After a whirlwind summer of racing, teams and drivers in several of Europe’s biggest junior single-seater series are shifting their focus to preparing for 2027. As testing ramps up over the next couple of months, we review all the big developments that have taken place since our last report at the start of May…

By Marco Albertini

FR Europe: The grid already begins to form

Perhaps the most highly anticipated test was the one that just took place at the Hockenheimring on 15 and 16 September after the FR Europe season finale. As the first of the three official post-season tests held this month by the series, the two-day outing serves as an appetizer for what next year’s grid could look like.

All 10 teams from the 2026 grid were present at the test. Reigning teams’ champions R-ace GP fielded returnee Yuki Sano (#12) alongside Italian F4 driver Kenzo Craigie (#71) and recent FR Europe graduate Oleksandr Bondarev (#73). MP housed Spanish F4 drivers Rocco Coronel (#15) and Kasper Schormans (#28) as well as British F4 points leader Dries Van Langendonck (#98), whilst Prema fielded F4 driver Oleksandr Savinkov (#60) and G4 Racing’s Saqer Al Maosherji (#88) on day one before adding a third car for Alp Aksoy (#51) and welcoming back the returning Tomass Štolcermanis (#88) in Al Maosherji’s place on day two.

CL kept Reno Francot (#69), who finished fifth in the standings this year, alongside 2026 RPM driver Miguel Costa (#24) and Italian F4’s Alexander Chartier (#46). Rodin returnee Alex Ninovic (#2) was accompanied by F1 Academy points leader Alisha Palmowski (#4) and David Cosma Cristofor (#78), currently second in Italian F4, while VAR brought Pedro Lima (#7), Scott Kin Lindblom (#11) and Fernando Rivera (#55), all coming from various F4 championships.

ART’s Thibaut Ramaekers (#19), currently second in French F4, partnered current driver Matteo Giaccardi (#95), with the returning Alexandre Munoz (#27) testing on the first day and F3 driver Taito Kato (#27) on the second. RPM brought an all-new trio of Bernardo Bernoldi (#5), Andre Rodriguez (#8) and Emily Cotty (#99), all moving up from Italian F4.

Trident’s three cars were driven by Italian F4 drivers Ludovico Busso (#33) and Ary Bansal (#47), who come from US Racing, and Dominik Šimek (#87), who comes from the Italian team’s F4 line-up. G4 fielded F4 drivers Zhao Zijun (#3) and Oscar Repetto (#67) alongside the returning Rahim Alibhai (#23).

Before that, FR Europe held four in-season tests during the summer break, with teams and drivers staying at Le Castellet for two days after the sixth round ended and then visiting Barcelona, the Hungaroring and Valencia over the next five weeks.

G4 Racing and CL Motorsport skipped the Le Castellet test.

Kiyoshi Umegaki (#12), Šimek (#73) drove two of R-ace GP’s cars, with Thomas Bearman and Bondarev splitting duties in the team’s #71 car. Prema fielded two cars for Aksoy (#10) and Roman Kamyab (#63), while Rodin brought three cars for Van Langendonck (#2), Abbi Pulling (#4) and Savinkov (#78).

ART housed Aleksander Ruta (#19), Lewis Wherrell (#27) and Lindblom (#95), while MP’s three cars were piloted by Coronel (#15), Schormans (#28) and Jensen Burnett (#98). VAR saw Rodriguez (#7) and Lima (#11) test on both days, with eventual race driver Bondarev (#155) testing with them on the first day. RPM brought two cars for Busso (#99) and Bernoldi (#5), who switched to Trident for the final day of testing alongside Bansal.

A number of new names featured in Barcelona on 27 and 28 July, which CL, RPM and ART opted to forgo. R-ace GP expanded to four cars for the test, running Guillaume Bouzar (#71), Van Langendonck (#73) and Lima (#77) alongside Umegaki. Cotty (#42) joined Kamyab (#43) in Prema’s two-car line-up, while Rodin ran Wherrell (#2) and Ethan Lennon (#4) alongside Savinkov. G4 Racing’s lone car was driven by Jaber Al Sabah (#23). 

