Chinese Formula 4 returns for its 11th season this year and will feature the addition of a new track on the calendar. With the opening round coming up in Ningbo this weekend, Feeder Series tells you everything you need to know about the series’ 2025 season. 

By Kaylene Lau 

Last season, Oscar Pedersen took the championship title with four wins and 14 podiums. The Swedish driver never finished lower than fifth place in any race and took the title ahead of Kaishun Liu, who was also the runner-up in the 2023 season.

This season’s opening round will be held at the Ningbo International Circuit, with the series no longer on the F1 support bill for the Chinese Grand Prix after being replaced by F1 Academy. Drivers will also race on the newly constructed Wuhan International Circuit, which will host the season finale in October. 

Chinese F4 also announced that Chambroad New Energy will become the official fuel partner of the series, starting this year. The drivers will run the Ligier JS F422, a rebranded version of the M21-F4 following Ligier’s takeover of chassis manufacturer Mygale.

The calendar 

The 2025 season will feature five rounds. Ningbo will serve as the season opener instead of Shanghai, and the newly opened Wuhan International Circuit will host the finale. The other round at Shanghai as well as Zhuhai and Chengdu all remain on the calendar this year.

• Round 1: Ningbo International Circuit (18–20 April) 
• Round 2: Shanghai International Circuit (16–18 May) 
• Round 3: Zhuhai International Circuit (13–15 June)
• Round 4: Chengdu Tianfu International Circuit (12–14 September) 
• Round 5: Wuhan International Circuit (3–5 October) 

The format 

Twenty races will be held throughout the season. Practice sessions are 30 minutes each and will take place on Friday. Two qualifying sessions, also 20 minutes each, will take place later on Friday. 

Races are 30 minutes plus one lap. Two races will take place on Saturday, and two races will take place on Sunday. 

Qualifying session one sets the grid for race one. The grid for race two is set by reversing the results of the top 10 drivers of race one. Qualifying session two sets the grid for race three, and similarly to how the grid is set for race two, the grid for race four is set by reversing the top 10 from race three. 

Points are allocated to the top 10 drivers following the standard FIA points system. No additional points are given for pole position or fastest lap. The winner will be awarded 25 points, second place 18 points, and third place 15 points. 

Where to watch

Races will be streamed on the series’ official Weibo account and Bilibili accounts, which are more accessible to international viewers. Within China, the series may be streamed on CCTV-5, China Central Television’s sport channel. Live timing is available on timing.orbit.cn.

Teams and drivers 

Black Blade Racing

The reigning teams’ champions from last year have a new lineup to defend their title. Last year’s runner-up Liu Kaishun, who contributed heavily to Black Blade’s championship run, departs the series this year. Both Black Blade Racing and the other team they oversee, Black Blade GP, will field two drivers. 

Ryan Liu Zexuan (#6)  joins Black Blade for the 2025 season. He raced in the series in 2021, finishing third in the championship with 134 points. Liu is the 2018 China GT champion in the GT4 class, and he previously raced in the F3 Asian Championship in 2018, finishing 17th in the championship. In 2019, he raced in the Asian Formula Renault Series, finishing 10th in the standings.  

Chen Sicong (#63) will make his Chinese F4 debut with Black Blade. Chen competed in the Toyota Gazoo Racing China GR86 Cup with 71K Racing Team in 2024, finishing first in both races at the Ordos International Circuit. 

Racing under the Black Blade GP banner, Zhang Jun (#25) returns to the championship for the 2025 season. Zhang finished 16th in the championship last year, only entering two rounds. His best finish was seventh, which he achieved in three of the four races at the season finale in Zhuhai. 

Also joining Black Blade GP this year is Cheng Meng (#17), who participated in the last round at Zhuhai last season with a best finish of 12th in race one. He then competed in the China Endurance Championship with 326 Motorsport Team in the GT4 Pro-Am class, finishing second in both the first and second races. 

Venom Motorsport 

Venom Motorsport made their series debut last season in impressive fashion, with their driver Oscar Pedersen taking the championship title. Having narrowly missed out on the teams’ championship title last year, Venom will be keen to challenge for both titles in 2025. 

Debuting in single-seaters with Venom this weekend is Midnight Hurricane (#76). The Shenzhen native is the 2023 national karting champion in the Shenzhen Open Class and the 2024 national karting champion in the Open Class.

Wang Yuzhe (#15) will return for his sophomore season in the series with Venom. Having finished fifth in the championship in 2024, the 16-year-old is the highest-placed returning driver from last season. His best finish last season was fourth, which he took in races two and four at Ningbo. He also raced in F4 Middle East and the preceding Formula Trophy UAE with Pinnacle, taking a best finish of 14th in the latter on two occasions.

Yang Peng (#24) joins Venom for the 2025 season. Peng raced in the series last year, finishing 26th in the standings with three points. His best finish was ninth in race two at Ningbo. Yang will race under the Venom Pole Motorsport banner.

Apollo RFN Racing Team by ART

Asia Racing Team (ART) have raced in Chinese F4 since their inception. For their 11th season in the series, the team will return under the Apollo RFN Racing Team banner. 

Joining the team for his first full season in Chinese F4 is Viktor Turkin (#98). The Russian competed in the last round of Chinese F4 in Zhuhai last year, with a best finish of 14th in three out of the four races. In 2022, Turkin competed in the WSK Super Master Series in the KZ2 class, and he has also raced in the class in his home country.

