Five junior single-seater series take to the track this weekend – two for the first time in 2025 and one for the last. Feeder Series gives you the lowdown on what’s coming up.

By Feeder Series

Not even 40 days into 2024, one series is already preparing to crown its champion. Formula Regional Oceania holds its final round this weekend at Highlands Motorsport Park, where Red Bull junior Arvid Lindblad stands a strong chance of becoming the series’ latest champion on or ahead of the season-ending New Zealand Grand Prix.

This weekend also marks the first-ever races of the new Eurocup-3 Spanish Winter Championship and the Eurocup-4 Spanish Winter Championship. While Eurocup-3 already held a non-championship winter round last year, Eurocup-4 has newly formed as a result of Spanish F4 teams’ departure from the Formula Winter Series, which began last weekend in Portimão.

The two Formula Middle East series also head to the Dubai Autodrome to support the 4 Hours of Dubai after two rounds in Abu Dhabi, with a number of driver changes in both FR and F4. Read on to find out what’s new this weekend and how you can follow all the action.

FRegional Oceania: Round 5, Highlands

Circuit: Highlands Motorsport Park, 4.100 km

Schedule: All times local (UTC+13)

Friday 7 February

• 9:19–9:49: Free Practice 1
• 11:49–12:19: Free Practice 2
• 15:20–15:50: Free Practice 3

Saturday 8 February

• 11:50–12:05: Qualifying – Segment 1
• 12:12–12:22: Qualifying – Segment 2
• 12:32–12:44: Qualifying – Segment 3
• 16:28–17:08: Race 1

Sunday 9 February

• 11:37–12:17: Race 2
• 16:44–17:29: Race 3 

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

Weather forecast: Partly cloudy all three days, with a chance of light showers on Sunday morning. 

What to know: The final round of the 2025 FR Oceania season and the 69th New Zealand Grand Prix take place this weekend at Highlands Motorsport Park. 

Qualifying for this round is different compared to the format used in the last four rounds. Qualifying will be split into three segments, with the first part setting the grid for race one. 

Drivers who have set the slowest lap times at the end of Q1 will be unable to progress to Q2 and Q3, which set the grid for the third race. Eight drivers will take part in Q3 to fight for pole.

The grid for the second race will be set by reversing the top eight finishers of race one. 

Leading the standings with 312 points is Red Bull junior Arvid Lindblad, who will look to secure the championship title this weekend. Lindblad has the chance to make series history if he wins the New Zealand Grand Prix, an achievement that would make him the first driver to win all five feature races of the championship. 

Nikita Johnson sits second in the standings with 253 points, followed closely by recently crowned Rookie Cup winner Zack Scoular with 247 points.  

Reigning Supercars champion Will Brown returns to Giles Motorsport for the final round of the championship after sitting out the rounds at Manfeild and Teretonga. He is also joined by his Triple Eight Race Engineering Supercars teammate and 2024 runner-up Broc Feeney, who will pilot Josh Pierson’s MTEC Motorsport car for the final round. Tommy Smith, who raced Brown’s car while he was absent, will miss Highlands as both he and Pierson were busy participating in Indy NXT’s pre-season test this week. 

Report by Kaylene Lau

Read the previous round’s report here, and follow FR Oceania editor Kaylene on X for updates from the Highlands paddock.

Eurocup-3 Spanish Winter Championship: Round 1, Jerez

Circuit: Circuito de Jerez, 4.428 km

Schedule: All times local (UTC+1)

Friday 7 February

• 11:05–13:05: Official test 1
• 15:15–17:15: Official test 2

Saturday 8 February

• 9:30–9:50: Qualifying 1
• 12:15–12:50: Race 1
• 14:40–15:05: Sprint

Sunday 9 February

• 9:30–9:50: Qualifying 2
• 12:45–13:20: Race 2

How to follow: All sessions will have live timing at Al Kamel Systems. All races will be streamed on the Spanish Winter Championship YouTube channel. 

Weather forecast: Mostly sunny during the day each day. Rain likely Friday night.

What to know: After experimenting with a discreet non-championship round alongside the Formula Winter Series last year, Eurocup-3 will begin its inaugural official winter championship this weekend at the Circuito de Jerez alongside the Eurocup-4 Spanish Winter Championship.

Twenty-six drivers and nine teams form the grid for the Eurocup-3 Spanish Winter Championship, which sees reigning F4 champions and F3 race winners taking to the track. Three new teams also join the grid, with Campos Racing and MP Motorsport bringing their Griffin Core and KCL satellite teams from Spanish F4 and Swedish team Allay Racing making their debut in the championship.

Find out more about the championship and about who’ll be racing in our season guide here.

Report by Seb Tirado

From the press: Among the reigning champions on the grid this weekend is third-generation driver Oscar Wurz, who won the F4 CEZ title last year for Jenzer Motorsport. We caught up with the Austrian driver about a 2024 that he spent racing in four different series and how he secured his Drivex seat for 2025. Read the interview here.

