For its second season, the former Formula Trophy UAE has changed its name to Formula Trophy. The F4-spec series, which features its highest number of cars yet, boasts a compact schedule of three rounds in the Middle East on consecutive weekends, including a round supporting F1’s Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. Feeder Series tells you all you need to know about the 2025 Formula Trophy season.

By Maciej Jackiewicz

Formerly a one-round non-championship event preceding F4 UAE’s main season, Formula Trophy was turned into a fully fledged series for the 2024 season and split off from F4 Middle East. As it tweaks its branding once again, Formula Trophy remains a valuable test for teams and drivers before the main Emirati F4 championship, which returns to its old name of F4 UAE, starts in January.

Last year, Formula Trophy UAE was won by Kai Daryanani of Evans GP after his main rival, Rashid Al Dhaheri, had missed the final round. The following year, the Indian racing driver competed in a variety of FRegional-level championships across the world, finishing 11th in the drivers’ standings in his main campaign in GB3 with JHR Developments.

For this year, Formula Trophy switches to the Pirelli tyres used in the majority of European F4 championships, moving away from the Giti tyres used in the championship back in 2024.

The calendar

The series keeps the same set of circuits for 2025 it had in the preceding year. The championship will start its season at the Dubai Autodrome with three races before going to the Yas Marina Circuit, where both rounds will have two races each.

The second round of the series will be run as a support event to F1’s Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, at which F2 will also host its season finale. Round three will support the Gulf 12 Hours endurance event.

• Round 1: Dubai Autodrome (28–30 November)
• Round 2: Yas Marina Circuit (5–7 December)
• Round 3: Yas Marina Circuit (11–13 December)

The format

The format of the 2025 season’s weekends remains largely unchanged compared with the 2024 season’s. All of the races will last 25 minutes plus one lap.

For round one, three test sessions will take place on Friday before two qualifying sessions take place. These qualifying sessions will set the grid for races one and three respectively. The grid for race two will be set by reversing the top eight of race one, while the rest of the grid will start in their finishing positions.

Round two will feature only one practice and one 30-minute qualifying session. The fastest lap from this session will set the grid for race one, while the grid for race two will be decided by drivers’ second-fastest laps in qualifying.

The last round will feature two qualifying sessions, with the first one setting the grid for race one and the second setting the grid for the last race of the season.

Where to watch

The races from rounds one and three will be live-streamed on the series’ YouTube channel with English commentary and on Motorsport Television Deutschland’s YouTube channel in German. Qualifying from rounds one and three will also be streamed. Live timing for all sessions from these rounds will be available on RaceResults. Race two’s streams will not be distributed publicly, but they will be viewable live on screens trackside at Yas Marina.

Teams and drivers

Most of the teams that competed in the 2024 season of Formula Trophy UAE are coming back for the 2025 season. The only team not returning is Champ Motorsport, who fielded three drivers back in 2024.

Mumbai Falcons Racing Limited

Last year, the Mumbai Falcons outfit, a satellite of Italian powerhouse Prema Racing, clinched the teams’ championship in Formula Trophy UAE. While Prema were originally entered under their own name in Formula Trophy, they will ultimately compete once more under the Indian team’s banner. Prema compete in plenty of championships across the world, including F2, F3, FR Europe and Italian F4.

The first driver for the Mumbai Falcons squad is the Brazilian Bernardo Bernoldi (#16). The son of former F1 driver Enrique Bernoldi tested Prema’s F4 car throughout the year in Italy and Spain. In karting, he competed with Prema in numerous series, including the FIA Karting European Championship and Champions of the Future Euro Series in the OK class. The 16-year-old is scheduled to compete with Prema in the 2026 Italian F4 season.

Another driver who competed in karting with Prema is Turkish driver Alp Aksoy (#10). The 15-year-old, like Bernoldi, tested Prema machinery across the year, finishing most of the testing sessions near the top of the timesheets. In karting, Aksoy took part in numerous championships, with his most notable result being third place in the WSK Euro Series round in Viterbo. He is also scheduled to compete with Prema in the 2026 Italian F4 season.

