Formula 4 cars will be racing at the Guia Circuit for the first time since 2023 as part of the new FIA F4 World Cup event this year, held on the same weekend as the FIA FRegional World Cup. Feeder Series tells you everything you need to know about the race.

By Kaylene Lau 

F4 cars first raced in Macau in 2020 as a COVID-19 measure, with events continuing up until 2023. In 2023, the most recent time F4 cars raced around the Guia Circuit, Arvid Lindblad won with a 0.274-second margin ahead of his teammate Charles Leong. Rashid Al Dhaheri, who will join Leong in the FRegional World Cup this year, rounded out the top three. 

This year, F4 cars will return to racing around Macau after being absent from last year’s schedule.  

Out of the 20 drivers invited to race in the World Cup this weekend, seven are F4 champions from series across the globe. For most drivers present, this weekend will be their first time racing in Macau. The drivers will run the Ligier JS F422, also known as the Mygale M21-F4, with engines provided by Alpine this year.

The event is centrally run, with technical and operational support provided by Chinese F4 organisers Mintimes as well as the FFSA, who run French F4. The winner of the main race will win $8,000 US in prize money.

Format and schedule 

The event will take place from 13 to 16 November. There is a 40-minute free practice sessions on each of Thursday and Friday morning. A 40-minute qualifying session will take place on Friday afternoon, which sets the grid for the qualifying race on Saturday. 

The results of the qualifying race, which runs over eight laps, will set the grid for the main race on Sunday. The main race will take place over 10 laps on Sunday. All times listed below are in UTC+8. 

Thursday 13 November

• 10:10–10:50: Free practice 1

Friday 14 November

• 09:15–09:55: Free practice 2 
• 13:30–14:10: Qualifying 

Saturday 15 November

• 11:40–12:45: Qualifying race 

Sunday 16 November

• 09:15–10:20: Race

Where to watch 

Sessions will be streamed live on the FIA’s official YouTube channel and will also be available via the Macau Grand Prix website. 

Drivers 

Marcus Cheong (#2) is one of two local drivers who will be racing in the F4 World Cup this year. Cheong raced in the F4 race in Macau in 2023, finishing 12th in the main race. The Macanese driver has made multiple appearances in Chinese F4 since 2023 but has never finished a full season. This year, Cheong raced in the round at Chengdu with Apollo RFN Racing Team by Blackjack. His best finish was sixth in the fourth race. 

The other local driver is one of Cheong’s former rivals, 2023 Chinese F4 champion Tiago Rodrigues (#3). The Macanese driver raced in the inaugural FR World Cup last year with Evans GP, finishing the qualifying race in 17th. He failed to finish in the main race on Sunday after a multi-car collision on the first lap. Rodrigues also raced in the 2023 F4 race, finishing sixth in the main race. This year, the 18-year-old made a guest appearance in the final round of the Chinese F4 championship with Champ Pro Racing, taking a best finish of third in the first race. 

Reigning British F4 champion Fionn McLaughlin (#5) will make his Macau debut this year. The Red Bull junior took both the championship title and the rookie title this year with five wins and a total of 363.5 points. He also placed third in the Formula Winter Series on the Iberian Peninsula. Next year, the 18-year-old Irishman will step up to F3 for his rookie season with Hitech. 

Another driver racing around the Guia Circuit for the first time is Jules Roussel (#7). The 19-year-old Frenchman most recently raced in French F4, finishing third overall in the championship with two wins and 186 points. 

Roussel was ultimately beaten to the title by Alexandre Munoz (#11), who will also race in Macau for the first time. The 16-year-old took the French F4 crown with five wins and 247 points. The Frenchman’s 61-point lead over championship rivals Roussel and Arthur Dorison was the largest since Ayumu Iwasa’s 81-point margin in 2020. Munoz has been testing FRegional machinery recently with ART Grand Prix.  

Wang Yuzhe (#15) raced with Venom Motorsport this year in Chinese F4, finishing seventh with a total of 85 points. The 17-year-old Chinese driver’s best finish this year was fourth, which he achieved in the last race at Ningbo and the last race in Chengdu. Wang also raced in F4 Middle East earlier this year with Pinnacle, finishing 29th in the standings. 

Kyuho Lee (#16), who most recently raced in Spanish F4 with Rodin, will return to the Asian motorsport scene two months after his sole F4 SEA outing in Sepang. The 16-year-old Korean took one second-place finish and two third-place finishes, finishing 10th in the standings. His best finish this year in Spanish F4 was 10th in race three at Navarra, but he will miss the last round of the championship to race in Macau. He recently tested GB3 machinery with Hillspeed.

