The Formula Winter Series kicked off its 2025 season in mixed conditions at Portimão as runaway Formula Regional Oceania leader Arvid Lindblad took his fourth feature race win from four rounds. Feeder Series reviews all the action from last weekend.

By Feeder Series

Lindblad dominated the FR Oceania feature race as he put himself on the brink of the drivers’ title. Just four drivers remain in mathematical contention now as M2 Competition also inches closer to the teams’ title.

Over in Portugal, Gedlich Racing’s Formula Winter Series launched its third season with a 30-car grid. Series newcomers Hitech provided a firm challenge to established frontrunners US Racing, with Gabriel Gomez of the German outfit emerging as the driver to beat thus far.

1. FRegional Oceania: Lindblad continues to lead standings as Scoular wins Rookie Cup 
2. Formula Winter Series: Gomez kicks off 2025 season with two wins 

FRegional Oceania: Lindblad continues to lead standings as Scoular wins Rookie Cup 

Arvid Lindblad once again extended his FR Oceania championship lead with his sixth win of the season in race three at Teretonga Park. Lindblad’s race win allowed him to secure the Spirit of the Nation Cup and become the first driver in series history to win four feature races in a row.

On Saturday, Lindblad took pole position ahead of Matías Zagazeta with a 0.232-second margin, but it was Zagazeta who came out on top in the first race later that afternoon. The Peruvian got a better launch off the start and took the lead from Lindblad immediately, ultimately winning his second race of 2025. Nikita Johnson rounded out the top three. 

On lap 15, Michael Shin speared into the tyre barrier at the final corner after sustaining a right-rear puncture caused by loose debris at Turn 6. The incident brought out the safety car for four laps before the race was called with five laps remaining. 

In the reverse-grid race, Enzo Yeh started on pole position, but his M2 Competition teammate Sebastian Manson took the lead heading into the first corner. Zack Scoular, starting fourth, also made a good launch off the start and was second heading into Turn 1.

At the back of the field, James Lawley went wide and spun on track, hitting his Kiwi Motorsport teammate Jett Bowling in the process and sending them both into the gravel entering Turn 2 with significant damage. The incident immediately brought out the safety car and later the red flag as both cars needed to be retrieved.

The race ran for two laps under the safety car before the restart at the end of lap five. The safety car then came out once again on lap seven when Nicolas Stati ran wide at Turn 1 and got stuck in the gravel. 

Manson held onto the lead at the second restart and finished 0.480s ahead of compatriot Scoular after 25 laps as Patrick Heuzenroeder took third podium of the season. 

Zagazeta narrowly took his first pole position of the season in qualifying two with a lap only 0.019s faster than Lindblad’s. But at the start of the third race, Lindblad managed to take the lead with a daring move around the outside. 

Behind them, Bowling went into the barriers at Turn 1, bringing out the safety car once again. It ran for two laps until the red flag was called so Bowling’s car could be retrieved. 

At the safety car restart on lap six, Lindblad got a good launch and led the race until the end.  Zagazeta was overtaken by Shin for second on lap 12 and quickly came under pressure from Heuzenroeder but held him off to take third. 

Heading into the final round at Highlands, where 90 points remain on offer, Lindblad leads with 312 points from Johnson with 253 and Scoular with 247. With two wins and four further podiums, Scoular also clinched the rookies’ championship with a round to spare.

Results	P1	P2	P3
Qualifying 1	Arvid Lindblad, 53.776	Matias Zagazeta, +0.232s	Nikita Johnson, +0.305s
Race 1 (19 laps)	Matías Zagazeta, 19:24.229	Arvid Lindblad, +0.632s	Nikita Johnson, +1.747s
Qualifying 2	Matías Zagazeta, 53.274	Arvid Lindblad, +0.019s	Nikita Johnson, +0.243s
Race 2 (25 laps)	Sebastian Manson, 28:04.877	Zack Scoular, +0.480s	Patrick Heuzenroeder, +0.997s
Race 3 (30 laps)	Arvid Lindblad, 29:19.396	Michael Shin, +1.900s	Matías Zagazeta, +3.905s

Standings	Drivers	Teams	Rookies
P1	Arvid Lindblad, 312	M2 Competition, 633	Zack Scoular, 247
P2	Nikita Johnson, 253	Mtec Motorsport, 517	Enzo Yeh, 136
P3	Zack Scoular, 247	Giles Motorsport, 296	Nicolas Stati, 79
P4	Patrick Heuzenroeder, 229	Kiwi Motorsport, 157	Barrett Wolfe, 51
P5	Josh Pierson, 219
P6	Matías Zagazeta, 210
P7	Sebastian Manson, 185
P8	Michael Shin, 148
P9	Enzo Yeh, 136
P10	Shawn Rashid, 109

Report by Kaylene Lau

Read the previous round’s report here.

