Italian F4 is the longest-running FIA Formula 4 championship and is consistently one of the most sought-after series at the entry level, with each edition featuring a large and competitive grid. Feeder Series tells you all you need to know about Italian F4’s record-breaking 2026 season.
By Julien Thoinet
Italian F4 is a staple of feeder series, with a number of its drivers ending up on the F1 grid. All in all, nine F1 drivers have participated in this series, among them Italian F4 champions Lance Stroll, Ollie Bearman and Andrea Kimi Antonelli.
In 2025, Williams driver academy member Kean Nakamura-Berta won the championship with 342 points, nine wins, nine poles and 17 total podiums. In 2026, he started the year by winning the FRegional Middle East Trophy. He is now competing in the FR European Championship and is third in the standings, having won race one at the Red Bull Ring two weeks ago.
One of his teammates, Salim Hanna, took the rookie championship and finished fourth overall. He also competes in FR Europe, still with Prema, and has taken two top-10 finishes so far.
This year, the maximum age limit for drivers was bumped from 22 to 23 years old. Another point of note in the rulebook is the first-ever appearance of a mandatory training and education programme, provided for all drivers by the Italian national sporting authority and the championship’s organiser, the Automobile Club d’Italia.
The calendar
The 2026 calendar will feature seven rounds just like last season, while sister championship E4 will be held across three rounds, starting with Vallenluga. Four tracks will appear twice over the course of the combined seasons, those being Misano, Vallelunga, Monza and Mugello.
The Barcelona round has been removed this season, which means that all races on the main Italian F4 calendar will take place in Italy. It’s worth noting that Mugello will now be raced on twice, being both the fourth round as well as the season finale. Misano appeared twice last year as well.
The Monza round will give drivers experience on a current F1 track.
- Round 1: Misano World Circuit (8–10 May)
- Round 2: Autodromo Vallelunga (22–24 May)
- Round 3: Autodromo Nazionale Monza (19–21 June)
- Round 4: Mugello Circuit (24–26 July)
- Round 5: Autodromo Internazionale Enzo e Dino Ferrari (4–6 September)
- Round 6: Misano World Circuit (18–20 September)
- Round 7: Mugello Circuit (30 October–1 November)
The format
At the beginning of each race weekend, two free practice sessions lasting 40 minutes each take place on Fridays. Each driver only gets 20 minutes of practice during these sessions. There is a quirk, however, for qualifying sessions and races. Depending on the number of drivers at a round, qualifying and race will take one of two forms.
If the number of entries is below the circuit’s maximum capacity as is specified in the regulations, every driver will take part in a single qualifying session lasting 20 to 30 minutes. The fastest driver gets pole position for race one, the second fastest driver gets second place, and so on. As there are three races in each round, the second-best lap set by each driver shapes the grid for race two, and the third-best lap set by each driver shapes the grid for race three. Each race lasts 25 minutes plus one lap.
When the attendance exceeds the circuit’s maximum capacity, the grid is divided into two groups of drivers. One group competes in the first session, while the other competes in the second session, each one lasting for 20 minutes. After both sessions end, the fastest driver overall gets pole position, the fastest driver in the other group gets second position, the second-fastest driver in the faster group gets third position, and so on.
After this ranking is made, the drivers will be then divided in three groups to compete in the qualifying races:
- Group A is made up of the drivers classified first, fourth, seventh and every third position from there.
- Group B is made up of the drivers classified second, fifth, eighth and every third position from there.
- Group C is made up of the drivers classified third, sixth, ninth and every third position from there.
On race day, groups B and C will take part in race one, groups A and B will take part in race two and groups A and C will take part in race three. Each race lasts 25 minutes plus one lap.
At such rounds last season, a final race was held in which only the top 36 drivers overall competed. This happened in the two Misano rounds and the Vallelunga round last year, with the season finale at Misano even holding a fifth race to make up for the cancelled second race at the earlier Imola round.
For this final race, the grid is decided by adding up all the points obtained by each driver in the qualifying races. Drivers with no points are ordered according to their best finishes. Only the 36 best drivers will be allowed to compete in this race, lasting 25 minutes plus one lap like the others.
