Europe’s pioneer in winter Formula 4 racing enters its third season in 2025. The Formula Winter Series has lost its Spanish F4 customer teams this year and has switched from Hankook to Pirelli tyres, but organisers Gedlich Racing still managed to attract 30 entrants for the first round this weekend. Feeder Series tells you all you need to know about the 2025 season.

By Finjo Muschlien

The 2024 FWS season offered a great first taste of Europe’s F4 racing scene in 2024. Not only did the championship have a title fight that remained undecided until the final race of the season, in which Griffin Peebles took the title over Andrés Cárdenas, but most of the races also provided plenty of excitement and overtaking. 

What’s new in 2025?

Switch to Pirelli tyres

Following the split between FWS and the newly formed F4 Spanish Winter Championship, FWS no longer uses Hankook tyres and has switched to Pirelli instead. This change is part of a bigger deal Gedlich made with Pirelli that applies not only to FWS but also to the winter series package’s flagship event, the GT Winter Series. 

Gedlich has bidden farewell to all Spanish F4 customer teams, who now have the F4 SWC as an alternative series that remains on Hankook tyres. 

Otherwise, the change to Pirelli tyres helps Gedlich tailor its product to Italian F4, British F4 and F1 Academy teams. For drivers in those series, using Pirelli tyres over the winter also provides an advantage, as US Racing driver Kabir Anurag explained.

“It is the same chassis, so the feeling is not too different,” Anurag said, adding that “Hankook tyres have a different tyre stiffness than the Pirellis and this changes the whole complexion of driving style and feeling for the car.

Anurag and his teammates last year raced on Hankook tyres in the winter in FWS, which US Racing had won in 2023 with Kacper Sztuka. Upon returning to Italian F4’s Pirellis in the spring, they faced an adjustment.

“For all my teammates, when we went out, we were instantly noticing a difference, like, ‘Oh, wow, you can drive it completely differently.’” Anurag said. “Having Pirellis will allow us to excel and to understand the tyres more so when we arrive to our main championship, we can be on it. For me, it’s the right initiative to take.”

As a result of the change, each car will now receive four sets of new tyres rather than two for Thursday and Friday’s collective tests. They may also use two sets of used tyres.

For qualifying sessions and races at each round this year, each car will only have two sets of new tyres, down from three in 2024.

A new track-limit detection system

One of the biggest headlines of the whole 2024 F4 season came at FWS’ second round of 2024 at the Circuit Ricardo Tormo, where all 38 drivers were disqualified from the first qualifying session. A lack of clarity on what constituted the edge of the circuit contributed significantly to the mass exclusion.

In the wake of what happened, Gedlich switched to timeservice.nl to monitor track limits and live timing for the 2025 season after following the development of the system for a longer period. 

Removal of engine pool restrictions

In 2024, FWS teams were allocated 1.5 engines per entry, rounded up for any team with an odd number of cars. This rule has been abolished for 2025, meaning teams are theoretically free to use as many engines as they would like per car.

The limit of two turbochargers per car per season has also been rescinded.

The calendar 

For the first time in the series’ history, FWS will race in Portugal. The season kicks off this weekend at the Algarve International Circuit near Portimão. Except for the first round, which supports Gedlich’s new-for-2025 6 hours of Portimão event, all rounds will support Gedlich’s flagship event, the GT Winter Series.

The remaining three venues remain unchanged relative to the 2024 season. These take place at Valencia’s Circuit Ricardo Tormo, MotorLand Aragón and the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya on the same weekends as last year. Jerez will not return to the calendar after hosting the season opener for the past two years.

• Round 1: Algarve International Circuit (30 January–2 February)
• Round 2: Circuit Ricardo Tormo (13–16 February)
• Round 3: MotorLand Aragón (27 February–2 March)
• Round 4: Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya (6–9 March)

The format 

Every weekend kicks off with three 55-minute-long collective test sessions on Thursday ahead of three 60-minute collective tests on Friday. This is a change from 2024, when collective tests were distinct from previous tests and Thursday’s sessions were optional. That meant they weren’t taken into account in Valencia and Barcelona, where grids had to be formed based on the times from Friday’s official tests. 

