After one month of rest, the Formula Regional European Championship hit the track at The Temple of Speed for one last dance in 2024. From the pouring rain of Saturday morning to a mild sunshine on Sunday, a long-awaited first win finally rose through the clouds, while a record-breaking driver wrapped up a picture-perfect season and the final title was awarded. 

By Francesca Brusa

Ugochukwu claims his first win, leads a Prema 1-2-3

Good things take time, and no one knows it better than Ugo Ugochukwu. After finishing the Italian F4 Championship as runner-up and being crowned Euro 4 champion that same year in 2023, there were definitely some expectations for the American driver as he stepped up the feeder series ladder into regional racing. 

Before Monza, the McLaren junior had only collected a podium finish at Hungaroring in FR Europe, making some question the genuine veracity behind his promotion to FIA Formula 3 with Prema. However, Ugochukwu proved them all wrong.

Adverse weather conditions forced the shutdown of qualifying one, which saw the drivers line up for race one in relation to the results obtained during the second session of collective tests. This decision allowed the New York City-born racer to start from pole position, surrounded by the series’ champion, Rafael Câmara, and the runner-up, James Wharton, on the second row as well as ART GP’s Alessandro Giusti in second.

Ugochukwu led lights-to-flag, nailing two safety car restarts and mastering a last lap shoot-out. The American driver was joined on the podium by his two teammates, Câmara and Wharton, in a Prema Racing 1-2-3. The last time a team locked down a top-three finish in FR Europe was, ironically enough, after race one in Monza for the 2021 season finale, when Hadrien David, Isack Hadjar and Zane Maloney brought home this result for R-ace GP.

Race two was not as generous to the McLaren junior. Despite starting from second row, Ugochukwu only managed to take the chequered flag in seventh position, tumbling down the order after nearly losing his car at the first of many safety car restarts.

This final round of the series allowed the American racer to climb up the standings, finishing 11th in the championship with 76 points to his name. 

Standout performance from Naël

After he took his first win in the series in race two at Spielberg, Théophile Naël became a full protagonist of the second half of the 2024 Formula Regional European Championship season. The confidence built up by the Frenchman allowed him to deliver performances that kept viewers on the edge of their seats, like his phenomenal overtake on Brando Badoer during race two in Barcelona.

After he took his first win in the series in race two at Spielberg, Théophile Naël became a full protagonist of the second half of the 2024 Formula Regional European Championship season. The confidence built up by the Frenchman allowed him to deliver performances that kept viewers on the edge of their seats, like his phenomenal overtake on Brando Badoer during race two in Barcelona.

Naël delivered no less during the last weekend of the campaign in Monza. Starting from tenth on the grid, the Saintéloc Racing driver started making up positions very early in the race, staying out of trouble despite the chaos that was happening around him. With two final moves on Roman Bilinski and Evan Giltaire, Naël secured a fourth-placed finish behind a dominant and uncatchable all-Prema podium.

It was on Sunday morning, however, that the French racer really gave his all. Chipping off the times of Ferrari’s Câmara and Taponen, Naël snatched pole position for race two, marking a first not only for himself but also for Saintéloc Racing. Unfortunately, he couldn’t replicate the masterclass he pulled out at the Red Bull Ring and had to settle for yet another fourth position as the chequered flag waved.

These results allowed Naël to come ninth in the championship with 81 points under his belt. 

Câmara frames record-breaking season with one last win

If we were to describe this year’s FR Europe season with one name, that would be Rafael Câmara’s. The Brazilian racer entered the final round at the Autodromo Nazionale Monza with six wins to his name, ten podiums, a championship and nothing to prove. And yet he still showed up. 

Starting from row two in race one, Câmara battled Trident’s Roman Bilinski to conquer second position as the first laps unfolded. With one final move heading into Lesmo one, right after going over the curb and almost losing the car, the Ferrari-backed driver granted himself a runner-up finish.

As the lights went out for race two, the Brazilian racer was in the same position where he was on Saturday. Instead of replicating the result obtained the previous day, however, Câmara took the lead before the first lap of the race was even completed and sailed undisturbed to victory.

The 2024 Formula Regional European Championship season ended the way it started: under the ‘Ordem e Progresso’ flag, with the Prema Racing driver on the top step of the podium. This final result allowed Câmara to become the all-time record holder of both top-three finishes (17) and wins (9) in the series’ history. 

Strømstead claims the rookie title

Despite stepping foot in Monza as the leader of the rookie standings, it was all but a stroll in the park for Noah Strømsted. The RPM racer started race one from the 30th slot on the grid but managed to climb up the order all the way to 17th position. 

Giving the Danish driver a rough ride was ART GP’s Evan Giltaire. The Frenchman, who started from the fourth row, made his way up through the pack and took the chequered flag in fifth, as well as the rookie win. Strømsted’s heroic quest, however, was no use, since he was involved in a crash during the final lap of the race at Rettifilo. 

All the cards on the table, it all came down to race two. While Giltaire needed to win the race in order to claim the title, it sufficed that the RPM driver finished in the top eight for him to become champion.

With a non-score from the French racer and a finish in the points for Strømsted, the latter took the crown and gifted the team their first title after three seasons in the series. 

The Formula Regional European Championship will be back on 2-4 May 2025 in Misano, a brand-new venue for the series, with a blank page ready to be filled with new stories and racing memories. 

Header photo credit: Dutch Photo Agency