Five season openers in Formula Regional and F4 championships are on the agenda this weekend in Europe and North America. Feeder Series previews what’s to come in each one.
By Feeder Series
This was meant to be the weekend of the Bahrain F2 and F3 rounds, but ongoing unrest in the Middle East led to their cancellation last month. Instead, yesterday brought the big news that Miami and Montréal would be hosting the second and third rounds of the F2 season, marking the F1 support category’s first-ever visit to North America.
While that was the big news in the world of junior single-seaters this week, plenty more storylines are sure to develop this weekend as five championships we cover kick off their 2026 seasons. Spanish F4 and F4 CEZ boast the largest grids among them, with the latter’s format changing to accommodate an entry list in excess of 40 cars for this weekend at the Red Bull Ring.
The former Parella Motorsports Holdings ladder, now branded the Racing America ladder, also returns this weekend at NOLA. The grids for FR Americas, F4 US and the Ligier Junior Formula Championship are all roughly the same size as last year’s. The schedule for live-streams for those three series is still not finalised, however, and coverage in our weekend review on Monday is therefore not guaranteed.
- Spanish F4: Round 1, Valencia
- F4 CEZ: Round 1, Red Bull Ring
- FRegional Americas: Round 1, NOLA
- F4 US: Round 1, NOLA
- Ligier Junior Formula Championship: Round 1, NOLA
Spanish F4: Round 1, Valencia
Circuit: Circuit Ricardo Tormo, 4.005 km
Schedule: All times local (UTC+2)
Friday 10 April
- 9:30–10:30: Official test
- 13:15–13:45: Free practice 1
- 16:20–16:50: Free practice 2
Saturday 11 April
- 9:00–9:20: Qualifying 1
- 12:05–12:40: Race 1
- 15:20–15:45: Race 2
Sunday 12 April
- 9:00–9:20: Qualifying 2
- 13:15–13:50: Race 2
How to follow: All sessions will have live timing at Al Kamel Systems. All races will be streamed on the Spanish F4 YouTube channel in English and Spanish.
Weather forecast: Warm and sunny on Friday. Cooler temperatures on Saturday with rain in the afternoon continuing until the end of the day Sunday.
What to know: Spanish F4 kicks off its 11th season this weekend in Valencia. Noah Monteiro goes into the main season with the Eurocup-4 drivers’ title in hand, whilst his team, Griffin Core by Campos, are now reigning teams’ champions in both Eurocup-4 and Spanish F4.
Every team that competed in the winter series will take part in the main season. Included in the 12 teams are G4 Racing, who run their first full-time season in Spanish F4 since 2019, this time with a three-car line-up. Amongst the 35 drivers on the grid are four who are making their single-seater debuts this weekend.
Find out everything you need to know about the 2026 season in our season guide here.
Report by Seb Tirado
F4 CEZ: Round 1, Red Bull Ring
Circuit: Red Bull Ring, 4.326 km
Schedule: All times local (UTC+2)
Friday 10 April
- 8:15–9:05: Collective test 1
- 10:25–11:15: Collective test 2
- 14:20–15:10: Collective test 3
- 17:00–17:50: Collective test 4
Saturday 11 April
- 8:15–9:00: Free practice
- 10:40–11:00: Qualifying 1
- 11:05–11:25: Qualifying 2
- 14:40–15:05: Race 1 (groups A and B)
Sunday 12 April
- 8:45–9:10: Race 2 (groups B and C)
- 13:20–13:45: Race 3 (groups A and C)
- 16:15–16:40: Race 4 (final)
How to follow: Races will be live-streamed on YouTube on the official F4 CEZ Championship channel. Live timing is available on Race Results.
Weather forecast: Rain is expected for the morning sessions on Saturday, with the afternoon being dry and cloudy. Sunday is expected to be sunny.
What to know: F4 CEZ kicks off its fourth season with a record-breaking 42-car grid. With that, the weekend format for the series has changed, as three qualifying races will be held before the final on Sunday afternoon.
Of the 42 drivers, Cezary Bień will only take part in the training sessions as he is not 15 yet. Another Pole, Piotr Orcholski of Harp Racing, is also not competing because of his age and has been replaced by Eurocup-3 driver Filippo Fiorentino, while Lubo Ruykov replaces Ava Dobson in the Cram Motorsport line-up.
For the championship, Max Karhan will hope to transform his form from his 2025 runner-up campaign into the overall crown. A lot will depend on new teams’ ability to tackle the F4 CEZ tracks, as for some it is their first season in F4 machinery. To learn more about Europe’s biggest F4 series this year, read our season guide here.
Report by Maciej Jackiewicz
From the press: Rarely has there ever been more than one Lithuanian driver in junior single-seaters, but two, Tomas Rudokas and Markas Šilkūnas, will line up on the F4 CEZ grid this weekend. Is this pure coincidence or a sign of real change? We spoke to several of the key figures in Lithuania’s motorsport scene to try to find out. Read the article here.