Qualifying one and two, which sets the grid for the first and third races respectively, take place on Saturday morning. Both qualifying sessions are 15 minutes long, down from 20 last season. The grid for the second race will be formed by using the second fastest laps set in the first qualifying session.

The first race takes place on Saturday afternoon, while the second and third races take place on Sunday morning and afternoon respectively. For the season opener at Portimão, the Sunday is primarily reserved for the six-hour race, which means that the first and second races take place midday and in the afternoon on Saturday and FWS’ weekend concludes with the third race on Sunday morning. 

In the event that a qualifying session doesn’t go ahead, times from the combined results of the tests will be taken to set the grid for the races. For such cases, a new clause in the regulations also specifies that test times will be used to set the subsequent race grids in the event that a race couldn’t be carried out or took place entirely behind the safety car.

Points for all races will be awarded with the FIA points format, meaning that the winner receives 25 points and the 10th-place finisher receives one point. One additional point will be awarded for the driver who set the fastest lap in a race, and two points will be awarded for each polesitter. Teams’ two best entries per race can earn points towards the teams’ championship.

The series will also introduce a separate championship for rookies using the points they scored in the drivers’ standings. Drivers who have done nine or fewer races in single-seaters are eligible for the rookie championship. 

In 2024 and 2023, the rookie trophy was based on the overall standings, which caused unbalanced gaps in the class standings. Last year, for example, third-placed Maciej Gładysz was the top rookie with 92 points, while the second-best rookie, Thomas Strauven, had only 30.

Where to watch

All Formula Winter Series races can be followed on the Alpha Live YouTube channel with English commentary. Additionally, Motorsport Television Deutschland and Parc Fermé TV broadcast the series with German and Italian commentary respectively. 

Live timing is available on RaceResults.

Teams and drivers

Record demands meant that up to 38 drivers competed in FWS in 2024. Following the split between Gedlich and Agrupación Deportiva F4 Spain, FWS will only see participants from outside of Spanish F4’s customer base. The series also capped its entries at 32 cars. 

British F4 outfits JHR Developments and Argenti Motorsport were both set to race in FWS and had been formally announced by Gedlich, but Feeder Series learned in late December that both teams had withdrawn from the championship. 

JHR, who were supposed to field two cars in the 2025 FWS season, have yet to announce any drivers for the 2025 British F4 season, and the team has not been spotted in any post-season tests. Feeder Series has received multiple hints that the team were struggling to find drivers for both FWS and British F4.

Meanwhile, Argenti Motorsport, who were set to field three cars in FWS, had announced two of their British F4 drivers for the 2025 season before Gedlich was notified of their withdrawal. Reigning FIA Karting OK class world champion Ethan Jeff-Hall was announced to drive for Argenti in British F4 on 28 November 2024, just nine days after Argenti’s FWS participation was made public, while Henry Mercier was announced for the same campaign on 19 December 2024.

While the reason for Argenti’s withdrawal remains unknown, Feeder Series has learned that the team’s intensive testing programme in the UK with multiple drivers had clashes between FWS and their planned testing days. Between the end of the 2024 British F4 season and the end of the calendar year, Argenti were spotted in several private tests in which they fielded Mercier and Jeff-Hall as well as karters Arjen Kraeling, Thomas-Minh Spearing, Piotr Orzechowski and León Hedfors.

As many as nine women will enter the first round of the season, with a 10th woman set to be joining the grid from the second round onwards. When Gedlich first announced the switch from Hankook to Pirelli tyres, organiser Stefan Lehner emphasised the series’ appeal to drivers in the all-female F1 Academy series. Four of the 10 F1 Academy drivers announced for 2025 so far will compete in round one. 

