The return of the IndyCar Series also brings with it the start of Indy NXT’s and USF2000’s new seasons, with Formula Regional Japan also kicking off at Suzuka. Feeder Series previews the action.

By Feeder Series

While the winter championships are still running, it finally feels as though spring is around the corner. The weather in the northern hemisphere is heating up, and so is the action on track, with six junior single-seater championships on the agenda as February turns to March.

The headline series this weekend is Indy NXT, IndyCar’s direct support series, which brings its largest grid in 17 years to the American open-wheel kickoff this weekend in St Petersburg, Florida. It’ll be joined by USF2000, which runs its first races of 2026 Friday morning and Sunday afternoon following the IndyCar race in which 2025 Indy NXT graduates Dennis Hauger and Caio Collet make their series debuts.

Over in Europe, the Spanish Winter Championship package runs for the second weekend in a row, bringing Eurocup-3 and Eurocup-4 to Jarama. And there’s also racing in Japan for the first time this year with FR Japan’s season opener at Suzuka, which features the series’ largest grid in five years.

The sixth series on the list is Mexico’s NACAM F4, which begins this weekend at Puebla. We won’t be covering NACAM F4 in detail this year as we did last year, but you can check our website on Saturday to find out more about the teams and drivers who’ll be featuring in the series this year.

Indy NXT: Round 1, St Petersburg

Circuit: Streets of St Petersburg, 2.897 km

Schedule: All times local (UTC−5)

Friday 27 February

• 12:30–13:15: Practice 1

Saturday 28 February 

• 8:30–9:15: Practice 2
• 15:45–16:15: Qualifying

Sunday 1 March

• 10:00–11:00: Race (45 laps) 

How to follow: In the United States, practice one and qualifying will be shown on Fox Sports 2. Practice two and the race will be on Fox Sports 1. For international viewers, all sessions will be streamed live on IndyCar Live. Live timing will be available on the IndyCar website and the IndyCar App.

Weather forecast: Fog expected Friday morning, with rain possible Friday afternoon and Saturday. Otherwise, mostly cloudy conditions until Sunday, when it is expected to be sunny.

What to know: Indy NXT is back in action this weekend for the first race of the season. Sunday morning, the biggest grid since 2009 is set to take the green flag as 24 drivers chase the Indy NXT title.

Last year, Dennis Hauger was the outright pre-season favourite and indeed the eventual champion. This year, however, Indy NXT does not have an odds-on pick but rather several drivers who have a realistic shot at the title, with returning frontrunners such as Lochie Hughes, Myles Rowe and Salvador de Alba joined by such newcomers as Max Garcia and Enzo Fittipaldi.

To learn more about the 2026 grid, read our Indy NXT season guide here.

Report by Vincent van der Hoek

From the press: Indy NXT’s record grid size represents the high point in a trend of growth years in the making. But does this increased breadth really come with more grid depth, and is having more cars necessarily healthier for the series? We dove into the data and spoke to some of last year’s top contenders to try to find out. Read the analysis here.

USF2000: Round 1, St Petersburg

Circuit: Streets of St Petersburg, 2.897 km

Schedule: All times local (UTC-5)

Friday 27 February

• 8:00–8:35: Practice 1
• 10:00–10:30: Qualifying
• 11:30-12:10: Race 1 ( 40 mins)

Sunday 3  March

• 15:00–15:40: Race 2(40 mins)

How to follow: Qualifying and the races will be streamed live on the USF Pro Championships YouTube channel. Live timing will be available through the USF2000 website and the USF Pro Championships app.

Weather forecast: Fog expected Friday morning. Otherwise, mostly cloudy conditions until Sunday, when it is expected to be sunny.

What to know: USF2000 is the middle step of the USF Pro Championships ladder, and the series starts its 18-race season in St Petersburg with two races. Twenty-four drivers will be on the grid, of whom 15 are rookies. Among the newcomers are the top three of last year’s USF Juniors championship – champion Leonardo Escorpioni, runner-up Liam Loiacono and third-placed João Vergara. 

In the Spring Training test at Homestead-Miami Speedway last week, second-year driver Sebastián Garzón was the fastest in three of the six test sessions. Naim Saleh, Ryan Giannetta and Wian Boshoff topped the timesheets in the other sessions.

The eventual USF2000 champion will win a scholarship worth $409,816 to aid their progression up the ladder to USF Pro 2000 in 2027.

To learn more about the drivers vying for the prize and everything else to watch in USF2000 in 2026, read our season guide here.

Report by Vincent van der Hoek

From the press: Last year, Liam McNeilly had a sterling start to the USF2000 season with five wins from five races – and then his hopes vanished at border control when his ESTA was denied just before the Indianapolis round. He opened up about the setback and the opportunities he found in the wake of his forced withdrawal. Read the article here.

