Formula Regional 2023

Silly Season Formula Regional Europe 2023  (FRECA)

 

PREMA  (Ita)

-  Andrea Kimi  ANTONELLI  (Ita)        Mercedes Junior

-  Rafael  CAMARA  (Bra)                    Ferrari Junior

-  Lorenzo  FLUXA  (Esp)

 

* Antonelli & Camara have already been confirmed, Fluxa will highly likely join them. Maya WEUG  (Esp / Bel / Ned)  has tested for them and might become the 4th driver if the championship still allows teams to run a 4th female driver but like now it looks like this rule may dissapear and teams will then only be limited to 3 drivers.

Fluxa has also tested for Van Amersfoort in F3 but is highly likely to join Prema in FRECA.

 

R-ACE GP  (Fra)

-  Tim  TRAMNITZ  (Ger)

-  Charlie  WURZ  (Aut)   or  Marcus  AMAND  (Fra)

-  Aiden  NEATE  (GB)  or  Frederik LUND  (Nic / Den)  or  Martinius  STENSHORNE  (Nor)

 

Tramnitz, Stenshorne, Neate & Baptiste recently tested for them but Wurz, Amand & Lund have also been negotiating with them.
Tramnitz seems the most likely to end up here and is said to have an agreement already. Tramnitz is backed by German federation ADAC.

 

ART GP  (Fra)

-  Laurens  VAN HOEPEN  (Ned)

-  Sami  MEGUETOUNIF  (Fra)

-  Marcus  AMAND  (Fra / Fin)     or    Charlie  WURZ  (Aut)

 

Van Hoepen was on a two year contract, Meguetounif is very close to confirming with them and the 3rd seat seems to be between Amand & Wurz.

 

TRIDENT  (Ita)

-  Roman  BILINSKI  (Pol / GB)

-  Joshua  DUFEK  (Aut / Ch) ?

-  Nikhil  BOHRA  (Sin)  or    Noel  LEON  (Mex)   

 

Trident claims to be close to a deal with a driver who already drove FRECA in '22 but they did not want to disclose whom, my guess is that it's Joshua Dufek since he tested for them. Bilinski is confirmed as staying.

Nikhil Bohra is discussing a two year contract with Trident with Noel Leon the alternative if the Bohra deal falls through. 

 

MP MOTORSPORT  (Ned)

-  Victor  BERNIER  (Fra)

-  Valerio  RINICELLA  (Ita)

-  ?

 

Rinicella tested for them, he is coached by Giancarlo Fisichella and drove Spanish F4 for MP Motorsport. Bernier is expected to join them.

Enzo SCIONTI  (USA)  tested for them but it is uncertain if he is a serious candidate for the seat.

 

RPM  (Ire)

-  Santiago  RAMOS  (Mex)

-  Adam  FITZGERALD  (Ire)

-  Maceo  CAPIETO  (Fra)  ?

 

RPM wants to run two Irish drivers if possible, the second one more likely to run in Euroformula Open for them (they recently bought two second hand Euroformula Open chassis). Capieto has recently tested for them but seems to prefer staying at Monolite another year but he is said to consider other teams (apart from Monolite & RPM) as well but that would depend on his budget.

 

G4 RACING  (Ch)

-  Alessandro  GIUSTI  (Fra)

-  Pierre-Alexandre  PROVOST  (Fra)  ?

-  Axel  GNOS  (Ch) ?

 

Axel Gnos, who's father owns this team, might move to Sportscars instead having recently tested LMP3 machinery. Provost tested for them and Giusti is in close discussions with them and said to be close to a deal.

 

VAN AMERSFOORT  (Ned)

-  Kas  HAVERKORT  (Ned)

-  Brando  BADOER  (Ita)  ?

-  Niels  KOOLEN  (Ned)  ?

 

Haverkort is short of funds to move up to F3 and is expected to stay another year in FRECA and hopes to secure the budget for F3 for 2024. So he is in the same situation as Hadrien David was one year ago, being forced to stay in F. Regional because of budget issues.