For the season opener, which will have entry numbers exceeding the circuit’s capacity limit, each qualifying group is constituted by draw. Then for the next rounds, these groups will be established as follows:
- The drivers will be divided according to their position in the overall standings.
- Drivers who did not score points in the overall standings will be divided according to the position they have achieved in the final race of the previous event.
- Drivers who have no points in the standings and did not qualify for the previous round’s final race will be divided according to the best position they obtained in the two qualifying races of the previous event in which they participated.
- If there remain ties, the driver who set the fastest time in the qualifying races of the previous event will be ranked ahead.
For the 2026 season, a new points system has been established, and after each of the races, points are awarded to the top 15 drivers, who receive 30, 26, 22, 20, 18, 16, 14, 12, 10, 9, 8, 6, 4, 2 and 1 points in descending order. There are no points awarded for taking pole position or setting the fastest lap of a race.
Aside from the drivers’ championship, there are three other standings: the teams’ championship, the rookies’ championship and the women’s championship. The points format is the same for every championship, but each of them have no influence on the others. Last season, Emily Cotty won the women’s championship with 369 points, but she did not score in the main standings.
Every championship except the teams’ is decided by summing up the scores of the 16 best results obtained during races.
The teams’ championship is decided by adding the points gained by the two best drivers from each team relative to their results in the drivers’ standings. Only drivers who have competed in no more than three single-seater race weekends prior to 2026 are eligible for the rookies’ championship, although exceptions can be made at the series’ discretion.
Where to watch
Free practice and qualifying sessions are not broadcast, but ACI Sport provides live timing. Races are live-streamed on ACI Sport’s YouTube channel and Facebook page.
Teams and drivers
The grid is susceptible to change throughout the season. Notable missing teams from last year are Technorace, BVM Racing and Viola Formula Racing.
A record 47 drivers are set to participate in the season opener, making for the largest entry list ever recorded in an F4-level series in Europe.
Prema Racing
In 2025, Prema Racing won the teams’ championship for the fourth time in a row, a huge achievement in such a contested series. They have competed in Italian F4 since the series’ very first season. This year, returning driver Oleksandr Bondarev will partner five new faces, although two already have experience in the series. The Grisignano di Zocco–based team will look at being crowned teams’ champion for the 10th time.
Christian Costoya (#1) is a 15-year-old Spanish driver who has achieved much success in his karting career. Last year, he won the FIA Karting European Championship in the OK class as well as the WSK Euro Series in the same class. He also finished third in the OK class of the Champions of the Future Euro Series, losing to Mercedes junior Kenzo Craigie and eventual OK world champion Thibaut Ramaekers. This year, the McLaren junior competed in the UAE4 Series, finishing sixth overall with a win and a podium as well as being the second-best rookie with three wins and five further podiums in class.
Alp Aksoy (#10) comes to Italian F4 as the reigning champion of Formula Trophy. After a long career in karting highlighted by finishing fourth in the OK class of the WSK Euro Series last year, the 15-year-old Turkish driver made the jump to single-seaters in November and achieved two wins and four total podiums to take his first championship title in the Emirati series. In 2026, he starts his Italian F4 season having achieved eighth place overall in UAE4 with one podium as well as third in the rookie standings.
Niccolò Maccagnani (#19) competed in the last round of the 2025 season for BVM Racing, achieving a best result of 15th position in his first race. Having forgone karting to test single-seater machinery over the past few years, he competed in the final two rounds of F4 SEA at Sepang and finished fourth overall with a third place, two second places and three consecutive wins. He took all wins in the rookie class at the two events. After that, he competed in the final round of E4, taking 14th place with a best result of sixth. More recently, he finished second in Formula Trophy with two podiums and fourth in UAE4 with two wins and another podium. The 15-year-old Italian driver has been part of the Scuderia Ferrari Driver Academy since the start of the year.
