As January comes to a close, another Formula 4 championship’s 2025 season kicks off this weekend. Formula Winter Series holds its first round at Portimão as FRegional Oceania heads to the southernmost FIA-certified track in the world.

By Feeder Series

After holding its first three rounds on New Zealand’s North Island, the FR Oceania grid heads to the South Island for a round at Teretonga Park outside Invercargill. While one more round at Highlands remains, both the drivers’ titles and rookies’ titles could be decided this weekend.

The F4-spec Formula Winter Series’ first round of four takes place this weekend in the Algarve region of Portugal, just a few hundred kilometres from Invercargill’s geographical antipode. A 30-car grid featuring a record nine women will take to the Autódromo Internacional do Algarve in the series’ first-ever round outside of Spain.

FR Oceania: Round 4, Teretonga

Circuit: Teretonga Park, 2.570 km

Schedule: All times local (UTC+13)

Thursday 30 January 

• 13:00-13:30: Test 1
• 15:45-16:15: Test 2

Friday 31 January

• 9:22–9:52: Free Practice 1
• 12:34–13:04: Free Practice 2
• 15:43–16:13: Free Practice 3

Saturday 1 February

• 10:53-11:08: Qualifying 1
• 14:32-15:14: Race 1

Sunday 2 February

• 9:02-9:17: Qualifying 2
• 12:59-13:41: Race 2
• 16:53-17:43: Race 3

How to follow: All sessions will have live timing on MyLaps Speedhive. The first qualifying session and all three races will be streamed on Stuff SpeedHub and Motorsport.tv. 

Weather forecast: Cloudy and dry all weekend. 

What to know: The penultimate round of FR Oceania will take place this week at Teretonga Park. 

Five wins and eight total podiums from nine races have enabled Red Bull junior Arvid Lindblad to continue leading the standings with 236 points. Lindblad will be aiming to continue extending his championship lead as the season starts to come to an end. 

After a weekend of second-place finishes in Manfeild, Nikita Johnson is now second in the standings with 196 points. Zack Scoular, who scored his second win in single-seaters last weekend, rounds out the top three with 191 points. Their goal will be to end the weekend within 90 points of Lindblad in order to remain eligible for the drivers’ title.

The round at Teretonga will mark Josh Pierson’s final appearance in the championship this year, as the last round at Highlands clashes with Indy NXT testing. Pierson is currently fourth in the standings with 167 points. His replacement for the round at Highlands is Broc Feeney, the runner-up in the 2024 Supercars championship. 

Report by Kaylene Lau

Read the previous round’s report here.

Formula Winter Series: Round 1, Portimão 

Circuit: Autódromo Internacional do Algarve, 4.692 km

Timetable: All times local (UTC+0)

Thursday 30 January 

• 9:00-9:55: Collective test 1
• 11:05-12:00: Collective test 2
• 13:10-14:05: Collective test 3

Friday 31 January

• 10:05-11:05: Collective test 4
• 12:15-13:15: Collective test 5
• 14:55-15:55: Collective test 6

Saturday 1 February

• 9:00-9:15: Qualifying 1
• 9:20-9:35: Qualifying 2
• 11:40-12:10: Race 1
• 15:30-16:00: Race 2

Sunday 2 February

• 9:15-9:45: Race 3

How to follow: All sessions will have live timing on RaceResults. All Formula Winter Series races can be followed on the Alpha Live YouTube channel with English commentary, with separate streams for Saturday’s and Sunday’s action. Additionally, Motorsport Television Deutschland and Parc Fermé TV broadcast the series with German and Italian commentary respectively. 

Weather forecast: Windy on Thursday. Sunny from Friday to Sunday, with highs around 15°C each day.

What to know: FWS launches its third season this weekend in Portimão with a number of changes. It will be the first edition without Spanish F4 customer teams, while the series also switches from Hankook to Pirelli tyres.

Nine women will contest the first round of the season at Portimão, setting a record in junior single-seater competition for the most women in one weekend of a mixed-gender series. A total of 30 drivers are entered this weekend.

Learn more about the 2025 grid and the changes in our season guide here, and follow FWS editor Finjo on X for updates from the Portimão paddock.

Report by Finjo Muschlien

All times and forecasts listed above are subject to change. For the most up-to-date information, follow each series’ websites or social media pages.

Header photo credit: Daniel Bürgin / Gedlich Racing