The first champion of a 2026 junior single-seater championship was crowned this weekend as other title battles set themselves up for resolution later this month. Feeder Series reviews the action.

By Feeder Series

The first junior single-seater championship held entirely in 2026 has already come to an end. Thanks to the new FIA Regional Trophy format, which stipulates a maximum of four rounds within a two-month period, FR Oceania’s season came and went in a period of 25 days, with a new champion crowned following the conclusion of the New Zealand Grand Prix.

The Dubai Autodrome played host to the third rounds of both FR Middle East and UAE4. The same points gap separates the points leaders in each from their nearest rivals, though they experienced wildly contrasting weekends. Those championships will conclude in 11 days at the Lusail International Circuit in a round that runs from Wednesday to Friday. 

The flagship event at the Dubai Autodrome was the 4 Hours of Dubai, part of the Asian Le Mans Series, in which Spanish F4 graduate Matúš Ryba won the second race in the LMP3 class. And in other news, MP Motorsport F2 driver Gabriele Minì was the fastest of the active junior single-seater drivers who competed in Formula E’s rookie free practice session at the Miami E-Prix in an unseasonably cold Florida.

1. FRegional Oceania: Scoular wins the New Zealand Grand Prix as Ugochukwu takes title 
2. FRegional Middle East: Al Dhaheri retains championship lead as Kato, Hanna take maiden FR wins
3. UAE4: Craigie shines in Dubai as title fight between Bondarev and Consani intensifies

FRegional Oceania: Scoular wins the New Zealand Grand Prix as Ugochukwu takes title 

M2 Competition’s Ugo Ugochukwu took the FR Oceania championship title this weekend at Highlands, while Mtec Motorsport’s Zack Scoular won the 70th running of the New Zealand Grand Prix. Kanato Le also scored Hitech’s first victory in the series this weekend. 

The rescheduled race three from Teretonga took place on Friday afternoon. Slater started from pole position, with Le lining up alongside him. Kalle Rovanperä would have started from fourth, but an illness forced him to withdraw from the weekend. 

At the start, Le was under pressure from Ugochukwu and Sharp, with Ugochukwu overtaking him at Turn 2 for second as Slater kept his lead. Heading down the bridge on the first lap, Sharp made a move down the inside of Le to take third.

Slater was the first to cross the chequered flag, followed by Ugochukwu in second, as Sharp rounded out the podium. 

In segment one of the F1-style knockout qualifying used this weekend, Jin Nakamura went fastest, awarding him pole position for race one. Ugochukwu and Sharp set identical lap times, but as the American had set his time earlier, he would start second.

At the end of the first segment, however, Ugochukwu damaged the suspension of his car. M2 were able to get Ugochukwu back out for segment two of qualifying, in which Slater went fastest, followed by Le and Scoular.

In the final segment, contested by eight cars, Nakamura went fastest again with a 1:28.339, awarding him pole position for the grand prix. Originally, Wood had gone second fastest, with Ugochukwu third, but Ugochukwu was disqualified both Q2 and Q3 and Wood from Q3 because of technical infringements. Scoular would therefore start next to Nakamura on the front row, with Le lining up third. 

In Saturday’s race, Ugochukwu, starting from second, snatched the lead away from Nakamura at the start. On lap seven, Scoular, who was running in fourth and trying to make a move on third-placed Sharp, spun on track at Turn 11 and fell down the order.

Midway through the race, Ernesto Rivera in ninth faced pressure while setting his sights on David up ahead. He could not get past the Sri Lankan driver, however, and crashed heavily into the wall just after the bridge on the penultimate lap, bringing out the safety car. Rivera withdrew from the rest of the weekend following the accident.

Out front, Ugochukwu thus took his fourth win of the season ahead of Nakamura, with Sharp rounding out the top three. 

Le, who finished eighth on Saturday’s race, was awarded pole position for the reverse-grid race. He maintained his lead at the start, while James Wharton overtook Liam Sceats for second at Turn 2.

The safety car came out on lap nine when Cui went into the gravel at the exit of Turn 14. Green-flag conditions returned on lap 13, and Le nailed the restart. Behind him, Wood was attacking Slater for fifth, but the New Zealander was unsuccessful. 

On lap 17, another safety car was brought out after Cooper Shipman and Cadi Baptista made contact that left the latter in the gravel at Turn 11. The race ended under safety car conditions, with Le taking both his and Hitech’s first win in the series. Wharton finished second, with Sceats rounding out the podium. 