Feeder Series understands that ahead of its first round of 2025, F1 Academy is set to host a pre-season test that clashes with FWS’ final round at Barcelona. That means all drivers competing in both F1 Academy and FWS will miss that round. 

Feeder Series also learned that ART Grand Prix considered racing in FWS in 2025 but never formally applied. The French outfit will instead be racing in the Spanish F4’s winter series with three cars, driven by their F1 Academy line-up consisting of Lia Block, Courtney Crone and Aurelia Nobels.

US Racing

The highest-placed returning team in the 2025 FWS season will be US Racing, who came second in 2024. They will field six cars in all rounds and an additional seventh car at the final round at Barcelona. The Kerpen-based team, founded by Gerhard Ungar and Ralf Schumacher and managed by Anna Büttner, will also celebrate their 10-year anniversary at the end of the year.

US will field two returning drivers for 2025. One is Germany’s Maxim Rehm (#71), who will enter his second full F4 year with the team after finishing 21st in FWS, 13th in Italian F4 and sixth in Euro 4 – now called E4 – last year. Rehm, 17, did an intense testing programme with US Racing over the winter and additionally tested F4 cars with Cram Motorsport on two occasions at Vallelunga and Portimão as well as the Euroformula Open car with Motopark at Barcelona.

Singapore-based Alpine junior Kabir Anurag (#19) will likewise enter his second full year in F4 after competing in four different F4 championships over the course of 2024. He kicked the year off in FWS, in which he finished 14th overall, before competing in Italian F4 and Euro 4 and finishing 20th and 18th respectively. The 17-year-old ended the year in Formula Trophy UAE, in which he came third overall with two wins while driving for Xcel Motorsport. Like Rehm, Anurag participated in several private tests with US during the off-season. 

Having joined Rehm and Anurag for some of the private tests, 17-year-old Luka Sammalisto (#8) will join US Racing for 2025. The Finn makes the switch from R-ace GP, with whom he made his F4 debut in 2024. He finished 20th in F4 UAE, 18th in Italian F4 and 20th in Euro 4 last year. Notably, Sammalisto suffered fractured three vertebrae in a crash during Italian F4 free practice at Mugello during the 2024 season and had to sit out one additional round of both Italian F4 and Euro 4.

Having tested for the team over the last few months, Gabriel Gomez (#78), 18, will make the switch from TC Racing to US Racing in 2025 after his first year in F4 last year. The Brazilian is understood to be confirmed for the first, second and fourth rounds of FWS before he continues racing in Italian F4. Feeder Series understands that US has not yet decided whether Gomez will also race in the third round. Last year, Gomez finished 18th in Spanish F4 with three points finishes, highlighted by his fourth-place finish in Valencia’s second race.

Andrija Kostić (#10) will race for US in FWS, Italian F4 and E4 in 2025. The 15-year-old Serbian raced for Van Amersfoort in the 2024 Italian F4 and Euro 4 seasons and finished 35th and 15th overall respectively. Kostic also raced in the first two rounds of the F4 CEZ championship with Jenzer Motorsport, scoring points in four of the six races. 

Edu Robinson (#15) will also race for the team in FWS in 2025. British-Spanish driver Robinson, 15, previously raced for AS Motorsport in Italian F4 in 2024, scoring no points in the five rounds he had with them, but he managed to take a fifth-place finish in race two at Monza upon switching to US Racing for the final two rounds.

Earlier this week, Czech driver Jan Koller (#50) was announced to be racing for US in FWS and Italian F4 in 2025. He will not be present at the first round of FWS, and US Racing has not yet decided in which rounds Koller will participate. The 17-year-old joined US for the 2024 post-season tests, making the switch from BVM Racing. Koller, who has received mentorship from F2 driver Roman Staněk, competed in the second round of the F4 CEZ as well as four of the seven Italian F4 rounds with the team last year.

