and third in E4 in 2024, but was not retained on Alpine’s books.

Nakamura-Berta did stay part of Prema’s F4 line-up for 2025 and went on to win the title with nine wins and eight other podiums from 20 races. He also added the E4 crown, taking four wins and four other podiums from the nine races.

Williams has confirmed that Nakamura-Berta will contest both the Middle East and European championships in FRegional this year, although his team has not been named.

“We’re thrilled to have Kean join the Williams F1 Team Driver Academy at this key moment in his career,” said Williams sporting director Sven Smeets.

“He has shown a lot of promise, proving that he is capable of learning, adapting and ultimately winning championships. We look forward to working with him this year and will watch keenly as he hits the track.”

Nakamura-Berta added: “I’m very excited to be joining the Williams F1 Team Driver Academy this year. It’s a team that has achieved so much and has a vast history, and I’m proud to be part of it.

“Racing in Formula Regional will be a new challenge but one that I’m especially looking forward to. Thank you to everyone at Williams for believing in me, and I can’t wait to start this new chapter!”

The post Williams signs Kean Nakamura-Berta to driver academy appeared first on Formula Scout.

Photo: Dutch Photo Agency

Trident has announced that Kai Daryanani has joined the team to race in the Formula Regional European Championship and FRegional Middle East this year.

The 20-year-old Indian arrives at the Italian outfit after a busy 2025 in which he raced for three different teams.

He started off in FRME with Evans GP, and came a lowly 22nd in the standings. Next up was GB3 with JHR Developments, and Daryanani took two podiums en route to 11th in the points table.

Alongside that he raced for MP Motorsport in Eurocup-3, making a winter series cameo and coming 17th in the main championship as a part-timer. In 2024, Daryanani won the Formula Trophy title and was eighth in AU4.

“I’m extremely proud to be joining Trident for the upcoming FRegional season,” said Daryanani.

“I’m excited to work closely with the team to push myself and fight for strong results. I’m grateful for the trust they’ve placed in me and can’t wait to get started.”

The FRME season begins next weekend, and Trident’s three-car line-up will be completed by Andrija Kostic and Maksimilian Popov. Both had already been confirmed as racing for the team in FREC this year.

When Popov was announced last October, Trident’s FREC line-up was completed since it had already signed Kostic and Luka Sammalisto. The team has not stated whether its contractual situation with any of those drivers have changed.

Kostic came 10th in E4, 11th in Formula Winter Series and 17th in Italian Formula 4 last year. Popov was sixth in the FWinter Series and Italian F4 standings, and eighth in E4.

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Photo: KSP Reportages

ART Grand Prix has announced that Matteo Giaccardi will be in its line-ups for the Formula Regional European Championship and FRegional Middle East this year.

When the FRME campaign behins next week, it will mark the start of only the second season of racing the 18-year-old Monegasque has done in his single-seater career.

At this point last year he was in shifter karting, and he spent 2024 in a combination of senior and shifter karting classes. That term he came 34th in the Champions of the Future championship, on an OK kart, and 25th in the KZ2 shifter class of the WSK Final Cup.

His graduation to car racing came via the centrally-run French Formula 4 championship in 2025, and he was more competitive than in his international karting career.

Giaccardi made the podium and took a fastest lap on just his second start, and took another podium and a fifth place before a strong final round featuring a maiden victory and another fifth place put him 11th in the standings.

“I’m really proud to be part of ART GP for the 2026 FRegional championships. My main target this season is to learn and improve all year long,” he said of his next career step.

ART GP’s team principal Sebastien Philippe added: “Matteo is at an important point in his development. He has shown encouraging progress in F4 and now needs to take this next step in FRegional. The objective will be to keep learning, build experience, and work consistently with the team to move forward throughout the season.”

In both FRegional series, Giaccardi will be team-mate to Kabir Anurag.

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Photo: Jakob Ebrey Photography

Rodin Motorsport has announced Reza Seewooruthun will be part of its Formula Regional Middle East and European Championship squads.