Formula Regional Japanese Championship: Round 1, Suzuka

Circuit: Suzuka International Racing Course, 5.807 km

Schedule: All times local (UTC+9)

Friday 27 February

• 10:15–11:00: Practice 1
• 15:15–16:00: Practice 2

Saturday 28 February

• 10:30–10:45: Qualifying 1
• 10:55–11:10: Qualifying 2
• 15:45–16:15: Race 1

Sunday 1 March

• 9:15–9:45: Race 2
• 14:15–14:45: Race 3

How to follow: All races are live-streamed for free on the series’ official YouTube channel. Races feature Japanese commentary and a split-screen display with trackside cameras and live timing. Practices and qualifying sessions likewise have live timing displayed on YouTube. Live timing is available at RaceLive.

Weather forecast: Partly cloudy all weekend with no rain expected.

What to know: The Formula Regional Japanese Championship enters its seventh season at Suzuka this weekend with record-equalling 16 drivers on the entry list. Again, multiple young drivers have made the step up from Japanese F4, among them Toyota juniors Yuzuki Miura and Masana Muto at TOM’S as well as former Honda junior Ryota Horachi at Ponos Racing. 

Last season, the two rounds at Suzuka proved to be crucial moments in the title fight between Kiyoshi Umegaki and Tokiya Suzuki. On their first visit to the Japanese Grand Prix’s host venue, the pair collided on the final lap of the first race, which after penalties put the duo seventh and eighth respectively instead of second and third. Then in the season finale, Suzuki crashed in an attempted overtake for the lead in the second race, which eventually gave Umegaki enough of a margin to clinch the title a race early. 

For more on who’s racing in FR Japan in 2026, read our season guide.

Report by Finjo Muschlien

Eurocup-3 Spanish Winter Championship: Round 2, Jarama

Circuit: Circuito de Madrid Jarama, 3.850 km

Schedule: All times local (UTC+1)

Friday 27 February

• 11:10–11:50: Official test 1
• 13:50–14:30: Official test 2

Saturday 28 February

• 10:30–10:50: Qualifying 1
• 13:00–13:35: Race 1
• 15:55–16:20: Sprint race

Sunday 1 March

• 10:30–10:50: Qualifying 2
• 14:35–15:10: Race 2

How to follow: Live timing for all sessions will be available through Al Kamel Systems. All races will be streamed on the Spanish Winter Championship YouTube channel. 

Weather forecast: Sunny on Friday and partly cloudy for the rest of the weekend. 

What to know: Eurocup-3 makes its debut at Jarama for the second round of its winter series. After finishing on the podium in all three races last time out, Keanu Al Azhari leads the championship on 55 points, and his team Hitech also lead the teams’ standings on 58 points. 

Behind second-placed James Egozi, the remaining drivers in the top six are all FR-level rookies. René Lammers is the highest-placed rookie on 30 points after finishing third in both 30-minute races, with his former Spanish F4 championship rivals Ean Eyckmans and Thomas Strauven following closely behind on 28 and 26 points respectively. Alex Powell rounds out the top six on 21 points with a third place in the sprint race.

There is only one omission from the entry list this weekend. As was previously announced, Daniel Nogales was only entered for the opening round and will not be returning to compete at Jarama.

Follow Eurocup-3 editor Seb on X for updates from the paddock.

Report by Seb Tirado

From the studio: Al Azhari’s frontrunning form in Iberia is nothing new; he was the longtime points leader in Spanish F4 in 2024, the year he caught the Alpine Academy’s attention. He joined the Feeder Series Podcast late last year to discuss his path to earning his F1 team affiliation and the moments that shaped his single-seater career. Watch the full episode here.

You can also read the previous round’s report here.

Eurocup-4 Spanish Winter Championship: Round 2, Jarama

Circuit: Circuito de Madrid Jarama, 3.850 km

Schedule: All times local (UTC +1)

Friday 27 February

• 10:00–11:00: Official test
• 13:10–13:40: Free practice 1
• 15:20–15:50: Free practice 2

Saturday 28 February

• 10:00–10:20: Qualifying 1
• 12:10–12:45: Race 1
• 15:15–15:40: Sprint race 

Sunday 1 March

• 10:00–10:20: Qualifying 2
• 13:45–14:20: Race 2

How to follow: Live timing for all sessions will be available through Al Kamel Systems. All races will be streamed on the Spanish Winter Championship YouTube channel in English and Spanish. 

Weather forecast: Sunny on Friday and partly cloudy for the rest of the weekend.

What to know: F4 competition returns to Jarama for the first time in two years this weekend. The circuit just outside Madrid hosted Spanish F4’s season opener in 2024, when it was drafted in to replace Navarra. Championship leader Nathan Tye is notably the only driver on this year’s grid who competed that weekend, when he finished a best of fifth in the final race.

Having bookended his Portimão weekend with victories, the British driver sits on 56 points going into Jarama, 25 points ahead of closest rival Noah Monteiro, who in turn sits only one point ahead of his Griffin Core by Campos teammate Vivek Kanthan. Sixth in the standings and the highest-placed rookie is Rocco Coronel, who took two third-place finishes last time out. There are no changes to the entry list relative to last weekend.

Follow Eurocup-4 editor Seb on X for updates from the paddock.

Report by Seb Tirado

Read the previous round’s report here.

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: Travis Hinkle / Penske Entertainment