Four drivers remain in mathematical contention for the 2025 Euroformula Open title with only the season finale at Monza remaining. Feeder Series spoke to each of the four drivers about the key moments from their seasons and how they’ve approached the series’ closest title battle in a decade.

By Marco Albertini

Following Brad Benavides’ crushing title-winning season last year, few would have expected a four-way title fight this year, with drivers from two different teams still in contention for the title with one round left.

The Spanish-based series updated their chassis earlier this year, switching from the Dallara 320 to the 324 chassis, and also adopted the TOM’S three-cylinder engine used in Super Formula Lights. All three of Euroformula Open’s multi-car teams have won a race this season, but only BVM Racing and Team Motopark have drivers challenging for the title.

Leading the standings is BVM Racing’s Tymek Kucharczyk, on 321 points, followed by the Motopark trio of Michael Shin, Yevan David and José Garfias, who are 23, 28 and 62 points behind respectively. Dropped points will also play a role in the title fight, as full-season drivers’ three worst scores will be dropped.

Feeder Series spoke to each of top four drivers earlier this year to learn about their seasons, what brought them to Euroformula Open and where winning the title could take them.

How Kucharczyk’s last-minute EFO deal led to his and BVM’s breakthrough

For the first time since 2018, a non-Motopark driver is leading the standings. BVM Racing’s Tymek Kucharczyk heads into Monza with a 23-point gap over Motopark’s Michael Shin.

The 19-year-old Polish driver entered 2025 having just completed his sophomore season in GB3, in which he was third in points with Hitech GP with four wins and 11 podiums to his name. Despite almost signing for an F3 seat, Kucharczyk elected to spend a year in Euroformula Open with BVM.

“We had some offers to do F3 and we were quite close to sign with two teams,” Kucharczyk said. “We missed out on this opportunity for a few reasons. The basic one was the budget, but then the opportunity to race in Euroformula for BVM came and with really good price and really good offers. I was able to come and test and race for them.

“Euroformula is a great car, so for me it’s not a step down. I still improve as a driver, which is really good because I can develop. That was the main key point for me for this year.

“There’s a lot of downforce in this car. It’s a Dallara chassis as well, so it gives me an opportunity to see how the Dallara works, also in comparison to the F3 and F2, potentially in the future. It’s just a great opportunity for me because I’m still racing. I still do what I love.

“The fact that I can race in formula is still very important for me,” he added. “It’s not that my career is done because at the same point I could be sitting at home now and doing nothing. I’m just really grateful for the team, for my sponsors that I’m able to race this year.”

Even with the momentum carrying over from GB3, Kucharczyk did not have clear expectations heading into this year. He had no experience with the car prior to the season-opening round at Portimão, while rival drivers at Team Motopark and Nielsen Racing had tested substantially more.

“I wanted to win, but the expectations were a bit unknown because I hadn’t done any testing before Portimão or anything. It was just basically jumping in the car and seeing what I can do,” Kucharczyk said.

“Motopark and Nielsen tested a lot in the pre-season testing. They went to the circuits and they knew the car and whatsoever, and it was obviously a bit tougher for me, but that was the only way I could drive. I’m not complaining because in the end we came to Portimão and we were pretty much on it from practice one.

“BVM is also not a massive team. We only have one, sometimes two cars a weekend, so it’s not easy. We’re fighting with Motopark, who has six cars, a big amount of data and analysis. They drive a lot of these cars, testing F3, F2 drivers as well. It’s not easy, but we’re doing our best.

“For me, it’s important because pretty much on every race weekend we went, the car was on it straight away and I could just push from lap one. That’s really important because that gives me confidence and also makes me really comfortable inside the car. We’ve put in a lot of work, and I’m just happy that I can see the results now and it’s paying off.”