Brando Badoer & Niels Koolen recently tested for them however Badoer is actually expected to stay with Van Amersfoort in Italian F4 whilst Koolen has just done a couple of F4 races (at the back of the field) and is clearly not ready for F. Regional.
So I don't expect the team mates in FRECA of Haverkort to be Badoer & Koolen.

 

MONOLITE  (Ita)

-  Maceo  CAPIETO  (Fra)  ?

-  ?

-  ?

 

Little is known about their drivers for 2023, what we do know is that they want to retain Capieto (who recently tested for RPM).

 

ARDEN  (GB)

-  Owen  TANGAVELOU  (Fra)  ?

-  Matias  ZAGAZETA  (Per)  ?

-  Levente  REVESZ  (Hun)  ?

 

This trio recently tested for Arden, little is known of how close they are to a deal. Tangavelou had a strong debut season in '23.

Zagazeta has also tested for Charouz in F3. Red Bull Junior Sauta ARAO (Jap) who had quite a strong debut season in French F4 could also join Arden but he is also a possibility for FIA F3 or Super Formula Lights.

 

SAINTELOC  (Fra)

- Enzo PEUGEOT  (Fra)  ?

- ?

- ?

 

This French team, active in rally & GT racing, recently made their single seater debut in Spanish F3. They will take over the entry of FA Racing (Fernando Alonso Racing) in FRECA in '23. They will likely run at least one French driver. Enzo Peugeot is known to want to move to FRECA but currently lacks the budget but he could end up at Sainteloc if he can complete his budget.

Eliott Vayron (Fra) & Romain Andriolo (Fra) who both did French F4 last year will move to Porsche Carrera Cup France because they lack budget for FRECA, also not moving to FRECA from French F4 is Belgian Lorens Lecertua who will move to Alpine Europa Cup because he has no money for F. Regional.

 

 

KIC MOTORSPORT  (Fin)

- ?

- ?

- ?

 

Nothing is known about their 2023 line-up, they didn't participate in the latest FRECA post season test either.

 

 

LEAVING FRECA IN 2023

-  Dino  BEGANOVIC  (Swe / Bos)    to PREMA  in FIA F3     Ferrari Junior

-  Paul  ARON  (Est)                          to PREMA  in  FIA F3    Mercedes Junior

-  Gabriele  MINI  (Ita)                       to HITECH in  FIA F3     managed by Nicholas Todt

-  Sebastian  MONTOYA  (Col)         to HITECH in  FIA F3     rumoured to join Red Bull Junior Academy, Hitech contract not confirmed yet

-  Gabriel  BORTOLETTO  (Bra)       to TRIDENT in  FIA F3   managed by Fernando Alonso

-  Leonardo  FORNAROLI  (Ita)        to TRIDENT in  FIA F3   not officially confirmed yet (but it's certain)

-  Mari  BOYA  (Esp)                         to MP Motorsport in FIA F3   not officially confirmed yet but highly likely & tested for them

-  Hadrien  DAVID  (Fra)                   negotiating with CARLIN for FIA F3     Alpine Junior  (frankly he deserves a better team as Carlin)

-  Nicola  MARINANGELLI  (Ita)       tested for Charouz in F3 recently

-  Pietro  DELLI GUANTI  (Ita)          to Porsche Carrera Cup Italy

-  Esteban  MASSON  (Fra)              to Porsche Supercup  (not officially confirmed yet)

-  Pierre-Louis  CHOVET  (Fra)        to Lamborghini Young Drivers Program  (so Lamborghini Super Trofeo most likely or maybe Italian GT3)

-  Michael  BELOV  (Rus)                 big budget problems, might not return

-  Axel  GNOS  (Ch)                          most likely to LMP3  (European Le Mans series?) but not impossible that he'll do one more year of FRECA

Edited by William Hunt, 31 January 2023 - 16:20.

I think Brando Badoer could go to Italien Formula 4 first.

Finally, TRS will be back with a full calendar as well, although almost every race will clash with a FRAC event, it will be interesting to see which series will international drivers prefer.

I think Brando Badoer could go to Italien Formula 4 first.

Could go to Italian F4? He's already been there all year - and has been out-paced by team-mate Martinius Stenshorne almost all season.

Finally, TRS will be back with a full calendar as well, although almost every race will clash with a FRAC event, it will be interesting to see which series will international drivers prefer.

