Competing for MP Motorsport, the American started from pole, fell behind team-mate Alexander Abkhazava before regaining top spot prior to the completion of lap one.

After three laps running behind the safety car, deployed to allow volunteer marshals to move Andrija Kostić’s stricken Trident entry from the Mistral Straight, racing resumed on lap four with Wheldon pulling clear.

He took the chequered flag with a winning margin of 6.142s and added a point for setting the fastest lap on the final lap of the race to the two he scored for starting from pole position.

Having lost the provisional championship lead after he failed to score during the previous round at the Hungaroring, Wheldon heads into the FIA FREC’s summer break 13 points behind Kean Nakamura-Berta with two events remaining.  

“It’s awesome,” Wheldon said. “It’s been a while since I won, last time was Zandvoort. We’ve had a difficult couple of rounds and it’s good we’ve been able to come out on top because [it means] the confidence is back, and the pace is there. I saw the guys fighting behind, so I was just managing my push to pass. I was able to use it on the last lap for the fastest lap. We have two more rounds to get the maximum points we can and see how we end in the championship.”

While Wheldon stretched his advantage out front, Abkhazava and Reno Francot (CL Motorsport) battled for second. Francot eventually got ahead on lap five, but Abkhazava regained the place at Turn 1 starting lap six.

Francot then fell further back when Emanuele Olivieri (R-ace GP) overtook prior to the Mistral chicane on the same lap before Prema Racing’s Kean Nakamura-Berta demoted the Dutch driver still further on the next tour. And it would get worse for Francot when he spun out of contention a later in the lap.

Olivieri, who had qualified on pole only to receive a three-place grid drop after his team carried out repairs in the pitlane while his car was out of position, finished second as the top Rookie category contender after catching and then passing Abkhazava for third on lap eight.

Abkhazava’s front wheels briefly became airborne during his battle with Olivieri when he went wide over the kerbs at Turn 11. However, the Kazakhstan driver quickly regained his composure and completed the top three, 0.903s behind Olivieri. However, Abkhazava was subsequently relegated to fifth after he was handed a five-second penalty for a false start.

Briton Nakamura-Berta scored more important FIA FREC points in what became third place with Brazil’s Gabriel Gomez (Rodin Motorsport) fourth in the final order, one place ahead the penalised Abkhazava.

Rashid Al Dhaheri (R-ace GP), who led the FIA FREC standings prior to the Circuit Paul Ricard weekend, finished sixth. Zhenrui Chi was next for MP Motorsport as Alex Ninovic (Rodin Motorsport), Jan Przyrowski (RPM) and Kabir Anurag (ART Grand Prix) completed the top 10.

The inaugural FIA FREC season resumes at Imola in Italy for the penultimate round of 2026 from 4-6 September. Revisit all the races so far on YouTube.

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.

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