After experiencing a drop in participation last year, Formula Regional Americas is rebounding for 2025, with 17 drivers confirmed to be racing in the first round of the series this year. Feeder Series tells you all you need to know about the championship and its 2025 grid.

By Laura Anequini

In what turned out to be a smaller grid last year, Patrick Woods-Toth dominated the championship. Racing with Crosslink Kiwi Motorsport, the Canadian took eight wins and six further podiums, securing the title on home soil with one round to spare. Despite those results, where he will be racing this year remains unknown. 

One of the most notable changes from last year is that Crosslink Kiwi Motorsport have separated into Crosslink Motorsports and Kiwi Motorsport after competing as a joint team for the past seven years. The reasons for the split have not been disclosed. 

In addition, the prizes for the winning driver were also changed this year. Last year, the championship winner received a $25,000 cash prize provided by Parella Motorsports Holdings; this year they will receive $100,000. The champion will also have the chance to be a guest of the Haas F1 team at one of F1’s American rounds in 2026.

The 17-car grid set to take part in the season opener at NOLA is the largest in series history, tied with the 17-car entry for the 2020 season opener at Mid-Ohio.

The calendar 

The 2025 season will feature eight rounds, one more in comparison to last year’s. This year, the series will return to Virginia International Raceway after a year out and will stage its first round in five years at Barber Motorsports Park. They replace the Circuit of The Americas, which hosted the season finale every year since 2020. The season opener at NOLA has also been moved forward two weeks.

• Round 1: NOLA Motorsports Park (27–30 March)
• Round 2: Road America (15–18 May)
• Round 3: Indianapolis Motor Speedway (12–15 June)
• Round 4: Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course (19–22 June)
• Round 5: New Jersey Motorsports Park (31 July–3 August) 
• Round 6: Canadian Tire Motorsports Park (28–31 August)
• Round 7: Virginia International Raceway (18–21 September)
• Round 8: Barber Motorsports Park (17–19 October)

The format 

The weekend’s format remains unchanged. Two 25-minute test sessions take place on Thursdays followed by a 20-minute free practice session on Friday. The qualifying session, which lasts 20 minutes, takes place on either Friday or Saturday, depending on the weekend schedule.

The first race of the weekend takes place on Saturday, with the second and third races scheduled for Sunday. The starting positions for the first race are determined by the qualifying results, while the grids for the second and third races are based on the fastest laps achieved by each driver in the previous race. The duration of the races also depend on the weekend schedule, although they normally have a maximum duration of 35 minutes. 

The points system is the same as F1’s. There are no points given for pole positions or fastest laps.

Where to watch 

The races will be available to watch on the  SpeedTour TV and Formula Regional Americas YouTube channels. It is not yet known whether all rounds will be streamed. For those that aren’t, results will be posted on the series’ social media channels. Live timing will also be available on Race Monitor.

Teams and drivers 

Crosslink Motorsports 

Crosslink Motorsports, who won the teams’ championship last year as Crosslink Kiwi while leading Woods-Toth to the drivers’ title, have three drivers lined up for this season.

Titus Sherlock (#31) was the first driver confirmed to be racing with the team. The 20-year-old from San Diego had a strong season last year and joined Woods-Toth and Ryan Shehan in the title fight. Taking four wins and four second-place finishes, Sherlock finished fourth in the standings with 185 points. With his consistency and results as a rookie last year, Sherlock has the experience and pedigree to fight for the title again this year. 

Also returning to the championship is Alex Benavitz (#5). The 27-year-old American only raced in the first round of the championship last year but had gearbox issues in both the first and second races that led to his retirement from both. He did not start race three as a result.

Stepping up to the championship is Barrett Wolfe (#13). The 21-year-old raced with the team in F4 US last year, finishing fifth in the standings with two podiums. As he prepared for the step up, Wolfe raced in FR Oceania with Giles Motorsport at the beginning of the year, achieving a best finish of ninth in race two of Highlands Motorsport Park en route to 17th in the points.

Kiwi Motorsport 

Kiwi Motorsport currently has six drivers lined up for this season, the biggest line-up until now. New, however, is the team’s partnership with Chip Ganassi Racing for the IndyCar powerhouse’s driver development programme. The programme, which also encompasses Eurocup-3 team Palou Motorsport, aims to prepare drivers with physical, mental and media training in the team’s facility in Indianapolis. Drivers will also have a chance to go to selected IndyCar events.

Jett Bowling (#22) comes to his second season in the championship as the highest-placed returnee driver. Despite not taking any wins, the 19-year-old finished inside the top six in every race he completed last year, which led him to third on the standings with 186.5 points. Bowling also raced in two FR Europe events at the end of last year before taking on the Macau Grand Prix with Kiwi Motorsport. Earlier this year, the Texan also raced in FR Oceania, finishing 14th in the standings with a best race finish of seventh.

