There was much to celebrate across junior single-seater competition in 2024, with four Formula 2 drivers graduating to F1 and myriad other talents achieving on-track success in their own ways. In our final article – and e-book – of the year, find out how the title battles played out in the 38 series our editorial team covered this year and meet the champions who took the ultimate prize in each one.

By Feeder Series

Hall of Fame e-book produced by Michael McClure and Jordy van de Bunt

FIA Formula 2 Championship: Gabriel Bortoleto

By Martin Lloyd

Gabriel Bortoleto’s sublime F2 campaign has placed him alongside the series’ greats, though early in the year, a championship charge appeared unlikely. The Brazilian made a stuttering start to his season, with pole at the first race swiftly followed by a number of incidents, including two crashes with his eventual title rival, Isack Hadjar.

But once Bortoleto had banished those initial teething problems, he was imperious. The Invicta driver scored in 20 of the 22 races from Imola onwards, with the feature race of the Emilia-Romagna round also marking his first podium in F2. With seven further podiums, including two wins, Bortoleto never looked back. 

Particularly impressive was his stunning Monza weekend. When Bortoleto spun into the gravel in qualifying and failed to set a representative time, he expected to face a difficult weekend, yet he scored 25.5 points from the back of the field. In the sprint, Bortoleto crossed the line at the exact same time as Dennis Hauger, earning half a point that could have proven decisive in the title race, before completing a miraculous last-to-first victory in the feature race. 

Bortoleto became the fourth driver to win back-to-back F2 and F3 titles, winning the former by 22.5 points and leading Invicta to the teams’ title by a 34.5-point margin. For 2025, he will step up to F1 with Sauber. 

Summary

Team: Invicta Racing

Country: Brazil

Age: 20

Rounds: 14

Races: 28

Wins: 2

Fastest laps: 2

Poles: 2

Podiums: 8

Points: 214.5

Gap to P2: 22.5 points

FIA Formula 3 Championship: Leonardo Fornaroli

By Tori Turner

Fornaroli made history this year by becoming the first F3 champion to take the title without winning a race. Whilst some will remember his championship for his thrilling final-lap overtake in Monza, it was his consistency in both qualifying and races that defined the Italian’s title campaign. Fornaroli scored seven podiums and 18 points finishes, the most of any driver in 2024. 

His run of podiums started at the season opener in Bahrain, although a more praiseworthy performance came in Melbourne with his first of two pole positions and a second-place finish in the feature. He came close to winning at his home race in Imola after fighting his Trident teammates and taking the lead on lap three, but a temporary issue with his engine on lap six dropped him down to fifth. Now unlikely to contend for the win, Fornaroli clawed his way back to third to score 15 valuable points. 

The most memorable moment of his campaign, and potentially the 2024 season, was undoubtedly the title showdown in Monza. Fornaroli’s heroic overtake on Christian Mansell into the final corner of the last lap cemented his status as one of F3’s great overtakers and secured him the title over rival Gabriele Minì.

In 2025, Fornaroli will be following in 2023 F3 champion Gabriel Bortoleto’s footsteps by moving to teams’ champions Invicta Racing in F2. 

Summary

Team: Trident

Country: Italy

Age: 20

Rounds: 10

Races: 20

Wins: 0

Fastest laps: 2

Poles: 2

Podiums: 7

Points: 153

Gap to P2: 23 points

F1 Academy: Abbi Pulling

By Calla Kra-Caskey

On her way to becoming F1 Academy’s second champion, Pulling produced one of the best seasons in single-seaters this year. The Briton took 10 of 15 pole positions and 9 out of 14 victories without stepping off the podium once. 

At the start of the season in Jeddah, it seemed as though she might spend the season playing catch-up to opponent Doriane Pin. A post-race penalty for the Frenchwoman in race two handed Pulling her first single-seater victory and the championship lead. 

In Miami, Pulling was perfect, taking both pole positions and both victories. The only point she missed was for fastest lap in the first race. She then won in each round of the European leg and managed another double-pole, double-win weekend in the humidity of Singapore, once again only missing one fastest lap point. 

Pulling originally sealed her title in Qatar. After qualifying third for both races, she overtook Maya Weug for second, taking enough points for the championship. The second race was rescheduled to the Abu Dhabi round, and the addition of another qualifying session put Pin temporarily back in championship contention, but Pulling swiftly took triple pole to re-confirm her title. 

Next year, Pulling will continue with Rodin in GB3. F1 Academy and Pirelli will fully fund her seat and 20 days of testing. 

Summary

Team: Rodin Motorsport

Country: United Kingdom

Age: 21

Rounds: 7

Races: 14

Wins: 9 

Fastest laps: 6

Poles: 10

Podiums: 14

Points: 338

Gap to P2: 121 points

Euroformula Open Championship: Brad Benavides

By Marco Albertini

After dropping out mid-season from a scoreless campaign in F2 with PHM in 2023, Benavides returned to Euroformula Open this year, having last raced there in 2021. It was a downward move on the ladder, but as Ye Yifei, Oliver Goethe and Noel León showed, a season in Euroformula Open could help struggling drivers recover their form and improve their pace in single-seaters.

Despite the low car counts that meant only three drivers competed full time, the 23-year-old faced a challenge from series veteran Francesco Simonazzi. Starting off the season in Portimão, Benavides scored two second-place finishes and a win to take an early lead in the standings, a lead that he never surrendered as the season went on. He took a hard-fought win in the opening race at Hockenheim followed by two wins and a third-place finish in a dominant round at Spa.

Benavides took at least one win in each of the last five rounds, only missing the podium three times in the final 15 races of the season. That run of form meant he clinched the title with a round to spare and ended the season with an 86-point gap over Simonazzi.

Benavides hasn’t announced his 2025 plans yet.

Summary

Team: Team Motopark

Country: United States of America

Age: 23

Rounds: 8

Races: 24

Wins: 9

Fastest laps: 10

Poles: 4

Podiums: 19

Points: 431

Gap to P2: 86 points

Super Formula Lights: Syun Koide

By Finjo Muschlien

Koide, the 2022 Japanese F4 champion, made the step up to Super Formula Lights in 2023. Joining Toda Racing, Koide managed to end his first season as the top rookie and finished third overall with four wins. His solid performances also earned him a spot in the 2023 Super Formula post-season test with B-Max Racing. 

