33 drivers, 11 teams: FRECA is back this weekend for its fourth season of racing, featuring multiple F1 Junior drivers and various F4 or Formula Regional champions from last year. Who will follow Andrea Kimi Antonelli and win FRECA this season? Here is your guide for this 2024 season of FRECA, with the calendar and all the drivers detailed.

By Perceval Wolff

It’s rare to see a reigning FRECA champion in contention for an F1 seat only months after his title. However, this is the case of our 2023 champion Andrea Kimi Antonelli, with some rumours sending him to Williams or Mercedes for 2025.

That shows how much F1 teams value the Formula Regional European Championship by Alpine. Hence, it’s not a surprise to see seven F1 teams being represented through their juniors this season.

Last year saw a title fight between Prema’s Antonelli and R-ace’s Stenshorne and Tramnitz, with the highest returning driver for 2024, Rafael Câmara, finishing in fifth place. This season, alongside eight drivers that have already got a full season at the Formula Regional level, 25 drivers will be discovering this category coming from F4.

However, only fifteen of them will enter the rookie category, as the rule is to have three rounds or less of experience at the Formula Regional level. Many drivers have been preparing for FRECA by racing in the FRMEC or FROC championships during the winter, with many successes for some of them. Last month, the drivers attended to six days of collective pre-season testing, with some first takeaways that should be highlighted.

The calendar

This year’s calendar will be featuring the ten same classical European tracks as last season. Even though all tracks have welcomed Formula 1 through the last decade, no round will be supporting the pinnacle of motorsport in 2024: six of them will be supporting International GT Open, the three Italian tracks will be alongside the Italian GT Championship and the Zandvoort weekend will see DTM at the same time.

• Round 1: Hockenheimring, Germany (11-12 May)
• Round 2: Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps, Belgium (25-26 May)
• Round 3: Circuit Zandvoort, Netherlands (8-9 June)
• Round 4: Hungaroring, Hungary (22-23 June)
• Round 5: Mugello Circuit, Italy (13-14 July)
• Round 6: Circuit Paul Ricard, France (20-21 July)
• Round 7: Imola Circuit, Italy (7-8 September)
• Round 8: Red Bull Ring, Austria (14-15 September)
• Round 9: Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, Spain (28-29 September)
• Round 10: Monza Circuit, Italy (26-27 October)

The format

FRECA weekends start on Friday with two 50-minute free practice sessions, even though some pre-event collective test sessions occasionally happen before on Thursday for some tracks. The real racing action is on Saturday and Sunday, with one qualifying session and one race a day.

The two qualifying sessions set the grid for the two races, meaning there is no reverse grid in FRECA. Each qualifying session is divided into two groups. Group A includes the odd-placed drivers of the championship, while group B will be composed of the even-placed drivers, which will help to form balanced groups. For the first round, groups’ sizes will be made according to the number of the entries.

The fastest driver of the two groups will start from pole position for the race. All the drivers in the group of the fastest overall will then line-up on the grid in the rest of the odd-numbered spots. The fastest lap from the other group will start in second, and drivers behind him in his group will start in the rest of the even-numbered spots. Henceforth, it is possible for the driver in third to have set a quicker lap time than the driver in second, but he will still start from the second row of the grid, as he finished second of his group.

Where to watch

All races and qualifying sessions are broadcasted on the championship’s official YouTube channel. Commentary will be once again delivered by Feeder Series’ Transfer Weekly host, FIA F3, F1 Kids and Porsche Supercup lead commentator Chris McCarthy for seven of the ten rounds. The three other rounds will be covered by GT Sport and F1 Esports commentator George Morgan.

Teams and drivers

Prema Racing

As often, the Italian squad will be entering a new racing season as the reigning champions, with their whole line-up capable of fighting for the drivers’ title.

Rafael Câmara (#5) will be the most experienced driver of the team, after finishing fifth with Prema last season with two race wins. The 19-year-old Ferrari junior will have huge expectations around him, as the Brazilian will be the highest returning driver of the series this year. Always fighting at the front but always in the shade of his prestigious teammate Antonelli from his karting years to 2023, this is why Ferrari decided to let Câmara one more year in FRECA and not to promote him directly to FIA F3. It’s now time to shine for Câmara and to take his first single-seaters title.

However, Câmara will have to face fierce opposition coming from his rookie teammates. American Ugo Ugochukwu (#3) is currently sitting in second overall in the GB3 standings even though his main focus will be on his FRECA campaign. Euro 4 champion, Italian F4 runner-up and seventh in FRMEC this winter with three podiums, the 17-year-old McLaren junior has been showing a steady progression and can be rightly tipped as one of FRECA’s title favourites for this season.