Seventeen-year-old Ukrainian driver Oleksandr Bondarev (#27) starts his second full season in Italian F4 after finishing in 10th position overall in 2025 as the third-best rookie. He achieved a win in race three at the Imola round as well as a podium in the final race of the season at Misano. He also competed in E4, taking ninth place with five top-10 finishes as well as winning the rookies’ championship. He ended 2025 by competing in the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix–supporting round of Formula Trophy, winning both races and taking eighth place overall come season’s end. During winter, he snatched the first-ever UAE4 Series drivers’ championship in a close battle with Andy Consani, racking up four wins and three further podiums.
Fifteen-year-old Kingsley Zheng (#69) competed in karting from 2022 to 2024. The Chinese driver’s best result was fourth in the OK-NJ class of the WSK Open Series at the La Conca round in 2024, which helped him finish ninth in class at the end of the two-round championship. At the start of the year, he competed in the UAE4 Series, finishing eighth in the rookie standings and 19th overall.
David Cosma Cristofor (#98) is a 17-year-old Romanian driver who competed in his first full Italian F4 season last year. He finished 26th with three top-10 finishes and earned seventh place in the rookie standings. He also competed in Formula Trophy, finishing in fifth place with a podium. Earlier this year, he competed in UAE4 and managed to take fifth in the overall standings with two podiums.
US Racing
German team US Racing have been consistent runners-up in the teams’ championship, doing so again last season. They have, however, clinched the drivers’ championship in the past with Polish driver Kacper Sztuka in 2023, making the team the prime opponents to Prema’s historic dominance.
Luka Sammalisto (#7) is returning for his third season in Italian F4. Last year, the 18-year-old Finnish driver finished eighth in the overall standings with three podiums and ten additional top-10 finishes. He also competed in E4, taking 20th place with a best result of eighth, as well as in the Formula Winter Series, earning 13th place after two rounds of participation. He earned a best result of fourth in the Portimão round.
British-Spanish driver Edu Robinson (#9) returns for a second Italian F4 season, having finished 19th in 2024. Last year, he competed in one round of Spanish F4 as well as in various FR-level series, notably in FR Europe, in which he finished 20th with a best result of 13th. That result still earned the 17-year-old a point because three guest drivers finished ahead of him. Robinson competed in Italian F4, Euro 4 and FWS with US Racing from September 2024 to February 2025.
Noah Killion (#13) comes to Italian F4 having won the 2025 AU4 championship in his home country. The 16-year-old Sydneysider’s title bid came in his first-ever single-seater campaign following his step up from karting in Australia. He also competed in Formula Trophy, earning 13th place with four top-10 results. In 2026, he competed in FWS, finishing 16th with five top-10 finishes.
Oleksandr Savinkov (#17) is a 17-year-old Ukrainian-licenced driver competing in his third Italian F4 season. Last year, he finished 27th with one point thanks to a 10th-place finish in race two of the Monza round. He also competed in E4, taking 21st place with a single top-10 result. While those were not particularly impressive, he started 2026 by competing in FWS, in which he won a race and took two further podiums to finish fourth in the overall standings.
Ludovico Busso (#29) is competing in his second full Italian F4 season this year. Last year was his first foray into single-seater series, and he achieved a 36th place in the overall ranking and 12th in the rookie standings with the small Viola Formula Racing team. The 17-year-old Italian driver also competed in E4, taking 23rd place. Earlier this year, he competed in FWS, finishing 11th with one podium to his name.
Ary Bansal (#46) made his breakthrough in single-seaters last year by winning the GB4 championship with four wins and 11 total podiums. The 16-year-old Indian driver also competed in E4, finishing 19th with a top-10 finish, as well as in the final Italian F4 round where he scored a best result of 15th in his first race. Also of note was his sixth-place finish in Saudi Arabian F4 with a victory and two second places and his fifth-place finish in the FIA F4 World Cup at Macau. During the winter, he competed in FWS, finishing third with two wins and three podiums.
