With building experience and showcasing potential the key objectives throughout the event, Dutch driver Francot triumphed for CL Motorsport ahead of Australian Alex Ninovic (Rodin Motorsport) and Sebastian Whelon (MP Motorsport). The Rookie victory went to Rodin Motorsport’s Brazilian driver Gabriel Gomez.

The result, which further underlined the high level of competition in the FIA Formula Regional European Championship, followed on from victories in Race 1 for Kean Nakamura-Berta (Prema Racing) – who started both the opening race and Race 3 from pole position – and Rashid Al-Dhaheri (R-ace GP), who won the reverse-grid Race 2 starting in 11th.

After becoming the third winner of the inaugural FIA Formula Regional European Championship weekend, which recorded a combined spectator attendance of 51,000, 18-year-old Francot said: “We had a really good getaway, I tried to get alongside Kean in T1 for the lead, we made it safely through T1 then we had the first safety car. The first safety car restart was quite okay, I managed to keep up with Kean until, unfortunately for him, he went off on his own, so I got the lead. I had really good safety car restarts and managed to pull away from the pack and after that I didn’t really look back. I just maximised the pace that I had all weekend and ultimately won the race.”

New for 2026, the FIA Formula Regional European Championship (FIA FREC) enjoys the full support of the Fédération Internationale de l’Automobile, the global governing body for motor sport and the federation for mobility organisations worldwide.

Taking over from the Formula Regional European Championship by Alpine (FRECA), FIA FREC is positioned between Formula 4 and FIA Formula 3 in the FIA Single-Seater Pyramid and caters exclusively for the second-generation Formula Regional Tatuus T-326.

Developed by the Italian constructor in partnership with the FIA and follows the aerodynamic philosophy deployed in Formula 1 to encourage closer racing, the all-new car represents another step in terms of performance and safety, while the drivers further benefit from the push-to-pass Race Mode system.

FIA FREC is organised and promoted by FIA Member Club Automobile Club d’Italia (ACI) with the Red Bull Ring event the first of eight race weekends for a total of 20 races. Circuit Zandvoort in The Netherlands is next up on the 2026 schedule from 22-24 May.

Click HERE for the Race 1 and Race 2 overview.

Click HERE for provisional results and standings.

Click HERE for more on the FIA Formula Regional European Championship.