Nicole Havrda (#6) returns for her second year in the championship alongside her commitments in F1 Academy with Hitech. In 2024, the 19-year-old Canadian finished sixth in the standings, with four podiums and 139.5 points. For her first round in F1 Academy, she qualified 12th but did not finish either of the two races.

Racing in the Masters Cup, Kevin Janzen (#24) is also returning for his fifth season in the championship. The Canadian, 59, missed the New Jersey Motorsports Park event last year but raced in all others to secure the Masters Cup title. He finished the year 15th in the overall standings with 22 points.

Nicolas Ambiado (#55) is the last full-time series returnee among the team’s line-up. The 17-year-old was fifth in the standings last year, taking his first win in the series during race two in New Jersey. He is, however, switching teams after racing with Velox USA in 2024. 

Stepping up to the championship this year is Nicolas Stati (#15). The 16-year-old was the runner-up in the 2024 season of F4 US, finishing the year with three wins, five further podiums and a gap of only 4.5 points to the champion. In the beginning of this year, he also raced with the team in FR Oceania, in which he finished 15th on the standings.

The last addition to the team is Bruno Ribeiro (#01). The 16-year-old son of former International F3000 driver Rodrigo Ribeiro already participated in the final round of the series in 2024 at COTA, where he won race two and finished fourth in race one. The Brazilian is switching to FR Americas after contesting a partial campaign in USF Juniors with DEForce last season in which he took one podium. 

Atlantic Racing Team 

Despite only fielding one driver for the entire season, Atlantic Racing Team finished fourth in the teams’ standings because of the results of James Lawley (#88). 

This year, the team will have two subdivisions, Atlantic Racing Team and Atlantic Racing Team with Team Roberts. At the former, 21-year-old Lawley returns to the team for his second year in the championship after finishing ninth in the standings in 2024. Despite not securing any podiums or wins, the Canadian driver finished in the points in all but one race. Over the winter, he joined rival squad Kiwi Motorsport for a campaign in FR Oceania and finished 18th overall.

Rookie Daniel Quimby (#42) will join the team after winning the F4 US title last year and earning a scholarship to race in FR Americas this year. The 16-year-old Australian had a standout season with the team in F4, securing five wins and five further podiums. Despite being a rookie, Quimby’s previous showings suggest that he may be a frontrunner this season.

Lastly, Connor Roberts (#46) joins the team in the joint effort between Atlantic Racing and Team Roberts. The American driver steps up to the championship after having finished third in the F4 US standings last year with his family team. Roberts won the Omologato Perfectly Timed Pass Award at the end of the year for gaining the most positions throughout the F4 US season.

Jensen Global Advisors 

Although the team competed last season, they only participated in two rounds all year, at Indianapolis and COTA, and finished seventh in the teams’ standings with 34 points. 

The driver at COTA was Jake Pollack (#1), who steps up for a full campaign. Racing in only the last round of the 2024 season, the 18-year-old from Texas had a best finish of ninth in race two. For the rest of the year, he raced in the former Ligier JS F4 series for first-generation F4 cars with the team, securing two podiums and ending the year ninth in the standings.

Athan Sterling (#2) is the other driver in the team’s line-up this season. The 18-year-old has been part of Jensen’s driver development programme since January 2024 and raced in the Formula Pro USA Western Championship’s F4 class last year, securing six podiums.

Momentum Motorsports

Momentum Motorsports return to the grid in 2025 with one car driven by 42-year-old construction executive Anthony Autiello (#07), another entrant in the masters’ class. The Rhode Island native entered four of the seven rounds last year, taking a best finish of eighth in the second race at Mosport.

Toney Driver Development 

Returning for a full season in the championship is Toney Driver Development, who most notably ran former NASCAR Truck Series driver and current Indy NXT driver Hailie Deeganin the COTA round last year on their series debut.

The other driver at the team then was Brady Golan (#80), who returns for a full season in FR Americas with the team alongside his commitments in USF2000 with DEForce Racing. The 17-year-old Texan also ran a double campaign last year in USF Juniors and USF2000 with DEForce. In the first round of USF2000 this year at St Petersburg, he took a best finish of 12th in race two.

Lincoln Day (#95) also joins the team for his first season in FR Americas. In 2024, the American raced in F4 US with MLT Motorsports. Despite taking consistent points finishes, 19-year-old Day never reached the podium and finished seventh in the standings, last among the drivers who participated in every round of the season. He also entered the first two rounds of the Skip Barber Formula Race Series last year, taking best finishes of eighth.

Header photo credit: Gavin Baker