Formula Trophy Malaysia has emerged as a new end-of-year championship in the wake of the cancelled F4 South East Asia season, and its opening round boasts 20 cars, roughly double the size of F4 SEA’s average grid size last year. Feeder Series tells you all you need to know about the three-round Sepang-based series.
By Mitchell Ash
F4 South East Asia has had a turbulent history. The first season was held over the winter between 2016 and 2017, boasting six rounds in four different countries, in an arrive-and-drive format organised by Meritus.GP. The calendar shifted in both time and location over the next three years, and the series struggled to find full-time drivers before being cancelled in 2020 because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The series reemerged in 2023, now organised by Top Speed, who also run Formula Regional Middle East and UAE4. The schedule was reduced to just three rounds, with only three full-time drivers taking part, and the series was cancelled again for 2024. The 2025 season was more successful, with Alex Sawer crowned champion after five rounds, although its biggest claim to fame was the single-seater debut of Ferrari junior Niccolò Maccagnani mid-season.
A 2026 edition was planned. The calendar was announced in early March, and three drivers were announced by Evans GP. Before that, though, Evans GP and Pinnacle Motorsport took part in UAE4 – and found their cars stuck in the Middle East when the Strait of Hormuz was closed. The first two rounds were postponed before the season was cancelled altogether in June.
But the logistical issues that were the 2026 season’s undoing have also proven a blessing in disguise. The organisers of the cancelled Bahrain Grand Prix reached a deal to hold the race instead at Sepang International Circuit in Malaysia, which last hosted F1 in 2017. F4 SEA was on the support bill back then, and with the cars now safely back across the Indian Ocean, the new Formula Trophy Malaysia will support the event now.
The calendar
As the name suggests, Formula Trophy Malaysia will take place entirely at the Sepang International Circuit. The first round will support F1, meaning some drivers will make their single-seater debuts on motorsport’s biggest stage. Round two in November will support the China GT Championship, and the finale in December runs alongside the 12 Hours of Sepang. The finale was originally set to run from Saturday to Monday but has been revised to a regular weekend round.
Sepang also featured three times on the intended F4 SEA calendar for this year, although the visits to Bangsaen and Buriram in Thailand have been lost.
- Round 1: Sepang International Circuit (2–4 October)
- Round 2: Sepang International Circuit (6–8 November)
- Round 3: Sepang International Circuit (11–13 December)
The format
The opening round will have two 30-minute practice sessions on Friday followed by a single 30-minute qualifying session on Saturday morning. There will be two races, with the first on Saturday afternoon and the second on Sunday morning. Both races will be 27 minutes plus one lap long.
The grid for race one will be based on the fastest times from qualifying, and the grid for race two will be based on the second-fastest times from qualifying.
Later rounds will have a different qualifying format, with two sessions of 15 minutes each. A third race will also be added, also 27 minutes plus one lap long. The first qualifying session will determine the grid for race one and the second session will determine the grid for race three. Race two will be a reverse-grid race based on the race one results, with the top eight finishers reversed.
Points for the races will be awarded on the standard F1 scale, with 25 points for the winner down to one point for 10th place. No points will be awarded for setting pole position or the fastest lap. All races will count towards a driver’s points total.
A separate Rookie Cup will be held for drivers who have not competed in more than three single-seater events, with points awarded in the same way. The teams’ championship will take into account two cars that are nominated by each team ahead of the race weekend.
Where to watch
Round one will not be streamed outside of the circuit, as is common with one-off F1 support events. Rounds two and three are expected to stream on the Formula Trophy Malaysia YouTube channel. Practice and qualifying are normally not shown, but live timing is provided by LiveTiming Asia.
Teams and drivers
Evans GP were the only team to announce drivers for the original F4 SEA season, and they will be on the grid for Formula Trophy Malaysia with the three drivers they announced at the start of the year and several more announced since. Origine Motorsport and Evans GP’s Thai-licenced subsidiary Star Performance, who both participated in F4 SEA in 2025, are not on the entry list for round one.
Evans GP
The team with the largest presence on the grid will be Evans GP. The Australian outfit owned by Joshua Evans are regulars at the Top Speed championships and took home both the teams’ title and the drivers’ title with Alex Sawer in 2025. All three of their full-time drivers from last year have moved to sports cars, with Sawer and Seth Gilmore racing in various Porsche Carrera Cup events and Thomas Yu Lee competing in the GT2 European Series.