In rounds one and three, one of the Mumbai Falcons cars will be driven by Payton Westcott (#98). The 16-year-old coming from the United States made her F4 racing debut this year, in the Formula Winter Series with Van Amersfoort Racing. Later in the year, she took part in Italian F4 and E4 with the Dutch squad. She also made her debut in F1 Academy last weekend as the wild card for the Las Vegas round, taking her first single-seater points by finishing sixth in the reverse-grid race.

Replacing Westcott during the F1 support round will be Oleksandr Bondarev. The Williams junior from Ukraine competed with the team in Italian F4 and E4 throughout the year. In the latter, the 16-year-old won the rookie championship by two points over Salim Hanna. Across the year, he scored one victory, in the second race of the Italian F4 round at Imola.

Evans GP

Despite winning the drivers’ title with Daryanani last year, Australian outfit Evans GP went on to finish second in the overall standings. The following year, they competed in F4 SEA, in which they won both the drivers’ title with Alex Sawer, and the teams’ title.

The only rookie in the squad for Formula Trophy is Australian Hunter Salvatore (#60). The 18-year-old made a one-off appearance in F4 machinery in the 2024 Australian Formula Open before competing in the 2025 Formula Ford Super Series, in which he finished eighth overall. He also made his first appearance with Evans GP at Sepang in August, driving a Toyota 86 in the Merdeka 111 Endurance Race.

One who already made his debut in F4 machinery with Evans GP is Rafael Vaessen (#68), who is taking part only in the first round of Formula Trophy. The Singaporean competed in the final round of F4 SEA with the team at Sepang, where he got his best result of fifth in the last race. Recently, the 20-year-old also tested F4 cars in Italy with Cram Motorsport.

For two rounds in Abu Dhabi, another F4 SEA driver will compete with Evans GP, albeit from a rival team. Sixteen-year-old Vietnamese driver Ben Anh Nguyễn competed in F4 SEA with BlackArts Racing Team and finished the season in seventh overall, taking a podium in the opening round at Sepang.

Xcel Motorsport

Emirati team Xcel Motorsport fielded five cars in the 2024 Formula Trophy UAE season. Their best driver in the standings, Kabir Anurag, finished third overall with two wins. Earlier in 2025, the team competed in British F4 and made their debut in the GB3 Championship, in which they claimed their first win at the FRegional level.

One of Xcel Motorsport’s drivers for the 2025 Formula Trophy is David Cosma Cristofor (#3). The 16-year-old Romanian raced in F4 Middle East earlier in the year before joining PHM Racing for Italian F4. In that series, he scored seven points and secured a double pole position at Vallelunga.

Another addition to the Emirati squad  is Rowan Campbell-Pilling (#42), who competed in British F4. The 18-year-old British driver, who is racing under an Emirati flag in Formula Trophy, made his debut in the UK-based championship in 2024 and across two years scored five podiums, including a win during the 2025 Knockhill round.

The only driver in Xcel Motorsport’s line-up who has never raced in F4 is Felipe Reijs (#77). The 15-year-old from the Netherlands spent the 2025 season in the Ginetta Junior Championship, finishing 20th overall with 91 points to his name. His best finish came at his home venue in Zandvoort, where he finished eighth.

On the contrary, 16-year-old Kuwaiti Jaber Al Sabah (#83) has not only raced in single-seaters but also competed with Xcel Motorsport. After karting with the team throughout 2024 and early 2025, he made his single-seater debut this year during the non-championship round of British F4 at Silverstone.

AGI Sport

Another Australian team, AGI Sport, scored two podiums in the 2024 Formula Trophy UAE season, both of them in the first round by 2024 Australian F4 champion Jimmy Piszcyk. In the first part of 2025, the team promoted and competed in the rebranded multi-class AU4 Championship, in which they claimed titles in both the Gen2 and Gen1 classes.

AGI Sport’s first driver for Formula Trophy is none other than AU4 Gen2 champion Noah Killion (#13). On his way to the title in his native Australia, the 15-year-old won eight races. Killion has tested extensively with Italian F4 team US Racing and confirmed in an interview with Feeder Series last month that he plans to race with them next year.