Arjen Kräling (#62) competed in the latter half of the British F4 season last year after turning 15. He finished 26th overall and eighth in the rookie standings, with five rookie podiums. He also entered the final two E4 rounds and finished the season 16th. Earlier this year, the German driver competed in FWS and finished eighth, winning race three at the Valencia round.
R-ace GP
R-ace GP, founded in Fontenay-le-Comte in 2011, have historically been frontrunners in Formula Renault 2.0 and FRegional. The French outfit entered Italian F4 in 2019 and finished third in last season’s teams’ championship. They come with a five-driver line-up for 2026.
Andy Consani (#30) is a 16-year-old French driver and member of the Mercedes Junior team. Earlier this year, he was runner-up in UAE4 with three wins and six additional podiums, barely losing to Prema driver Oleksandr Bondarev. Last year, he competed in E4, finishing 18th overall and as seventh-best rookie with a podium in class despite having missed the first round at Circuit Paul Ricard. He also competed in the first four rounds of French F4, finishing 13th with a podium in race one of the Nogaro round.
Tamás Gender (#33) is a 16-year-old Hungarian rookie driver who made his single-seater debut at the start of 2026. He competed in UAE4 and finished 32nd overall and as 14th best rookie, with three top-10 finishes in class.
Kenzo Craigie (#34) is a 15-year-old British rookie driver and, like Consani, a Mercedes junior. Earlier this year, he competed in UAE4, finishing third with a win and two additional podiums. Last year, he ended an impressive karting career by finishing fifth in the OK class in the FIA Karting World Championship last year in addition to winning the Champions of the Future Euro Series in the OK class. He also won the FIA World Karting Championship finale in OK-Junior class in 2024 as well as the IAME Warriors Final in the X30 Junior class.
Payton Westcott (#35) is a 17-year-old American driver also returning for a second Italian F4 season. Last year, she was runner-up in the women’s championship and 48th in the overall standings. In the rookie class, she scored six top-10 finishes, earning her 19th place in the standings. She also competed in E4, taking 15th place in the rookie standings and 34th overall with a best result of 16th. At the end of the year, she competed in the final round of F1 Academy at Las Vegas as a wild card with a best result of 12th as well as in Formula Trophy, in which she finished 10th with a win and two other top-10 finishes. In 2026, she participated in UAE4 and took 21st place with two top-10 finishes. She is now competing in F1 Academy and currently sits fourth with a sixth place and a podium in Shanghai.
British–New Zealand driver Emily Cotty (#42) returns for a second season after winning last season’s women’s championship. The 16-year-old earned 15th place in the rookie standings as well as 31st place in the overall standings. In E4, meanwhile, she took 16th place in the rookie standings and 28th overall, and she was 12th in the FIA F4 World Cup in November. In 2026, she comes fresh from the UAE4 Series, in which she took 10th place in the standings with one podium to her name.
Van Amersfoort Racing
Dutch outfit Van Amersfoort Racing tasted victory in the past when Bearman won the drivers’ championship in 2021. Since then, they haven’t been able to replicate this feat, though they have fought for podiums and even wins on occasion. In 2025, drivers Marcus Sæter and Dante Vinci earned podiums in the rookie class, finishing respectively fifth and sixth in the rookie standings as well as 15th and 21st in the overall standings.
Returning for his second Italian F4 season is 17-year-old Polish driver Aleksander Ruta (#3). Last year, he finished 23rd in the overall standings and eighth in the rookie standings by achieving six top-10 results overall as well as three rookie podiums. In E4, he took 13th place overall and fifth place in the rookie standings thanks to four top-10 overall finishes and four podiums in class. Earlier this year, he competed in FWS, finishing sixth overall with a win in race two at the Valencia round as well as two additional podiums. He missed out on the final round of that series – as well as some pre-season testing mileage – after sustaining a wrist injury in the penultimate FWS round at Aragón in March.
Sixteen-year-old Brazilian driver Pedro Lima (#53) comes to the series from Brazilian F4, on which he left his mark by winning two races and claiming nine additional podiums en route to third in the overall standings. He started 2026 by racing in FWS, finishing 10th in the overall standings with eight top-10 finishes and a best result of fourth.