Eurocup-4 Spanish Winter Championship: Round 1, Jerez

Circuit: Circuito de Jerez, 4.428 km

Schedule: All times local (UTC+1)

Friday 7 February

• 9:00–11:00: Official test 1
• 13:10–15:10: Official test 2

Saturday 8 February

• 9:00–9:20: Qualifying 1
• 11:20–11:55: Race 1
• 13:50–14:15: Sprint

Sunday 9 February

• 9:00–9:20: Qualifying 2
• 11:50–12:25: Race 2

How to follow: All sessions will have live timing at Al Kamel Systems. All races will be streamed on the Spanish Winter Championship YouTube channel.  

Weather forecast: Mostly sunny during the day each day. Rain likely Friday night.

What to know: The recently renamed Eurocup-4 Spanish Winter Championship gets underway this weekend for the first of three rounds over the next month.

Originally known as the F4 Spanish Winter Championship, the new winter series is run by Spanish F4’s organisers and acts as an alternative to Gedlich Racing’s Formula Winter Series. A total of 34 drivers and 13 teams are set to take to the Circuito de Jerez, including 14 rookies and 12 drivers returning from Spanish F4’s 2024 season.

You can get the lowdown on everything about the championship and everyone that will be competing in our season guide here.

Report by Seb Tirado

FRegional Middle East: Round 3, Dubai Autodrome

Circuit: Dubai Autodrome, 5.390 km

Schedule: All times local (UTC+4)

Friday 7 February

• 8:45–9:45: Test session 1
• 14:00–15:00: Test session 2
• 16:00–16:30: Free practice

Saturday 8 February

• 8:50–9:05: Qualifying 1
• 9:10–9:25: Qualifying 2
• 12:20–12:55: Race 1

Sunday 9 February

• 9:05–9:40: Race 2
• 12:20–12:55: Race 3

How to follow: All sessions will have live timing via RaceResults. Both qualifying sessions and all three races will be broadcast live on the series’ official YouTube channel.

Weather forecast: Mostly sunny all weekend.

What to know: As FR Middle East reaches the halfway point of its 2025 season, the championship changes venues for the first time this season, heading to the Dubai Autodrome for the third round of five in 2025.

Though 10 different drivers have finished in the top three in the first six races, three clear title contenders have emerged. After taking a double win in round two, ART Grand Prix’s Evan Giltaire leads the way in the drivers’ standings with 110 points, while Freddie Slater, after a superb start to the season, trails the Frenchman by 12 points following a challenging second round. Fresh off his first single-seater win, Italy’s Brando Badoer sits third with 92 points, his consistency being once again a key component of his campaign.

Several new drivers will join FR Middle East for this round. As had been announced in January, rookies Hiyu Yamakoshi and Yuanpu Cui have joined Pinnacle Motorsport for the remainder of the year, replacing Eurocup-3-bound Jesse Carrasquedo and Giovanni Maschio respectively. Cui’s fellow Mercedes junior Doriane Pin also joins for the next two rounds at the Prema-run Mumbai Falcons team in place of Reza Seewooruthun.

F3-bound Théophile Naël – currently fourth, 26 points behind Giltaire – was set to leave Saintéloc Racing after round two, but he will remain in the series in hopes of mounting a title bid, Feeder Series understands. Teammate Lorenzo Castillo has instead vacated his seat to race in Eurocup-3’s winter series, with Euroformula Open race winner Jakob Bergmeister, 19, replacing him. A further change was announced Wednesday at Akcel GP by PHM Racing, where onetime F3 and GB3 driver James Hedley will race in Jaden Pariat’s place.

Report by Daniele Spadi and Michael McClure

Read the previous round’s report here.

F4 Middle East: Round 3, Dubai Autodrome

Circuit: Dubai Autodrome, 5.390 km

Schedule: All times local (UTC+4)

Friday 7 February

• 7:30–8:30: Test session 1
• 10:00–11:00: Test session 2
• 15:15–15:45: Free practice

Saturday 8 February

• 8:00–8:15: Qualifying 1
• 8:20–8:35: Qualifying 2
• 11:15–11:50: Race 1

Sunday 9 February

• 8:00–8:35: Race 2
• 11:15–11:50: Race 3

How to follow: All sessions will have live timing via RaceResults. Both qualifying sessions and all three races will be broadcast live on the series’ official YouTube channel.

Weather forecast: Mostly sunny all weekend.

What to know: F4 Middle East departs Abu Dhabi and heads to Dubai for its third round with Emanuele Olivieri leading the championship with 159 points. Mumbai Falcons teammates Kean Nakamura-Berta and Tomass Štolcermanis round out the top three with 118 and 86 points respectively.

Meanwhile, Prema’s Chi Zhenrui leads the rookie standings, followed by teammate Oleksandr Bondarev and Mumbai Falcons’ Salim Hanna. 

There are a few changes on the entry list for the third round. Kyuho Lee, 15th in the standings with four points, leaves the series for the Eurocup-4 Championship. His Pinnacle teammate Yuta Suzuki moves to Akcel GP by PHM to replace the departing Aqil Alibhai. Georgy Zhuravskiy joins the series with Pinnacle Motorsport having started the year with a one-off appearance with AKM Motorsport in the Formula Winter Series. 

Report by Calla Kra-Caskey

From the press: Olivieri may be F4 Middle East’s runaway championship leader, but did you know that he had never finished in the top five of an F4 race before this season? He let us in on some of the keys to his sudden success. Read the interview here, and read the previous round’s report here.

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: Bruce Jenkins / Toyota Gazoo Racing NZ