A new winter championship is about to start: the Formula Winter Series. Taking place in Spain on a five-week period, a grid composed of around ten to fifteen drivers is expected to compete in the eight races of the championship. Feeder Series presents your guide to the 2023 Formula Winter Series season.
By Grégoire Devaux
With most of the drivers being more attracted to the Middle East winter championships such as F4 UAE or FRMEC, Gedlich Racing made an ambitious statement back in September 2022 as they announced the creation of a brand-new winter championship: the Formula Winter Series.
Fast forward a few months and the inaugural season is finally set to start. The first statement that can be made is that this inaugural season looks promising. Starting with nine drivers in the first round in Jerez, the grid will grow throughout the four rounds of the championship, set to be held at some of the best tracks in Spain using the well-known and appreciated Gen2 Tatuus F4 T-421, with Abarth engines and Pirelli as the tyre supplier.
Calendar and format
All four rounds of Formula Winter Series will be hosted in Spain, across the best tracks in the country. The first and second rounds will respectively be held in Jerez and Valencia, before a one-week break mark the halfway mark of the championship. Drivers will then compete in Navarra before the season finale in Barcelona a week later.
Round 1: Circuito de Jerez (February 10th – 12th)
Round 2: Circuito Ricardo-Tomo, Valencia (February 17th – 19th)
Round 3: Circuito de Navarra (March 3rd – 5th)
Round 4: Circuito de Barcelona-Catalunya (March 10th – 12th)
Each round will be composed of a two-part qualifying session to set the grid for the two 30-minute + 1 lap races, both taking place on Sunday. Friday and Saturday will help drivers to become accustomed to the car, with a total of four hours of free testing being spread across the two days.
The first round in Jerez will, however, offer two more hours of testing, set to be held on Thursday, a way for the organisers to help the young drivers “perfectly prepare for the demanding circuit”.
Concerning the scoring system, FWS aligns on the standard FIA points allocation, with the winner of the race taking 25 points, down to the 10th who will score 1 point. One additional point will be awarded for the fastest lap in both qualifying sessions and another additional point will go to the fastest lap holder in each of the races.
One particularity in this inaugural season of Formula Winter Series is that the championship ends after the private testing deadline for Spanish F4. This means that drivers competing in the Spanish F4 season will not be able to compete in Navarra and Barcelona for Round 3 and 4. A turnover of drivers is then expected halfway through the championship.
Teams
US Racing
The German outfit, led by Ralf Schumacher and Gerhard Ungar, will be the most represented team in the Formula Winter Series, with four cars expected to start in Jerez.
The first driver to have been announced by the team is Ruiqi Liu (#66). The 16-year-old Chinese driver made his single-seater debut last season with the German team for the Lausitzring round of the ADAC F4 Championship.
He will compete alongside 16-year-old Australian driver Gianmarco Pradel (#12), who raced as a guest driver for the last round of the Spanish F4 Championship in Barcelona last season with CRAM-Pinnacle.
Despite being only 15-year-old, Frederik Lund (#14) will bring his experience to the field after having competed with R-ace GP in Italian F4 in 2022, which was his first full-season in single-seaters.
But the most experienced driver and one to keep an eye one is Kacper Sztuka (#37), who completes US Racing’s line-up for this inaugural FWS season. The 17-year-old from Poland impressed with the German team last season in both the ADAC F4 and the Italian F4 championships, where he respectively finished 10th and 6th.
Drivex
This could come as a surprise, but Drivex will be the only Spanish F4 team to compete in the first round of Formula Winter Series in Jerez, being joined by Campos Racing from Round 2.
As a consequence of the Spanish F4 testing deadline, which occurs halfway through the championship, Drivex will only take part in the first two rounds.
Having been announced as part of the team for the Spanish F4 season, Maximiliano Restrepo (#69) and Juan Cota (#4) will make their competitive single-seater debut in the FWS championship.
Both coming from karting, Restrepo raced in his native Colombia while Cota got some solid results in the Spanish Karting Championship, finishing 5th.
AKM Motorsport
AKM Motorsport will be the only team to compete with a female driver in the first round in Jerez. Swiss driver Tina Haussmann (#19) will step up from karting to make her single-seater debut.
She will race alongside Carl Bennett (#11). In 2022, the 18-year-old competed in the F4 US Championship, before making appearances in the Donington round of the GB4 Championship and the last round of the Spanish F4 Championship.
AS Motorsport
Another driver who will make his single-seater debut during the Formula Winter Series is 15-year-old Italian Alvise Rodella (#5) with AS Motorsport.
The Slovenian team will also have Luca Roth (#62) available for the practice sessions only, as he does not have his licence yet.
Campos and Phynsis by Argenti will join from Round 2
Four teams and nine drivers will compete in the first round in Jerez, but others are due to join for the remainder of the championship, with 14 cars being already confirmed for the second round in Valencia.
Campos Racing have announced that they will enter with up to three cars, with karting driver Matteo de Palo (#7) already confirmed to make the step up to single-seaters for the first time in the Circuito Ricardo Tomo of Valencia.
Hailing from Australia, Patrick Heuzenroeder (#17) will make his competitive debut in European racing with Phinsys by Argenti after competing in Formula Ford.
He will race alongside Jaden Pariat (#77). The Indian driver competed in two rounds at Silverstone and Brands Hatch in the British F4 Championship last season.
Jenzer Motorsport will join the championship from Round 3 in Navarra for the second half of the championship, while Rodin-Carlin and Monlau Motorsport are working on entering the series for later rounds.
Header Photo Credit: Drivex
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