But it’s important to note that this winter in Formula Regional Middle East, he finished just behind his other rookie teammate in the standings, James Wharton (#13). The 17-year-old Australian driver has parted ways with the Ferrari Driver Academy and will be keen to prove them wrong. F4 UAE champion and fourth in Italian F4, Wharton grabbed a couple of podiums on his way to sixth overall in FRMEC. Like Ugochukwu, he has shown promising pace during pre-season testing, very close to Câmara’s times.

R-ace GP

After finishing two points shy from Prema and the teams’ title, the French team will engage a very strong trio of drivers that will likely be capable of fighting for podiums and wins.

Tuukka Taponen (#8) is a young driver that has changed dimension during the winter. The 17-year-old Ferrari protégé from Finland won the FRMEC title with an impressive 79-point margin over current F2 and Formula E World Championship driver Taylor Barnard, and 127 points more than title favourite Rafael Câmara – another member of the Ferrari Driver Academy. However, it has to be noted that last year, following a title fight in F4 UAE with much less experience than his rivals, Taponen had more difficulties back in Europe, finishing fifth in Italian F4. Considering his pace and his latest results, the Finnish driver is one of the two main title favourites with Câmara.

16-year-old Filipino-Maltese driver Zachary David (#20) will be a dark horse in the fight for wins and podiums. Despite a racing record less prestigious than his teammates’, David is a proven F4 race-winner, having finished seventh overall in Italian F4 in 2023. Moreover, he has shown steady improvements during the winter, finishing fourth in the highly competitive FRMEC series, also with R-ace.

Red Bull junior Enzo Deligny (#23, R) will by far be the youngest driver of the grid, and the only one born in 2008. The 16-year-old French-Chinese driver was the Spanish F4 rookie champion and finished fourth overall last year, despite a controversial final race with a black flag ignored that resulted in a five-month suspension. Too young to race in FRMEC this winter, he drove the three final rounds of F4 UAE, still managing to finish eighth overall in the standings with one race win. With his exciting, raw speed, Deligny’s progression throughout the year will be interesting to follow.

Van Amersfoort Racing

Brando Badoer (#15) was one of the biggest sensations of pre-season testing. Son of former F1 driver Luca, the 17-year-old Italian had a breakthrough season in 2023 with VAR in Italian F4, finishing sixth overall with multiple podiums under his belt following what was a very discrete rookie season the year prior. This winter, he took part in FRMEC, showing once again a good progression to finish tenth overall.

The maiden Brazilian F4 champion Pedro Clerot (#22, R) had a more difficult year in 2023 for his first full season in Europe. Despite a very strong start with two wins at the opening round in Spa, the 17-year-old driver eventually finished sixth overall with MP Motorsport and couldn’t reach the podium at any of the six following rounds. After two rounds of learning in the Middle East with Saintéloc, his main rivals will surely be his teammates who roughly have the same level of experience.

Ivan Domingues (#89, R) is one of Portugal’s biggest hopes on the international single-seater scene. Eleventh in Italian F4 for his sophomore season with one podium, Domingues had the opportunity to make his FRECA debut at the two final rounds of 2023, also with VAR. Despite not racing this winter, let’s see how this little FRECA experience will help him ease into the machinery jump.

RPM

Like Badoer, Noah Strømsted (#57, R) was one of the biggest surprises during pre-season testing. The 16-year-old Danish driver has followed an atypical career path with a stellar start, with little karting experience, a runner-up finish in Danish F4 at 14 years old despite missing one third of the season and an impressive Spanish F4 debut at the end of 2022, where he battled against title rivals Tsolov and Barter.

However, the Dane had an underwhelming 2023, with a full Spanish F4 season with Campos where he finished only sixth with only three podiums – far behind his teammates Christian Ho and Deligny. But he had his first taste of FRECA at the end of last year, with an impressive sixth in only his second race at Monza with RPM. He will surely be one of the favourites for the rookie title, but can he aim for more?

His teammates have been much more discrete for the moment. Returning driver Giovanni Maschio (#99) is coming from Monolite Racing after finishing 34^th with them. It shall be noted that the 17-year-old Italian scored his first points in an FIA-certified series this past winter, finishing ninth in the fourth round in FRMEC this winter.

18-year-old Frenchman Edgar Pierre (#27, R) is coming from French F4 where he finished ninth in his sophomore season. Member of the coaching and management society of Victor Martins’ family – VictoryLane – Pierre finished his 2023 season on a high with his first podium in single-seaters. He will be hoping to carry this momentum to the upper category.

G4 Racing

Seventh in British F4 last year with two race wins, Kanato Le (#9, R) was the standout driver of the Swiss-Spanish squad during pre-season testing. The 16-year-old Japanese driver made his Formula Regional debut in FRMEC, replacing Martinius Stenshorne for the two final rounds with R-ace and managing one point.