Making his single-seater debut with the team is Li Zebing (#39). Prior to entering Chinese F4, the 32-year-old had been karting at the national level. As of now, Li will only race in the season opener. 

Apollo RFN Racing Team by Blackjack 

ART also oversee another team in the series. Racing as Blackjack Pingxan Racing last season, the team have rebranded to Apollo RFN Racing Team by Blackjack for the 2025 season. 

Andrei Dubynin (#8) will make his full-season debut in F4 machinery this year, stepping up from karting. The 19-year-old secured five national karting titles in Russia. Dubynin also competed internationally from 2017 to 2019 in the OK-Junior class, with notable results such as seventh in the 2019 WSK Champions Cup and 29th in the 2019 WSK Super Master Series. He returned to the latter in the KZ2 class in 2022.  

Huang Chujian will join the team for his first season in single-seaters. Huang’s interest in racing sparked in 2019 after he bought his first car. To prepare for his first competitive season in car racing, Huang trained with the team in F4, FRegional and GT machinery. Huang will not race in the season opener.

Tiger Zhang Sum Hon (#11) will make his single-seater debut with ART. The Hong Konger makes the step up from karting. In 2024, he raced in the Rotax Max Challenge Asia Festival in the Junior Max class.

Team KRC

Up until 2023, Team KRC competed in the series in collaboration with iDEAK Racing. Having only made their debut as an independent team last year, Team KRC will return to contest the 2025 Chinese F4 season. 

Ethan Ho (#58) will contest his first full season of Chinese F4 this year with Team KRC. The 19-year-old raced in the USF Pro 2000 championship last year with Turn 3 Motorsport, finishing 19th in the standings with a best finish of ninth at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Ho also competed in the last two rounds of Chinese F4 last year with KRC, taking one podium and finishing ninth in the standings with 69 points. 

Richard Lin Li Ching (#67) will join Team KRC for the 2025 season. Lin competed in the third round last season with PingTan Raxing Team, retiring from the first three races before finishing ninth in race four. 

Champ Motorsport

Champ Motorsport will return for the Chinese F4 championship with a lineup consisting of one returning driver and one making his single-seater debut. 

Wang Yi (#68) will contest his sophomore season in the series with Champ Motorsport. Wang finished 10th in the championship last season with 68 points, with a best finish of fifth in race three at Zhuhai. 

Partnering Wong at Champ Motorsport is Kimi Chan (#91), who will make his single-seater debut this season. The Hong Konger is the 2024 IAME Asia Series champion in the X30 Senior class. 

Andy Law (#33) will return to the championship this year with Champ, running under the Kai Fei Motorsport banner. Law finished 27th in the standings last year with a total of two points, which he scored in race one at Chengdu with a ninth-place finish. Law also raced in the season finale of Formula Trophy UAE last year, finishing 18th in both races.

Joining Law under the Kai Fei banner is Patrick Tsang Wai Yip (#2). Tsang finished 24th in the championship last year, scoring four points in total, which he took in the final race of the season at Zhuhai.

Another team overseen by Champ is Skyline T-1 Racing. Wong Yiu Ming will race under the Skyline T-1 banner and will race in the masters class, though he is not on the entry list this weekend. Wong finished 43rd in the championship with no points, achieving a best finish of 15th in the last race of the season. He did not race in rounds two or three last year. 

Geeke Racing 

Geeke Racing will field a lineup consisting of one returning driver and another making his Chinese F4 debut. Their driver from last season, Shi Wei, most recently raced as a wild card entry in the F1 Academy race in Shanghai.

Returning to the championship this year with Geeke is Fei Jun (#86). Fei finished 14th in the championship last season with 49 points and one podium, which he took in the final race at Ningbo. Fei will be competing in the masters’ class of the championship.

Zhang Shimo (#21) will make his Chinese F4 debut with Geeke. The 17-year-old competed in three rounds of Italian F4 last year with Jenzer Motorsport, with a best finish of 14th in race two at Misano. Zhang also competed in the first two rounds of F4 CEZ last year, finishing 13th in the championship with 41 points and one podium.  

Silver Rocket AME Formula Team 

The former Wolf.51GT3.COM will race under a new name this year, rebranding to Silver Rocket AME Formula Team. Li Jia (#22), their driver from last year, remains with the team. Li finished 23rd in the standings with a best finish of eighth in the final race at Ningbo. 

Henmax Motorsport

Henmax Motorsport continue in the championship for the 2025 season. The team fielded a lineup of two master’s category drivers,  one of whom returns this year.

Hon Ying Fu (#61) is Henmax’s only driver for the season opener. He finished 42nd in the championship last season with no points and took best finishes of 16th in races one and two at Ningbo. 

ONE Motorsports

One Motorsports are a new team in this year’s championship. They will field two drivers for the opening round. 

Joining the team is Dai Yuhao (#87), who will be making his Chinese F4 debut. Dai is the 2024 China Touring Car champion in the Sports Cup A-1 category, racing with Nkoda HW Pointer Racing.

Pan Yiming (#7) will round out the team’s lineup for the opening round. Pan raced with Nkoda HW Pointer Racing in the China Touring Car Championship in 2024 and became the first driver born in the 2000s to win the overall title in the Challenge group. This will also be Pan’s Chinese F4 debut.

GYT Racing 

GYT Racing will make their single-seater debut as a team, having mainly competed in endurance championships nationally.

Joining the team is Xu Dan (#23), who is the team’s lone entry for the season opener. Xu raced in the China Endurance Championship and the Touring Car Sports Cup with the team in 2024. 

Header photo credit: Asia Racing Team