For 2024, Koide, who made the switch to B-Max in SFLights, was seen as the favourite for the title ahead of the season. Compared with his 2023 season, his 2024 season saw Koide double his wins, taking eight, and win the championship in dominant fashion with 114 points, 28 more than runner-up Rikuto Kobayashi scored. Despite finishing third overall, Koide’s closest rival in 2024 was TOM’S’ Seita Nonaka, who led the championship with a seven-point gap over Koide after the first two rounds and was in mathematical contention until the first race of the final round. 

For 2025, Koide is expected to step up to Super Formula with B-Max Racing following both his participation with the team in the 2024 post-season test and 2023 Super Formula Lights champion Iori Kimura’s departure from Honda. 

Summary

Team: B-Max Racing Team

Country: Japan 

Age: 25

Rounds: 6

Races: 18

Wins: 8

Fastest laps: 7

Poles: 6

Podiums: 11

Points: 114

Gap to P2: 28 points

Macau Grand Prix Formula Regional World Cup: Ugo Ugochukwu 

By Kaylene Lau

In the first edition of the Macau Grand Prix run with FRegional cars, Ugochukwu dominated the entire weekend and took the first ever FR World Cup title. 

Most of the weekend’s sessions were plagued by red flags caused by either poor conditions or collisions, but Ugochukwu maintained his composure and performed brilliantly. The R-ace GP driver set the fastest time out of the two qualifying sessions, giving him pole position for Saturday’s qualifying race. 

Ugochukwu converted pole to victory on both Saturday and Sunday, winning both races under safety car conditions. Ugochukwu’s three safety car restarts during Sunday’s race were thoroughly impressive, helping him maintain the lead ahead of Oliver Goethe. His win at the Macau Grand Prix made him the first American driver to win the race since 1981.

Ugochukwu previously raced in FR Europe this year, finishing 11th in the championship. He also raced in FR Middle East over the winter, finishing seventh, and ran a part-time GB3 campaign in which he finished 13th. 

Next year, Ugochukwu will step up to F3 with Prema. 

FIA Motorsport Games Formula 4 Cup: Juan Cota

By Seb Tirado

Cota took the gold medal in this year’s FIA Motorsport Games’ F4 Cup at the Circuit Ricardo Tormo in Valencia, Spain, in dominant fashion. The 17-year-old won the medal-awarding race on Sunday with a lights-to-flag victory, giving Spain their fifth of six gold medals in this year’s games.

Starting Saturday’s qualifying race on the front row, Cota took the lead off the line from Sri Lanka’s Yevan David and stayed in front to take victory and pole position for Sunday’s race. In his dominant drive to victory on Sunday, the MP-run driver nailed the race start, bolted after the safety car restart on lap four and led every lap to go unchallenged for the gold medal. 

In his main campaign with Drivex in Spanish F4, Cota finished fourth in the standings with four wins and four further podiums. He notably took a clean sweep of victories at Valencia the month prior, with his third win coming from his sole pole position of the year.

Cota will remain with Drivex and move up to Eurocup-3 in 2025.

Formula Regional European Championship: Rafael Câmara

By Francesca Brusa

Coming off a positive yet bittersweet first campaign in FR Europe, Câmara was the highest-placed driver returning to the series in 2024. Ever since he claimed pole position in qualifying one and victory in race one at the season opener in Hockenheim, it was clear that the Brazilian racer was destined to become one of the favourites for the title.

As the campaign unfolded, Câmara kept collecting victories undisturbed. In the first three rounds of the calendar, the Prema Racing driver came first four times, and in the races he didn’t win, he finished second. But as the series reached peak intensity midway through the season, Tuukka Taponen rained on his fellow Ferrari junior’s parade, dominating the round at Hungaroring and taking one further win at Mugello.

Just when things started to get complicated for Câmara, he claimed two wins at Le Castellet and Imola to redeem himself and extend his lead. He bagged the crown with two races to go despite scoring zero points during round eight at the Red Bull Ring.

With one final win at Monza, the Brazilian driver left FR Europe as the driver with the most wins ever. In 2025, he will step up to F3 and switch to Trident Motorsport.

Summary

Team: Prema Racing

Country: Brazil

Age: 19

Rounds: 10

Races: 20

Wins: 7

Fastest laps: 7

Poles: 7

Podiums: 12

Points: 309

Gap to P2: 73 points

Formula Regional Middle East Championship: Tuukka Taponen

By Daniele Spadi

Having left his mark on the F4 scene in 2023, Taponen graduated to FR for 2024, entering FR Middle East in the winter to prepare for his maiden FR Europe campaign later in the year.

Taponen was quick out of the gates, claiming second in the opening race of the season and finishing in the points in the next two. The Ferrari academy driver then made his mark in the following round by winning races one and three, which propelled him to the top of the standings.

Though many thought F2 driver Taylor Barnard and FR Europe title favourite Rafael Câmara could challenge Taponen, the Finn proved he was the one to beat. A double podium in round three at the Dubai Autodrome and another win in Abu Dhabi the following week meant that the R-ace GP driver had one hand on the trophy before the final round.

Taponen stayed on the throttle in the last race weekend, claiming two wins en route to his first single-seater title. He had a staggering 79-point buffer over Barnard and claimed more wins, podiums, pole positions and fastest laps than any of his rivals.

Taponen will move up to F3 in 2025 with ART Grand Prix.

Summary

Team: R-ace GP

Country: Finland

Age: 18

Rounds: 5

Races: 15

Wins: 5

Fastest laps: 7

Poles: 5

Podiums: 9

Points: 255

Gap to P2: 79 points

Formula Regional Japanese Championship: Michael Sauter

By Finjo Muschlien

Who would have thought two years ago that Michael Sauter would become an FR champion – in Japan? The Swiss-Japanese driver made the step up from his family-owned F4 team Sauter Engineering + Design, with whom he competed in ADAC F4 and F4 CEZ from 2021 to 2023, to the FR Japanese Championship at the end of 2023. He secured a full-time seat with Birth Racing Project for the 2024 season through a contact of his Japanese mother.

As part of the G Force Driver Development Program, Sauter received the support of former Formula Nippon driver Seiji Ara and current Super Formula driver Ren Sato. He was considered the favourite for the title ahead of the season and managed to win in dominant fashion after taking six wins and four more podium finishes.