Campos Racing

The change to Pirelli tyres was meant to help attract teams from more F4 series around the world, including F1 support series F1 Academy. Though most other Spanish F4 teams are leaving the series, Campos will return to FWS with two cars. The team, however, will be led by F1 Academy team manager Gabriela Parra, who will oversee a rotation of their three F1 Academy drivers during the first three rounds. Campos will be the only team to field a line-up consisting entirely of single-seater race winners.

Alisha Palmowski (#16) will race for the team at the first two rounds at Portimão and Valencia respectively. The 2024 GB4 runner-up has the backing of Red Bull Racing for her F1 Academy season. Palmowski made her F1 Academy debut in 2024 in Lusail, Qatar, as a wild card driver and finished fifth in the weekend’s only race. The 18-year-old Briton also took part in the 2024 Formula E women’s test at Jarama in November with Envision Racing.

Having joined the Red Bull Ford F1 Academy programme for the 2025 season, Chloe Chambers will partner Palmowski in the #17 at the series’ second round at Valencia before taking over the #16 at the following round at Aragón. The 20-year-old American raced in F1 Academy with Campos with Haas support in 2024, finishing sixth overall with a win at Barcelona. She also entered the Formula E women’s test with Andretti.

Rafaela Ferreira (#17) will partner Palmowski at Portimão and Aragón as she enters her first F4 season outside of Brazil. The 19-year-old has competed in Brazilian F4 with TMG Racing over the past two years and managed to finish fourth overall with three wins in 2024. Having also tested with Campos at Portimão in November 2024, Ferreira will be backed by Racing Bulls for her F1 Academy campaign.

Jenzer Motorsport

Swiss team Jenzer will enter their third FWS season in 2025. The team founded and led by Andreas Jenzer will bring four cars to FWS, fielding a mix of experienced drivers and debutants as well as an F1 Academy driver.

Alba Hurup Larsen (#24) will compete in the first three rounds of FWS in 2025 ahead of her F1 Academy campaign with MP Motorsport backed by Tommy Hilfiger. Jenzer told Feeder Series that the team has not yet decided on her replacement for the final round. Larsen, 16, made her F4 debut in the first two rounds of Indian F4 with MP-run Speed Demons Delhi and finished 18th overall with a best finish of sixth. Previously, Hurup Larsen won the 2023 FIA Girls on Track–Rising Stars programme, beating FWS rivals Mathilda Paatz and Joanne Ciconte. She also completed an intense testing programme with Prema Racing, AKM Motorsport, MP Motorsport and Drivex over the winter.

Enea Frey (#20), also 16, kicks off his second year in F4 with FWS. In 2024, the Swiss driver had already raced with Jenzer and finished 25th in FWS, 16th in Italian F4 and 17th in Euro 4. He also made a one-off entry in F4 CEZ. 

Bart Harrison (#23) also returns to FWS having raced in the first two rounds of 2024 with Rodin. The 17-year-old Briton took a best finish of 21st and finished 42nd overall before going on to race in British F4 with Chris Dittmann Racing, in which he finished 20th overall with 24 points. Harrison made his first appearance with Jenzer at the final round of the 2024 Italian F4 season.

Artem Severiukhin (#21) will make his F4 race debut with Jenzer in FWS in 2025. The Russian driver will be competing under the British flag. Severiukhin competed in various shifter karting series in 2024 and has tested F4 machinery since the end of the 2023 season. The now 18-year-old entered multiple Kateyama-organised tests with Jenzer in 2024, including outings at Mugello and Imola. Plans for the rest of 2025 for Frey, Harrison and Severiukhin have not been announced.

Cram Motorsport

Feeder Series learned in November that Cram Motorsport was not initially supposed to race in FWS in 2025. The Italian team was on the reserve list and only secured their first spot on the grid when Van Amersfoort Racing withdrew their planned fifth car. A second spot then opened up when Renauer Motorsport withdrew their planned second car. Cram, led by Gabriele Rosei, raced in FWS in 2024, likewise fielding two cars with Flavio Olivieri and Filippo Fiorentino as their drivers.