MP fielded two cars for Maverick McKenna (#15) and Zhao (#28), while VAR brought three cars, driven by Timo Jüngling (#7), Lindblom (#11) and Chartier (#55). Bansal (#47) was joined at Trident by Šimek (#33) and Augustus Toniolo (#87).

The line-ups shuffled again at the Hungaroring test on 6 and 7 August, which ART, G4, R-ace and RPM skipped. Prema ran the returning Aksoy (#10) alongside Savinkov (#17), whose spot at Rodin was taken by F1 Academy points leader Palmowski (#78). Busso (#4) replaced Lennon, while Schormans (#2) replaced Wherrell, moving across from MP.

That left the Dutch team to field Coronel (#15) alongside Van Langendonck (#98), while their compatriots ran Bondarev once more alongside newcomers Rivera (#7) and Cosma Cristofor (#11). CL joined a test for the first time with Lindblom (#28), Georgiy Zasov (#14) and Chartier (#29) behind the wheel, while Trident fielded familiar names in Bansal (#47), Bernoldi (#33) and Šimek (#87).

Five teams were present at the Valencia test on 24 and 25 August to continue fielding rookies. R-ace’s four-car squadron was represented by Bondarev (#12), Lindblom (#71), Craigie (#73) and Repetto (#77). Prema brought two cars for Aksoy (#10) and Van Langendonck (#51), while VAR housed Coronel (#7) and Schormans (#11). ART fielded Bader Al Sulaiti (#19), McKenna (#27) and Šimek (#95), while Rodin ran Edu Robinson (#2), Jarrett Clark (#4) and Ella Lloyd (#78) – though Lloyd only drove on the first day.

F4: The karting graduates to watch

While F4 testing does not map so neatly onto championships, the Italian, Spanish and Central European Zone championships tend to get the most testers and the highest numbers of entries.

Kateyama runs the tests in Italy most commonly attended by Italian F4 teams. On 12 and 13 May, the first in-season test was held at Vallelunga, and aside from regular entrants, Cram Motorsport fielded an additional car for Vicky Farfus (#66), as did PA by AS for Nicolas Marchesi (#962). PHM’s fourth car, normally raced by Emma Felbermayr, was driven by Filippo Sala (#921).

For the Kateyama test in Monza in early June, Farfus was Cram’s only entrant. PA Racing’s lone car was piloted by Lucas Pasquinetti (#11), while MPA brought two cars for Pedro Bartelle (#8) and Alba Larsen (#99).

By the next test in Mugello on 30 June and 1 July, Sala (#921) had joined PHM’s full-time quartet. Technorace fielded two cars for Musaad Albassam (#78) and Antonio Errigo (#99), who races with the team in F4 CEZ, while Maffi Racing’s three cars were driven by Maxime Maffi Krulej (#11), Ella Lähdemaa (#83) and an unnamed third driver.

A week later, another two-day F4 test took place, this time in the south of France at the Circuit Paul Ricard on 7 and 8 July. Newcomers Alphabet Racing – now part of the LN4 Fusion entry racing in F3, FR and F4 next year – took to the track on day one with Zhao Zijun (#8), as did Niccolò Maccagnani (#919) with his private NM Nicco Team. R-ace GP featured a revised line-up that included James Anagnostiadis (#31) and Jean-Paul Karras (#32), with Philippe-Armand Karras (#36) driving for the team only on day one. Anagnostiadis returned to R-ace GP for another test at Barcelona three weeks later.