Despite entering weekends without testing and being fast straight out of the gate, Kucharczyk’s races haven’t all gone so swimmingly. In the season-opening round at Portimão, the Pole stalled on the grid twice as he struggled to adapt to the carbon clutch of the Dallara 324. By the time he mastered his starting technique, he had also lost points to collisions, most notably with title rival David at Hockenheim.

“I think it’s mostly down to the hours and experience in this car, and obviously the first two race starts where I stalled the car because it’s a carbon clutch here in Euroformula,” Kucharczyk said. “It’s much tougher to start. I couldn’t really find a good starting technique until round four.

“These first few rounds were a bit shaky, up and down. We showed really good speed, but then race starts, collisions, a few mistakes on my side and it just wasn’t easy. Since from Hungaroring, it just clicked. We did all we could and we scored a good amount of points. We were on it pretty much every race.

“It’s just down to an experience, really, because no lack of testing, lack of preparation. This car obviously is a bit different compared to last year with this new engine from Toyota. It’s just not easy, for me, but also for the team. We’re just learning round by round. It’s good because it also shows how high the potential is, because even though we’re really quick, after each round we can still find something, some bits to improve on, like my driving or the car.”

Kucharczyk drove alongside Vladislav Ryabov for the first two rounds, but from the Hungaroring to Spielberg, the second BVM seat became a revolving door of drivers. Alessandro Famularo joined the Pole for the final three rounds season, with Enzo Yeh also joining in a third car from Barcelona.

Without a consistent teammate, Kucharczyk’s only references have been from previous seasons, when the series used the Dallara 320 chassis and raced on a different tyre compound.

“It’s quite tough. There are a few tracks that I’ve never been on here in the calendar, such as Paul Ricard, Red Bull, Hockenheim, so it’s not easy because the only reference is from the past years,” he said. “The car was a bit different and the tyre was a bit different. I just had to learn it by myself, really. In the end it didn’t turn out that bad.”

Kucharczyk has five poles from seven rounds, missing out only in Spa and Barcelona, and five victories. Even without having reference points from teammates or prior experience in the series – Shin, David and Garfias all raced at least once in 2024 – Kucharczyk has emerged as the class of the field in qualifying in particular.

“It almost feels like a habit now,” Kucharczyk said. “It just gives you a lot of confidence because you know that whatever you do, they’re thereabouts. This is really comfortable for me, as a driver, because then I go into the quali session knowing that if I do my job, then it will be okay, and that’s pretty much my goal.”

Shin: ‘It’s all about maximising what I can do and minimising the mistakes’

Kucharczyk’s closest challenger is Motopark’s Michael Shin, who sits just 23 points behind him.

The 21-year-old Korean came into the season after a part-time campaign in Euroformula Open with the same team and a full-time season in Eurocup-3 with Campos. While he was only able to muster seventh place overall in Eurocup-3, Shin won twice in his four Euroformula Open appearances and ended the year sixth in points.

Shin elected to compete in a full season of Euroformula Open in order to prepare for what he thought would be a likely move to F3 next year. That has since materialised, and he will return to the series after two years out with Hitech.

“It was about which car allowed me to learn more and be better prepared for FIA F3,” Shin explained. “Euroformula uses a Dallara chassis, which is the same manufacturer of the F3 chassis and it’s overall a higher-level car, so I thought there would be a lot more to learn here than repeating another year in Eurocup-3.”

As Shin returned to Euroformula Open, he first had to get to grips with the series’ new chassis and engine package, which has a higher top speed but more weight than last year’s unit.

“We have more power and it’s not so apparent when driving it, but when you look at the data we have more top speed, so it allows you to run more downforce on the car,” Shin said. “But the extra power does come with the disadvantage that the car is heavier. With the TOM’S Toyota engine, the center of gravity is also higher, so the way the car handles is a bit different, especially in the mid- to high-speed corners.”

Despite already taking wins in the series and being the most experienced driver among the title contenders with 12 prior starts, Shin entered the season with a mindset focused on growth rather than specific results. 