Leading the team’s all-new line-up for 2025 is Aleksander Ruta (#37), who steps up from X30 Senior karting in IAME championships to make his F4 debut. The 16-year-old Polish driver will drive in all four rounds of FWS as well as in Italian F4. Ruta has tested with Cram Motorsport on multiple occasions since the end of 2024 and has also been spotted testing for Van Amersfoort Racing at Misano. 

Elia Luis Weiss (#35) was likewise announced to be racing in both FWS and Italian F4, but Feeder Series has learned that the German will only race in the final two rounds of the FWS season. Weiss spent 2024 in karting and won the German Kart Championship in the X30 Senior class. The 15-year-old tested F4 machinery with US Racing at Kateyama tests at the end of 2024 and tested a BMW M4 GT4 at Portimão with Bonk Motorsport last week.

Aiva Anagnostiadis (#35) will take over Weiss’ car for the first two rounds at Portimão and Valencia. The Melbourne-based driver made the step up from karting in 2024 upon joining the Indian F4 Championship with Goa Aces JA Racing, finishing the season 10th overall with 47 points. The 17-year-old, who is part of the Alpine Rac(H)er programme, was confirmed to race for Cram in the Spanish F4 championship, and Feeder Series learned that she will also race for the team in the series’ winter spinoff. 

AKM Motorsport

AKM return to FWS for the third consecutive year. The team – led by founder Marco Antonelli, father of F1 rookie Andrea Kimi Antonelli – will field two cars at the first three rounds and a third car at the final round at Barcelona. 

Joanne Ciconte (#12) will race in all four rounds for the team. The Australian made her single-seater debut in 2024 and competed in 15 races across Australian F4, Spanish F4, F4 CEZ and Australian Formula Open. The 15-year-old was a finalist in the FIA Girls on Track–Rising Stars programme in 2023. Her plans for the rest of 2025 are yet to be announced.

Stepping up from karting, Guy Albag (#11) is expected to make his single-seater debut in FWS in 2025 after doing multiple tests with AKM and Van Amersfoort over the winter. The 16-year-old Israeli driver competed in various senior karting events in 2024, highlighted by his second-place finish at the WSK Champions Cup in January at Lonato. Though Albag was on the provisional entry list released last week, he was omitted from the latest version released Wednesday and is understood to be spending time with family in Israel. On 25 January, as part of an agreement for a ceasefire in Gaza, Albag’s older sister, Israel Defense Forces soldier Liri Albag, was released and returned to Israel after being taken hostage by Palestinian militant group Hamas on 7 October 2023.

Replacing Albag for this weekend is 18-year-old Georgy Zhuravskiy (#11), who most recently competed in Eurocup-3. The Kyrgyz-licenced Russian driver last raced in F4 in 2023 but did not score points in either the UAE or Spanish championships. He scored two points in a 2024 Eurocup-3 campaign split between Drivex and MP Motorsport.

Ethan Nobels (#14) will race for AKM in the final FWS round at Barcelona in March. The 16-year-old brother of F1 Academy driver Aurelia Nobels raced in Brazilian F4 in 2024, finishing third overall with three wins. Nobels tested with AKM during the 2024 off-season, but his plans for the rest of 2025 are yet to be announced. Feeder Series learned that Nobels was first considered to be Albag’s replacement for this weekend but that passport issues prevented the switch from happening.

Maffi Racing

Swiss team Maffi Racing – co-founded and -owned by Daniel Maffi, Cristian Maffi and Alexandre Thouvenin – made their FWS debut in 2024, when they fielded one car with Nathanaël Berreby as their driver. Berreby finished last of all full-time participating drivers, while Maffi came last in the teams’ championship as well.

