Six junior single-seater championships take to the track this weekend from Florida to Qatar – three for the first time in 2025 and two for the last. Find out where to watch them and what’s at stake.

By Feeder Series

As one continent’s racing season comes to a close, another’s begins in earnest. With the end of February comes the crossover point from winter series to main series as more and more of the summertime championships begin their seasons.

In St Petersburg, Florida, this weekend, Indy NXT, USF Pro 2000 and USF2000 all begin their seasons, which will last into August. The three championships will support the IndyCar Series in its own season opener, though their appearances mark somewhat of a false spring as their second rounds will not take place until mid-April for the USF series and early May for Indy NXT.

Meanwhile, the Formula Middle East bids farewell to its inaugural edition with a maiden visit to the Lusail International Circuit, where the FR Middle East and F4 Middle East season finales will support the World Endurance Championship’s first race of 2025.

The Formula Winter Series does not stage a season finale yet, but its third round at MotorLand Aragón brings to a close an 12-day stretch of junior single-seater action on the Iberian Peninsula. From Monday to Wednesday of this week, F2 held its pre-season test in Barcelona, with Red Bull junior Arvid Lindblad leading the first day of running, Alpine junior Gabriele Minì leading the second and Trident’s Sami Meguetounif leading the third. Minì’s 1:23.660 on Tuesday was the fastest time of the test.

Those came in addition to the other major piece of news out of Spain concerning Eurocup-3. More than three months after the 2024 season ended, Christian Ho was formally named Eurocup-3 champion as incidents from the final round were litigated in a protracted appeals process. The outcome of the appeals means that Ho earns the win in the first race of the season finale, giving him seven additional points and putting him above former champion Javier Sagrera.

There will be plenty of stories to follow in March, but for now, get up to speed with all the action taking place this weekend.

FRegional Middle East: Round 5, Lusail

Circuit: Lusail International Circuit, 5.380 km

Schedule: All times local (UTC+3)

Wednesday 26 February

• 10:15–11:15: Test session 1
• 15:35–16:35: Test session 2
• 19:15–19:45: Free practice

Thursday 27 February

• 9:50–10:05: Qualifying 1
• 10:10–10:25: Qualifying 2

• 14:30–15:05: Race 1
• 21:00–21:35: Race 2

Friday 28 February

• 10:30–11:05: Race 3

How to follow: All sessions can be followed via live timing on Al Kamel Systems; races one and two will also be broadcast live on the championship’s official YouTube channel.

Weather forecast: Cloudy throughout the week.

What to know: FR Middle East comes to Qatar for the first time in the history of the series as the Lusail International Circuit hosts the final round of the 2025 season.

After exchanging wins all season, Evan Giltaire and Freddie Slater are the two main contenders in the drivers’ title fight. The Frenchman leads the Briton by 17 points, though the latter has one more win to his name. Brando Badoer and Ugo Ugochukwu are still in the running too, though both need a big comeback to get their hands on the crown.

Slater also holds the lead in the rookies’ standings, with a 43-point gap over Rashid Al Dhaheri, his sole remaining rival. In the teams’ standings, Mumbai Falcons Racing Limited lead the way with 322 points, 29 more than ART Grand Prix’s total, with reigning champions R-ace GP still in the running with 253 points.

A total of 24 drivers will be on the starting grid in Lusail. As was announced before the season, Doriane Pin is missing the round, with Reza Seewooruthun returning to take over her spot at the Mumbai Falcons squad after entering the first two rounds. Despite being on the original entry list, Evans GP’s Aaron Cameron has been removed from the final version having already hinted at his absence after the previous round at Yas Marina.

In newer developments, neither Aditya Kulkarni nor James Hedley will partake in the final round as the entire Akcel GP will be absent. Pinnacle Motorsport’s Yuanpu Cui will also be replaced by the returning Jesse Carrasquedo Jr, who had been racing in Eurocup-3’s winter series, while Yujia Gao rejoins 2024 team Origine Motorsport, known as R&B Racing last year, in place of countryman Ruiqi Liu.

The top three in the championship, in order, were the top three drivers in free practice today. Saintéloc Racing part-timer Nikita Bedrin topped both test sessions earlier in the day.

Report by Daniele Spadi

F4 Middle East: Round 5, Lusail

Circuit: Lusail International Circuit, 5.380 km

Schedule: All times local (UTC+3)

Wednesday 26 February

• 9:00–10:00: Test 1
• 14:20–15:20: Test 2
• 18:30–19:00: Free practice

Thursday 27 February

• 9:00–9:15: Qualifying 1
• 9:20–9:35: Qualifying 2

• 13:30–14:00: Race 1
• 19:55–20:25: Race 2

Friday 28 February

• 9:25–9:55: Race 3

How to follow: All sessions will have live timing on Al Kamel Systems. Races one and two will be broadcast on the championship’s official YouTube channel.