Sauter’s plans for the 2025 season are unclear, as is whether he will continue his adventure in Japan or return to Europe. 

Summary

Team: Birth Racing Project

Country: Swiss 

Age: 20

Rounds: 6

Races: 14

Wins: 6

Fastest laps: 8

Poles: 5

Podiums: 10

Points: 236

Gap to P2: 81 points

Formula Regional Oceania Championship: Roman Bilinski

By Kaylene Lau

Bilinski took the FR Oceania title with six wins and a total of 385 points. This year was Bilinski’s third year racing in FR cars, but his FR Oceania campaign was the first time he’d ever raced in a winter series. 

Bilinski immediately cemented himself as a title contender in the first race at Taupo, when he took the lead from polesitter Christian Mansell right at the start. A highlight of the 20-year-old’s campaign was the first race at Hampton Downs. Bilinski had originally qualified 14th but managed to claim victory after making up 13 positions during the race in mixed conditions. 

In addition to his six wins, the M2 Competition driver also stood on the podium 12 times and took six fastest laps. He was extremely consistent throughout his FR Oceania campaign, only failing to score points in one out of 15 races. 

Bilinski also raced in FR Europe this year, finishing 14th in the championship after having to pause his campaign mid-season to recuperate from injuries sustained in a road accident. 

In 2025, he will step up to F3 with Rodin. 

Summary

Team: M2 Motorsport

Country: Poland & United Kingdom

Age: 20

Rounds: 5

Races: 15

Wins: 6

Fastest laps: 6

Poles: 5

Podiums: 12

Points: 385

Gap to P2: 44 points 

Formula Regional Americas Championship: Patrick Woods-Toth

By Laura Anequini

After securing the F4 US title as a rookie in 2023, Woods-Toth stepped up to FR Americas with Crosslink Kiwi. Before starting his North American campaign, Woods-Toth raced in FR Oceania, in which he finished third in the championship as a rookie. 

His path to the FR Americas title, however, was not as smooth as it was last year in F4 US. After a strong debut in the first round in New Orleans, where he finished on the podium in all three races and won one of them, Woods-Toth was passed by teammate Ryan Shehan in the standings. Both drivers performed on similar levels, and it seemed the battle between them would be decided by small margins.

Shehan, however, left the championship because of budget constraints ahead of the fifth round in New Jersey. Woods-Toth then only needed to keep up consistency to win the title, and that’s exactly what he did. A dominant performance at his home round in Canada, where he started on pole and won all races, meant he was able to secure the title with one round still to go.

After securing the title, Woods-Toth missed the last round of the championship at the Circuit of The Americas in order to save budget for his 2025 exploits, though he has yet to announce what those will be. 

Summary

Team: Crosslink Kiwi Motorsport

Country: Canada 

Age: 21

Rounds: 6

Races: 17

Wins: 8

Fastest laps: 9

Poles: 6

Podiums: 14

Points: 294.5

Gap to P2: 106.5 points

Eurocup-3: unconfirmed

By Seb Tirado

While Javier Sagrera took this year’s Eurocup-3 title in the final race at Barcelona by two points over Christian Ho, he has only been crowned provisionally. There is an ongoing appeal process for an incident in that weekend’s first race between Emerson Fittipaldi Jr and Ho, who finished the race first and second respectively. If the appeal succeeds, Fittipaldi would earn a five-second penalty, and Ho would inherit the race win and the drivers’ title.

Sagrera won the only race in the controversial first round of the season at Spa and took four podiums at Spielberg, Portimão and Le Castellet. He then won both races at Zandvoort from pole and the second race at Aragón before taking two second places at Jerez. Two points finishes at Barcelona gave him the provisional title by two points.

Ho’s first points came with fourth from pole position in race two at Spielberg. He then won the first two races at Portimão and took three more wins and four further podiums with only one non-score.

Sagrera will move up to F3 next year with AIX Racing. Ho tested with DAMS in the post-season test but has not announced his 2025 plans.

Summary

Javier Sagrera

Team: MP Motorsport

Country: Spain

Age: 20

Rounds: 8

Races: 16

Wins: 4

Fastest laps: 1

Poles: 2

Podiums: 10

Points: 250

Christian Ho

Team: Campos Racing

Country: Singapore

Age: 18

Rounds: 8

Races: 16

Wins: 5*

Fastest laps: 5

Poles: 7

Podiums: 9

Points: 248*

*Pending outcome of appeal process

GB3 Championship: Louis Sharp

By George Sanderson

After winning the British F4 title at his second attempt in 2023, Louis Sharp took the GB3 title in the final round of the 2024 season at Brands Hatch. The Nottingham-born New Zealander also helped New Zealand outfit Rodin Motorsport win the teams’ title.

Sharp started the season in superb fashion, taking his maiden pole in the first race of the season at Oulton Park and converting that into his maiden GB3 win. His consistency was what carried him, as he finished inside the top five at every race in the first three rounds despite not winning any in that time.

Two victories at Donington Park, the penultimate round of the season, saw him enter the final round with leads of 33 and 36 points respectively over his closest rivals, John Bennett and Tymek Kucharczyk. Though he finished behind both in the first race, he took a lights-to-flag victory from pole in race two, with his two rivals joining him on the podium in championship order.

That victory put him on the brink of the title, which he then clinched in the final race of the season with a 10th-place finish. He won the championship with 478 points, 22 ahead of Bennett and 35 ahead of Kucharczyk.

In 2025, Sharp will remain with Rodin Motorsport as he makes the step up to F3.

Summary

Team: Rodin Motorsport

Country: New Zealand

Age: 17

Rounds: 8

Races: 23

Wins: 5

Fastest laps: 1

Poles: 5

Podiums: 10

Points: 478

Gap to P2: 22 points

Italian Formula 4 Championship: Freddie Slater

By Francesca Brusa

After taking the F4 UAE title in the winter of 2024, Slater returned to Europe, where he had already taken part in selected rounds of the Italian F4 and Euro 4 championships the year before. Coming back to the first of those in May, he established himself as the series’ dominant force, snatching all three pole positions and wins during the first weekend at Misano.