Racing in Macau is Itsuki Sato (#17), who finished second in Japanese F4 this year. Sato took five wins and finished with 212.5 points overall after leading the championship for much of the season. Though he ultimately lost out to Tokiya Suzuki, who is racing in the FRegional World Cup, Kageyama Racing’s Sato still put together the best season from an unaffiliated driver in championship history. The 22-year-old Japanese driver also raced in the third round of Indian F4, winning races one and three. 

After Rodrigues, the second Chinese F4 champion that will compete in Macau is Simon Zhang (#21). Racing with Geeke, the 17-year-old Chinese driver won the title this year with one round to spare, finishing the season with 14 wins and 424 points. This will be his first time racing in Macau.

The third French F4 driver racing in Macau is 17-year-old Rayan Caretti (#26). The French-Thai-Senegalese driver finished fourth overall in the championship this year with two wins at Magny-Cours and a total of 153 points. He has never raced in Macau but has two years of experience in the F4 car used in the event. He was in Malaysia earlier this month to take part in the Porsche Carrera Cup Asia Talent Pool Assessment.

On the other hand, rival French F4 driver Rintaro Sato (#30), the son of former F1 driver Takuma Sato, does have experience from having raced in the FR World Cup last year. The 19-year-old finished 16th in the qualifying race but failed to finish the main race after getting caught up in a multi-car pile-up. The Japanese driver amassed a total of 81 points in French F4 this year, finishing ninth overall. 

Emily Cotty (#42) is the only female driver on the grid this year. The 16-year-old British–New Zealander has mainly raced in Italian F4 with R-ace GP this year, with a best finish of 11th at Barcelona. She also raced in E4 this year, with a best finish of 13th at Le Castellet. Cotty also raced in the last round of FWS, with a best finish of 15th in the first race. She will likely remain in Italian F4 with R-ace for a second season as she continues to test with the team.

Having competed in a vast array of championships, Ary Bansal (#46) will add another line to his CV when he makes his Macau debut. The 16-year-old Indian driver, racing with Elite Motorsport, took the GB4 title with four wins and 402 points despite never having led the championship until race two of the final round. Bansal also made appearances in British F4, Italian F4, E4 and F4 Saudi Arabia this year. He is expected to move to Italian F4 full-time in 2026, having tested with US Racing.

Reigning F4 CEZ champion Gino Trappa (#48) has likewise bounced between championships prior to racing in Macau for the first time. The Argentine driver, racing with Jenzer, took six wins and finished with a total of 294 points to win the F4 CEZ title. This year, the 17-year-old also made appearances in the Eurocup-4 Spanish Winter Championship, Spanish F4, FWS and Euroformula Open. He has been testing Euroformula Open machinery with Motopark recently, so a full campaign next year is likely.

Kean Nakamura-Berta (#51) already made history as a double champion in Italian F4 and E4 champion, and now, he’s looking to sign off from his F4 career in style. Racing with Prema, the Japanese-Slovak driver, who turns 18 today, took the Italian F4 title with nine wins and a total of 342 points, and he took the E4 title with four wins and a total of 181 points. Nakamura-Berta has recently been testing FR Europe machinery with Prema.

Another Chinese F4 driver that will be racing in Macau is 17-year-old Kimi Chan (#61). In the Hong Kong driver’s first year in single-seaters, he finished second overall in the championship with one win and a total of 291 points. 

Reigning F4 Middle East champion Emanuele Olivieri (#68) will round out a breakthrough year by racing in Macau. The 17-year-old Italian, competing with R-ace GP, took the championship title with six wins and 339 points. Olivieri then raced in Italian F4, finishing seventh in the championship with 140 points. He is expected to remain with R-ace as he steps up to FR Europe next year.

Thomas Bearman (#87) will race in Macau for the first time. The younger brother of Haas F1 driver Ollie Bearman has been racing in British F4 with Hitech in 2025, finishing eighth in the standings with one win at Oulton Park and a total of 153.5 points. Earlier this year, the 16-year-old Briton also raced in FWS with Hitech, finishing eighth there as well. Bearman has recently tested F4 machinery with Van Amersfoort Racing, suggesting a possible move to Italian F4 for next season.

Rounding out the driver line-up for the F4 World Cup is Sebastian Wheldon (#98). This year, the 16-year-old American raced in Italian F4 with Prema, finishing third in the championship standings overall with six wins, one of which was in his debut race in the series. Wheldon, who is part of IndyCar team Andretti Global’s junior programme, also raced in E4 this year, finishing fourth with one win at Mugello. He is expected to step up to FR Europe with Prema, having tested with them recently.

There was due to be a 20th entrant in the form of 16-year-old Brazilian Ethan Nobels (#12), who sits sixth in the Brazilian F4 standings. Last weekend, however, he was involved in a  serious accident in race two at Interlagos, sustaining a concussion and lung bruising. As a result of the accident, he will not take part in the Macau race while he begins what he said would be a months-long recovery process. 

Header photo credit: Macau Grand Prix Organizing Committee