Kirill Kutskov (#31) – the 2023 OK class FIA Karting world champion, 2024 F4 CEZ runner-up and 2024 Saudi Arabian F4 third-place finisher – will begin his second year in F4 by racing in FWS’ first and final rounds. The 16-year-old Russian, who will race under a Kyrgyz licence, already spent 2024 with Maffi in F4 CEZ and also made an appearance at the final round of Italian F4 with the team, scoring their only points. Following his partial FWS campaign, Kutskov will race in Italian F4 in 2025.

In place of Kutskov, David Walther (#31) will compete for Maffi in rounds two and three at Valencia and Aragón. The Dane will make his F4 debut in FWS before racing in both the Italian F4 and F4 CEZ championships. The 16-year-old steps up from karting and notably won the WSK Champions Cup in the OK class in 2023. 

Kornelia Olkucka (#27) will partner Walther and her former F4 CEZ teammate Kutskov in FWS. The 21-year-old Polish driver came 17th of 31 drivers overall and, like Kutskov, enters her second year in F4 in 2025 and will race in Italian F4 later this year.

Teodor Borenstein (#22) will be the second addition to the team in the FWS season for his second year in F4. In 2024, he ran a partial schedule in F4 CEZ that was truncated after he sustained injuries in an accident at Most. He also made an appearance in Spanish F4’s season finale at Barcelona with Tecnicar Racing in 2024.

Van Amersfoort Racing

In 2024, Van Amersfoort’s partner team Monlau Racing entered the championship with two cars, but this year Van Amersfoort will make their full-fledged FWS debut with four cars. Feeder Series learned that the team planned to field a fifth car, but those plans were scrapped as early as November 2024.

Maksimilian Popov (#3) will make the switch from PHM Racing to Van Amersfoort in 2025 as the team’s only driver with a full year of car racing experience. In 2024, Popov competed in Italian F4 and Euro 4, finishing 21st in both championships. The 16-year-old Russian has completed several tests with Van Amersfoort since the 2024 season ended. Popov will race under an Italian licence as he enters his second year in F4, which will see him return to Italian F4 and E4.

Dante Vinci (#66), 16, made his F4 race debut for Van Amersfoort at the final Italian F4 round of 2024 at Monza, bringing home a best finish of 19th in the final race. Vinci and his family chose to stop his karting career mid-year to prepare for a switch to F4. Vinci already began testing F4 with Van Amersfoort and R-ace GP during the mid-season tests and also was involved in the 2024 Winfield Summer Camp. 

Payton Westcott (#94), 15, will be the team’s youngest driver as she also transitions from karting to F4. The American was part of the F1 Academy Discover Your Drive programme in 2024 and tested with Van Amersfoort on several occasions at the end of the year. 

Francisco Macedo was supposed to be driving for Van Amersfoort in 2025, Feeder Series learned, but an opportunity to move to Eurocup-3 with Campos Racing has prevented this from happening despite the Portuguese driver’s participation in multiple private tests with the team. Gedlich Racing told Feeder Series that Van Amersfoort had not yet signed their fourth driver (car #2) for the 2025 season but that the team are expected to return with four cars at Valencia. Van Amersfoort therefore only field three cars at the opening round.

Hitech GP

Alongside F2 and F3 rivals Van Amersfoort, Hitech GP will debut in FWS in 2025. The Silverstone-based team will have a new collaboration with Toyota Gazoo Racing in 2025 and is entered under the Hitech TGR banner. The tie-up is merely sponsorship at this stage, but Feeder Series understands that Hitech plan to extend it into a deeper collaboration.

Entering the first three rounds of FWS in 2025 will be Nina Gademan (#4). The 21-year-old raced in British F4 with Fortec Motorsport in 2024, finishing 19th overall. She also competed in F1 Academy’s fourth round at Zandvoort as wild card entry, finishing fourth and 10th in the two races. In 2025, Gademan will race in F1 Academy full time with Alpine backing, though her team has not yet been confirmed.

Red Bull junior Fionn McLaughlin (#5) makes his F4 debut in 2025 in FWS as he steps up from karting. Last year, the 17-year-old Irishman achieved a third-place finish in the Champions of the Future Euro Series’ OK class and a second-place finish in the IAME Euro Series’ X30 Senior class. McLaughlin did multiple F4 tests with Hitech during the 2024 off-season, including tests at FWS tracks Portimão and Barcelona. 