Thomas Bearman (#87) hails from Essex in the United Kingdom, and he will hope to follow in the footsteps of his title-winning older brother, who raced with the team five years ago. Looking to leave his own imprint on the racing world, the 16-year-old competed in British F4 last year, winning one race and earning four additional podiums. He also competed in the FIA F4 World Cup in Macau, where he finished sixth in the main race. In 2026, he started the year by becoming runner-up in FWS, earning eight podiums.
Jenzer Motorsport
Jenzer Motorsport have participated in Italian F4 since 2014, making them one of the most experienced teams on the grid. In 2025, British driver Bart Harrison managed to earn a podium for the team in race three at the Monza round, though they had less than half the points of Van Amersfoort, who were one place ahead of them in the standings. The Swiss squad enter five cars for the 2026 season.
Levi Arn (#21) is a 15-year-old Swiss driver participating in his first Italian F4 season. He comes from a 12th-place finish in FWS with six top-10 finishes, including a podium in his first race of the year.
German driver Elia Weiss (#22) makes the move to Jenzer from Cram Motorsport for this season. The 16-year-old hailing from Münich finished 35th overall last year as well as 13th among the rookies with seven top-10 finishes in his class. He also competed in E4 but didn’t participate in the first round. He finished 20th with a best result of ninth, taking 12th place in the rookie standings. Earlier this year, he competed in UAE4 with R-ace GP, finishing 16th with a best result of fourth. He is currently competing in F4 CEZ, in which he stands in second place after one round with a win and two podiums. He has also participated in both the 2025 and 2026 Formula E rookie tests with Porsche, setting the 16th fastest time on his most recent outing in Madrid.
Another driver staying with Jenzer Motorsport for 2026 is 16-year-old Mexican driver Nicolás Cortés (#24), who finished 41st last year having participated in the last Italian F4 round. Meanwhile, he competed in F4 CEZ, in which he finished fourth overall with four podiums to his credit. He also competed in the final E4 round with a best finish of 25th. Earlier this year, he competed in FWS, finishing 37th with a best result of 16th, having only participated in two rounds.
The second Jenzer rookie is Georgiy Zasov (#25), a 15-year-old Swiss driver coming from karting. He made his single-seater debut earlier this year in FWS and finished 36th overall and 20th best rookie, with a best result of seventh place in class. He is also competing in F4 CEZ, in which he currently sits fifth overall with a best result of fourth.
Bader Al Sulaiti (#26) stays with Jenzer Motorsport for his second Italian F4 season. Last year, the 18-year-old Qatari driver finished 29th overall as well as ninth among the rookies, claiming 14 top-10 finishes in class. He also competed in E4, taking 26th place with a best result of 13th, while a rookie podium helped him take 10th place in the rookie standings. Earlier this year, he competed in UAE4 and finished 12th overall, with a win in race two of the second Abu Dhabi round.
PHM Racing
German team PHM Racing joined the grid in 2022 and took their best result that year, finishing third in the teams’ championship. Since then, the Berlin-based outfit have declined in the standings, achieving their lowest finish last season with a sixth place. Their best-ranked driver, Reno Francot, ended his season with a 12th place in the overall standings having only participated in three rounds.
Oscar Repetto (#6) is an Italian-Monégasque driver competing in his first full Italian F4 season after racing in the final round last year at Misano. He finished 43rd in the overall standings and 25th in the rookie standings, with one top-10 earned in the class in his first race. He also participated in E4, taking 39th place having only raced in one round. Earlier this year, he competed in FWS, taking 23rd place with three top-10 finishes.
Iacopo Martinese (#28) is a 16-year-old Italian rookie making his single-seater debut this year. He competed in UAE4 over the winter, finishing ninth in the overall standings with a podium and six other top-10 finishes. He has extensive experience in karting, with an 11th place in the FIA World Karting Championship in the OK class last year.
Roland Kuklane (#47) is an 18-year-old Estonian rookie stepping up from karting. Last year, he finished ninth overall in the OK class of the WSK Euro Series with a best result of 10th at the Cremona round. He also competed in the OK class of the FIA Karting European Championship, finishing 43rd overall with a best result of 17th at the Viterbo round.
