2026 Formula Regional European Championship

The 2026 FIA Formula Regional European Championship is a planned multi-event, Formula Regional open-wheel single seater motor racing championship scheduled to be held across Europe. The championship will feature a mix of professional and amateur drivers, competing in Formula Regional cars that conform to the FIA Formula Regional regulations for the championship. This will be the seventh season of the championship.

After five seasons of working together with Alpine for championship and engine branding purposes, the championship and the manufacturer will split in 2026, coinciding with the series retiring the Tatuus FR-19 after seven seasons and switching to the new Tatuus T-326 chassis.[1][2]

Teams and drivers

All teams will compete using identical Tatuus T-326 cars powered by Toyota engines on Pirelli tyres.[2][3] The ten pre-selected teams for the 2026 season were announced on 2 October 2025.[4]

Team No. Driver Status Rounds
R-ace GP 14 Rashid Al Dhaheri TBC
TBA Yuki Sano TBC
Van Amersfoort Racing 55 Dion Gowda[5] TBC
TBA Andrea Dupé TBC
TBA Francisco Macedo TBC
RPM 99 Giovanni Maschio[6] TBC
TBA Miguel Costa TBC
TBA Jan Przyrowski TBC
ART Grand Prix TBA Kabir Anurag TBC
TBA Matteo Giaccardi TBC
TBA Alexandre Munoz R TBC
G4 Racing TBA Saqer Al Maosherji TBC
TBA Rahim Alibhai R TBC
TBA Marcus Sæter R TBC
Prema Racing TBA Salim Hanna TBC
TBA Sebastian Wheldon TBC
Rodin Motorsport TBA Gabriel Gomez R TBC
TBA Alex Ninovic TBC
TBA Reza Seewooruthun TBC
Trident Motorsport TBA Kai Daryanani TBC
TBA Andrija Kostić TBC
TBA Maximilian Popov[a] TBC
CL Motorsport TBA TBA TBC
MP Motorsport TBA TBA TBC
TBA TBA Kean Nakamura-Berta TBC
Icon Status
R Rookie

Team changes

After three years of competing in the series, Saintéloc Racing will discontinue their FREC programme. AKCEL GP, who joined the series in 2025 and already ended its efforts after six of ten rounds, will also not return.[4]

MP Motorsport will return to the series after a one-year absence, while New Zealand-based team Rodin Motorsport will make their series debut.[4]

Driver changes

Team's champion R-ace GP saw both Enzo Deligny and Jin Nakamura move up to FIA F3 with Van Amersfoort Racing and Hitech respectively, and Akshay Bohra moves to Super Formula Lights with TOM'S.[7][8][9] The team signed Super Formula Lights runner-up Yuki Sano from TOM'S, and Rashid Al Dhaheri, who finished eighth with Prema Racing.[10][11]

Reigning Drivers' Champion Freddie Slater leaves Prema Racing, as he graduates to FIA F3 with Trident, while Rashid Al Dhaheri moves to R-ace GP and Jack Beeton leaves the series to compete in Indy NXT with HMD Motorsports.[12][13][11] Prema promoted reigning Italian F4 rookie champion Salim Hanna and third place finisher Sebastian Wheldon from their outfit in that championship.[14][15]

Van Amersfoort Racing saw two of their drivers move up to FIA F3, with Pedro Clerot joining Rodin Motorsport and Hiyu Yamakoshi remaining with VAR's F3 outfit.[16][17] To replace them, the team signed Francisco Macedo, who will move over from Eurocup-3 after coming 14th in 2025 driving for Campos Racing's Griffin Core outfit, and Andrea Dupé, who graduates from Italian F4 and the E4 Championship.[18][19]

ART Grand Prix saw both Taito Kato and Kanato Le promoted to the team's FIA F3 setup, while Evan Giltaire moves to Super Formula Lights with B-Max Racing Team.[20][21][22] The team signed three F4 graduates in Alpine junior drivers Kabir Anurag and Matteo Giaccardi, who step up after coming 16th in Italian F4 with US Racing and eleventh in French F4, respectively, and reigning French F4 champion Alexandre Munoz.[23][24][25]