The British racer initially kept his victory streak alive in the first race at Imola, the second round on the calendar, until a disqualification from that race and a non-score in the following race put Hiyu Yamakoshi, arguably his only championship rival, ahead. But Slater redeemed himself and reclaimed the lead that same day by taking the win in race three.

From that moment onwards, the Prema Racing driver finished outside the points only once, in race three at Le Castellet, and missed out on a podium another time, at Barcelona in race three. Excluding a non-start for technical reasons in race one at Le Castellet, Slater claimed victory in every other race until the last race of the season, in which he finished second. He was crowned champion with four races still to be run.

The Stratford-upon-Avon native will be moving onto FR Europe with the Grisignano di Zocco–based squad for next year. 

Summary

Team: Prema Racing

Country: United Kingdom

Age: 16

Rounds: 7

Races: 21

Wins: 15

Fastest laps: 10

Poles: 11

Podiums: 16

Points: 383

Gap to P2: 161 points

Euro 4 Championship: Akshay Bohra

By Francesca Brusa

Since the 2024 Euro 4 season started in late August, it was clear that Bohra felt confident in his abilities. After having missed out on the title the previous year, the Indian-American was determined not to lose out twice.

As the first weekend of the campaign unfolded, Bohra achieved three pole positions and two race wins, with Hiyu Yamakoshi claiming victory in the other race. By round two, another rival emerged in the form of Freddie Slater, who stood on the podium after all three races at the Red Bull Ring, while two fourth-place finishes and one non-score put Bohra on the back foot.

Coming into Monza, the New York City–born driver played it safe and took the rewards of a double podium and the title of champion as both Slater and Yamakoshi hit trouble. In 2025, he will step up to FR Europe, joining forces with R-ace GP. 

Summary

Team: US Racing

Country: India

Age: 17

Rounds: 3

Races: 9

Wins: 2

Fastest laps: 1

Poles: 3

Podiums: 4

Points: 124

Gap to P2: 18 points

British Formula 4 Championship: Deagen Fairclough

By Gavin Guthrie

After an impressive single-seater debut in 2023 that saw him finish third in the British F4 standings with JHR Developments, Fairclough made the switch to Hitech GP in preparation for a 2024 title charge. As the best-placed returnee from 2023, the Surrey-based driver faced high expectations.

He responded by taking three wins and a second-place finish in the first five races of the season. His 2024 season began with a blazing opening lap at Donington Park on which he built a 1.5-second lead from the second row of the grid.The sim racer turned Hitech prodigy then led the championship until the finish, missing the podium only eight times across the 30-race season.

Fairclough sealed the championship five races early, in as dominant a fashion as he had commanded it throughout, by taking his 11th win of the season in the first event on the Silverstone National circuit by more than eight seconds. He then stole the record for most wins in a single season from his Hitech predecessor, Alex Dunne, in the following race. By season’s end, he had racked up 14 wins. 

Given the success of his partnership with the team in F4, it is no surprise that Fairclough will make the step up to GB3 with Hitech GP as he targets a first-season title charge, much like what 2023 British F4 champion Louis Sharp did this year.

Summary

Team: Hitech GP

Country: United Kingdom

Age: 18

Rounds: 10

Races: 30

Wins: 14

Fastest laps: 19

Poles: 15

Podiums: 22

Points: 583

Gap to P2: 222.5 points

Spanish Formula 4 Championship: Mattia Colnaghi

By Seb Tirado

In his first year in car racing, Colnaghi won the Spanish F4 title after overturning a 13-point deficit to MP Motorsport teammate Keanu Al Azhari going into the final round at Barcelona. 

After a suboptimal first round at Jarama, Colnaghi took his first of 12 total podiums of the year at Portimão before winning the first two races at Le Castellet. Colnaghi then stood on the podium at least twice in each of the last four rounds and only failed to score points in race two at Valencia. From that point until the penultimate race of the season in Barcelona, he went on a seven-race streak of podium finishes, including four wins.

Colnaghi’s fifth-place finish in race three secured him the championship with a 10-point gap over Al Azhari. 

Colnaghi’s 2025 plans have not yet been announced, but it is likely that he will remain with MP Motorsport and move up to Eurocup-3. He recently tested the championship’s machinery with the team at multiple circuits on next year’s calendar and participated in the FR World Cup at Macau in November.

Summary

Team: KCL by MP Motorsport

Country: Italy

Age: 16

Rounds: 7

Races: 21

Wins: 6

Fastest laps: 5

Poles: 7

Podiums: 12

Points: 282

Gap to P2: 10 points

Formula Winter Series: Griffin Peebles

By Finjo Muschlien

Peebles scored just a single point in the 2023 Spanish F4 season, yet he became the Formula Winter Series champion the following winter. Ahead of the season, Peebles made the move to frontrunners MP Motorsport, but he still wasn’t expected to dominate his strong rookie teammates, including 2023 Ferrari scouting camp winner René Lammers, in the way he did.

Peebles took four wins and three more podium finishes on his way to the title. Despite being level on points with Andrés Cárdenas, his closest rival, after six races at the second round at Valencia, he brought home two more race wins at the season finale at Barcelona to seal the title. 

Following the FWS season, Peebles raced in Spanish F4 with MP. After 21 races, he finished ninth overall with four podium finishes and 106 points, scoring 67 points less than he had in FWS after 11 races. 

For 2025, Peebles is expected to step away from single-seaters and make a full switch to LMP3 racing. Following his participation in the European Le Mans Series rookie test at Portimão, he was announced to be driving in the series for R-ace GP in 2025, but the team is currently on the reserve list.

Summary

Team: MP Motorsport

Country: Australia

Age: 16

Rounds: 4

Races: 11

Wins: 4

Fastest laps: 5

Poles: 4

Podiums: 7

Points: 173

Gap to P2: 21 points

Formula 4 CEZ Championship: Oscar Wurz

By Marco Albertini

Having come off a part-time campaign in the Danish F4 Championship in which he scored one podium, Wurz competed in the Saudi Arabian F4 Championship at the start of 2024. He won on debut in the trophy round in Bahrain but finished only fifth overall in the main championship with three podiums. 