Cohen Kokotovich (#44) was set to continue his journey with AGI Sport in the team’s second car for round one, but he was removed from the final entry list published Friday evening after not appearing in testing. The 17-year-old Australian driver made his single-seater debut with the team in AU4, scoring four podiums and finishing fifth in the Gen2 class standings.

From round two onwards, Killion will be joined by Nicolas Stati. The 17-year-old from Australia competed with AGI in the 2024 Formula Trophy UAE season, in which he came eighth overall. The following year, he took part first in FR Oceania and then in the first half of FR Americas, in which he scored one podium during the round in Indianapolis. He also made his debut in the GB3 Championship later in the year. For 2026, he will compete in Indy NXT with Cusick Morgan Motorsports.

Pinnacle Motorsport

The Irish-licenced Pinnacle Motorsport competed in 2024 Formula Trophy UAE with three drivers, with the highest-placed one being Gustav Jonsson in fourth overall. For 2025, they took part in the F4 SEA and in the FIA FR World Cup, scoring a historic 1-2 with Théophile Naël and Mari Boya in the latter.

For the 2025 season, the team field 15-year-old Kaylee Countryman (#90). The American made her single-seater debut in the 2025 YACademy Winter Series before competing full-time in USF Juniors with Exclusive Autosport. She finished 16th overall, with a best finish of eighth in the second round at Mid-Ohio. She also took part in two rounds of the USF2000 Championship. Formula Trophy will not be her first taste of F4 machinery as she competed in F1 Academy’s test in Navarra as well as some private testing beforehand.

Another driver in the Irish squad is Niccolò Maccagnani (#19). In lieu of karting, the 15-year-old Italian has tested numerous single-seater cars over the past few years, including F2, but his racing debut came in F4 SEA with Pinnacle Motorsport. He stood on the podium in all six races he entered, including three times as winner in each race of the season finale. He also competed in Italian F4 and E4 with BVM Racing. The Italian will join the Ferrari Driver Academy come 2026.

Malaysian driver Imran Putera (#88) is another F4 SEA driver who is competing in Formula Trophy with Pinnacle Motorsport. Before making his debut in that series – in which he took a best finish of sixth – the 17-year-old tested an F4 car with Rodin Motorsport at MotorLand Aragón. Alongside single-seaters, he took part in the Thailand Super Series in the Super Eco category.

Pinnacle Motorsport’s final Formula Trophy driver is Jorden Moodley (#64). The South African was due to make his single-seater debut in the stillborn F4 Saudi winter series  after breaking his collarbone in a karting accident late last year. Instead, his debut came in his country’s sole F4-level championship, the MSA4 Championship, finishing 10th in overall standings with nine points to his name. He also competed in the Senior Max class of the Rotax South African Kart Championship.

Yas Heat Racing

Last year, Yas Heat Racing, an Emirati squad based at the Yas Marina Circuit and operated by Xcel Motorsport, fielded two cars in Formula Trophy UAE. Their only podium came in the final race of the year, in which August Raber finished third. Just after Formula Trophy UAE, they competed in F4 Middle East and scored a win during the second round at Yas Marina Circuit courtesy of Raber.

The second driver who competed with the team in 2024 Formula Trophy UAE – Adam Al Azhari (#12) – is back for the 2025 season. The 16-year-old Emirati is the brother of Alpine Academy member Keanu Al Azhari. This year, he took part in British F4, in which he won three races and finished in sixth position overall. He currently competes in Saudi Arabian F4, in which he sits in second overall with two victories. While he is mathematically in title contention, he is expected to miss the final round to compete in Yas Marina next week.

Three other competitors for Yas Heat Racing are rookies. Zakaria ‘JZ’ Doleh (#17) competed in karting across the 2025 season, mostly in the OK class. The 15-year-old’s most notable result is 15th position in the IAME Series UAE in the X30 class. The Emirati driver also took part in the FIA Karting European Championship and WSK Super Master Series in the OK class.

Charbel Abi Gebrayel (#55) also took part in the IAME Series UAE, although the Lebanese driver racing under an Emirati license competed in the Senior 170 class. In that series, the 15-year-old came second in the overall standings. He also tested F4 machinery on different layouts of Yas Marina Circuit numerous times.