After finishing tenth in 2022, Romain Andriolo (#16, R) has collected eight podiums and one win on his way to fourth in last year’s French F4 season. The 17-year-old Frenchman hopes to continue this progression in Formula Regional with G4 Racing, a team that has allowed a former French F4 graduate – Alessandro Giusti – to win three races last year.

Sergio Perez and Escudería Telmex’s protégé Jesse Carrasquedo (#33) was a NACAM F4 race winner several years ago before moving to Europe. After some health issues that prevented his progression in 2022, the 17-year-old Mexican driver had a trouble-free season last year but finished only 19^th of Spanish F4 despite racing with the title-winning Campos Racing. This winter, he came close to scoring his first points at the Formula Regional level in FRMEC with R-ace GP.

MP Motorsport

18-year-old Russian driver Nikita Bedrin (#11) is a well-known name to feeder series followers, as the Italian licensed driver has been racing in FIA F3 since 2023 with two podiums under his belt. This year, the leader of PHM will have a double campaign in FRECA, but he will prioritise F3 over FRECA. 

According to our information, Bedrin will race in multiple series in order to prepare for a jump to Formula 2 next year. Alongside FIA F3 and FRECA, it’s also speculated he will do one or two rounds in Euroformula Open later this year.

Coming from India, Nikhil Bohra (#47) is returning to FRECA after finishing 12^th for his first season with Trident. Bohra will be hoping to close the gap to the drivers in front, and the final part of his 2023 was very promising with multiple points finishes. Discrete in the Middle East this winter, he still managed to clinch one win, which shows Bohra will be a driver to follow this year.

Valerio Rinicella (#55, R) is the only rookie of the team, but he was one of the most promising drivers in pre-season testing. Third in Spanish F4 last season, Giancarlo Fisichella’s protégé also had a productive winter, with points finishes in FRMEC and a double win in the non-championship Eurocup-3 event at Motorland Aragón . With only three rounds of experience at the Formula Regional level, he will be eligible for the rookie classification.

18-year-old Isaac Barashi was the driver that replaced Bedrin during pre-season testing at Paul Ricard because of a clash with FIA F3 in-season testing. It is yet unconfirmed if the British-Israeli driver will replace him during the Spa, Hungaroring and Paul Ricard events – the rounds Bedrin will not be able to partake in. 20^th in British F4 last year, he stepped on two podiums during reversed-grid races. He also did three FRMEC rounds with MP last winter.

Trident

The Italian squad is entering into their third FRECA season, and for the third time they will be engaging Roman Bilinski (#4), who will be the most experienced driver. The 20-year-old Polish-British driver is a GB3 race-winner and a FRECA podium-finisher, but last winter, he enjoyed a dominant campaign in New Zealand to secure the title in Formula Regional Oceania. He will hope to carry this momentum for his return to Europe.

Ninth in Italian F4 with Prema last year, Nicola Lacorte (#7, R) is one of the newest drivers of the Alpine Academy. As his teammate, the 16-year-old driver from Italy spent his winter in New Zealand and clinched his maiden win in FROC, but he will be aiming to close the gap to his more experienced teammate.

Former Asian karting champion Ruiqi Liu (#66) had struggles for his first full single-seaters season in Europe and didn’t manage to score any points in Italian F4 last year with US Racing. The 17-year-old Chinese driver did race on several occasions on home soil, clinching several wins and multiple podiums in two rounds in Chinese F4.

ART Grand Prix

After a disastrous 2023, ART Grand Prix will be aiming for a return to the top with some of the most promising drivers of the grid.

French F4 champion and then sixth in FRECA the year after with three race wins, Alessandro Giusti (#10) was one of the biggest surprises of 2023 with G4. Following this impressive season, the 17-year-old Frenchman was signed by the Williams Driver Academy and now has the task to lead ART to wins and a title fight. Unlike last year – when he spent half of the rounds outside of the top 10 – he will be aiming to deliver consistent results throughout the whole season.

However, he will have to be careful of reigning French F4 champion Evan Giltaire (#95, R) who was one of the big sensations of pre-season testing, where he often was the fastest ART driver. After a thrilling season finale where he overcame a 28-points deficit to clinch the title, he went on making his FRECA debut at the end of the season with ART showing a quick capacity of adaptation. Despite not racing this winter, can he continue his ascension?

Former Ukraine drift champion Yaroslav Veselaho (#96) made his single-seaters debut last year in French F4, finishing 21^st overall with a single points finish at the very chaotic race two in Pau. The 19-year-old is still catching up from his lack of single-seaters experience, and the step to Formula Regional might be a very big one for the Ukrainian driver.