The 17-year-old soon turned his attention to the F4 CEZ Championship, in which he competed for Jenzer Motorsport. Starting off the season at Balaton Park, he scored three second-place finishes to lead the standings. Though he only took two outright wins after that, both at the Slovakiaring, he maintained momentum with nine other podiums to become champion by 25 points over Kirill Kutskov. 

During the year, Wurz also made one-off appearances in other F4 contests, including the FIA Motorsport Games F4 Cup, in which he represented Austria, and the Spanish F4 Championship, in which he competed with Drivex at Valencia and with Saintéloc at Barcelona.

Recently, Drivex announced that Wurz would step up to Eurocup-3 with the team for 2025.

Summary

Team: Jenzer Motorsport

Country: Austria

Age: 17

Rounds: 6

Races: 18

Wins: 4

Fastest laps: 6

Poles: 1

Podiums: 14

Points: 301

Gap to P2: 25 points

French Formula 4 Championship: Taito Kato

By Perceval Wolff-Taffus

Honda Racing School graduate Kato went to French F4 for his first full year of car racing as one of 25 full-time drivers in the FFSA Academy–operated series.

Kato kicked off his season with a double podium at Nogaro, showing from the start that he would be a frontrunner. He then clinched his maiden win in Lédenon followed by a reverse-grid win at Spa-Francorchamps, where he also became the only driver all year to score a triple podium.

Engaged in a three-way title fight with Yani Stevenheydens and Jules Caranta, Kato finished the season in dominant style with three wins and three pole positions in the last four main races. The last of those wins gave him the title, though he only found out about it hours after the chequered flag for the season’s final race.

The FFSA overturned Kato’s penalty for an on-track incident with Stevenheydens in race one, reinstating his victory and giving him enough points to overhaul the Belgian. His title was confirmed weeks later after an appeal by the Stevenheydens camp was investigated.

Kato had six more points than Stevenheydens and 14 more than Caranta. In 2025, the Japanese driver will step up to FR Middle East and FR Europe with ART Grand Prix, retaining Honda support.

Summary

Country: Japan

Age: 17

Rounds: 7

Races: 20

Wins: 5

Fastest laps: 5

Poles: 4

Podiums: 12

Points: 280

Gap to P2: 6 points

Formula 4 UAE Championship: Freddie Slater

By Calla Kra-Caskey

Slater entered F4 UAE as a title favourite after a storming Ginetta Junior title and strong debuts in British F4, Italian F4, and Euro 4 the year before. The championship ended up as a three-way battle between Slater, Kean Nakamura-Berta, and Keanu Al Azhari, in which Slater triumphed in the final race. 

The first two rounds of the championship were by far Slater’s strongest. Across the first six races in Abu Dhabi, Slater won twice and took three additional podiums, with a worst result of fourth. He faltered slightly in Dubai – finishing fourth, 10th and fourth – but retained the championship lead. 

In the first race of the fourth round, Slater collided with Al Azhari. He retired and was forced to start the reverse-grid race from the very back, leaving the weekend scoreless and having lost the championship lead. 

Slater qualified 13th and fourth in the final round but managed to gain places in all three races. In the final race, he returned to the podium for the first time in nearly a month, completing his comeback to take his first single-seater championship. 

Next year, Slater will continue with Prema, which operated the Mumbai Falcons team, in the FRegional European Championship. 

Summary

Team: Mumbai Falcons Racing Limited

Country: United Kingdom

Age: 16

Rounds: 5

Races: 15

Wins: 2

Fastest laps: 4

Poles: 0

Podiums: 6

Points: 172

Gap to P2: 4 points

Formula Trophy UAE: Kai Daryanani

By Calla Kra-Caskey

Daryanani won the first edition of Formula Trophy UAE since its transition from a standalone event to a points-paying series. The championship title was his first across 140 races in F4 and the first for Evans GP in single-seaters. 

During the series’ opening round in Dubai, Daryanani struggled, managing two fourth places and one ninth. But in the subsequent two rounds in Abu Dhabi, the Indian driver did not step off the podium once. 

Heading into the third and final round, Daryanani trailed championship leader Rashid Al Dhaheri by 27 points. Al Dhaheri, however, had departed the series to focus on his 2025 FR campaign and thus could not defend his lead. With a third- and a second-place finish, the former coming after an intense battle with Kabir Anurag for a podium spot, Daryanani took the points necessary to seal the title. 

Daryanani will remain with Evans GP for FR Middle East and told Feeder Series after his title win that he was also aiming for a GB3 seat. 

Summary

Team: Evans GP

Country: India

Age: 19

Rounds: 3

Races: 7

Wins: 1

Fastest laps: 0

Poles: 0

Podiums: 4

Points: 102

Gap to P2: 6 points

Saudi Arabian Formula 4 Championship: Federico Al Rifai

By Marco Albertini

Following a difficult season in Spanish F4 with Rodin in which he finished 22nd in the standings, Al Rifai competed in the Saudi Arabian F4 Championship.

Having taken a win in the trophy round in Bahrain, the 17-year-old Emirati-Italian kicked off the season with a double pole and a win in the opening round in Kuwait. He proceeded to score five more victories in the next four rounds, winning the championship in the final Jeddah round by 33 points ahead of Andrej Petrovic.

Al Rifai switched to sports cars for the rest of 2024. He competed in GT Cup Europe with GDL Motorsport, finishing runner-up in his first full season out of single-seaters.

Al Rifai hasn’t announced his 2025 plans yet.

Summary

Country: United Arab Emirates

Age: 17

Rounds: 5

Races: 16

Wins: 7

Fastest laps: 5

Poles: 5

Podiums: 10

Points: 226

Gap to P2: 33 points

Japanese Formula 4 Championship: Yuto Nomura

By Finjo Muschlien

Honda junior Nomura managed to win his first title in single-seaters in his third season of F4 racing. The former Red Bull junior entered his second season of Japanese F4 as a member of HFDP with B-Max Racing and took seven wins and three more podium finishes on his way to become the first champion using Japanese F4’s second-generation car.

Sharing the title fight with teammate and fellow Honda junior Ryota Horachi, Nomura had the upper hand from the fourth round at Sugo onwards. He finished every race ahead of Horachi, highlighted by a five-race win streak from the second race at Autopolis through the three at Motegi and the first at Suzuka.

In 2025, Nomura will step up to Super Formula Lights with B-Max Racing, having already participated with the team in the official 2024 post-season test.

