Running from 22-24 May, the second event of the FIA FREC season is the first of two consecutive race weekends with Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps in Belgium staging round three from 29-31 May.

The trip to Circuit Zandvoort, one of six current FIA Formula One World Championship venues on the FIA FREC calendar, follows on from Red Bull Ring in Austria hosting the start of the new-for-2026 single-seater series last month.

Kean Nakamura-Berta, Rashid Al-Dhaheri and Reno Francot took a race win apiece during the season opener. And having also scored a fifth place in Race 1 and a third position in Race 2, 18-year-old Dutch contender Francot heads to his home event with a five-point lead in the title chase.

While Francot will be one of 30 FIA FREC drivers hoping to deliver on their potential on the 4.259-kilometre layout, the CL Motorsport driver has never raced at the seaside venue, let alone visited, meaning he’s not banking on any kind of advantage over his opposition.

“I’ve never even been in the paddock so it’s going to be new for me, but I hear a lot of fans will be coming,” Francot said. “I’ve never had the opportunity to race at home in my racing career so it’s going to be a very good experience. Actually, Spa is more my home race because I live all the way in the south of Netherlands, 45 minutes from Spa, but two hours from Zandvoort so both races are home races. I was able to maximise my pace that I had all weekend [at Red Bull Ring] and ultimately won. The team is giving me real support in every single session, it’s a golden combination and we try to keep up the results.”

Organised and promoted by FIA Member Club Automobile Club d’Italia (ACI) and having taken over from the Formula Regional European Championship by Alpine (FRECA) 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.

Positioned one step above Formula 4 in the FIA Single-Seater Pyramid, FIA FREC 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.

Ten teams were successful in securing entries for the 2026 FIA FREC season with each fielding three up-and-coming racers. They are: ART Grand Prix, CL Motorsport, G4 Racing, MP Motorsport, Prema Racing, R-Ace GP, Rodin Motorsport, RPM Motorsport, Trident Motorsport and Van Amersfoort Racing. All teams use Pirelli tyres.

FIA Single-Seater Commission President Emanuele Pirro said: “Like we said after the first round, we concentrate on tomorrow, not on yesterday to ensure FIA FREC continues to deliver and that will certainly be the case at Zandvoort. From one side the racing at Red Bull Ring provided a great deal of action that really showcased the skills of the drivers and the all-new Formula Regional Tatuus T 326. At the same time, too many laps were spent behind the safety car in each race so we must work on harnessing the raw speed that’s very evident while highlighting the importance of building experience and demonstrating a higher level of consistency. We’ll be reminding the drivers of the importance of finishing races, particularly at this stage of the season, as it can make a real difference to their development.”

RPM driver Miguel Costa (BRA) said: “FREC is the most competitive, especially when you look at the level for drivers. It’s also an FIA championship, so it’s definitely the highest level to prepare for future categories. It’s incredibly close and two or three tenths can change your weekend but that’s great.”

R-ace GP driver Emanuele Olivieri (ITA) said: “FREC is an obvious step in my career, most of the drivers step from Formula 4 to Formula Regional. The car is enjoyable to drive with the aerodynamics making you faster in the corner. Becoming an FIA championship makes it a really high level and it’s really tough.”

Rodin Motorsport driver Reza Seewooruthun (GBR) said: “The competition in FREC is so much higher than other championships. The times are so close and especially it being an FIA championship it’s very close to FIA F3, which is where I aspire to being next year.”

Where and when?
The 2026 FIA Formula Regional European Championship calendar takes place over eight weekends as follows: Red Bull Ring, Austria (24-26 April), Zandvoort, Netherlands (22-24 May), Spa-Francorchamps, Belgium (29-31 May), Monza, Italy (19-21 June), Hungaroring, Hungary (3-5 July), Paul Ricard, France (17-19 July), Imola, Italy (4-6 September) and Hockenheim, Germany (11-13 September). Pre-season tests took place at Hockenheim, Paul Ricard and Red Bull Ring.

Who’s in it to win it?
Click HERE for the 2026 FIA Formula Regional European Championship line-up.

FIA FREC round two at a glance
Friday 22 May
08:10-09:00: Free Practice 1
14:15-15:05: Free Practice 2

Saturday 23 May
08:55-09:30: Qualifying 1
16:45-17:15 Race 1 (30 minutes plus one lap)

Sunday 24 May
08:50-09:25: Qualifying 2
11:00-11:20: Autograph signing session (DTM Fan Zone)
16:45-17:15: Race 2 (30 minutes plus one lap)

How it works?
For the second event of the 2026 FIA European Formula Regional Championship at Circuit Zandvoort, two qualifying sessions are scheduled for 35 minutes with two groups created (Group A and Group B). Each group is permitted 15 minutes of track time in each session. The group formations are based on odd and even numbers according to championship positions. The group of drivers going first in Qualifying 1 goes second in Qualifying 2 and vice versa. The overall fastest driver out of both groups (Group A and Group B) starts Race 1 from pole position. Second position goes to the driver achieving the fastest time in the ‘other’ group with third place awarded to the driver who has achieved the second fastest time in the group of the overall fastest driver, and so on. Should two or more drivers set identical times, priority will be given to the driver who set the time first. FIA titles for Driver, Team and Rookie will be awarded at the end of the year. The Rookie classification is for drivers new to Formula Regional at the start of the 2026 season.

How they score?
1st = 25 points; 2nd = 18 points; 3rd = 15 points; 4th = 12 points; 5th = 10 points; 6th = 8 points; 7th = 6 points; 8th = 4 points; 9th = 2 points; 10th = 1 point; pole position = 2 points; fastest lap = 1 point.

Provisional FIA Formula Regional European Championship standings after round one
1 Reno Francot (NLD), CL Motorsport, 43 points
2 Rashid Al-Dhaheri (UAE), R-ace GP, 38
3 Kean Nakamura-Berta (GBR), Prema Racing, 34
4 Sebastian Wheldon (USA), MP Motorsport, 30
5 Alex Ninovic (AUS), Rodin Motorsport, 19
6 Zhenrui Chi (ITA), MP Motorsport, 18
7 Dion Gowda (IND), Van Amersfoort Racing, 16
8 Salim Hanna (COL), Prema Racing, 13
9 Reza Seewooruthun (GBR), Rodin Motorsport, 9
10 Maksimilian Popov (ITA), Trident Motorsport, 8, etc

Click HERE for the full provisional standings after round one.

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