FRAC have more SLP, so i think more will race there. Thankfully indian F4 and FRegional was cancelled. 

Edited by JvsKVB77, 04 November 2022 - 10:51.

In the meantime, FRAC has been rebranded to Formula Regional Middle East and the Toyota Racing Series has been promoted to Formula Regional Oceania and will now award full SL points. Still, most of the exciting prospects chose the Middle East except for Charlie Wurz, which is a bit of a shame, I think those classic kiwi tracks are so much more fun, but anyway. Both series are due to start next weekend.

Edited by balage06, 08 January 2023 - 11:48.

I do wish the FIA would clean up the mess that is the naming of F3 series. Words matter. Some words, like "Formula" and "Regional" only make sense in conjunction with a specific term - put them together as Formula Regional and they mean nothing. What on Earth would be wrong with:

 

World F3

North American F3

European F3

Japanese F3

 

etcetera.

I do wish the FIA would clean up the mess that is the naming of F3 series. Words matter. Some words, like "Formula" and "Regional" only make sense in conjunction with a specific term - put them together as Formula Regional and they mean nothing. What on Earth would be wrong with:

 

World F3

North American F3

European F3

Japanese F3

 

etcetera.

Only that Formula Regional serieses is a step lower, than F3 in FIA pyramide. Simpliest way will if F4 will be F5, FReg - F4. 

Edited by JvsKVB77, 07 January 2023 - 14:10.

In in reality F4 is actually F5. 

Edited by William Hunt, 08 January 2023 - 00:16.

Children in infants' schools should be taught to count as follows: one - two - three- regional - four.

The most annoying part is that the classic Formula 3 regs were better than the two new levels combined.

Edited by balage06, 08 January 2023 - 11:39.

In the meantime, FRAC has been rebranded to Formula Regional Middle East and the Toyota Racing Series has been promoted to Formula Regional Oceania and will now award full SL points. Still, most of the exciting prospects chose the Middle East except for Charlie Wurz, which is a bit of a shame, I think those classic kiwi tracks are so much more fun, but anyway. Both series are due to start next weekend.

it has been renamed/promoted on pretty short notice, I suspect we'll see the effect of this potentially only next year.

I really enjoy the FRMEC grid this season, a good collection of names. Who’s everyone’s pick for the title?

I really enjoy the FRMEC grid this season, a good collection of names. Who’s everyone’s pick for the title?

 

Antonelli & Camara are my favourites although they are rookies and still very young with just 1 year of F4 as experience but they are the two most talented on this year's grid. Dufek, Tramnitz, Haverkort, Bernier, Amand should be competitive and Fluxa & Boya also considering they're more experienced. Dürksen, Meguetounif & van Hoepen should also improve in their second year.

Boya will only do F. Regional Middle East though since he moves to FIA F3 after that but he should be a contender there. I'm also eager to see Taylor Barnard (very talented, Nico Rosberg protégée) in Formula Regional Middle East, he will also move to F3 after that.

Edited by William Hunt, 09 January 2023 - 20:16.

I really enjoy the FRMEC grid this season, a good collection of names. Who’s everyone’s pick for the title?

Camara have slightly more experience in Regional car, than Kimi Antonelli. If Mini was on full time, i think he would be a favorite, but he will do only some rounds, so i think top 3 will be Antonelli, Camara and Bedrin. 

Edited by JvsKVB77, 09 January 2023 - 21:18.

Antonelli will win easily, barring reliability. Such a shame he's not in F3 this year with Mini, Tsolov, Beganovic etc.

The first race of the FRMEC at Dubai was a thriller:

 

The second race this morning was quite dull on the other hand:

 

The third one is coming up in about in about 45 minutes:

 

Don't want to spoil it, but Taylor Barnard has been the driver of the weekend so far.

The FROC sessions will be available via Motorsports.tv, Q1 and R1 are already up:

https://motorsport.t...k-race-1/171122 

Races 2 and 3 weren't as eventful as race one, that's for sure.

 

Edited by Frood, 14 January 2023 - 13:04.