Emma Felbermayr (#60) is the current F1 Academy championship leader, with a win and a podium at the first round of the season in Shanghai, and she adds to her CV with her first Italian F4 campaign. In 2025, the 19-year-old Austrian competed in her rookie season of F1 Academy with Rodin Motorsport, finishing 10th having won race two at the Canadian round. She also finished 29th in Spanish F4 with the British team with a best result of 13th. Earlier this year, she competed in UAE4, finishing 26th with a best finish of 12th place.
Alexander Chartier (#81) is a Canadian driver based in Scottsdale, Arizona. The 15-year-old has extensive experience in karting, with a best result of 35th in the OK class of the FIA Karting European Championship as well as 38th in the OK class of the WSK Super Master Series. So far this year, he has competed in the Spanish F4 season opener at Valencia and the last two rounds of FWS, in which he finished 31st with a best result of 10th place.
Maffi Racing
Geneva-based Maffi Racing joined the grid in 2022, though they failed to score any points that year. Since then, their ranking has improved, with a best result of seventh in the 2025 teams’ championship and a final tally of 29 points.
Joining the team for a dual campaign in Italian F4 and F4 CEZ is Polish driver Igor Polak (#83). Last year, the 16-year-old competed in the final two rounds of F4 CEZ. He currently sits 21st in the Central Europe–based series.
Returning for his second Italian F4 season is 18-year-old David Walther (#86). Last year, the Danish driver finished 33rd in the overall standings and 11th in the rookie standings. His best performance put him on the rookie podium in race two of the Mugello round, but he also had nine other top-10 class finishes throughout the season. He also competed in two rounds of FWS, finishing 26th with a best result of 12th, as well as in F4 CEZ, in which he finished sixth with a win and three podiums despite not participating in the final two rounds.
Real Racing
Real Racing are a Romanian team who joined the grid in 2024. Last season, they achieved an eighth-place finish in the teams’ championship thanks to Luca Viișoreanu, who earned himself a ninth place in race three at the Vallelunga round as well as a fourth place in race three in the Monza round. The results represented an upward trajectory for the small team who did not score in 2024.
Coming fresh from karting is Danish rookie 17-year-old Knud Nielsen (#41), the team’s only driver thus far. Last year, he managed to get a podium in the Rotax DD2 class of the Rotax Max Challenge International Trophy as well as seventh in the overall standings of Rotax Max Euro Trophy in the Rotax Senior class. He is currently competing in F4 CEZ and is 15th in the standings with two top-10 finishes.
Cram Motorsport
Cram Motorsport, formerly known as Cram Competition, joined the series in 2014. The Italian outfit are one of the longest-running competitors along with Prema, Jenzer and AKM Motorsport, who all started in the series’ first season. Last season, they failed to achieve any top-10 results, dropping to 10th in the teams’ standings. They bring four drivers this year from four continents.
Rafaela Ferreira (#38) is a 21-year-old Brazilian driver with multiple seasons’ worth of experience in F4 machinery. She made her breakthrough in single-seaters in 2024, when she finished fourth overall in her second Brazilian F4 season with three wins and 10 total podiums. Last year, she competed in F1 Academy with Campos Racing and Racing Bulls backing, finishing 12th. This year, she is continuing in F1 Academy, in which she currently sits fifth, alongside her Italian F4 campaign. She prepared for the season by competing in the first round of FWS, with a best race result of 19th.
Eshan Naraayanan (#39) is a 17-year-old Indian driver. He competed in India’s MRF National Car Racing Championship in the Formula 4 LGB 1300 class in 2023, becoming the youngest driver in this class. In 2025, he competed in his home country’s national Rotax karting championship in the Senior Max class, finishing 32nd in class.