Nakamura started on pole for the grand prix, but Scoular got a better launch off the start and snatched the lead. On lap 11, with the top three remaining the same, the safety car came out after Jack Taylor went into the wall at Turn 21. Not long after, the red flag was brought out to reduce the number of laps run behind the safety car.

On lap 14, green flag conditions resumed, with Scoular leading Nakamura and Le. Wood passed Sharp at Turn 1 for fifth. 

On the penultimate lap, both Shipman and Trevor LaTourrette went off in separate incidents, with the latter’s crash bringing out the safety car. This secured Scoular his victory, expected to be his last in single-seaters before he moves to endurance racing. Nakamura came home in second, with Le rounding out the podium. 

Ugochukwu took the FR Oceania title with 326 points, 16 points ahead of Slater. Sharp completed the top three with 295 points, two ahead of Nakamura. M2 took their eighth teams’ title ahead of Mtec, with Hitech finishing third. Wood also secured the title of best rookie after the rescheduled race, finishing fifth overall at season’s end. 

Report by Kaylene Lau

Results	P1	P2	P3
Teretonga race 3* (16 laps)	Freddie Slater, 24:01.934	Ugo Ugochukwu, +1.978s	Louis Sharp, +3.238s
Qualifying – Q1	Jin Nakamura, 1:28.704	Ugo Ugochukwu, +0.014s	Louis Sharp, +0.014s
Qualifying – Q2	Freddie Slater, 1:28.486	Kanato Le, +0.153s	Zack Scoular, +0.216s
Qualifying – Q3	Jin Nakamura, 1:28.339	Zack Scoular, +0.215s	Kanato Le, +0.217s
Race 1 (18 laps)	Ugo Ugochukwu, 27:15.355	Jin Nakamura, +0.439s	Louis Sharp, +3.150s
Race 2 (18 laps)	Kanato Le, 33:07.937	James Wharton, +0.421s	Liam Sceats, +1.140s
Race 3 (27 laps)	Zack Scoular, 50:22.958	Jin Nakamura, +0.434s	Kanato Le, +0.807s

Standings	Drivers	Teams	Rookies
P1	Ugo Ugochukwu, 326	M2 Competition, 682	Ryan Wood, 276
P2	Freddie Slater, 310	Mtec Motorsport, 658	Fionn McLaughlin, 124
P3	Louis Sharp, 295	Hitech, 620	Jack Taylor, 123
P4	Jin Nakamura, 293	TJ Speed with HMD Motorsports, 315	Cooper Shipman, 110
P5	Ryan Wood, 276	Kiwi Motorsport, 262	Kalle Rovanperä, 107
P6	Kanato Le, 272	Giles Motorsport, 256	Cadi Baptista, 87
P7	Zack Scoular, 203		Trevor LaTourrette, 55
P8	James Wharton, 167
P9	Yuanpu Cui, 157
P10	Yevan David, 152

Read the previous round’s report here.

FRegional Middle East: Al Dhaheri retains championship lead as Kato, Hanna take maiden FR wins

Rashid Al Dhaheri retains the championship lead after the third round of the 2026 FRegional Middle East Trophy, though a far-from-ideal weekend at the Dubai Autodrome cut the lead he first took after round one to just 24 points.

The Emirati driver missed out on a top-three finish in either qualifying session for the first time this season, qualifying fourth in the first session and 11th in the second.Taito Kato and Alex Powell claimed pole position for races one and three respectively.

In the first race, the Japanese driver kept the lead from front-row starter Alexander Abkhazava, while Kean Nakamura-Berta and Al Dhaheri gave life to a spectacular battle for third throughout the entire opening lap, with the former eventually coming out on top.

There were no position changes in the top 10 from lap three onwards, and Kato was therefore able to take his first-ever win in FR-level racing after having secured three podium finishes. Abkhazava settled for second, while Nakamura-Berta gained crucial points over Al Dhaheri by beating him to third.

With the top 12 of race one reversed to create the starting grid for race two, Powell lined up on pole position alongside Salim Hanna, with Jan Przyrowski and Alex Ninovic – who had fought against one another for the win in the second race of round two – on the second row. Hanna and Ninovic had the better starts, slotting into first and second respectively, as Emanuele Olivieri and Zhenrui Chi collided at Turn 2 while disputing fifth, with Olivieri’s stranded car bringing out the safety car. 