Weather forecast: Cloudy throughout the week.

What to know: F4 Middle East heads to Qatar for the first time in series history for its final round, and three drivers are still in contention for the championship. Emanuele Olivieri leads the field with 269 points, while Kean Nakamura-Berta has 221 points and Alex Powell has 207 points. Meanwhile, Salim Hanna leads the rookies championship with 280 points, but Chi Zhenrui and Oleksandr Bondarev are still in contention with 219 and 199 points apiece. 

The R-ace GP drivers looked strong during Wednesday’s test and practice sessions, with Powell leading practice and Olivieri less than a tenth behind him in second. Nakamura-Berta led the first test session but fell to seventh in the second and 11th in practice. Meanwhile, Yas Heat Racing Academy’s Adam Al Azhari was the only driver to finish in the top four in all three sessions, and teammate August Raber also had a strong day with three top-seven finishes. 

Akcel GP’s Yuta Suzuki has departed the series ahead of the final round and will not be replaced. The rest of the line-up remains the same as the previous round’s. Qatari karter Nasser Al-Thani joined the two test sessions but was not on the entry list and did not participate in free practice.

Report by Calla Kra-Caskey

Formula Winter Series: Round 3, Aragón

Circuit: MotorLand Aragón, 5.345 km

Schedule: All times local (UTC+1)

Thursday 27 February

• 8:30-9:15: Collective test 1
• 11:40-12:20: Collective test 2
• 15:35-16:15: Collective test 3

Friday 28 February

• 8:30-9:15: Collective test 4
• 11:40-12:20: Collective test 5
• 15:35-16:15: Collective test 6

Saturday 1 March

• 10:00-10:15: Qualifying 1
• 10:20-10:35: Qualifying 2
• 14:10-14:40: Race 1

Sunday 2 March

• 10:15-10:45: Race 2
• 14:20-14:50: Race 3

How to follow: Live Timing is available on RaceResults. All races will be broadcast in English on the Alpha Live and Winter Series YouTube channels. Additionally, Motorsport Television Deutschland and Parc Fermé TV broadcast the races with German and Italian commentary respectively.

Weather forecast: Cloudy Thursday and Friday; cloudy with rain possible Saturday; windy Sunday. Temperatures are not likely to exceed 15°C.

What to know: Championship leader Gabriel Gomez has a chance to take the title in Aragón. The US Racing driver currently leads the championship with 132 points, 34 more than runner-up Hitech’s Leo Robinson has. Gomez needs to extend his lead to 82 points or more in order to seal the championship, and should Hitech’s ongoing appeal regarding Robinson’s disqualification from all three races at Valencia be denied, Gomez’s lead would already be at 83 points over Maksimilian Popov ahead of the third round.

US Racing will reduce its line-up at Aragón to four instead of six cars as Jan Koller and Edu Robinson will not contest the third round. Team manager Anna Büttner confirmed to Feeder Series that it was always the plan that not all drivers would contest all rounds.

Elia Luis Weiss will make his single-seater debut this weekend in place of Ricardo Miranda Baptista at Cram Motorsport, while Rafaela Ferreira replaces Alisha Palmowski at Campos Racing. Both changes were planned ahead of the season. 

AKM Motorsport will bring two debutants to Aragón in Ginevra Panzeri and recently announced Italian F4 debutant Marcus Ahlmann Sæter. Guy Albag has had to sit out the third round after breaking his thumb, Feeder Series learned. The Israeli driver plans to return for the final round at Barcelona. Teammate Joanne Ciconte, who entered the first two rounds, is also absent.

Juta Racing were supposed to make their F4-level debut this weekend with one car driven by karter Linas Volungevičius, Feeder Series understands. Volungevičius, however, could not find enough budget, and the team has therefore decided to withdraw from the championship.

Report by Finjo Muschlien

Indy NXT: Round 1, St Petersburg

Circuit: Streets of St Petersburg, 2.897 km

Schedule: All times local (UTC−5)

Friday 28 February

• 14:00–14:45: Practice 1

Saturday 1 March

• 9:10–9:55: Practice 2
• 13:30–14:00: Qualifying

Saturday 2 March

• 10:10–11:05: Race

How to follow: All sessions are streamed live on IndyCar Live. Country-specific availability is listed here. In the United States, Fox Sports 2 will show practice and qualifying live and Fox Sports 1 the race. Live timing for all sessions is available on the IndyCar website.