Back to Italy, Imola hosted a three-day test from 18 to 20 August for F4 machinery. On the first two days, AKM ran David Minciuna (#88) alongside frequent tester Gregorio Prandi (#903), whilst Paul Andriotis (#28) and İskender Zülfikari (#60) joined PHM’s line-up, Felbermayr being away in Zandvoort with F1 Academy. Zoe Florescu (#943) squeezed in two days of testing with Real Racing before her wild card appearance, with Andrea Dell’Edera (#931) and Knud Nielsen (#43) joining her at the team on the second day and staying for the third.

At Misano on 27 August, MPA fielded Samuel Del Gaudio (#300), while R-ace GP added Dean Hoogendoorn (#31) to their usual roster.

Most recently, on 15 September, a one-day test for F4 cars was held at Cremona. SG brought one car for Eduardo Salamonde (#86), as did Monster Racing and PA Racing for Nawin Natiphanon and Luis Fernando Núñez respectively.

Spanish F4’s teams featured a more consistent rotation of drivers. Qarrar Firhand was run by GRS Team at Aragón and Valencia in May, then suited up for Hitech for a series of tests beginning in June. Bosco Arias (#44) also appeared twice with Drivex at Valencia in May and Aragón a month later, while Tecnicar ran Marco Arcas (#18) at tests in both Barcelona and Valencia in August. Emil Hernández (#80) joined Arias at Drivex at the Valencia test.

The Barcelona test featuring Anagnostiadis and a number of Italian F4 teams and drivers also brought several newcomers to Spanish F4 teams. TC Racing ran Alex Newbold (#68) in their sole car. Jesse Phillips was the only identified name in Campos’ trio, while MP fielded four cars for Tommie Van Der Struijs (#902), Leonardo Serravalle and two unidentified drivers. Monlau’s three cars were driven by Egor Ivanchenko (#53) and two unnamed drivers, whilst Zülfikari was present at the test for an unknown team.

Alphabet Racing were also present, with three unconfirmed drivers. Associates of Fusion Motorsport – including Enaam Ahmed, the manager of the then 12-year-old karter Daniel Mirón Lorente – had previously appeared at a test in Valencia in late June.

Earlier this week, F2, F3 and F4 machinery featured at Barcelona. In F4, Campos brought karters Noah Baglin (#002) and Devin Walz, whilst Monlau fielded two cars for Nilas Malik (#7) and Angelina Simons (#53). Tecnicar housed Jagrat Detroja, whilst LN4 Fusion appeared with Dean Hoogendoorn (#01), with Phillips (#04) and Vittorio Orsini (#04) sharing the team’s second car. MP fielded cars for Kacper Rajpold (#47) as well as Richard Mille Young Talent Academy finalists Benjamin Mañach (#2), Henry Domain (#7), Ina Rostad (#15) and William Marshall (#39).

Among prospective F4 CEZ entrants, Vanesa Silkunaite (#86), sister of Jenzer Motorsport driver Markas Šilkūnas, was an added entry for SG Motors during a two-day test at Most on 15 and 16 July.

At another test in Brno on 27 August, Renauer added two extra cars for Marcel Kieser (#8) and Viktor Papp (#32), whilst JMT Racing fielded Jakub Roubicek.

Euroformula Open and Eurocup-3

Several drivers tested the Dallara 326, used in Euroformula Open and Eurocup-3, during the summer. At Eurocup-3 and Spanish F4’s pre-event collective tests at Portimão in early June, for example, British F4’s Adam Al Azhari (#22) piloted Tecnicar’s third car, briefly sharing the track with his older brother. Italian F4’s Aleksander Ruta (#16) tested a Palou Motorsport car at Barcelona on 10 and 11 August, with British F4 driver George Proudford-Nalder (#11) following suit with TC Racing at Valencia two weeks later.

Frequent Euroformula Open testers G Motorsports also fielded Stig Larsen (#20) on 4 June at Monza.

GB3, GB4 and British F4

Testing in the United Kingdom usually features cars from the three single-seater series based in the British Isles – as well as Formula Ford machinery on occasion.