Summary

Team: HFDP with B-Max Racing Team

Country: Japan 

Age: 19

Rounds: 7

Races: 14

Wins: 7

Fastest laps: 4

Poles: 3

Podiums: 10

Points: 236

Gap to P2: 69 points

Chinese Formula 4 Championship: Oscar Pedersen 

By Kaylene Lau

In his first season of Chinese F4, Pedersen took the championship title with four wins and a total of 320 points. He never finished lower than fifth across all five rounds this season, a level of consistency that was key for him to take the title. 

Pedersen’s first win came at the Chengdu Tianfu Circuit, where he finished 2.6 seconds ahead of second-placed Wang Yuzhe. His most successful weekend came at Ningbo, where he won the first race and placed second in the other three. 

Despite being new to all the circuits this season, Pedersen seamlessly fought for wins against drivers who had previous experience racing on them. He took the title by 19 points over Kaishun Liu, who was the runner-up last season as well. 

Pedersen’s stellar results this year enabled his team Venom Motorsport – a new entry in the Chinese F4 championship this year – to take second place in the teams’ standings with 420 points, most of which were contributed by Pedersen. 

Pedersen’s plans for next year are currently unknown.

Summary

Team: Venom Motorsport 

Country: Sweden 

Age: 18

Rounds: 5

Races: 18

Wins: 4

Fastest laps: 6

Poles: 3

Podiums: 14

Points: 320

Gap to P2: 19 points

Indian Formula 4 Championship: Aqil Alibhai

By Perceval Wolff-Taffus

Following his first full season in single-seaters that saw him finish eighth overall with one reverse-grid win in British F4, Alibhai was tipped as one of the title favourites for Indian F4’s second season.

Though former F3 driver Hugh Barter dominated early on, the Australian had to step away after the second round in Chennai. Alibhai collected his maiden win in what was Barter’s final race, hours after failing to start the first race of the weekend.

Afterwards, Alibhai had a heated battle for the title with local driver Ruhaan Alva, but the South African’s strong starts and pace in races were his main assets in his fight for the Indian F4 crown. He secured his first title in single-seaters in large part thanks to a streak of five consecutive victories starting at Madras and finishing at the second Kari round. 

Alibhai didn’t race in any other series in 2024 and has reportedly not been testing in single-seaters over the last few weeks.

Summary

Team: Hyderabad Blackbirds

Country: South Africa

Age: 18

Rounds: 5

Races: 14

Wins: 6

Fastest laps: 4

Poles: 1

Podiums: 12

Points: 282

Gap to P2: 18 points

Australian Formula 4 Championship: Jimmy Piszcyk

By Maiya Intan

After placing fifth in the 2023 British F4 Championship, Piszcyk returned to the more familiar Australian circuits for the first Australian F4 season since 2019. Having brought home what he learned from his time with Hitech GP, he shone, taking nine consecutive wins in the season’s first nine races and adding a 10th podium via a third-place finish in the fourth round at Sepang. 

That round proved more difficult for Piszcyk, who faced competition from one-off entrants Evans GP’s three-car contingent. Nevertheless, he extended his lead in the drivers’ standings and accumulated 256 points by the end of the round, 81 more than teammate Nicolas Stati and enough to claim the title.

After the cancellation of the planned third round at Queensland, a replacement event at the Dubai Autodrome was scheduled for the end of November. This was at the same place and time as the first round of Formula Trophy UAE, which ended up claiming the round. Piszcyk and his AGI teammates still competed, with the 18-year-old finishing as the best of the group in all three races and taking two podiums.

In the end, with only four points-awarding events in the Australian F4 season, Piszcyk had actually secured his title victory after the third round at Sydney Motorsport Park. His 2025 plans are not known.

Summary

Team: AGI Sport

Country: Australia 

Age: 18

Rounds: 4

Races: 12

Wins: 9

Fastest laps: 8

Poles: 6

Podiums: 10

Points: 256

Gap to P2: 81 points

Brazilian Formula 4 Championship: Matheus Comparatto

By Laura Anequini

Comparatto was considered a Brazilian F4 title contender from the start. Securing a win during the first round at Velocitta, Comparatto left the weekend second in the standings. But Álvaro Cho, first at the time, did not participate in round two, enabling Comparatto to take a lead that he kept for the rest of the season.

Comparatto and Cho came into the final round in Interlagos separated by 38-point gap, with 70 points still available. Cho won the first race of the round, which kept the championship fight alive until the final race day on Saturday. Comparatto started race two in seventh, while Cho started in ninth. Despite starting further back, Comparatto had strong pace during the race and moved up to fourth before the race was stopped, securing the championship with one race still left.

Consistent all year long, Comparatto only ended up outside the points twice and showed significant improvement compared to last year. His standout performance came in the penultimate round in Goiânia, where he secured pole for both races, led race three from start to finish and set the fastest lap while doing so.

His plans for 2025 have not been announced yet, but he confirmed to Feeder Series that he would be racing in Europe next year.

Summary

Team: Bassani Racing

Country: Brazil

Age: 18

Rounds: 8

Races: 24

Wins: 5

Fastest laps: 2

Poles: 4

Podiums: 14

Points: 337

Gap to P2: 30 points

F4 United States Championship: Daniel Quimby

By Laura Anequini

For most of 2023, Quimby was too young to race in F4 US. He only competed in the last round of the championship, finishing seventh in race two.

This year, he joined what was the championship’s smallest grid ever, but the 16-year-old didn’t let that hold him back. Because the start of the championship was delayed, Quimby first raced in the opening round of Ligier JS F4 with a first-generation F4 car, finishing third in race three.

The main campaign began in May, and Quimby had a strong season with five wins and three further podiums from the first four rounds. He entered the last round at the Circuit of The Americas 5.5 points behind Nicolas Stati in the championship race, but with two second-place finishes in the last round to Stati’s one, Quimby took the title with a 4.5-point margin.

As the winner of F4 US, Quimby earned a scholarship containing a Ligier JS F3 car lease to help him step up to FR Americas for 2025. His plans for 2025, however, have not been announced yet.

