Straight from the sand dunes of the North Sea coast to the Ardennes forest, the FIA Formula Regional European Championship arrives at Spa-Francorchamps for round 3 of the 2026 campaign this weekend (29-31 May).
With four different winners in the opening two rounds, the series contested by the second-generation Formula Regional Tatuus T-326 single-seaters featuring the new Race Mode push to pass system is entering a crucial stage of the season.
Following his double victory at Zandvoort, Sebastian Wheldon heads to the Belgian circuit as the new championship leader. The 17-year-old MP Motorsport's driver moved to the top of the standings with a 12-point lead over Reno Francot, who secured CL Motorsport’s first-ever success by winning Race 3 at the Red Bull Ring. Thanks to his victory in the reverse-grid race at Spielberg and an unbroken streak of top-five finishes, R-ace GP’s Rashid Al Dhaheri sits third in the standings, 22 points adrift of Wheldon.
Kean Nakamura-Berta has also continued to establish himself among the leading contenders. The PREMA Racing driver claimed victory in Austria and followed it up at Zandvoort with his third pole position of the season and a second-place finish in Race 2.
Emanuele Olivieri, who claimed his maiden overall podium at Zandvoort by taking third place in Race 1, tops the Rookie standings for R-ace GP. Close behind is Alexandre Munoz (ART Grand Prix), who was consistently among the front-runners throughout the first two rounds.
Looking to bounce back will be Alex Ninovic (Rodin Motorsport), who impressed at the Red Bull Ring but could manage no better than sixth place at Zandvoort. Also making a strong impression in the Netherlands were the MP Motorsport's drivers Zhenrui Chi and Alexander Abkhazava, together with Tomass Stolcermanis (PREMA Racing) and Dion Gowda (Van Amersfoort Racing), each claiming top-10 finishes in both races. Salim Hanna also stood out by claiming a second-place finish for PREMA Racing.
The only Belgian on the grid, Thomas Strauven returns to home soil after making his CL Motorsport debut at Zandvoort.
A field of 30 drivers from 10 teams is set to contest the Spa-Francorchamps round, which will feature the championship's three-race format.
WEEKEND SCHEDULE
The action will get underway on Thursday with two Collective Test sessions. Friday’s schedule begins with the sole 50-minute Free Practice session at 09:40 CEST, followed by Qualifying 1 at 14:45 CEST, with the field once again split into Groups A and B. Race 1, running over 30 minutes plus one lap, is set to start at 10:05 CEST on Saturday. The second race, with the fastest 12 drivers from Qualifying 1 lining up in reverse order, will get underway at 14:16 CEST. Sunday will open with Qualifying 2 at 09:55 CEST, determining the grid for the final race of the weekend, scheduled to start at 14:20 CEST.
WHERE TO WATCH
The three races of the FIA Formula Regional European Championship from Spa-Francorchamps will be aired by 78 different broadcasters across more than 200 territories. Among them is ACI Sport TV, which will air both qualifying sessions and the races. In addition, all races will be available via live streaming on the championship’s official YouTube channel, @fiaformularegionaleu.