Weather forecast: Sunny all weekend.

What to know: Indy NXT roars back into life in 2025 with a bumper grid for its traditional season opener in St Petersburg, Florida. It will be the first race shown by Fox Sports as part of a new television deal brokered by IndyCar and the American broadcasting giant last year.

The headline act of the 21-car line-up is Andretti Global’s Dennis Hauger, who moves stateside after a seven-year single-seater career in Europe featuring five F2 victories, an F3 title and multiple years with the Red Bull Junior Team. Also joining him from the F1 ladder are former Van Amersfoort F3 teammates Sophia Floersch and Tommy Smith, with the former having also left the Alpine Academy. They join a sizable cast of characters with American open-wheel experience, including returning favourites Caio Collet, Callum Hedge and Salvador de Alba, last year’s three standout rookies.

Operationally there has been a late change as well. Series director Richard Buck, appointed in December to fill the vacancy left by Levi Jones’ departure, parted company with Penske Entertainment last weekend. For this round, his role is expected to be filled by new IndyCar president Doug Boles and Indianapolis Motor Speedway vice president Jason Penix, formerly the series’ development director in its guise as Indy Lights.

To get a closer look at the 2025 grid, read our season guide here.

Report by Michael McClure

From the press: Sophia Floersch raced a variety of cars over the past decade in Europe, with two stints at the F3 level separated by two years in sports car racing in 2021 and 2022. She spoke to selected media, including Feeder Series, ahead of her latest big career move – literally – to America for a season in Indy NXT with HMD Motorsports. Read the story here.

USF Pro 2000: Round 1, St Petersburg

Circuit: Streets of St Petersburg, 2.897 km

Schedule: All times local (UTC−5)

Friday 28 February

• 9:10–9:45: Practice
• 11:35–12:05: Qualifying

Saturday 1 March

• 11:35–12:15: Race 1

Saturday 2 March

• 8:00–8:40: Race 2

How to follow: Qualifying sessions and races will be broadcast on the USF Pro Championships YouTube channel. Live timing is also available via the USF Pro 2000 website and via the USF Pro Championships app.

Weather forecast: Sunny all weekend.

What to know: The highest rung of the three-tier USF Pro Championships package begins its 2025 season in St Petersburg this weekend. 

The 22-car grid features drivers aged 15 to 61 and correspondingly diverse in experience. Amongst the best placed is Jace Denmark, who returns for another crack at the title after finishing third behind Lochie Hughes and Nikita Johnson last year. Meanwhile, Max Taylor will step up to USF Pro 2000 for a full season after clinching the USF Juniors title and finishing third in USF2000 last year, while fellow USF Juniors race winner Ariel Elkin likewise makes the jump up, albeit without having entered USF2000 at all.

While Garcia fared well in Spring Training at NOLA Motorsports Park last weekend, Turn 3 Motorsport’s Alessandro de Tullio ultimately proved unbeatable, topping both sessions on the sole day of running.

Read more about what to expect in 2025 in our season guide, and follow head of content Michael on X for updates from the St Petersburg paddock.

Report by Michael McClure

USF2000: Round 1, St Petersburg

Circuit: Streets of St Petersburg, 2.897 km

Schedule: All times local (UTC−5)

Friday 28 February

• 10:45–11:20: Practice
• 13:05–13:35: Qualifying
• 16:45–17:30: Race 1

Saturday 1 March

• 12:30–13:10: Race 2

How to follow: Qualifying sessions and races will be broadcast on the USF Pro Championships YouTube channel. Live timing is also available via the USF2000 website and via the USF Pro Championships app.

Weather forecast: Sunny all weekend.

What to know: In a compact race weekend, USF2000 drivers tackle the first of two street circuits on their 18-race calendar this weekend at St Petersburg. Last year, eventual champion Max Garcia of Pabst Racing stamped his authority on the field with two victories from pole position.

As he and the rest of the top 10 move on to other series, 19 drivers, 14 of them rookies, will tackle the 2025 edition of the event. Entering with momentum is Pabst driver G3 Argyros, who won the final race of the 2024 season at Portland six months ago. Several enter as rookies having moved up from USF Juniors, but only runner-up Liam McNeilly won a race in the series last year. He was also the pacesetter in Spring Training last Saturday over fellow rookie Jack Jeffers, who topped the first session.

Our season guide featuring more information on the drivers and teams competing in 2025 will be released Thursday evening. In the meantime, follow head of content Michael on X for updates from the St Petersburg paddock on Saturday and Sunday.

Report by Michael McClure

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: Alex Langley