Rafael Vaessen (#68) made his single-seater debut with Evans at last year’s F4 SEA Sepang finale, with a best finish of fifth. Since then, the 21-year-old Singaporean has finished 24th in the UAE-based Formula Trophy and 35th in UAE4 with the team, and he has been testing their F4 and Formula Regional machinery.
Alongside him once again will be Ben Anh Nguyễn (#22). The 17-year-old driver from Vietnam competed in F4 SEA last year with BlackArts Racing Team and finished seventh with one podium before joining Evans for their Middle Eastern campaigns. He finished 28th in Formula Trophy and 43rd in UAE4 and, like Vaessen, has been testing throughout 2026.
The biggest name in the Evans squad is David Cosma Cristofor (#3). The 17-year-old Romanian sits fourth in the Italian F4 standings with Prema Racing, with seven podiums to his name. He also has two podiums from UAE4, in which he finished fifth.
Another driver joining the team from Europe is Juste Mulder (#27). The Dutch driver has been competing in Spanish F4 with Monlau Motorsport since he turned 15 in June, and sits 16th in the standings with two points finishes.
Travelling less far from home is Aaron Mehta (#77), also from Singapore. The 15-year-old made his single-seater debut in September in Indian F4 after winning the Formula Global Shootout Program, which awarded him a fully funded seat in the series. He sits fifth in the standings after the first two rounds with two podiums and one pole position.
Evans’ final driver is Nawin Natiphanon (#93), who is making his single-seater debut. The 16-year-old Thai driver is stepping up from karting, with his time in the discipline culminating in 53rd in the 2025 WSK Final Cup in the OK category. He has been testing F4 machinery throughout late 2025 and 2026, including at Sepang with Evans.
Of the six drivers, only Mehta has been explicitly confirmed for the full season rather than just the opening round.
Evans GP Academy
Alongside their main squad, Evans GP will field two cars under the Evans GP Academy name. For the first round, both seats will be filled by female drivers.
Evans’ third Singaporean driver is Kareen Kaur (#66), who competed in one round of the 2025 F4 SEA season with Pinnacle Motorsport. The 16-year-old has been working with Evans GP during 2026, testing F4 machinery and competing with the team in the Asia Classic Car Challenge. She also participated in the F1 Academy rookie test in September. Kaur will contest the full season.
Joining her will be Ginevra Panzeri (#10), who has a wide range of F4 experience under her belt. The Italian driver, who turns 18 on Friday, has competed across Europe this year in the Formula Winter Series, Italian F4, E4, French F4 and F4 CEZ. Her best results are in French F4, in which she took two top-10 finishes at round two. She also participated in the F1 Academy rookie test, driving the Red Bull–affiliated car. Panzeri is only confirmed to be participating in round one.
Axle Sports
BlackArts Racing Team, owned by former F1 driver Alex Yoong, entered F4 SEA in 2023 and 2025. This year, however, Yoong’s sportscar team Axle Sports will join the series instead. Of BlackArts’ three full-time 2025 drivers, Nguyễn has moved to Evans GP and Joshua Berry now competes in Porsche Carrera Cup competition and Super Taikyu.
There will be one familiar face, though, as Iñigo Anton (#33) remains with the squad. The 22-year-old Filipino driver finished third in F4 SEA last year with three podiums and topped the rookie standings. He competed with Axle in the Malaysian Touring Car Championship in August, although his main campaign has been TGR Philippine Cup’s Tamaraw Class.
New to the team but not to single-seaters is 17-year-old William Beck (#28). The New Zealander has split 2026 between Asia and Oceania, recently finishing fourth overall in AU4’s Gen2 class and currently sitting 24th in a partial Japanese F4 campaign.
There will be two single-seater debutants alongside Anton and Beck. The first is 15-year-old Jaime Ambrose (#55). The British-Singaporean driver finished 25th in the IAME Series Asia X30 Senior standings this year and has previously competed in Junior Rotex events in Europe.
The second is another Singaporean, Skye Lee (#39). He has no known history in competitive karting, but he tested F4 machinery at the start of the year in preparation for the cancelled F4 SEA season.
Pinnacle Motorsport
Pinnacle Motorsport is another team to frequent the Top Speed championships, although the Irish-licensed Filipino team’s more recent success is winning the 2025 Macau Grand Prix with Théophile Näel. They entered the final two rounds of F4 SEA last year with Kareen Kaur and Niccolò Maccagnani, who has competed in F4, Euroformula Open and F3 in Europe this year.