Entering his third F4 season in 2025, Leo Robinson (#6) is set to race in FWS and British F4. The 15-year-old Algerian raced for JHR Developments in British F4 in 2024, finishing sixth overall with three wins. He previously finished fourth in Danish F4 in 2023 with podiums in every race despite only entering the second half of the season. Like his teammates, Robinson did multiple tests with Hitech during the off-season.

Thomas Bearman (#7) completes the Hitech line-up. The younger brother of Haas F1 driver Ollie Bearman is set for his first full year of F4 in 2025 with campaigns in FWS and British F4. The 15-year-old Briton made his F4 debut in September 2024, racing for Hitech in the second round of Euro 4, before entering the final two rounds of British F4. 

AS Motorsport

With a new look and new investment, AS Motorsport will return to FWS in 2025 after a year out. Despite being an unfancied team, AS, led by Andrej Slak, boasts three promising drivers. Feeder Series learned that the team originally planned to field just two cars for the season and that the third car was added after the withdrawals of Argenti and JHR.

Andrea Dupe (#61) will make his F4 debut with AS in 2025 after appearing with the Slovenian team at several Kateyama tests in 2024. The 16-year-old Frenchman is the son of the team’s new investor Julien Dupe and will race in FWS, Italian F4 and E4 as he steps up from karting. The 16-year-old is the Italian Karting Championship’s 2023 OK class runner-up. In 2024, still in senior karting, he placed 25th in the FIA Karting World Championship and 40th in a partial season of the FIA Karting European Championship.

Mathilda Paatz (#18) will partner Dupe in FWS. The German driver, 16, will enter her second F4 season in 2025 following her debut year in French F4, in which she finished 20th of 26 drivers overall. Paatz has tested with AS and Jenzer during the off-season and Feeder Series understands that she will also race in Italian F4, but her team has not yet been announced. 

Sebastian Bach (#62) has been announced to be returning to Nordic 4 with Step Motorsport in 2025 after winning the 2024 rookie title, but the 16-year-old Dane will also race in the first three rounds of FWS following off-season testing with AS Motorsport. His participation in the series’ final round is yet to be confirmed. Bach has also tested LMP3 and Radical cars during the winter.

Renauer Motorsport

Austrian team Renauer Motorsport, led by Sepp Renauer, was set to enter the 2025 FWS season with two cars, but the team withdrew one of their entries in early December. The team competed in the first two and final two F4 CEZ rounds in 2024. 

Simulator racing convert Simon Schranz (#25), 16, is set for his first full FIA F4 season after winning the F4 class of the 2024 Carbonia Cup. The Austrian – part of the FormelAustria young driver programme, which counts former F1 drivers David Coulthard and Riccardo Patrese among its ambassadors – raced in the final two rounds of the F4 CEZ in 2024, taking three fourth-place finishes en route to eighth overall. Schranz completed an intense testing programme with Renauer over the winter.

Juta Racing

GT team Juta Racing will enter the final two rounds of FWS in 2025. In 2024, the Lithuanian team were active in several GT3 racing series, including the Nürburgring Langstrecken-Serie and the 24H Series.

The team presented their sole new F4 car just ahead of Christmas. The team initially planned to offer test sessions in Spain in F4 cars in February and March before getting the final spot in FWS following the withdrawals of JHR and Argenti.

Editor’s note, 31 January 2025, 00:11 CET: The description of the rookies’ championship format and points system has been amended following clarification from Gedlich Racing.

Editor’s note, 31 January 2025, 14:53 CET: A previous version of this article stated that Kornelia Olkucka was racing in F4 CEZ this year. She will race in Italian F4 this year. The team’s ownership has also been clarified.

Header photo credit: Daniel Bürgin / Gedlich Racing