“For me, I actually made myself not have certain expectations,” Shin said. “I wanted to grow as much as possible last year and also this year. I worked really hard over the winter and I felt like I grew a lot, so I thought good results were possible. I would not say I was expecting to be P3, P2 or P1.”

Shin started off the year by finishing second in every race at Portimão. He nearly repeated the same results at Hockenheim two rounds later, winning race one and finishing second in the other two races. 

Yet even with further wins at Hungaroring, Red Bull Ring and Barcelona, Shin’s season has had low points. At Spa and Paul Ricard, the South Korean finished no higher than fourth, but equally, he has missed out on the top five just six times this season. His consistency thus far has enabled him to enter the final round of the season second in points.

“I think in the rounds we had no issues at, we were very consistent and had a trouble-free performance,” Shin said. “For example, at Hockenheim, we did P1, P2, P2, Portimão P2, P2, P2. And in that sense it was good, but we also had weekends like Spa and most recently Paul Ricard where we had broken front wings.

“Some stuff we could control and some stuff we couldn’t and it happens. There are going to be bad weekends, good weekends and it’s all about maximising what I can do and minimising the mistakes that come from my side.”

Though two of his teammates are also in contention for the title, Shin remains unfazed by the prospect of battling them for the big prize.

“It adds a bit more competitiveness to all of us,” Shin said. “We all have the same equipment and setup; however, we get along pretty well and we’re still friends at the end of the day. But racing comes first.”

David: ‘I’m just focused on myself’ in fight to reclaim early lead

Yevan David was perhaps the most highly anticipated driver heading into the season after having won two out of three races in a one-off outing at Monza in the final round last year. In his first full season in the series, he currently sits third in the standings with 293 points after leading the opening rounds.

Affectionately dubbed the ‘Sri Lankan Lion’ in the paddock, David has sported a livery matching his country’s colors, which he first carried last year during the FIA Motorsport Games F4 Cup at Valencia. His country’s support, however, has exploded only in the past year, following his debut win a year ago.

“Just a couple of years ago, no one knew who I was in my journey, and now I have an entire nation supporting me,” David said. “Not just in Sri Lanka but worldwide, I have a team, everyone behind me, working behind the scenes, so I couldn’t be more grateful for this.”

Upon coming back to the series, David had to switch to the newer Dallara 324 chassis. He initially found it ‘quite difficult’ but adapted quickly, he explained.

“We’re also on a different Pirelli compound, the DMA, and we’re also turbocharged this year,” David said. “The way you put the power is very different, but it’s got similar levels of downforce and you adapt to it. You learn from the previous car and obviously you have time in the car, during race weekends, pre-season and official testing to get used to it.

“At this point of the season, I’m used to the car [but] obviously still trying to find ways to go quicker because we’re at different circuits.”

In the first three rounds of the season, David won four times to take an early points lead, but he lost the advantage at the Hungaroring to teammate Shin and then at Paul Ricard to Kucharczyk. In retrospect, the 18-year-old Sri Lankan felt the start of the season had been ‘very good’ but that he had still fallen short of expectations.

“There are expectations for me to be at the top. Obviously I want to win all the time,” David said. “To be honest, I did expect to do well. I always expect myself to do well. What we’ve done this year is very good and I’m proud of it, but there are still things to work on and I’ve not lived up to my expectations fully. They’ll always be higher than what I achieve, but I’m looking forward to improving myself.”

“The first few rounds went very well, obviously picking up wins at Portimão, Spa and Hockenheim,” he added. “Hungary was a bit of a tough weekend, but [we] still got good points and a podium. And then Paul Ricard, we had a bit of misfortune, mistakes from my side, but these are all parts of the championship. It’s never smooth sailing.

“There are going to be lows; there are going to be highs. We learn from it, and how we get back up is what matters.”