Shortly after the restart, Chi hit Powell out of fourth on the exit of Turn 12, and on the following lap, Yuki Sano hit the wall on the main straight while battling with teammate Al Dhaheri, thus neutralising the race once more. Hanna maintained the lead in the remaining nine minutes plus one lap, crossing the line in first to take his maiden win at the wheel of an FR car. Ninovic kept second to score his third podium in as many weekends – all of them coming from the reverse-grid races – with Przyrowski completing the podium.

Though Powell and Sano were supposed to start from the front row for race three, the damage each sustained in race two prevented them from taking the start. Abkhazava and Nakamura-Berta therefore fought for the lead into Turn 1 on the opening lap, with the former staying in front.

Crucially, championship leader Al Dhaheri stalled on the grid as the lights went out, plummeting from 11th to last. Despite one safety car intervention after MP Motorsport’s Alceu Feldmann Neto crashed on the main straight, Abkhazava was able to keep the lead from start to finish, taking his second win of his campaign after winning the opening race of the season. Nakamura-Berta finished second, while Olivieri scored his first podium in the series on his third attempt.

Al Dhaheri still leads the championship with 125 points, though finishing 16th and not scoring meant his gap to rookie leader Nakamura-Berta shrank to 24 points. Abkhazava is third with 95 points, and with 75 points up for grabs in the final round at Lusail, both Ninovic and Maksimilian Popov are still mathematically in the title fight – the latter after taking two further top-five finishes in Dubai.

Report by Daniele Spadi

Results	P1	P2	P3
Qualifying 1	Taito Kato, 1:53.167	Alexander Abkhazava, +0.083s	Kean Nakamura-Berta, +0.149s
Qualifying 2	Alex Powell, 1:52.631	Yuki Sano, +0.082s	Alexander Abkhazava, +0.179s
Race 1 (16 laps)	Taito Kato, 30:58.949	Alexander Abkhazava, +1.335s	Kean Nakamura-Berta, +2.192s
Race 2 (12 laps)	Salim Hanna, 30:03.812	Alex Ninovic, +1.370s	Jan Przyrowski, +1.805s
Race 3 (14 laps)	Alexander Abkhazava, 31:38.826	Kean Nakamura-Berta, +0.555s	Emanuele Olivieri, +2.111s

Standings	Drivers	Teams	Rookies
P1	Rashid Al Dhaheri, 125	R-ace GP, 169	Kean Nakamura-Berta, 145
P2	Kean Nakamura-Berta, 101	MP Motorsport, 139	Maksimilian Popov, 111
P3	Alexander Abkhazava, 95	Mumbal Falcons Racing Limited, 136	Jan Przyrowski, 90
P4	Maksimilian Popov, 68	ART Grand Prix, 89	Kabir Anurag, 79
P5	Alex Ninovic, 66	RPM, 72	Alex Powell, 78
P6	Taito Kato, 49	Trident, 72	Salim Hanna, 73
P7	Alex Powell, 49	Rodin Motorsport, 68	Miguel Costa, 56
P8	Jan Przyrowski, 46	Pinnacle Motorsport, 49	Sebastian Wheldon, 56
P9	Salim Hanna, 45	G4 Racing, 21	Artem Severiukhin, 48
P10	Christian Ho, 44	CL Motorsport, 20	Andrea Dupé, 39

Read the previous round’s report here.

UAE4: Craigie shines in Dubai as title fight between Bondarev and Consani intensifies

Oleksandr Bondarev and Andy Consani continued their battle for the UAE4 drivers’ title in Dubai as Mercedes junior Kenzo Craigie enjoyed a breakthrough weekend.

The R-ace GP rookie took two pole positions – his first in single-seaters – on Saturday morning. In qualifying one, he put up a 2:01.087, 0.199 seconds ahead of Bondarev in second. In qualifying two, he managed a 2:00.300, a whopping 0.492s ahead of Bondarev. Consani was third, just over half a second down, in both sessions. 

Craigie went on to claim his first single-seater victory in race one. Despite a challenge for second into Turn 1 by Consani, Bondarev finished second and Consani third, as they started. 