The fourth driver of the Yas Heat Racing line-up was due to make his racing debut in F4 machinery back in 2024. The Italian Edoardo Iacobucci (#26) was on the entry list of the Jerez round of Spanish F4, but in the end he did not participate. Nonetheless, he has since tested F4 cars in Spain with GRS Team and MP Motorsport ahead of his competitive single-seater debut this weekend.

X GP

X GP, Xcel Motorsport’s sister team, competed in Formula Trophy UAE back in 2024, when they fielded one car for Fu Yuhao. For the 2025 season, they double their efforts in the UAE-based championship.

Chinese driver Jia Zhanbin (#30) comes back to Formula Trophy after competing in it the year before with Champ Motorsport. He scored no points during the season and finished the campaign in 21st. In 2025, the 25-year-old took part in FR Japan, finishing ninth overall with a best result of fourth, which he achieved twice at Sugo.

León Hedfors (#4) makes his racing debut in F4 machinery in the Formula Trophy after having tested at Donington Park earlier this month. The 17-year-old Swede competed in karting throughout 2025, with his main campaign being the Italian Karting Championship. He was classified 10th overall in the KZ2 Under-18 class.

Akcel GP

Akcel GP did not take part in Formula Trophy UAE last year but competed in F4 Middle East, in which they finished third in the teams’ standings. Later in the year, the Emirati-licensed team competed in FR Europe, but they withdrew from the championship after six rounds.

Yuta Suzuki (#58) comes back to Akcel GP for Formula Trophy after competing with the team in two rounds of F4 Middle East in February. For his main campaign this year, the 17-year-old Japanese driver chose his home series – Japanese F4, in which he finished 17th overall with 11 points to his name.

With Akcel GP, Arthur De Doncker (#99) is making his single-seater debut. The Belgian driver, competing under an Emirati flag, took part in the IAME Series UAE in the X30 Senior class in the 2024–25 season, finishing second. This year, the 15-year-old also tested F4 machinery with MP Motorsport at Circuit Ricardo Tormo in Spain.

Hitech

British team Hitech are making their debut in the Formula Trophy, though it is not their first foray into the Middle East. The team competed in F4 UAE from 2022 to 2024 before switching their winter series campaign to FWS in 2025. This year, Hitech also runs the cars used in the revived Saudi Arabian F4 in addition to racing in such championships as F2, F3 and GB3.

Red Bull junior Scott Kin Lindblom (#5) is one of Hitech’s drivers for Formula Trophy. This year, the 15-year-old Swede competed in the Ginetta Junior Championship, in which he finished fourth overall with nine podiums. Later in the year, he made his single-seater debut in Saudi Arabian F4. He sits third in the standings but will miss the final round to take part in the F1 support race next week.

Another of the Hitech drivers is Theo Palmer (#7). The British-Emirati driver made his F4 debut in the United Kingdom, where he competed in nine rounds of British F4 after turning 15 at the start of May. His best finish was sixth, which he achieved in the first races at Snetterton and Thruxton. Later in the year, he took part in the first two rounds of Saudi Arabian F4 and stood on the podium twice. He is due to compete with Hitech in the 2026 British F4 season.

Black Blade Racing

Black Blade Racing is the only Chinese team competing in the 2025 Formula Trophy season. Prior to this campaign, Black Blade competed only in domestic championships such as Chinese F4, in which they finished fourth in the teams’ standings.

The sole driver for the team is Chen Sicong (#63). The Chinese driver made his F4 debut in 2025 in China, where after five rounds he finished the Chinese F4 season in fourth with one win. The year prior, he competed in the Toyota Gazoo Racing China GR86 Cup with 71K Racing Team.

Editor’s note, 29 November 2025, 10:34 CET: Following the publication of this article Friday morning, Formula Trophy issued an updated entry list omitting AGI Sport competitor Cohen Kokotovich and changing the three original Prema Racing entries to be Mumbai Falcons Racing Limited’s. The article has been updated accordingly.

Header photo credit: Formula Trophy