Their roster for Formula Trophy Malaysia is headlined by 15-year-old Marco Manson (#69). The New Zealander finished runner-up in AU4’s Gen2 class last weekend, just six points short of the title, with seven wins and seven additional podiums. This will be his first car racing experience outside of Oceania, although he has tested with Rodin Motorsport in the UK.
Another newcomer to the team is Taisei Murakami (#48). The 17-year-old is competing in his native Japanese F4 this year with Fujita Pharmacy Racing, and he sits 34th in the standings with two rounds remaining, though the last one conflicts with round two of Formula Trophy Malaysia.
Joining them will be Wang Yuzhe, who returns to Pinnacle after competing with them in the 2025 F4 Middle East Championship. He ended that campaign in 29th but had better fortune in Chinese F4 with Venom Motorsport, finishing seventh overall. He was also 11th at the inaugural FIA F4 World Cup in Macau last year. The Chinese driver switched to GT racing for 2026, winning his first race in the China Endurance Championship in the GTC class. Wang is not present for the first Sepang round.
The only driver in the roster familiar with Sepang is Imran Putera (#88), who finished 12th in F4 SEA last year with BlackArts Racing Team. The 18-year-old Malaysian driver joined Pinnacle for Formula Trophy at the end of 2025, finishing 25th overall, and has since been competing in the Malaysia Speed Festival SuperTurismo sports car series.
Xcel Motorsport
Xcel Motorsport are new to competition in South East Asia, although the Dubai-based team often compete in F4 in the Middle East as well as in GB3 and British F4, taking wins and podiums in the latter this year with Jaber Al Sabah.
None of their drivers from Britain or UAE4 will head to Sepang for round one, however. Instead, their lineup will be spearheaded by 15-year-old Josh Feng (#17), also known as Feng Jiaxi. The British-Chinese driver made his single-seater debut earlier this year in Chinese F4, and he currently sits seventh in the standings with two wins and one additional podium.
Alongside him will be Christian Ayrouth (#95). The Lebanese-Australian driver made his single-seater debut last year at home in Sydney in AU4, albeit in first-generation machinery. This year, he has been competing in regional karting competitions, mostly in the TaG Restricted class.
New to single-seaters is Wilder Lindberg (#89). The Danish driver competed in a range of senior karting classes across Denmark and Sweden this year with limited success and tested with Xcel at Oulton Park in August.
Xcel did enter a fourth car for round one, but no driver was confirmed.
Black Blade Racing
Black Blade Racing first competed outside of China in Formula Trophy last year, and they are now expanding again to Malaysia with a pair of Chinese drivers. The team primarily compete in Chinese F4, winning the teams’ championship there in 2024.
Their main driver for the past two years has been Chen Sicong (#63). The oldest driver in the Formula Trophy Malaysia field, Chen sits fourth in the Chinese F4 standings with two wins and six additional podiums. He made his international debut last year in Formula Trophy in the UAE, finishing 19th overall.
Joining the team is Sun Anzhe (#25). The 16-year-old, who celebrated his birthday last week, competes in British F4 and sits 18th in the standings, though he has yet to finish any races inside the top 10.
The grid at a glance
| Team | No. | Driver |
| Evans GP | 3 | David Cosma Cristofor |
| 22 | Ben Anh Nguyễn | |
| 27 | Juste Mulder (R) | |
| 68 | Rafael Vaessen | |
| 77 | Aaron Mehta (R) | |
| 93 | Nawin Natiphanon (R) | |
| Evans GP Academy | 10 | Ginevra Panzeri |
| 66 | Kareen Kaur (R) | |
| Xcel Motorsport | 17 | Josh Feng |
| 89 | Wilder Lindberg (R) | |
| 95 | Christian Ayrouth (R) | |
| Black Blade Racing | 25 | Sun Anzhe |
| 63 | Chen Sicong | |
| Axle Sports | 28 | William Beck |
| 33 | Iñigo Anton | |
| 39 | Skye Lee (R) | |
| 55 | Jaime Ambrose (R) | |
| Pinnacle Motorsport | 48 | Taisei Murakami |
| 69 | Marco Manson | |
| 88 | Imran Putera | |
| TBA | Wang Yuzhe |
Header photo credit: F4 South East Asia
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