For the first and only time this year, Formula 2 and F1 Academy will race on the same grand prix weekend, while France and China’s F4 series hold their first rounds. Here’s how you can follow it all.

By Feeder Series

F2 and F1 Academy will join the support bill for this weekend’s Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, the fifth round of the 2025 F1 calendar. While both series have previously raced on the now-familiar Jeddah Corniche Circuit, many drivers will experience one of the world’s fastest street circuits for the first time.

Chinese F4 lost its spot on the support bill for last month’s Chinese Grand Prix, but the series finally begins this weekend in Ningbo. So too does French F4 with its season opener at Nogaro for annual Coupes de Pâques – held partly on Easter Monday, hence the shifted dates of this weekend’s preview and review.

While not featured at length here, Formula FARA will also kick off its six-round 2025 season at Sebring on 18 and 19 April. The grid features mostly young US-based drivers, including Ligier Junior Formula Championship podium finisher Max Mokarem and USF Juniors driver Maddie Colleran.

Formula 2: Round 3, Jeddah

Circuit: Jeddah Corniche Circuit, 6.174 km

Schedule: All times local (UTC+3)

Friday 18 April

• 12:55–13:40: Practice
• 18:00–18:30: Qualifying

Saturday 19 April

• 18:15–19:05: Sprint race, 20 laps

Sunday 20 April: 

• 16:25–17:30: Feature race, 28 laps

How to follow: All sessions will be live-streamed on F1 TV, but fans can also follow them live via the series’ live timing service. Local viewing information can be found here.

Weather forecast: Dry and sunny all weekend, with highs of 35°C.

What to know: Formula 2 heads to Jeddah for the third round of the 2025 championship. After an action-packed Bahrain event, the top three in the drivers’ standings are split by one point. Leonardo Fornaroli leads with 26 points, while Alex Dunne and Luke Browning are second and third respectively on 25. 

Dunne won the Bahrain feature race ahead of Browning and Fornaroli. A resurgent Victor Martins had qualified on the front row but lost positions because of a poor start. However, he will be expected to challenge at a track where he took pole by 0.7 seconds in 2023 before spinning out of the feature race lead. 

Hitech lead the teams’ standings with 37 points ahead of Campos on 31. Only DAMS and Trident have failed to score a point so far. After this round, the series takes a four-week break before the season’s European leg starts at Imola. 

Report by Martin Lloyd

Read our takeaways from the previous round here.

F1 Academy: Round 2, Jeddah

Circuit: Jeddah Corniche Circuit, 6.174 km

Schedule: All times local (UTC+3)

Friday 18 April

• 14:05–14:45: Free practice
• 21:30–22:00: Qualifying

Saturday 19 April

• 15:20–15:55: Race 1 (13 laps)

Sunday 20 April

• 15:05–15:40: Race 2 (13 laps)

How to follow: Live timing is available via the F1 Academy website. Sessions are streamed on F1 TV and on F1 Academy’s YouTube and X accounts.  

Weather forecast: Dry and sunny all weekend, with highs of 35°C.

What to know: F1 Academy returns this weekend in Jeddah for the second round of the season. 

Heading into Jeddah, Prema’s Doriane Pin leads the standings with 31 points, followed by MP’s Maya Weug with 26 and Campos’ Chloe Chambers with 24 points. Pin won the feature race in Shanghai starting from second on the grid, and Campos’ Alisha Palmowski won the season’s first reverse-grid race. 

Mercedes junior Pin won the first race in Jeddah last season after taking pole in both qualifying sessions. Pin also won race two on track before being penalised for a chequered flag infringement. Ferrari junior Weug also stood on the podium in both races at Jeddah last year. 

The wild card entry for this round is Farah Al-Yousef. She will be representing Saudi Arabia at the Formula Woman Nations Cup Finals. Al-Yousef participated in F4 Middle East with Evans GP, finishing 30th in the standings with a best finish of 19th in race one at Lusail. 

Report by Kaylene Lau

Read the previous round’s report here.

French F4: Round 1, Nogaro

Circuit: Circuit Paul Armagnac, 3.636 km

Schedule: All times local (UTC+2)

Friday 18 April

• 09:15–09:40: Private practice 1
• 11:05–11:30: Private practice 2
• 14:00–14:25: Private practice 3
• 16:15–16:40: Private practice 4
• 18:00–18:25: Private practice 5

Saturday 19 April

• 08:55–09:25: Free practice
• 15:00–15:30: Qualifying

Sunday 20 April

• 10:35–11:05: Race 1 (30 minutes)
• 16:20–16:50: Race 2 (30 minutes)

Monday 21 April

• 11:10–11:40: Race 3 (30 minutes)

How to follow: Races two and three will be live-streamed on YouTube. The whole weekend’s action can be followed through its-live.net. 

Weather forecast: Partly cloudy Friday. Rain expected Saturday, with occasional showers Sunday and Monday morning as well.

What to know: The one-team, centrally organised French F4 kicks off its 2025 season with the traditional Coupes de Pâques at Nogaro in the southwest of France. With a record-breaking 30-driver grid, this weekend’s round will be the first with 30-minute-long races.

In most years since 2019, the driver who clinched pole position and the opening race win has won the title afterwards, with the recent exceptions of championship runner-ups Hugh Barter in 2022 and Yani Stevenheydens in 2024. Nogaro has hosted the season opener since 2017.

Two drivers who made the strongest impression in pre-season testing were sophomore Jules Roussel and rookie Malo Bolliet, Feed Racing’s latest winner. Still, many others are expected to fight for victory this weekend, including French-Luxembourgish driver Guillaume Bouzar, who was the fastest of anyone in collective testing at Nogaro in February. Our season guide explains everything you should know about the 30 drivers participating this weekend.

Report by Perceval Wolff-Taffus

From the press: Following a visit to the paddock on the final day of pre-season testing, French F4 editor Percy rounded up the main storylines ahead of the season opener – including updates on the championship alumni who remain involved to coach the next generation. Read the takeaways here.

Chinese F4: Round 1, Ningbo

Circuit: Ningbo International Circuit, 4.015 km

Schedule: All times local (UTC+8)

Friday 18 April

• 9:50–10:20: Free practice 1
• 10:50–11:20: Free practice 2
• 14:20–14:40: Qualifying 1
• 15:00–15:20: Qualifying 2

Saturday 19 April

• 9:45–10:25: Race 1
• 13:55–14:35: Race 2

Sunday 20 April

• 10:55–11:35: Race 3
• 15:45–16:25: Race 4

How to follow: Live timing can be found on timing.orbits.cn. Races will be streamed on the series’ Weibo account and Bilibili account. 

Weather forecast: Dry on Friday and Sunday. Rain expected on Saturday. 

What to know: Chinese F4’s 11th season kicks off in Ningbo this weekend. 

Twenty-four drivers will race in the season opener. The highest-placed returning driver from last season is Venom Motorsport’s Wang Yuzhe, who finished fifth in the championship. Wang will aim to follow in the footsteps of his 2024 teammate Oscar Pedersen, who won last season’s title. 

Reigning teams’ champions Black Blade Racing, who fielded 2024 runner-up Liu Kaishun, will run Liu Zexuan and Chen Sicong as part of their lineup this year.

USF Pro 2000 graduate Ethan Ho, who finished ninth in the standings last year, will return to contest his first full season in the series with Team KRC. Many others will also make their single-seater debuts in Ningbo, including Blackjack’s Tiger Zhang and Champ’s Kimi Chan. Get to know the full grid with our 2025 season guide.

Report by Kaylene Lau

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: Circuit Paul Armagnac