Summary

Team: Atlantic Racing Team 

Country: Australia

Age: 16

Rounds: 5

Races: 14

Wins: 5

Fastest laps: 3

Poles: 1

Podiums: 10

Points: 227.5

Gap to P2: 4.5 points

Ligier JS F4 Series: Teddy Musella

By Laura Anequini

Teddy Musella was the only driver in Scuderia Buell’s line-up who raced in all rounds of the rebranded Ligier JS F4 championship this year. His highlight of the season came early on in the first round at NOLA. Starting off strong, Musella finished on the podium three times and won two out of the three races that weekend.

The 15-year-old performed consistently throughout the season, finishing on the podium at least once every round. Besides racing in Ligier JS F4, Musella also raced in USF Juniors at Barber, where he also had a strong debut in the championship by finishing seventh and 10th in the two races.

Coming into the last round of the season in JS F4, he had a 4.5-point deficit to Kekai Hauanio. Hauanio, however, struggled that weekend while Musella enjoyed a near-perfect one. With two wins, three podiums, one pole and one fastest lap, Musella ran away with the lead and earned the first Ligier JS F4 championship title by 51.5 points.

As the winner of the championship, Musella won a scholarship to advance to F4 US next year, though nothing about his 2025 plans has been announced yet.

Summary

Team: Scuderia Buell 

Country: United States of America 

Age: 15

Rounds: 5

Races: 15

Wins: 5

Fastest laps: 5

Poles: 3

Podiums: 12

Points: 254

Gap to P2: 51.5 points

GB4 Championship: Linus Granfors

By George Sanderson

Granfors beat the GB4 Silverstone lap record on his first test day in the car, so there was a lot of excitement around him when he finally signed for Fortec Motorsport. He had dominated Formula Nordic in 2023, achieving a record-setting 12 consecutive race wins and securing the title early in the summer.

He took a dramatic maiden GB4 win in the third race of the season, overtaking KMR Sport’s Chloe Grant on the final lap at Oulton Park after having spun on the opening lap. He then won the next three races – two at Silverstone and the opening race at Donington Park – to lay claim to being a true title contender.

He achieved two race wins and four further podiums in the final four rounds, often battling Lucas Blakeley for positions at the front after the Scotsman joined the championship for the final four rounds.

Granfors took the title with a race to spare in Brands Hatch finale. His closest rivals for the title were Alisha Palmowski and Harry Burgoyne Jr, who finished 45 and 46 points behind him respectively. 

Looking ahead to 2025, he appears likely to make the step up to the GB3 championship, having secured a £50,000 contribution towards a GB3 or British F4 drive with his title win.

Summary

Team: Fortec Motorsport

Country: Sweden

Age: 17

Rounds: 7

Races: 20

Wins: 6

Fastest laps: 3

Poles: 6

Podiums: 10

Points: 467

Gap to P2: 45 points

Nordic 4: Mathias Bjerre Jakobsen

By Sean McKean

In his second season in the championship, Bjerre Jakobsen built on a successful rookie year by taking overall glory in the newly rebranded Nordic 4 Championship with Step Motorsport. The Danish driver convincingly beat full-time teammates Sebastian Bach and Lærke Rønn Sørensen, who finished fourth and seventh overall respectively.

Though Bjerre Jakobsen won the first race of the opening round in Padborg, his two podiums in the next five races along with two retirements helped F5 class entrant Mads Hoe take an early championship lead after round two. Bjerre Jakobsen followed this up by sweeping all three races of round three in Karlskoga, but Hoe responded by sweeping round four in Djursland. 

Rounds five and six, however, completely changed the complexion of the championship, with Bjerre Jakobsen sweeping two consecutive weekends in Falkenberg and Padborg respectively as Hoe took only one podium. Another win in the final round at Jyllandsringen meant the 18-year-old wrapped up the title with two races to spare. 

For the winter of 2025, Bjerre Jakobsen will participate in the Prototype Winter Series with LMP3 team Racing Experience, having won their two-day testing shoot-out in September. He plans to participate in Radical Cup Scandinavia for the summer with Nordic 4 team Step Motorsport. 

Summary

Team: Step Motorsport

Country: Denmark

Age: 18

Rounds: 7

Races: 21 

Wins: 12

Fastest laps: 10

Poles: 4

Podiums: 17

Points: 399

Gap to P2: 78 points

Formula Nordic: Daniel Varverud

By Sean McKean

Varverud built on a third-place finish in his rookie year in 2023 by taking the Swedish-based Formula Nordic title in 2024 in his own privateer entry. He ended the season with seven victories and six further podiums.

Varverud opened the season in the best way possible by winning both of the opening round’s two races in Anderstorp. The next round in Karlskoga – one of three run jointly with Nordic 4 – saw the Swede take only one victory in race three, with Albin Stureson taking the other two in his only victories of the season.

In round three at Ljungbyhed, Varverud won one race and finished second in the other to Enzo Hallman, who became his closest rival despite missing round one. Hallman brought this momentum into the fourth round at Falkenberg with two victories, but Varverud still finished on the podium in each of the three races – one of them as the winner – to keep the points loss at a minimum.

For Formula Nordic’s first round abroad at Norway’s Rudskogen, Varverud won both races whilst keeping Hallman at bay. This granted him a comfortable 70-point championship lead ahead of the final round at Jyllandsringen, and he clinched the title after finishing second in race one even with Hallman winning two of the last three races.

Varverud’s 2025 plans have yet to be announced.

Summary

Country: Sweden

Age: 18

Rounds: 6

Races: 15

Wins: 7

Fastest laps: 9

Poles: 2

Podiums: 13 

Points: 298

Gap to P2: 34 points

Indy NXT: Louis Foster

By Jeroen Demmendaal

Foster had a season much like that of his predecessor as Indy NXT champion, Christian Rasmussen. He followed a rookie year full of ups and downs with a sophomore season in which he was the clear favourite for the title – and he delivered on those expectations.

Already halfway through the season, Foster’s title seemed like a foregone conclusion despite the best efforts of Jacob Abel. From the fourth race onward, the Andretti Global driver finished only first or second, ending the year with eight wins and 12 total podiums from 14 races.

Looking ahead, Foster will continue Indy NXT’s strong track record of delivering fresh talent to the IndyCar Series. In October, he was confirmed for a multi-year deal at Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing.