Those further back in the field had a less straightforward race. Scott Kin Lindblom, starting fifth, and Joseph Smith, starting 10th, both stalled on the grid, and Lindblom was hit by Nasser Al Thani and Roman Felber, prompting an immediate safety car. An incident behind the safety car then left Elia Weiss and Emma Felbermayr stranded at the pit exit, for which Weiss was penalised.

After the race restarted on lap six, the running was calm at the front, but battles raged for the lower points positions. On lap seven, Rowan Campbell-Pilling and Iacopo Martinese made it past Payton Westcott, who rocketed from 16th to ninth at the start. But on the next lap, Westcott got Martinese back for 10th, and a false-start penalty for Campbell-Pilling meant she and Martinese finished in the points. 

The second race was similarly interrupted. Jarrett Clark was on pole position but was passed on the start by Christian Costoya and Martinese, dropping to third. A collision between Alp Aksoy and Theo Palmer at Turn 1 left the former stranded, prompting another immediate safety car. 

When the race restarted on lap three, Consani and Bondarev began cutting through the field. Bondarev made it to ninth that third lap and passed Craigie for eighth on lap four, while David Cosma Cristofor and Consani took advantage of a battle between Clark and Westcott to slot into fourth and fifth. Consani passed Cosma Cristofor on the next lap and dispatched Clark on lap six to get onto the podium, while Bondarev overtook Westcott for sixth. 

The race was red-flagged that lap as Rafael Vaessen flipped at Turn 6. Once racing resumed, the championship-leading pair continued their upward trek. On lap eight, Bondarev passed Cosma for fifth as Consani overtook Martinese for second, and a last-lap moment for Clark promoted Bondarev and Cosma Cristofor one place each. Lindblom snatched the last point after starting 36th as Costoya took his first single-seater victory. 

Polesitter Craigie moved over to cover off Bondarev at the start, but the Ukrainian still managed to pass him around Turn 1. Aksoy simultaneously overtook Consani for third, but the Frenchman retook the position on the back straight. 

A collision between Tamás Gender and Zakaria Doleh that left their cars attached to one another prompted the weekend’s third first-lap safety car. After the lap four restart, Lindblom made several overtakes, passing Cotty, Palmer and Aksoy to get into fifth. He was later penalised for causing a collision while overtaking Aksoy, dropping to seventh in the final classification. 

Although Craigie closed on Bondarev in the final laps, he was unable to overtake, crossing the line 0.800s behind. With victory, Bondarev extended his points lead to 24 points over Consani. Craigie remains in championship contention, a further 31 points back. 

Report by Calla Kra-Caskey

Results	P1	P2	P3
Qualifying 1	Kenzo Craigie, 2:01.087	Oleksandr Bondarev, +0.199s	Andy Consani, +0.531s
Qualifying 2	Kenzo Craigie, 2:00.300	Oleksandr Bondarev, +0.496s	Andy Consani, +0.501s
Race 1 (10 laps)	Kenzo Craigie, 30:31.947	Oleksandr Bondarev, +0.402s	Andy Consani, +0.914s
Race 2 (10 laps)	Christian Costoya, 26:02.588	Andy Consani, +0.739s	Iacopo Martinese, +1.817s
Race 3 (14 laps)	Oleksandr Bondarev, 31:43.874	Kenzo Craigie, +0.800s	Andy Consani, +4.864s

Standings	Drivers	Teams	Rookies
P1	Oleksandr Bondarev, 157	R-ace GP, 235	Kenzo Craigie, 183
P2	Andy Consani, 133	Mumbai Falcons Racing Limited, 203	Christian Costoya, 140
P3	Kenzo Craigie, 102	Prema Racing, 138	Alp Aksoy, 121
P4	David Cosma Cristofor, 79	Hitech, 59	Iacopo Martinese, 104
P5	Niccolò Maccagnani, 73	Yas Heat Racing, 33	Jarrett Clark, 95
P6	Christian Costoya, 59	QMMF by Hitech, 29	Kingsley Zheng, 60
P7	Scott Kin Lindblom, 47	Pinnacle Motorsport, 24	Florentin Hattemer, 56
P8	Alp Aksoy, 46	Xcel Motorsport, 24	Dominik Šimek, 40
P9	Emily Cotty, 37	PHM Racing, 22	Jaber Al Sabah, 33
P10	Adam Al Azhari, 33	Evans GP, 7	Kasper Schormans, 30

Read the previous round’s report here.

Header photo credit: John Cowpland / Toyota Gazoo Racing