ART will be the only team engaging four drivers, as every team has the right to engage a fourth car if it’s driven by a driver who finished top three overall of the last F1 Academy season. This rule will help 26-year-old Léna Bühler (#14) from Switzerland to return to FRECA, where she raced from 2021 to 2022. She did not score any points during this period of time, but it’s important to note that a wrist injury prevented her from performing at 100% at that moment. The Sauber Academy driver has since bounced back by finishing runner-up in F1 Academy, and she will be aiming to score her first points in FRECA.

Saintéloc Racing

Ninth last year for their first year in the category, it looks very likely that the team led by Morgan Caron and former F1 engineer Julien Simon-Chautemps will reach new heights in FRECA, but up to what point is the main question.

Can they continue their daydream? Théophile Naël (#44) and Saintéloc started their journey to single-seaters together and have won the overall title in Spanish F4 in front of all the favourites engaged at MP and Campos. Now, the 16-year-old Frenchman has been promoted to the Formula Regional level and has already enjoyed success during the winter in FRMEC, with one win and three podiums – showing he could fight with all of the drivers that are tipped as favourites for the FRECA title. With Badoer, Strømsted and Giltaire, he completes the list of the biggest sensations of pre-season testing. 

Alongside him, Matteo De Palo (#2, R) will be hoping to continue his progression after a very solid first season in single-seaters. Spending last year in Spanish F4 with Campos Racing, the 16-year-old from Rome finished fifth overall as the second-best rookie. He scored some points in a partial FRMEC campaign already with Saintéloc and could be a consistent point scorer in FRECA this year.

The biggest rival of Giltaire in French F4 last year has also been promoted to FRECA. Enzo Peugeot (#74, R) clinched seven wins before eventually finishing runner-up, only four points shy from the title. Even though he was not the fastest Saintéloc driver in FRMEC and at the start of testing, the 18-year-old Frenchman has shown an interesting progression during pre-season testing.

KIC Motorsport

Because of a partnership with Australian outfit Evans GP, two of the KIC cars will run with an Evans GP livery in black and blue instead of the classic KIC colors.

18-year-old Costa Toparis (#43) will drive one of these cars after racing in FRMEC this winter with Evans, finishing 14^th with one podium to his name. The Australian driver previously raced in GB3, where he finished 15^th the year before.

Alex Sawer (#6, R) will drive the second KIC-Evans car. The 16-year-old will be the first Vietnamese driver in FRECA history. He made his single-seaters debut in Indian F4 last year, finishing fifth overall with one win. He will also be racing in Chinese F4 this year, where he currently sits in second in the standings after winning one race in front of the F1 paddock at the Chinese Grand Prix at Shanghai.

Nandhavud Bhirombhakdi (#29, R) is stepping up to FRECA after two years in F4 with Jenzer and then PHM. 21^st in Italian F4 with two points finishes, he also made an appearance on a podium in F4 CEZ last year during a one-off at Red Bull Ring. He will be the only driver with the black and red KIC livery.

Iron Dames

Arden and Monolite will not be on this year’s FRECA grid, but Iron Dames is a new addition. This new team will be engaging two female drivers and will be using Prema’s cars and technical staff with Iron Dames’ branding.

Marta García (#19) will be one of the eldest drivers of the grid at 23 years of age. After racing three years in W Series – an F3-level championship where she notably finished fourth overall in 2019 with one win – she went back to F4-level in 2023 with Prema in the new all-female F1 Academy. She was a dominant champion with a 56-point margin on her closest rival Bühler. First announced as a fourth Prema car, she will eventually race with Iron Dames’ colours, and as explained earlier, that change won’t affect the quality of her material.

Last announced driver but not least, Doriane Pin (#28, R) will be racing in F1 Academy, WEC and FRECA. The 20-year-old Mercedes Junior driver from France has been a sensation in endurance these last few years, with a Ferrari Challenge Europe title, class victories at the 24 Hours of Spa and in the European Le Mans Series and a podium in WEC with Daniil Kvyat and Mirko Bortolotti. 

However, Pin has been preparing for a move to single-seaters for nearly two years now, having sporadically tested with Prema since 2022. She made her official F4 debut at the end of last year, finishing runner-up in F4 South East Asia despite missing one round – one third of the season. She then went on to finish tenth in F4 UAE with one race win and one pole position in front of the best current F4 drivers. Engaged in F1 Academy with Mercedes support, she was announced quite late to race in FRECA this year, meaning she missed four of the six days of pre-season testing. Because of this, a slow start to her FRECA campaign might be expected and the focus will be on learning the maximum to get prepared for a potential move to FIA F3 for 2025.

Header photo credit: Dutch Photo Agency