Driving a Pirelli-equipped second-generation Formula Regional Tatuus T 326 for Prema Racing, Nakamura-Berta recorded a best time of 1m45.376s around the 5.793-kilometre Italian Grand Prix venue for his fourth pole of the inaugural FIA FREC season.

In ambient temperatures of 35 degrees centigrade and a track temperature of 54 degrees centigrade, the Briton topped the Group B driver section of Qualifying 1 as Italian Emanuele Olivieri (R-ace GP) headed the Group A runners in a time of 1m45.595s.

It means Nakamura-Berta, a member of the Wiliams F1 Team Driver Academy, will line up on the pole position side of the starting grid followed by his Colombian team-mate Salim Hanna, who was second quickest in Qualifying 1 Group B, and UAE’s Rashid Al Dhaheri (R-ace GP), who went third fastest in the 15-minute session.

Meanwhile, the opposite side of the grid will be headed by Olivieri (below) with MP Motorsport pair Chi Zhenrui and Sebastian Wheldon on rows two and three respectively, although all results are subject to confirmation.

The FIA FREC qualifying group formations are based on odd and even numbers according to championship positions with two drivers selected at random to pick from a sealed envelope whether odd-number drivers are Group A or Group B. Both driver groups get 15 minutes of track time in qualifying with the drivers who go first in Qualifying 1 going second in Qualifying 2 and vice versa.

After banking his fourth FIA FREC pole in seven attempts, 18-year-old London-born driver Nakamura-Berta said: “In motor racing it’s a split job between your team and yourself and I’ve been given the car in every quali to fight for pole. Every time I go out there I just try to enjoy it and give it my best because, at the end of the day, that’s all you can do when you get into the car. I’ve been fortunate enough to have been given a good car and to have a team that supports you and trusts you. It’s great, four poles shows how fast we are with our overall pace, I’ve just got to convert that into more race pace and race wins.”

The battle to top Qualifying 1 Group A looked set to between MP Motorsport team-mates Chi and Wheldon before Olivieiri struck with two minutes remaining to move up to first place as Chi demoted Wheldon on his final lap. Dion Gowda ended up fourth quickest for Van Amersfoort Racing followed by Trident Motorsport’s Spa winner Maksimilian Popov. Andrea Dupé completed the top six for Van Amersfoot Racing as the top 10 drivers were covered by a little more than half a second to underline the close nature of FIA FREC competition.

Hanna left it late to complete a Prema Racing 1-2 behind Nakamura-Berta in Qualifying 1 Group B with Al Dhaheri and Rodin Motorsport’s British driver Reza Seewooruthun next up. Australian Alex Ninovic (Rodin Motorsport) and Kazakhstan’s Alexander Abkhazava (MP Motorsport) filled out the top six. Just over half a second covered the top 12 drivers.

The first of the weekend’s three FIA FREC races is scheduled to begin at 10:30 local time tomorrow (Saturday). Race 2, which features a reverse grid for the top 12 drivers from Qualifying 1, will follow at 16:30. Qualifying 2 and Race 3 are due to take place at 08:30 and 13:00 respectively on Sunday. All races are set to run for 30 minutes plus one lap and will be streamed live on YouTube as well as being broadcast by 70 networks across 200 territories worldwide.

FIA FREC explained
Taking over from the Formula Regional European Championship by Alpine (FRECA) for 2026, 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.

Positioned one step above Formula 4 in the FIA Single-Seater Pyramid, FIA FREC, which is organised by FIA Member Club Automobile Club d’Italia (ACI), caters exclusively for the second-generation Formula Regional Tatuus T 326. All-new for 2026, the Pirelli-equipped car has been developed by the Italian constructor in partnership with the FIA and follows the aerodynamic philosophy deployed in Formula 1 to encourage closer racing. Its design also represents another step in terms of performance and safety.

The second-generation Formula Regional Tatuus T 326 features the new Race Mode push to pass system, which allows drivers to trigger full engine performance for a period of time when activated by a button pressed from inside the cockpit. The amount of time depends on how many times the button is pressed but each driver has a total of 100 seconds available per race. Race Mode’s introduction for the 2026 FIA FREC season is the result of extensive research and development managed by the FIA.

Click HERE for results. Qualifying 1 results remain provisional.