The following week, a two-day test for GB3 and GB4 machinery was held at Snetterton. Among the changes from the regular-season line-ups were a surprise Joseph Loake (#25) at Fortec Motorsport, León Hedfors (#8) in place of Rowan Campbell-Pilling, and Emmilio Valentino Del Grosso (#18) in place of Flynn Jackes at Elite Motorsport.

Towards the end of the month, on 30 July, then-newcomer Justin Di Lucia (#23) tested British F4 machinery for Argenti at Donington Park. He returned with the team on 5 August for another test at Croft ahead of his racing debut in the series at Donington on 22-23 August.

During another test for GB3, GB4 and F4 test at Brands Hatch, Akcel GP made a surprise return to the single-seater landscape with a lone GB3 car for Aditya Kulkarni (#15). VRD’s lone GB3 car was driven by USF2000 driver Ryan Giannetta (#98). Rodin’s F4 squad featured Jesse Phillips (#30), while Fox’s only GB4 car was driven by Robert Crawford (#36), who is set to drive for the team in the championship’s winter series later this year.

Crawford was also present at Snetterton in mid-September, with Pace Performance fielding newcomer Thomas Pradier (#19). In F4 land, Hitech brought three cars for Archie Owen (#41), Amin Kara Osman (#42) and Qarrar Firhand (#43), whilst Arden Motorsport GB4 rookie Michael Koh appeared with JHR. Filippo Sala was believed to be at the test, but it remains unclear for which team.

F2 and F3

F2 held nine of 11 rounds so far and F3 eight of its nine since our last testing report was published. In that time, the 2027 driver market picture became significantly clearer, with a few drivers already getting a taste of the speeds they might experience next year. Most F2 and F3 cars run in tests the previous generation of Dallara machinery.

There was a two-day test on 11 and 12 May in Aragón where four teams fielded F3 cars. Rodin Motorsport brought two for GB3 driver Martin Molnár (#12) and FR Europe driver Reza Seewooruthun (#25), while Van Amersfoort Racing’s lone car was driven by Alceu Feldmann Neto (#20). Hitech Grand Prix’s four cars were driven by 2026 F3 driver Michael Shin (#4), GB3 driver Fu Yuhao (#5) and two unnamed drivers, while Kanato Le (#6) partook in the test with his ART Grand Prix team alongside an unidentified driver.

Feldmann Neto returned several more times to test, including at Aragón on 23 and 24 June with a Speed Centre–run Campos car and in Valencia a week later with VAR. He then trialled F2 machinery alongside Jesse Carrasquedo Jr at a test in Barcelona on 27 and 28 July.

From GB3, Fu returned to a Hitech F3 car in Barcelona two weeks after Feldmann, while Molnár tested F3 machinery with Rodin again in late May at Valencia.

F1 Academy’s rookie test

F1 Academy had its annual rookie test on 11 September at Navarra after two days of in-season testing for regular competitors. In the main test, Mathilda Paatz skipped the second day to travel to Brno for F4 CEZ, with Alexia Danielsson, the expected wild card for the Circuit of The Americas round, replacing her.

At the rookie test, MP ran pacesetter Vicky Farfus (#12), Autumn Fisher (#3) and Eva Dorrestijn (#32); ART Sofia Zanfari (#14), Kokoro Sato (#91) and Sara Matsui (#95) Campos Rosanne Den Drijver (#18), Ginevra Panzeri (#21) and Carmen Kraav (#4); Rodin Zoe Florescu (#20), Alexia Danielsson (#28) and Clara Stiebleichinger (#5); Hitech Luna Fluxá (#15), Jordyn Martin (#56) and Yana Kapoor (#55); and Prema Ella Lähdemaa (#8), Milla Sjöstrand (#9) and Kareen Kaur (#19).

Editor’s note: Marco Albertini is the press officer for Emily Cotty. She was not consulted in this article’s drafting or publication.

Header photo credit: Filippo Perotti