The Kiwi-owned and Britain-based team is expanding into FRegional for 2026 as a second-generation chassis is introduced.

While it will be a new car, it is a level of racing that Seewooruthun is familiar with due to his 2025 programmes.

“I’m super excited to get started with Rodin in 2026 and happy to be a part of this historic moment as they step into a new championship,” said Seewooruthun.

“After a strong finish to my season in GB3, I’m looking forward to building on my momentum and proving myself in FREC.”

The 19-year-old started last year in FRME, entering three of the five rounds and coming 17th in the standings with a best finish of sixth.

He then raced in GB3, which used the bespoke Tatuus MSV GB3-025 car which has FRegional-level performance, and a campaign featuring one victory, four other podiums and a pole put him fourth in the points.

His 2025 concluded with the FIA FRegional World Cup-awarding Macau Grand Prix, in which he qualified 25th, finished 22nd in the qualification race then retired from the main race.

Seewooruthun will be team-mate in FREC and FRME to his GB3 rival Alex Ninovic, who won the 2025 title with Rodin.

“Reza joins us at an exciting time as we launch our FREC programme,” commented Rodin’s sporting director Benn Huntingford.

“It will be a first season in the championship for all of us but Reza’s attitude, work ethic and his progress through the junior categories gives us a huge amount of confidence heading into this step.”

Seewooruthun came third in entry-level sportscar series Ginetta Junior in 2023 then third in British Formula 4 and the Motorsport Games’ F4 event in 2024.

Rodin’s FRME line-up will be completed by Maxim Rehm, whose primary programme this year will be racing for the team in GB3.

The 18-year-old German joined Hillspeed for the 2025 GB3 season finale at Monza, and he finished sixth in his debut race then won the reversed-grid final race.

His main focus during 2025 was a double F4 programme with US Racing, which did not fully build on the potential he had shown with the team the year before. In 2024 he had come 21st in the Formula Winter Series, 13th in Italian F4 with one podium and sixth in E4 with a victory and a pole. He improved to fifth in FWinter Series in 2025, but was 19th in Italian F4.

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Photo: ACI Sport

Race Performance Motorsport has named Miguel Costa and Giovanni Maschio in its Formula Regional European Championship and Middle East line-ups for 2026.

Costa, 16, steps up to FRegional with one year of single-seater experience under his belt. The Brazilian spent 2025 racing for Campos Racing in Spanish Formula 4, and started on a high by coming eighth in the Winter Championship with one podium.

In the main championship, he was only 14th in the points table and his best result was a fourth place. Costa graduated from karting, where he was 11th in the CIK-FIA World championship and 14th in CIK-FIA European championship on OK karts.

“I’m proud and excited to be joining R-P-M for the next stage of my career,” he said. “I strongly believe that, together, we can grow and achieve great things.

“With a new year comes a new phase for everyone: the highly traditional and competitive FREC and FRME championships, a new car, new tyres, and a fresh baseline from which to start. We’re fully focused on tackling the 2026 season and aiming for a lot of success.”

Maschio will be embarking on his fourth seasons in FREC and FRME, and has already spent two years with R-P-M in the former. In his 36 FRME races he has had one top-10 finish, while in FREC he already has 60 starts to his name and only scored three times. He came 17th in the 2025 standings with six points.

“Super happy to start a new challenge with the team, with the new car it is going to be really challenging,” said the 19-year-old Italian. “I know already the team very well, so I’m sure we will achieve good results this year.”

The pair will be team-mates to Jan Przyrowski, who was 2025 Spanish F4 Winter Championship runner-up.

Van Amersfoort Racing has announced Yuhao Fu as part of its FRME line-up. The 17-year-old has been racing in F4 since 2023, with mixed results.

He won twice en route to fourth in the Chinese F4 standings as a part-timer in 2024, but only made the top 10 once in a full British F4 campaign that year and was points-free in F4 United Arab Emirates. In 2025 he raced for Xcel Motorsport, coming 15th in F4 Middle East and 25th in British F4.

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