Summary

Team: Andretti Global

Country: United Kingdom

Age: 21

Rounds: 12

Races: 14

Wins: 8

Fastest laps: 7 

Poles: 7

Podiums: 12

Points: 639

Gap to P2: 122 points

USF Pro 2000 Championship: Lochie Hughes

By Jeroen Demmendaal

After finishing third in USF2000 in 2023 with Jay Howard Driver Development, Hughes decided to make a switch for his graduation to USF Pro 2000 and signed with Turn 3 Motorsport. It was a transfer that immediately paid off, as the Gold Coast–born rookie made good use of Turn 3’s rising profile in the series.

The title battle was an intriguing three-way fight between Hughes, Nikita Johnson and Jace Denmark. Though Johnson had eight wins to Hughes’ five, the Australian was the most consistent of the three contenders otherwise, with 11 podiums and only two results outside the top 10. A crucial podium finish for Hughes came in the series’ sole oval race at Indianapolis Raceway Park, which awards more points – and from which Johnson retired.

The title is Hughes’ second in American open-wheel racing following his 2022 title in F4 US. For 2025, he takes over the Indy NXT seat vacated by reigning champion Louis Foster at Andretti Global, meaning he has a good chance of clinching three championships within four years.

Summary

Team: Turn 3 Motorsport

Country: Australia

Age: 22

Rounds: 8

Races: 18

Wins: 5

Fastest laps: 3

Poles: 4

Podiums: 11

Points: 395

Gap to P2: 40 points

USF2000 Championship: Max Garcia

By Jeroen Demmendaal

It’s easy to forget that Garcia is still only 15 years old -–that’s how mature his drive towards the 2024 USF2000 championship was. The latest recruit of Augie Pabst, a perennial moulder of champions, Garcia was a clear title favourite when the season kicked off in St. Petersburg after finishing ninth in 2023.

His double victory in Florida set the tone for the rest of the season, during which he never finished outside of the top 10. Teammate Sam Corry and VRD Racing’s Max Taylor gave Garcia a good run for his money, but in the end Garcia won the championship in dominant fashion with a 73-point margin over Corry.

In 2025, he will continue his journey with Pabst Racing in USF Pro 2000.

Summary

Team: Pabst Racing

Country: United States of America

Age: 15

​​Rounds: 8

Races: 18

Wins: 5

Fastest laps: 2

Poles: 7

Podiums: 10

Points: 428

Gap to P2: 73 points

USF Juniors

By Jeroen Demmendaal

Doing double duty seemed like an ambitious plan when 2024 began, but Connecticut-born teenager Taylor almost pulled off two championships. He came up just short in USF2000, but after a tough fight with several drivers in USF Juniors – including Liam McNeilly, Sebastian Wheldon and Ariel Elkin – he secured the USF Juniors title in 2024.

Those three drivers split the wins in the first two rounds, which were Taylor’s weakest when it came to results. But come the third round at Virginia International Raceway, where he took his first win of the season, the VRD Racing driver was the one to beat. As each of his rivals recorded multiple finishes outside the top 10, Taylor never finished outside the top six and secured the title with one race remaining – a race he then opted to skip.

And if that wasn’t enough, Taylor also tried out for a few races in GB3 with Arden. Going forward, however, he plans to stay on the American ladder and is preparing for a USF Pro 2000 campaign with VRD Racing in 2025.

Summary

Team: VRD Racing

Country: United States of America

Age: 17

Rounds: 6

Races: 16

Wins: 3

Fastest laps: 3

Poles: 3

Podiums: 9

Points: 329

Gap to P2: 5 points

Other series’ champions

Europe

Ultimate Cup Series F3R: Enzo Richer, Luxembourg, Formula Motorsport

Ultimate Cup Series F2.0: Alain Bucher, United Arab Emirates, Lamo Racing

Austrian Formula 3 Cup: Benjámin Berta, Hungary, Franz Wöss Racing

Austrian Formula 3 Trophy: Marcel Tobler, Switzerland, Jo Zeller Racing

Austrian Formula Light Cup: Emir Tanju, Turkey, Viola Formula Racing

F2000 Italian Formula Trophy: Benjámin Berta, Hungary, Franz Wöss Racing

Italian F2.0 Cup: Emir Tanju, Turkey, Viola Formula Racing

Asia

MRF2000: Jaden Pariat, India

Formula Beat: Hammer Izawa, Japan, Hammer Racing

F110 Cup: Shota Sakai, Japan, First Garage

Oceania

Australian Formula Open AFO1: Ryan MacMillan, Australia, Tim Macrow Racing

Australian Formula Open AFO2: Matthew Roesler, Australia, State Fleet Services

Australian Formula Open AFO3: Chris Huang, Australia, Tim Macrow Racing

Australian Formula Open AFO4: Isaac McNeill, Australia, Volante Rosso

Americas

Formula Pro USA Western Championship, FPUSA-3: Landan Matriano Lim, United States of America, Crosslink Kiwi Motorsport

Formula Pro USA Western Championship, FPUSA-4: Valentino Garbarino, United States of America, World Speed Motorsports

YACademy: Jack Jeffers, United States of America, Exclusive Autosport

Skip Barber Formula Race Series: Oliver Wheldon, United States of America

Formula Atlantic: Matthew Butson, United States of America, K-Hill Motorsports

Formula FARA: Gaston Irazú, Uruguay, Scuderia Buell

Fórmula Nacional Argentina: Santiago Chiarello, Argentina, MG Competición

Formula 2 Argentina: Nicolás Suárez, Argentina, Martinez Competición

Formula 3 Metropolitana: Bautista Oliva, Argentina, Satorra Competición

Fórmula Delta: Pietro Mesquita, Brazil, Blau Motorsport

See you in 2025!

Header photo collage created by Jordy van de Bunt featuring photos from ACI Sport, Alex Galli, Australian FOpen, B-Max Racing Team, Brazilian F4, Daniel Bürgin, Dutch Photo Agency, Euroformula Open, F4 CEZ, F4 UAE, Formula Nordic, FRegional Middle East, Gavin Baker, Hiroyuki Ohshima / Nobuhiko Suzuki, Indian F4, Jakob Ebrey Photography, Japan Race Promotions, Japanese F4, Joe Skibinski, Kai (@unknow_user_photograph), KSP Reportages, Meritus.GP Top Speed and Toyota Gazoo Racing New Zealand