Trident will have an all-new line up as they promoted runner-up Matteo De Palo to their FIA F3 team, Nandhavud Bhirombhakdi joined DAMS in FIA F3 and Ruiqi Liu compete in Porsche Carrera Cup Asia with Phantom Global Racing.[26][27][28] The team signed Italian F4 graduates Maksimilian Popov and Andrija Kostić, who took sixth place with Van Amersfoort Racing and 17th with US Racing respectively in 2025.[29][30] Luka Sammalisto also was to join the team, but was replaced ahead of the season by Kai Daryanani, who finished 11th with JHR Developments in the 2025 GB3 Championship.[31][32]

RPM saw Enzo Yeh and the other nine part-time entries of 2025 all depart the team. They signed two drivers departing Campos Racing in Spanish F4 in Jan Przyrowski, who was third and already made a one-round guest appearance in 2025, and Miguel Costa, who came 14th in 2025.[33][6]

G4 Racing signed Saqer Al Maosherji, who came 28th in 2025 in a part-time season for AKCEL GP, Italian F4 graduate Marcus Sæter, who finished 15th in 2025 with Van Amersfoort Racing, and Rahim Alibhai, who steps up to FREC after a part-time USF Juniors season with Zanella Racing.[34][35][36]

New team Rodin Motorsport recruited two drivers from the GB3 championship in reigning champion Alex Ninovic, who moves over from the team's outfit in that championship, and Reza Seewooruthun, who joins Rodin after finishing fifth with Argenti with Prema.[37][38] Italian F4 and Euro 4 runner-up Gabriel Gomez will complete the teams' lineup.[39]

Departing team Saintéloc Racing saw Nikita Bedrin move to GB3 Championship with VRD Racing, Tim Gerhards move to Le Mans Cup in the LMP3 class with More Motorsport, and Yaroslav Veselaho leave single-seater racing.[40][41][42]

Reigning Italian F4 champion Kean Nakamura-Berta will step up to the series.[43]

Race calendar

The FIA announced the series' provisional calendar on 2 December 2025.[44] The series will reduce its calendar from ten to eight events, with Misano and Barcelona not returning to the calendar. To compensate for this, multiple rounds that will be announced at a later date will divert from the series' two-race format and hold three races.

Round Circuit Date Supporting Map of circuit locations
1 Red Bull Ring, Spielberg 24–26 April Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters
ADAC GT Masters
ADAC GT4 Germany
Porsche Carrera Cup Germany
2 Circuit Zandvoort, Zandvoort 22–24 May Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters
ADAC GT Masters
Porsche Carrera Cup Germany
Porsche Carrera Cup Benelux
3 Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps, Stavelot 29–31 May GB3 Championship
Supercar Challenge
Britcar Endurance Championship
4 Monza Circuit, Monza 19–21 June Italian GT Championship
Italian F4 Championship
TCR Italy Touring Car Championship
Porsche Carrera Cup Italia
5 Hungaroring, Mogyoród 3–5 July Euroformula Open Championship
International GT Open
TCR Europe Touring Car Series
GB3 Championship
6 Circuit Paul Ricard, Le Castellet 17–19 July Euroformula Open Championship
International GT Open
E4 Championship
GT Cup Open Europe
7 Imola Circuit, Imola 4–6 September Italian GT Championship
Italian F4 Championship
8 Hockenheimring, Hockenheim 11–13 September Euroformula Open Championship
International GT Open
GT Cup Open Europe

Championship standings

Scoring system

The points system will be overhauled in 2026, introducing points for the drivers taking pole position in qualifying and setting the fastest lap in the top ten. In the newly introduced three-race rounds, the second race of the weekend will see the top twelve of the first qualifying session reversed on the grid. These sprint races will award reduced points:[45]

Position  1st   2nd   3rd   4th   5th   6th   7th   8th   9th   10th   FL 
Points 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 1

Points for the two main races will remain the same in 2026, with the aforementioned addition of bonus points for pole position and fastest lap:

Position  1st   2nd   3rd   4th   5th   6th   7th   8th   9th   10th   Pole   FL 
Points 25 18 15 12 10 8 6 4 2 1 2 1

Notes

  1. ^ Popov is Russian-Grenadian, but he competes under an Italian licence as Russian national emblems were banned by the FIA following the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

References

  1. ^ Wood, Ida (8 April 2025). "De Palo starts pre-season testing on top as FREC announces Alpine split". Formula Scout. Retrieved 30 September 2025.
  2. ^ a b Wood, Ida (7 August 2025). "The changes Europe's major single-seater series are making for 2026". Formula Scout. Retrieved 30 September 2025.
  3. ^ "Consistent performance for Formula Regional with Pirelli confirmed as single tyre supplier across next gen championships from 2026". FIA. 8 June 2025. Retrieved 8 June 2025.
  4. ^ a b c "FREC - Teams selected for 2026 FIA Formula Regional European Championship". FIA. 2 October 2025. Retrieved 2 October 2025.
  5. ^ "Dion Gowda continues with Van Amersfoort Racing in Formula Regional". Van Amersfoort Racing. 9 January 2026. Retrieved 9 January 2026.
  6. ^ a b Wood, Ida (2 January 2026). "Maschio continues with Race Performance Motorsport in FREC". Formula Scout. Retrieved 2 January 2026.
  7. ^ "Enzo Deligny completes Van Amersfoort Racing's 2026 FIA Formula 3 line-up". vanamersfoortracing.nl. 6 February 2026. Retrieved 6 February 2026.
  8. ^ Novak, Tracy (1 October 2025). "Jin Nakamura steps up to FIA Formula 3 with Hitech for 2026". Hitech GP. Retrieved 1 October 2025.
  9. ^ Wood, Ida (9 March 2026). "Bohra and Giltaire's Super Formula Lights moves made official". Formula Scout. Retrieved 9 March 2026.
  10. ^ "TOYOTA GAZOO Racing Presents its 2026 motorsport team setups in Japan". Toyota Gazoo Racing. 19 December 2025. Retrieved 19 December 2025.
  11. ^ a b "Introducing our 2026 Junior Driver Line-Up!". Mercedes AMG F1 Team. 23 February 2026. Retrieved 23 February 2026.
  12. ^ Allen, Peter (11 September 2025). "Freddie Slater signs with Trident for full F3 campaign in 2026". Formula Scout. Retrieved 17 September 2025.
  13. ^ "Jack Beeton To Drive for HMD Motorsports in 2026 Rookie Season". Indy NXT. 29 October 2025. Retrieved 29 October 2025.
  14. ^ "Colombian racer to build on strong rookie F4 campaign". Prema Racing. 12 December 2025. Retrieved 12 December 2025.
  15. ^ "Wheldon makes FIA FREC step with PREMA for 2026". Prema Racing. 25 February 2026. Retrieved 25 February 2026.
  16. ^ "Pedro Clerot joins Rodin Motorsport and completes 2026 F3 lineup". FIAFormula3® - The Official F3® Website. 6 October 2025. Retrieved 6 October 2025.
  17. ^ "Hiyu Yamakoshi Steps Up to Formula 3 with Van Amersfoort Racing for the 2026 Season". Van Amersfoort Racing. 26 September 2025. Retrieved 26 September 2025.
  18. ^ "Francisco Macedo signs with Van Amersfoort Racing for Formula Regional". Van Amersfoort Racing. 14 January 2026. Retrieved 14 January 2026.
  19. ^ "Andrea Dupe completes Van Amersfoort Racing's Formula Regional European Championship line-up". Van Amersfoort Racing. 3 February 2026. Retrieved 3 February 2026.
  20. ^ "Taito Kato joins ART Grand Prix for 2026 season". FIAFormula3® - The Official F3® Website. 11 November 2025. Retrieved 11 November 2025.
  21. ^ "Kanato Le Continues His Journey with ART Grand Prix in FIA Formula 3 for 2026 !". ART Grand Prix. 7 October 2025. Retrieved 7 October 2025.