One interesting aspect the commentator mentioned is the physicality of these cars, the performance jump might not be that significant from F4, but according to him it is a much more demanding car which has to be driven more aggressively. Odd, because from the spectator's perspective, it seems to be such a dull racecar. Bearman said to him that two miserable rounds in FRAC gave him a good preparation for the even bigger FIA F3 car. It aligns with Chadwick's former complaints (that she was struggling with the regular regional car's steering compared to the lighter W-Series power steering).

Edited by balage06, 14 January 2023 - 15:30.

One interesting aspect the commentator mentioned is the physicality of these cars, the performance jump might not be that significant from F4, but according to him it is a much more demanding car which has to be driven more agressively. Odd, because from the spectator's perspective, it seems to be such a dull racecar. Bearman said to him that two miserable rounds in FRAC gave him a good preparation for the even bigger FIA F3 car. It aligns with Chadwick's former complaints (that she was struggling with the regular regional car's steering compared to the lighter W-Series power steering).

 

I think its a key point that's overlooked, and might be a reason why Antonelli (Merc) have decided to go to FREC this season and not F3.

 

Like you say it doesn't come across of the most entertaining race car, but clearly it serves as a good learning point for youngsters 

 

It's not surprise to see expereinced FREC drivers looking stronger, especially over a race distance, I think it's more likely we'll see Antonelli step up when the EU season starts

KIC have made a signing for FRECA — a 19-year-old Finn called Iker Oikarinen, of whom I know absolutely nothing.

Big shunt to open this first race. A lot of cars out.

Silly Season Formula Regional Europe 2023  (FRECA)

 

 

 

Great post, the 'Regional' kept me out until now.

FR Middle East — Kuwait Race 1

 

 

FR Middle East — Kuwait Race 2

 

 

Race one was eventful with a big crash taking out a big chunk of the field. A fairly fortuitous win for Beganovic, who went from 9th to 1st on the first lap, ahead of Antonelli and Josh Dufek for PHM. Taylor Barnard originally finished 3rd, but was demoted to 14th as he was deemed to be at fault for the first lap incident.

 

 

FR Oceania — Manfeild Race 1

This Kuwait Motor Town seems like a very nice layout for some touring car action, I feel the sudden urge to try it out in a sim. Although it felt that it was a bit too intense for some of the youngsters, very overambitious moves here and there.  

FR Oceania — Manfeild Race 1

Spoiler

 
Meanwhile, in New Zealand, the championship battle is still between Charlie Wurz and local driver Callum Hedge. They finished second and third in a very wet Race 1 - though Wurz was later demoted to 9th for a safety car infringement. They were both overshadowed by series débutant Louis Foster, for whom visa issues meant he had to skip the first two rounds. Even more impressively, he actually turned up after the weekend had started, still qualified on the front row, and won the race! He's someone to look out for for the rest of the championship, and this year in Indy NXT, after dominating Indy Pro 2000 last year.

He looked pretty promising in Euroformula Open a couple of years ago. It's a shame he moved across the Atlantic, would have been interesting to see him in some European F3 series.

The streams appear to be messed up for FROC, unfortunately. Race 2 was the reverse grid race and was won by Josh Mason, though he only just took the win from Foster, who battled his way nicely back through the field. Race 3 had a fight between Wurz and Foster, but they ended up crashing into each other and handing the win to James Penrose.

Meanwhile, in Kuwait, Josh Dufek lost his race 2 victory as he was disqualified for a technical infringement, handing the win to Taylor Barnard instead. Race 3 was a little tamer, but still had some good battles. Antonelli continues to be the class of the field through sheer consistency, but he's still waiting for his first win. He couldn't quite get on terms with Sami Meguetounif, who took the Race 3 win. Beganovic finished 5th; with Barnard having a collision with Câmara, it means Antonelli's championship lead is extended.

Antonelli's consistency is scary. Barnard looks like he's a match in terms of pace, but he's very accident-prone so far. Barnard and Antonelli's raw pace is also making Beganovic look ordinary, considering he has a championship in FRECA and a year's experience under his belt.

The F2 and F3 drivers aren't looking much cop, either. Benavides didn't really have much of a chance this weekend with his Race 1 accident, but there's nothing to suggest he's going to be any good in F2. Montoya had a rotten weekend, languishing near the back in terms of pace and crashing in all three races. Crawford didn't look much better when he was in the series last weekend.