FRegional Americas: Round 1, NOLA
Circuit: NOLA Motorsports Park, 4.426 km
Schedule: All times local (UTC−5)
Thursday 9 April
- 9:00–9:30: Optional test 1
- 13:40–14:10: Optional test 2
Friday 10 April
- 8:00–8:25: Practice 1
- 11:00–11:25: Practice 2
- 14:35–15:05: Qualifying
Saturday 11 April
- 8:00–8:35: Race 1
- 12:50–13:25: Race 2
Sunday 12 April
- 9:10–9:45: Race 3
How to follow: Races will be streamed behind a paywall on Racing America and Amazon Prime Video. Live timing will be available on Race Monitor for all sessions.
Weather forecast: Mostly sunny all weekend.
What to know: The ninth season of FR Americas begins this weekend, featuring a 17-car grid across seven teams. As in past years, the opening round takes place at NOLA Motorsports Park.
The highest-placed returning driver from the 2025 season is Brady Golan, who is also the only driver to enter the season with a win in the series.
Kiwi Motorsport enter as the defending teams’ champions, and they have brought up 2025 F4 US champion Cooper Shipman to lead their charge for another title. Shipman is joined at Kiwi by rookie Harbir Dass.
Crosslink Motorsports, who fielded 2025 drivers’ champion Titus Sherlock, have entered six cars for the opening round, highlighted by Indy NXT podium finisher Evagoras Papasavvas, 2026 NACAM F4 championship leader Alex Bobadilla and 2025 F4 US third-place finisher Kekai Hauanio.
To learn more about the new season of FR Americas, check out our 2026 season guide.
Report by Owen White
From the press: Titus Sherlock took the FR Americas title last year at the second time of asking, avenging himself for a 2024 campaign that started well but fell apart. He sat down with us to chronicle his 2025 season, from the early highs to the mid-season lows to the late-season surge that turned it all around. As for his 2026 plans? Find out by reading here.
F4 US: Round 1, NOLA
Circuit: NOLA Motorsports Park, 4.426 km
Schedule: All times local (UTC−5)
Thursday 9 April
- 10:35–11:05: Optional test 1
- 14:45–15:15: Optional test 2
Friday 10 April
- 9:00–9:25: Practice 1
- 11:30–11:55: Practice 2
- 15:10–15:40: Qualifying
Saturday 11 April
- 9:20–9:55: Race 1
- 14:10–14:45: Race 2
Sunday 12 April
- 10:30–11:05: Race 3
How to follow: Races will be streamed behind a paywall on Racing America and Amazon Prime Video. Live timing will be available on Race Monitor for all sessions.
Weather forecast: Mostly sunny all weekend.
What to know: Entering its 11th season, the F4 United States Championship returns to action this weekend at NOLA Motorsports Park, with a similar format and schedule to previous years. Nine drivers across seven teams make up the grid for the opening weekend of the season.
Kiwi Motorsport, the defending teams’ and drivers’ champions, are the only team bringing multiple entries to the opening round. Their three-car lineup includes Caleb Campbell, the only driver with a win in the series, which came last year at Road America.
The highest-placed returning driver from 2025 is Clemente Huerta, who has joined Velox Motorsport. Last season’s Ligier Junior Formula Championship winner, Gastón Irazú, is also present with Champagne Racing. Of the nine drivers competing in the opening round, six are rookies to the series.
To learn more about the new season of F4 US, check out our 2026 season guide.
Report by Owen White
From the press: Cooper Shipman waltzed to the F4 US crown in 2025, wrapping it up with a round to spare after a nine-race win streak and graduating to FR Americas early. We caught up with him a few months later at Teretonga, where he was competing as part of his FR Oceania winter campaign, to talk about his breakthrough year. Read the interview here.
Ligier Junior Formula Championship: Round 1, NOLA
Circuit: NOLA Motorsports Park, 4.426 km
Schedule: All times local (UTC−5)
Thursday 9 April
- 11:40–12:10: Optional test 1
- 15:50–16:20: Optional test 2
Friday 10 April
- 10:00–10:25: Practice 1
- 13:30–13:55: Practice 2
- 15:50–16:20: Qualifying
Saturday 11 April
- 10:40–11:15: Race 1
- 15:30–16:05: Race 2
Sunday 12 April
- 11:50–12:25: Race 3
How to follow: Races will be streamed behind a paywall on Racing America and Amazon Prime Video. Live timing will be available on Race Monitor for all sessions.
Weather forecast: Mostly sunny all weekend.
What to know: The Ligier Junior Formula Championship returns to action this weekend at NOLA Motorsports Park, the same venue where the season began last year. For the championship’s third season, the field will be divided into two classes based on the version of the Ligier JS F4 chassis.
The JS F416, which has been used by the series since its inception in 2024, will be used by 10 of the 12 drivers entered for this weekend, who will compete in the Gen 1 class. The remaining two drivers will race the newer JS F422 chassis, the same one used in F4 US but with a modified ECU, in the Gen 2 class.
Three drivers from last season will return to the series, those being Beckham Jacir, Ava Hanssen and Michael Fatutta. The remaining nine are rookies. To learn more about the teams and drivers on the grid, read our season guide, to be released later today.
Report by Marco Albertini
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: Fotocar13
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