  22. ^ "2026 SFライツ参戦体制". B-Max Racing Team (in Japanese). 27 February 2026. Retrieved 27 February 2026.
  23. ^ "Kabir Anurag joins ART in FREC/FREMEC in 2026". ART Grand Prix. 15 December 2025. Retrieved 15 December 2025.
  24. ^ "ART announces Matteo Giaccardi for the 2026 FREC/FRME". ART Grand Prix. 8 January 2026. Retrieved 8 January 2026.
  25. ^ Peutat, Justine (21 March 2026). "ART Grand Prix announces Alexandre Munoz for the 2026 FREC season". ART Grand Prix. Retrieved 21 March 2026.
  26. ^ "Trident Motorsport to field Matteo De Palo to FIA F3 Championship debut in 2026". Trident Racing. 23 September 2025. Retrieved 25 September 2025.
  27. ^ "JEM JOINS THE TEAM FOR 2026!". DAMS. 27 October 2025. Retrieved 27 October 2025.
  28. ^ "Porsche Carrera Cup Asia announces eight-strong Talent Pool for 2026 season". Porsche Carrera Cup Asia. Porsche. 24 February 2026. Retrieved 24 February 2026.
  29. ^ "Kostic signs with Trident for the 2026 FREC season". Trident Racing. 21 October 2025. Retrieved 21 October 2025.
  30. ^ "Popov joins Trident for the 2026 FREC season". Trident Racing. 22 October 2025. Retrieved 21 October 2025.
  31. ^ "Sammalisto joins Trident for the 2026 FREC season". Trident Racing. 20 October 2025. Retrieved 20 October 2025.
  32. ^ "Trident with Daryanani in the Middle East and European Regional series". Trident Racing. 9 January 2026. Retrieved 9 January 2026.
  33. ^ Wood, Ida (15 December 2025). "Przyrowski steps up to FRegional with Race Performance Motorsport". Formula Scout. Retrieved 15 December 2025.
  34. ^ Persad, Karishma (20 March 2026). "Saqer Almaosherji secures full 2026 FIA FREC Season with G4 Racing". pitdebrief.com. Retrieved 20 March 2026.
  35. ^ "Marcus Sæter joins G4 Racing for the 2026 FIA Formula Regional European Championship season". G4 Racing. 4 March 2026. Retrieved 4 March 2026.
  36. ^ "Rahim Alibhai to Join G4 Racing for 2026 FIA Formula Regional European Championship Season". G4 Racing. 20 March 2026. Retrieved 20 March 2026.
  37. ^ "Alex Ninovic to continue with Rodin Motorsport in 2026, joining their FREC team". Rodin Motorsport. 23 October 2025. Retrieved 23 October 2025.
  38. ^ "Reza Seewooruthun to join Rodin Motorsport's FREC lineup in 2026". Rodin Motorsport. 16 December 2025. Retrieved 16 December 2025.
  39. ^ "Gabriel Gomez completes Rodin Motorsport's FREC lineup for 2026". www.rodinmotorsport.com. Retrieved 20 March 2026.
  40. ^ "F3 race-winner Nikita Bedrin joins VRD Racing for GB3 title challenge". GB3 Championship. 24 December 2025. Retrieved 24 December 2025.
  41. ^ Wane, Ewan (28 January 2026). "Record 45 Car Grid For 2026 Michelin Le Mans Cup". Dailysportscar. Retrieved 28 January 2026.
  42. ^ "veselaho on Instagram: 'With the season ending, so does my time in open-wheel racing.'". Instagram. 17 November 2025. Retrieved 17 November 2025.
  43. ^ "Italian F4 Champion Kean Nakamura-Berta joins the Williams F1 Team Driver Academy". Atlassian Williams F1 Team. 9 January 2026. Retrieved 9 January 2026.
  44. ^ "FIA and ACI announce 2026 FIA Formula Regional European Championship Calendar". FIA. 2 December 2025. Retrieved 2 December 2025.
  45. ^ Ash, Mitchell; Jackiewicz, Maciej (6 January 2026). "The biggest changes coming to F1's feeder series in 2026, explained". Feeder Series. Retrieved 7 January 2026.
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