Andre Rodriguez (#40) returns for a second season in Italian F4 after finishing 51th in the overall standings and 23rd in the rookie standings last year. He also competed in E4 finishing 35th with a best result of 16th, as well as in the Ultimate Cup Series Formula Cup, in which he finished 19th. Earlier this year, the 17-year-old American competed in FWS, finishing in 25th place with a best result of eighth. He is also currently racing in Eurocup-3, sitting 22nd with a best result of 17th at the Paul Ricard round.
Roman Kamyab (#63) is a 15-year-old British rookie coming from karting. Last year, he finished 13th in the OK class of the FIA Karting European Championship. Earlier in 2026, he competed in FWS with US Racing, finishing 27th with a best result of ninth. Although listed on the original entry list, Naraayanan and Kamyab were not present for round one’s collective tests on Thursday.
PA Racing by AS Motorsport
AS Motorsport have competed in Italian F4 since 2020. Last season, the small Slovenian team achieved a best result of 15th thanks to German driver Phil Colin Strenge. In 2026, they will only field one driver on a part-time schedule, beginning in Misano, under the PA Racing by AS Motorsport banner.
Ginevra Panzeri (#64) is a 17-year-old Italian driver competing in Italian F4 and E4 on a part-time schedule with AS Motorsport. Last year, she competed in E4, finishing 38th with a best result of 20th, as well as in FWS, in which she finished 36th with a best result of 17th. Earlier this year, she competed in FWS again, finishing 29th with a best result of ninth. She currently races in French F4 and sits last in the standings after the first round, while in F4 CEZ, she sits 18th after taking two top-15 finishes in the first round of the season at the Red Bull Ring.
Alpha 54 Racing
Alpha 54 Racing are a brand-new racing team making their competitive debut in Italian F4. The Argentine outfit have based their operations in Faenza, Italy, putting them close to the circuits they will tackle for the first time. They have unveiled an all-Argentinian lineup for the 2026 season.
Thiago Palotini (#11) is a 15-year-old rookie stepping up from karting. Most recently, he was classified 43rd in the Junior Max class of the Rotax Challenge Grand Finals, for which he punched his ticket by winning the Rotax Max Challenge International Trophy South America in the same class.
Federico Díaz (#54) comes to Italian F4 after entering several Brazilian F4 races last year. The 18-year-old obtained a best result of ninth in the non-championship F1 support event and went one better in the penultimate round of the season with a best result of eighth in his final race. Overall, he finished 18th in the standings. Earlier in 2025, he competed in Fórmula Nacional Argentina, in which he finished 14th with two podiums and six other top-15 finishes.
Trident
Trident are a recognisable name in junior single-seater motorsport, though mostly at the F2, F3 and FR levels. Their successes in F3 have earned them a reputation as one of the most successful teams in feeder series of late, with champions such as Gabriel Bortoleto, Leonardo Fornaroli and Rafael Câmara – all Italian F4 alumni – passing through their doors. This year marks their first-ever season in Italian F4 and their first year in any F4 category.
Originally signed to race for Prema, Bernardo Bernoldi (#16) quietly switched to Trident over the winter ahead of his UAE4 debut in January. The 16-year-old son of ex-F1 driver Enrique Bernoldi raced in the OK class of WSK Super Master Series last year, finishing 36th, as well as in the OK class of the FIA Karting European Championship, in which he finished 67th. He made his single-seater debut in Formula Trophy with the Prema-supported Mumbai Falcons squad, finishing 23rd with a best result of 11th, before going on to finish 31st in his UAE4 campaign with Trident with a best result of 14th.
Florentin Hattemer (#25) is a 15-year-old Swiss driver who participated in the final round at Misano last season, finishing 45th in the overall standings and 26th in the rookie standings. Last year, he also competed in the final F4 CEZ round with a best result of 11th. Earlier this year, he competed in UAE4, finishing 24th and taking the spot of seventh-best rookie with 11 top-10 finishes in class.
Augustus Toniolo (#51) is a 15-year-old Brazilian rookie driver coming straight from karting. He finished 24th in the OK-Junior class of the WSK Super Master Series last year with a best result of 10th in the La Conca round.