Edited by Frood, 29 January 2023 - 16:45.

So apparently, the third FRMEC round is on this Tuesday-Wednesday in Kuwait.

 

Race 1 has already happened:

 

 

 

Race 2 and Race 3 coming up tomorrow:

 

 

 

Edited by Muppetmad, 01 February 2023 - 08:29.

That circuit is fantastic.

Team orders, really?

Team orders, really?

 

There weren't any team orders

Delayed Race 1 at Dubai about to start:

Will Antonelli be old enough for F2 in 2024?

I hate to belabour the point I've been making since the end of last year, but Antonelli is good enough for F3 this year.

Gregoire Saucy was the stand out driver in FREC in 2021.  In F3 last year, he was nowhere.

 

All this Antonelli hype is rather premature.  

The better point of comparison is Oli Bearman, who won both the Italian and German F4 championships (like Antonelli) in 2021 and then jumped straight up to F3 in 2022. He finished 3rd, and is making the step up to F2 this year. The fact Saucy was nowhere in F3 last year rather proves my point that Formula Regional isn't the best place for Antonelli to be this year. He's going to have to make the step up eventually, so if he's already coming out on top in Formula Regional, why not make that step now? What more is there for him to gain in Formula Regional?

Edited by Muppetmad, 11 February 2023 - 13:32.

Gregoire Saucy was the stand out driver in FREC in 2021.  In F3 last year, he was nowhere.

 

All this Antonelli hype is rather premature.  

 

Saucy has 8 victories in single seaters, all of those coming from that single season. Antonelli has 28 wins already and the kid is 16. I somewhat agree, but comparing them is rather pointless.

It's not a comparison of the two, it was merely an example to show that counting your chickens is a risky thing to do too soon.

It's not a comparison of the two, it was merely an example to show that counting your chickens is a risky thing to do too soon.

 

History is littered with drivers who lived up to the hype, those who did not, and those who had no hype at all yet still delivered.

 

By looks so far Antonelli is a very capable race car driver.

Exactly.  History is littered with very capable race car drivers who never managed to reach the top.  And worse are those who did and then failed to deliver. So a little caution might be wise. 

It's true not everyone lives up to the hype, but I'm not sure Saucy is a particularly good example, as pointed out her only won races in 2021, and I don't recall there being major hype aroun him even through that season (as good a year as it was)

 

Personally I think it's good for Antonelli to have a season in FRECA, it's a solid base to learn from that whilst may not set him up for F3, I think will help in the long run.

Here's Race 2:

 

 

I have to say his strong run in the Regional series of Oceania made me look at Laurens van Hoepen in quite a different light. He did speldid to win the New Zealand Grand Prix and scored excellent in the rest of the races. He is not the major talent that, clearly, Antonelli is. But if Van Hoepen stacks up against his teammate quite well the rest of this European season, then he could very well be the next Dutch driver enroute to Formula One. Because, aside from De Vries, there havent been any real obvious Dutch talents coming through the ranks after Verstappens debut. Which is already 8(!!) seasons ago.

And Race 3 in the Middle East:

 

 

Meanwhile, down under, it was the final round of the Oceania Championship this weekend.

 

Race 1

Race 2

Race 3

 

Edited by Frood, 12 February 2023 - 19:50.

Van Hoepen has outscored everyone during the final two race weekends. 102 for Van Hoepen, 85 for champion Wurz, 76 for Abel. Not bad for a guy who only did those two weekends.

Van Hoepen has outscored everyone during the final two race weekends. 102 for Van Hoepen, 85 for champion Wurz, 76 for Abel. Not bad for a guy who only did those two weekends.

He did indeed, it was an impressive run coming in half-way through the championship. I really think he suffered in FRECA last year having been thrown in at the deep end, having never raced in F4, but he definitely has some modicum of talent, even if the Oceania field isn't as strong as some other series.

 

He was the fastest driver on average in Qualifying (albeit with less data points)

 

 

...and second fastest in terms of fastest lap, which I know isn't much of an indicator of anything really, but it's good to track: