This year marks the first year of the Formula Trophy UAE. The series will run three back-to-back rounds in the United Arab Emirates, one of which supports Formula 1’s Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. Feeder Series tells you everything you need to know about the 2024 season. 

By Calla Kra-Caskey

Formula Trophy UAE was previously a non-point trophy round for F4 UAE supporting the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. Last year, Keanu Al Azhari won both races, while Louis Sharp came out on top in both contests in November 2022.

Now, as F4 UAE has turned into F4 Middle East, the trophy round has become a separate, multi-round competition. The series will still have significant overlap with F4 ME in terms of drivers and teams, so Formula Trophy UAE should provide a preview of the pecking order come January.

The calendar

Formula Trophy UAE is a three-round series. The series will return to Yas Marina Circuit and will visit Dubai Autodrome for the first time, although both circuits have been featured in F4 UAE. Round one will have three races, while rounds two and three will have two races each, for a seven-race calendar.

For the second round, the series will share the track with F1, F2 and F1 Academy at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. For this event, the series will run under the F4 UAE Trophy moniker.

• Round 1: Dubai Autodrome (29 November–1 December)
• Round 2: Yas Marina Circuit (6–8 December)
• Round 3: Yas Marina Circuit (13–14 December)

Formula Trophy UAE’s first round takes place during a slot that was previously assigned to Australian F4.

The format

Each race weekend will feature three pre-event test sessions, one free practice session, two qualifying sessions, and either two or three races.

In the first round, the first qualifying session will determine the grid for the first race. The grid for the second race will be determined by reversing the top eight finishers from the first race, while the rest of the field will start from their original finishing position. The second qualifying session will determine the grid for the third race.

In the second round, which features one qualifying session and two races, the fastest laps from qualifying will set the grid for the first race, while the second fastest laps will set the grid for the second race.

In the third round, which features two races, the first qualifying session will determine the grid for the first race, while the second qualifying session will determine the grid for the second race. 

Points will be awarded on the standard FIA single-seater scale, with 25 for the winner down to one for 10th place. There are no points for pole position or fastest lap.

Where to watch

The first two rounds will not be available to live-stream. Whether the third round will be streamed is not yet confirmed. Live timing will be available via getraceresults.com. 

Teams and drivers

AGI Sport

Australian team AGI Sport will return to the Middle East after placing seventh in the 2024 F4 UAE Championship. This year, they lead the teams’ championship, while two of their drivers are first and second in the drivers’ championship in Australian F4. 

Australian driver James Piszcyk (#93) will compete in the first round only, AGI Sport confirmed to Feeder Series. The 18-year-old clinched the Australian F4 Championship with one round remaining after winning the first nine races consecutively. In 2023, Piszcyk was fifth with two victories in the British F4 Championship. 

Replacing Piszcyk for the second and third rounds of the series will be British–New Zealander driver Emily Cotty. The 15-year-old, who was initially expected to race in Nordic 4 this year, competed in karting for much of 2024 instead. She made her competitive single-seater debut in the British F4 Championship this September, taking 18th- and 19th-place finishes. Cotty is one of the youngest and least experienced drivers in the field. 

Singaporean Nooris Gafoor (#20) will participate in all three rounds for AGI Sport. Like Cotty, Gafoor spent the majority of this year in karts. The 20-year-old came second in the Asia Pacific Karting Championship this year. Previously, Gafoor competed in the 2023 Indian F4 Championship, in which he finished ninth overall with a best result of seventh. 

Rounding out AGI’s lineup and also competing in all three rounds is Australian driver Nicolas Stati (#15). The 16-year-old also competes in Australian F4 with AGI and sits second in the standings with eight podium finishes. Stati was the runner-up in this year’s F4 United States Championship, in which he took three victories and an additional seven podiums and finished just 4.5 points behind champion Daniel Quimby. 

Champ Motorsport

Chinese team Champ Motorsport will race in the Middle East for the first time by participating in the Formula Trophy UAE season. Currently, the team competes in the F4 Chinese Championship and the TCR China Touring Car Championship. 

Leading the charge for the team is Chinese driver Jia Zhanbin (#30), or Dylan Jia, who finished sixth overall with a best result of fifth in Chinese F4 this year. Previously, Jia competed in the final round of the 2023 F4 US Championship, with a best result of 21st. 

Meng Cheng (#17) joins Champ Motorsport after having competed in the final round of Chinese F4 this year, taking a best result of 11th. Meng also competed in the 2024 China Endurance Championship.

Andy Law will replace Meng for the third round of Formula Trophy UAE, the team confirmed to Feeder Series. Law also competed for Champ in Chinese F4 this year, finishing 27th with a best result of ninth. 

Evans GP

Evans GP is the second Australian team competing in Formula Trophy UAE this year. In January and February, they fielded three cars in the FRegional Middle East Championship. For this series, Evans will field only two drivers, both of whom competed in Australian F4 this year. 

Indian driver Kai Daryanani (#8) has history with Evans GP, having driven for them in several series. This year, the 19-year-old joined the team for one round of Australian F4 at Sepang, where he finished fifth, third and first. He also represented the team at the FR level in this year’s Macau Grand Prix, finishing 20th in the qualifying race and retiring from the main race. He also competed in two rounds of GB4 with Evans GP in 2023, taking one victory. Daryanani has experience in a plethora of F4-level series, including F4 UAE. In 2024, racing for Pinnacle Motorsport, he finished 25th overall with a best result of ninth, which he achieved at Yas Marina. 

Joining Daryanani at Evans is Australian driver Seth Gilmore (#24), who currently sits fourth in Australian F4 with two podiums. Gilmore, 16, also competed in the final round of F4 US this year, achieving a best result of sixth. 

Pinnacle Motorsport

Pinnacle Motorsport have competed in F4 UAE for three years running and look to be continuing that trend with a Formula Trophy UAE entry this winter. In 2024, the team finished 10th in the F4 UAE teams’ championship after they finished sixth in 2023 when partnered with Van Amersfoort Racing. The Irish racing team has also competed in FR Middle East and predecessor series F3 Asia and FR Asia since 2018, finishing as high as second in both the teams’ championship and the drivers’ championship with Jack Doohan, Pierre-Louis Chovet and Pepe Martí. These outings give them plenty of competitive experience on both circuits. 

The team’s first entry is Wang Yuzhe (#25), who was fifth overall with a best result of fourth in Chinese F4 this year. The Chinese driver, who recently made the step up from karting, was also the series’ rookie champion. 

Joining Wang is Swedish driver Gustav Jonsson (#36). This year, Jonsson competed in Italian F4, finishing eighth overall with two podiums, and Euro 4, finishing seventh with three podiums. Previously, the 18-year-old was the rookie champion of  British F4 in 2023, and he returned to the series for one round this year with a best result of fourth. Jonsson’s track record means he is likely to be one of the more competitive drivers in the Formula Trophy UAE field and is one to watch for wins. 

Italian driver Davide Larini (#16) completes Pinnacle’s line-up. The 17-year-old competed in two rounds of F4 UAE earlier this year with a best result of 16th. Since then, he has driven in Italian F4, finishing 22nd with a best result of eighth, and Euro 4, finishing 12th with a best result of second. It was his second season in both championships. 

Prema Racing

Perennial junior single-seater favourites Prema Racing return to the Middle East for Formula Trophy UAE this winter. Prema-run teams have won the F4 UAE teams’ championship for three consecutive years, with satellite outfit Mumbai Falcons Racing Limited taking victory in 2023 and 2024, and drivers from one of the two squads have won the last three drivers’ titles as well. Prema’s Formula Trophy UAE roster contains both experienced drivers and F4 rookies.

An immediate favourite for the first two rounds will be Emirati driver Rashid Al Dhaheri (#14), who placed fourth in F4 UAE in 2024 with two victories for Prema. Al Dhaheri, 16, has two years of F4 experience. He was 10th overall in Italian F4 in both this year and the last, finishing 2023 with a podium, and was 12th last year and 11th with a podium this year in Euro 4. After competing in the opening two Formula Trophy UAE rounds, he will switch his focus to preparing for his 2025 FR Europe campaign with Prema. The team confirmed to Feeder Series that those preparations were the cause of his absence from Thursday’s pre-event test in Dubai, for which F4 squadmate Kean Nakamura-Berta replaced him.

Chi Zhenrui (#28), also known as Newman Chi, will step up from karting to join Prema. Chi’s most recent karting experience came in 2023, but the Chinese driver has been testing with Prema in 2024, including at selected F4 UAE rounds last year. The 16-year-old’s Formula Trophy UAE outing is expected to kickstart a permanent move to single-seaters. 

Colombian Salim Hanna (#88) steps up from Prema’s karting team to make his single-seater debut this weekend. Like Chi, Hanna, who turned 15 last week, has been testing F4 machinery with Prema this fall.

Replacing Al Dhaheri in the final round of the series is American driver Sebastian Wheldon. The 15-year-old was third in the championship with four victories. In 2023, he won the Skip Barber Formula Race Series. 

Xcel Motorsport

Based in the UAE, Xcel Motorsport have competed in six seasons of F4 UAE. In 2024 the team finished ninth with 10 points. Along with their satellite team, X GP, the series’ home team will bring an international line-up of six drivers to Formula Trophy UAE. 

Singaporean Alpine junior Kabir Anurag (#19) joins Xcel after a year spent in Italian F4. There, the 17-year-old finished 20th overall with a best result of sixth. In Euro 4, he finished 18th with a best result of eighth. Anurag also competed in the Formula Winter Series, finishing 14th with a best result of fifth. 

Xcel will also be fielding Indian driver Ary Bansal (#48). The Indian driver, 15, recently made his debut in the final round of Spanish F4 with Rodin Motorsport, with a best result of 19th. He also qualified eighth for the third race of the weekend.

Another driver new to single-seaters, Ella Lloyd (#5) finished 11th overall with four podiums in this year’s British F4 standings. The Welsh driver featured as a wild card in F1 Academy’s Singapore round, finishing ninth and seventh in the two races. The 19-year-old will use her Formula Trophy UAE campaign as preparation for 2025, when she heads to Rodin’s F1 Academy team full time with the support of McLaren.

Also from the British racing scene is 16-year-old Chase Fernandez (#90), who won the Ginetta Scholarship in 2023 and finished second in the series this year with seven wins. The British-Spanish driver was also a guest driver in the final two rounds of Spanish F4, achieving a best result of 16th. After participating in Formula Trophy UAE, he will head to British F4 for 2025. 

Rounding out the Xcel lineup is South African racer Cole Hewetson (#33), who steps up from karting to make his single-seater debut in Formula Trophy UAE. The 15-year-old will remain with Xcel in 2025 for a British F4 campaign. 

X GP

A satellite team of Xcel Motorsport, Emirati outfit X GP only entered cars in one round of F4 UAE in 2024. Those two entries finished outside of the points, with a best result of 15th for Chester Kieffer. They return to Formula Trophy UAE with a one-car entry.

That car will be piloted by Fu Yuhao (#69), also known as Felix Fu, who finished 37th with a best result of 19th in F4 UAE this year. Since then, Fu, 16, finished fourth with two wins in the Chinese F4 Championship and 27th with a best result of 10th in the British F4 Championship. 

Yas Heat Racing Academy

Another Emirati team in Yas Heat Racing Academy round out the championship. Last year, the Xcel-run squad finished third in the F4 UAE teams’ championship. Their two-car Formula Trophy UAE line-up will also compete in F4 ME starting in January. 

Adam Al Azhari (#12) will follow older brother Keanu’s footsteps in competing in F4 ME and the trophy series and attempt to replicate his third-place championship result and trophy round sweep. The 15-year-old made his single-seater debut in the third round of Spanish F4 this year, finishing 24th overall with a best result of 10th. 

Al Azhari is joined by Swedish-born, UAE-based driver August Raber (#47). The 15-year-old made his single-seater debut with Xcel in British F4 this year, finishing 21st with a best result of fifth. Raber also suffered a hand injury in a crash at Thruxton that caused him to miss the remainder of that round and the following one. 

Header photo credit: F4 UAE