David redeemed himself from a rough patch mid-season with a victory at Spielberg and two podiums at Catalunya to put himself 28 points behind Kucharczyk. With a seat in F3 with AIX Racing for 2026 long since secured as well, the Motopark driver’s main focus now is on performing the best he can in the remaining round at Monza.

“There’s been competition from other teams and drivers like Tymek and Michael in the championship, but honestly I’m just focused on myself,” David said. “They took the lead away a couple of times, but I’m focused on what I need to do here. Every lap, every start I’m nailing, and it’s what I want to do and it’s what I’ll be focused on for the rest of the season.”

How Garfias overcame early disappointment to stage an unlikely title charge

Ever since he took pole on his series debut at the Red Bull Ring last year, José Garfias has been a consistent front-runner in Euroformula Open. Even still, it hasn’t all been smooth for him so far.

After competing in the last three rounds of the 2024 season, scoring four podiums, the 20-year-old Mexican planned to make the jump to Formula 3. But when that fell through, Garfias returned to Motopark for a full season in Euroformula Open.

“That weekend last year [in Spielberg] was probably a good weekend for me – not the races but the pace and the driving,” Garfias said. “I adapted to the car and team quite fast and comfortably. To be honest, I did not expect to come back to the championship at all at that point. It was more of a three-round thing at the end of the year, and my plans were different for this year.”

“The plan last year was to go to F3, looking for a seat there, but we were not able to find a seat,” Garfias added. “We analysed the situation and found out that a year with Motopark in Euroformula was the best option, mainly because of how much I learned at the end of last year in just three rounds.”

Having driven the Dallara 320 in those rounds, Garfias came back to the series to compete in the newer 324 chassis, which felt ‘completely different’ compared to its predecessor.

“It feels a lot different. The chassis is the same, similar amount of power. Weight has gone up, which makes it feel different,” Garfias said. “I think the main difference comes from the tyre. We have a softer tyre whose sidewall moves more than it did last year, so the feeling is that the car slides a lot more and the weight transition is a bit lower and a bit harder to predict.

“It’s still very fast compared to last year, but the car feels a bit more boaty, and it makes us work harder on the setup because it’s completely different from last year.”

Despite the change in chassis, pre-season testing went well for the Mexican, and hopes were high heading into the season opener at Portimão. The round, however, turned out worse than he had hoped.

“The season didn’t start the way I wanted it to,” Garfias said. “Our goal was to win the championship, and testing was going very well. Then we went to Portimão and it was quite a bit of a disaster. I was just off pace and couldn’t get a good feeling with the car, and I was just struggling.

“Spa was better. Much better in pace, and [I] had a much better feeling with the car, but we had terrible luck in the races.

“[In] race one, I got a puncture while leading; race two, I was taken out on the first lap, and race three, I managed to get a podium. After that, I was far behind from the championship fight, and I was quite disappointed and I didn’t know what to hope for the next few rounds.”

Just as Garfias felt his hopes fading away, his form took a turn for the better. After making his F3 debut with AIX Racing at Barcelona, the Mexican finished all but one race from Hockenheim to Paul Ricard in the top five and collected one win per round to put himself fourth in the Euroformula Open points. From round three to round five, he had been the highest-scoring driver on the grid, taking 146 points to second-highest scorer David’s 131.

“At Hockenheim, things went better and I won a race, so that was a kick for my motivation,” he said. “After that, things started to go well. The development with the team was really good. The relationship with the team has been good so far, and I’m happy with the way they help and work with me.” 

At the Red Bull Ring, Garfias finished second in races one and three and fourth in race two, but a difficult weekend in Barcelona left him with only an 18-point haul and a 62-point gap to points leader Tymek Kucharczyk with 79 points on offer.

Garfias’ 2026 plans are currently unknown, though he is confirmed to be joining Kucharczyk – whose future is also uncertain – for the FR World Cup at the Macau Grand Prix next month.

Header photo credit: Euroformula Open Championship