Dominik Šimek (#67) is a 16-year-old Czech rookie whose partnership with Trident extends to E4 and UAE4 as well. He finished sixth in the rookie standings earlier this year in the latter as well as 27th in the overall standings.
Lyuboslav Ruykov (#73) is a 15-year-old Bulgarian rookie also competing in F4 CEZ with rival squad Cram Motorsport. He impressed at the Red Bull Ring to take fifth- and fourth-place overall finishes in the first two races, the latter of which earned him a rookie victory on his single-seater debut.
AKM Motorsport
AKM Motorsport return to Italian F4 with three drivers for 2026 after dropping off the grid for the 2025 season. Owned by racing driver Marco Antonelli, the father of F1 championship leader Andrea Kimi Antonelli, the AKM entity is an offshoot of GT racing team Antonelli Motorsport with the aim of providing experience to young drivers in karting as well as single-seaters.
AKM’s first seat will be taken by 18-year-old Evan Michelini (#44). The Italian-born Costa Rican driver made his single-seater debut in E4 last year, finishing 33rd in the standings with a best result of 15th.
Vittorio Orsini (#88) is also making his Italian F4 debut at 16 years old, though he already competed in FWS with the team earlier this year. The Italian rookie finished 20th overall and 13th best among the rookies, with a win in class in race three at the Estoril round thanks to a fifth-place overall finish.
Finally, Fabrício Fogaça (#99) made his single-seater debut earlier this year in Brazilian F4. The 15-year-old Brazilian driver is 14th and last in the standings but is already a points scorer after finishing 10th in his first-ever race.
The grid at a glance
| Team | # | Driver |
| Prema Racing | 1 | Christian Costoya (R) |
| 10 | Alp Aksoy (R) | |
| 19 | Niccolò Maccagnani | |
| 27 | Oleksandr Bondarev | |
| 69 | Kingsley Zheng (R) | |
| 98 | David Cosma Cristofor | |
| Van Amersfoort Racing | 3 | Aleksander Ruta |
| 53 | Pedro Lima | |
| 87 | Thomas Bearman | |
| PHM Racing | 6 | Oscar Repetto (R) |
| 28 | Iacopo Martinese (R) | |
| 47 | Roland Kuklane (R) | |
| 60 | Emma Felbermayer | |
| 81 | Alexander Chartier (R) | |
| US Racing | 7 | Luka Sammalisto |
| 9 | Edu Robinson | |
| 13 | Noah Killion | |
| 17 | Oleksandr Savinkov | |
| 29 | Ludovico Busso | |
| 46 | Ary Bansal | |
| 62 | Arjen Kräling | |
| Alpha 54 Racing | 11 | Thiago Palotini (R) |
| 54 | Federico Diaz | |
| Trident | 16 | Bernardo Bernoldi (R) |
| 50 | Florentin Hattemer (R) | |
| 51 | Augustus Toniolo (R) | |
| 67 | Dominik Šimek (R) | |
| 73 | Lyuboslav Ruykov (R) | |
| Jenzer Motorsport | 21 | Levi Arn (R) |
| 22 | Elia Weiss | |
| 24 | Nicolás Cortés | |
| 25 | Georgiy Zasov (R) | |
| 26 | Bader Al Sulaiti | |
| R-ace GP | 30 | Andy Consani |
| 33 | Tamás Gender (R) | |
| 34 | Kenzo Craigie (R) | |
| 35 | Payton Westcott | |
| 42 | Emily Cotty | |
| Cram Motorsport | 38 | Rafaela Ferreira |
| 39 | Eshan Naraayanan | |
| 40 | Andre Rodriguez | |
| 63 | Roman Kamyab (R) | |
| Real Racing | 41 | Knud Nielsen (R) |
| AKM Motorsport | 44 | Evan Michelini (R) |
| 88 | Vittorio Orsini (R) | |
| 99 | Fabricio Fogaça (R) | |
| PA Racing by AS Motorsport | 64 | Ginevra Panzeri |
| Maffi Racing | 83 | Igor Polak (R) |
| 86 | David Walther |
Header photo credit: ACI Sport
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