Formula Winter Series: Gomez kicks off 2025 season with two wins 

US Racing’s Gabriel Gomez had an almost perfect start to the 2025 season, winning the first two races and bringing home third place in the final race of the weekend. He also secured an additional two points for securing the fastest laps in the first two races and two points for topping the first qualifying session.

Gomez was one of five drivers to have had zero track limit violations in qualifying and also had a field-low four across 90 laps in testing. The 18-year-old Brazilian led teammate Edu Robinson by almost three tenths in the first qualifying session, but he had a difficult start and lost the lead to Hitech’s Leo Robinson (no relation) right away.

Gomez put pressure on Robinson but never got close enough to get past until the final lap of the race. A safety car in the closing stages set up a one-lap shootout, and though Gomez lost ground in the first corner, he came closer again and got past at Turn 10 after fighting with Robinson the whole lap. 

In the second race, Leo Robinson, who started from third again, had a rocket launch and drew alongside polesitter Gomez in the first corner. Robinson’s race, however, ended early after contact with teammate Fionn McLaughlin at Turn 3 gave him a puncture.

Two safety cars were called after collisions in the midfield. When the race then restarted for the final time, with just seven minutes and an extra lap to go, the top three of Gomez, Edu Robinson and Maksimilian Popov remained unchanged until the chequered flag as battles raged in the midfield.

The third race took place on a damp track, and drivers made varying tyre choices. The start lights were extinguished after three rather than five red lights, and Bart Harrison on wet tyres had an extraordinary start to go from 10th to the front within five corners. The race, however, was red flagged moments later because of the issue with the start light gantry, and drivers restarted in the original grid order, with polesitter Edu Robinson ahead of Gomez. 

Ahead of the restart, several drivers decided to switch to wet tyres. McLaughlin, restarting from fifth position, found himself in the lead by turn seven after overtaking the US Racing trio of Gomez, Robinson and Rehm as well as his teammate Robinson. He went on to win a largely uneventful race ahead of Leo Robinson and Rehm.

After the race, Rehm was disqualified from all qualifying sessions and races for running with brake discs that did not include the series-required logos. That promoted Gomez to third place and helped him extend his points advantage. 

Gomez leads the championship with 69 points over the Robinsons, who are tied on 36 points. McLaughlin is the lead rookie with 35 points, 13 more than teammate and nearest rookie rival Thomas Bearman.

Hitech’s Nina Gademan won all three races in the female driver class this weekend. She is 11th overall.

Results	P1	P2	P3
Qualifying 1	Gabriel Gomez, 1:45.533	Edu Robinson, +0.296s	Leo Robinson, +0.301s
Qualifying 2	Edu Robinson, 1:45.423	Gabriel Gomez, +0.090s	Leo Robinson, +0.134s
Race 1 (16 laps)	Gabriel Gomez, 32:50.860	Leo Robinson, +0.295s	Edu Robinson, +1.147s
Race 2 (14 laps)	Gabriel Gomez, 32:01.353	Edu Robinson, +1.498s	Maksimilian Popov, +2.989s
Race 3 (14 laps)	Fionn McLaughlin, 30:06.445	Leo Robinson, +4.428s	Gabriel Gomez, +13.565s

Standings	Drivers	Teams	Rookies
P1	Gabriel Gomez, 69	US Racing, 108	Fionn McLaughlin, 35
P2	Edu Robinson, 36	Hitech GP, 82	Thomas Bearman, 22
P3	Leo Robinson, 36	Jenzer Motorsport, 30	Artem Severiukhin, 2
P4	Fionn McLaughlin, 35	Van Amersfoort Racing, 17	Andrea Dupé, 0
P5	Luka Sammalisto, 23	Maffi Racing, 4	Simon Schranz, 0
P6	Thomas Bearman, 22	AS Motorsport, 2	Teodor Borenstein, 0
P7	Andrija Kostić, 20	Campos Racing, 0	Alba Hurup Larsen, 0
P8	Maksimilian Popov, 17	Renauer Motorsport, 0	Dante Vinci, 0
P9	Bart Harrison, 16	AKM Motorsport, 0	Payton Westcott, 0
P10	Enea Frey, 14	Cram Motorsport, 0	Aleksander Ruta, 0

Report by Finjo Muschlien

Header photo credit: Daniel Bürgin