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Formula Regional European Championship

{{Short description|Single-seater racing championship}}

{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2024}}

{{Infobox motorsport championship

| name = Formula Regional European Championship (FRECA)

| logo = Formula Regional European Championship LOGO.png

| image-size = 250px

| caption =

| category = Formula Regional

| country =

| region = Europe

| inaugural =

| inaugural2 = 2019

| folded =

| classes =

| drivers =

| teams =

| constructors = Tatuus

| engines = Renault

| tyres = Pirelli

| champion driver = {{flagicon|BRA}} Rafael Câmara

| champion team = {{flagicon|ITA}} Prema Racing

| manufacturer =

| current_season = {{CURRENTYEAR}} Formula Regional European Championship

| website = {{URL|https://formularegionaleubyalpine.com/}}

}}

The Formula Regional European Championship by Alpine (FRECA) is a FIA-certified regional European Formula 3 racing series. On 12 October 2018, it was announced that the Italian autosport regulator Automobile Club d'Italia (ACI) and karting promoter WSK would organize the inaugural year of the championship in 2019.{{cite news |last1=Wood |first1=Elliot |title=Italian bid beats Renault to run European regional F3 series |url=http://www.formulascout.com/italian-bid-beats-renault-to-run-european-regional-f3-series/45704 |accessdate=2 November 2018 |work=formulascout.com |publisher=Formula Scout |date=12 October 2018}} Their bid was chosen over Renault Sport's bid with the same chassis, who attracted fewer votes from Single-Seater Commission members. Following the 2020 season, the Formula Renault Eurocup merged with the Formula Regional European Championship to become the Formula Regional European Championship by Alpine.{{cite news |last1=Smith |first1=Luke |title=Formula Regional Europe merges with Renault Eurocup for 2021 |url=https://www.motorsport.com/frenault/news/formula-regional-european-merger-2021/4901832/ |accessdate=31 October 2020 |work=Motorsport.com |date=31 October 2020}}

The championship's first season featured eight rounds on the circuits across Europe with half of them in Italy.{{cite news |last1=Allen |first1=Peter |title=Prema commits to Italian-promoted European Regional F3 championship |url=http://www.formulascout.com/prema-commits-to-italian-promoted-european-regional-f3-series/46127 |accessdate=2 November 2018 |work=formulascout.com |publisher=Formula Scout |date=2 November 2018}} Like other Formula Regional championships, it serves as a development series as part of the FIA Global Pathway, and is primarily contested by young drivers seeking a professional racing career. The driver champions receive FIA Super License points. The series is intended to be a stepping stone between Formula 4 and the international FIA Formula 3 Championship.{{cite web |title=The Championship |url=https://formularegionaleubyalpine.com/the-championship/ |website=Formula Regional by Alpine |access-date=6 June 2021 |date=2021-02-02}} Franco Colapinto was the first driver from the series to make it to Formula One, driving for Williams Racing for the latter part of the {{F1|2024}} season. 2025 will feature the next three graduates in the name of Andrea Kimi Antonelli, Gabriel Bortoleto and Isack Hadjar, all scheduled to drive for the Mercedes-AMG Petronas F1 Team, Stake F1 Team Kick Sauber, and Visa Cash App Racing Bulls Formula One Team respectively starting from the 2025 season.{{cite web |last=Osten |first=Phillip van |date=31 August 2024 |title=Mercedes confirm Antonelli for 2025 F1 seat alongside Russell |url=https://f1i.com/news/517898-mercedes-confirm-antonelli-for-2025-f1-seat-alongside-russell.html |access-date=2 September 2024 |website=F1i.com}}{{cite news |last=Iversen |first=Patrick |date=31 August 2024 |title=Mercedes F1 promotes Andrea Kimi Antonelli to replace Lewis Hamilton in 2025 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/5729566/2024/08/31/f1-andrea-kimi-antonelli-mercedes/ |access-date=2 September 2024 |work=The New York Times |issn=0362-4331}}{{Cite web|title=Kick Sauber confirm rookie Bortoleto as second driver for 2025|url=https://www.formula1.com/en/latest/article/breaking-kick-sauber-confirm-rookie-bortoleto-as-second-driver-for-2025.2EL5ciR1wh3baHcobZqGl9 |date=6 November 2024 |language=en}} Many FRECA drivers have subsequently competed in the feeder series directly below F1, the FIA Formula 2 Championship.

Car

The championship features Tatuus-designed and built cars. The cars will be constructed out of carbon fibre and feature a monocoque chassis which feature a number of enhanced safety features including the new Halo device and improved side impact protection, and will have a six-speed paddle-shift sequential gearbox. In the 2019 and 2020 seasons, the car was powered by an Alfa Romeo 270PS (200 kW) turbo engine tuned by Autotecnica. After the merge with Formula Renault Eurocup for the 2021 season the championship uses Renault engines. From 2022, the cars feature a push-to-pass system. When pressed, the engine temporarily produces extra power for a period of 15 seconds. Push-to-pass can be used five times during a race. Unlike DRS in Formula One, the push-to-pass system can be used at any time during a race.{{Cite web |last=Wood |first=Ida |date=2022-03-30 |title=FRegional Europe lays out rules of new push-to-pass system |url=https://formulascout.com/fregional-europe-lays-out-rules-of-new-push-to-pass-system/91295 |access-date=2024-07-18 |website=Formula Scout |language=en-US}}

Costs

One 2024 estimate puts the cost of competing in a front-running car at around {{currency|amount=1000000|code=EUR}} per season. The minimum for "back-marker" cars was around {{currency|amount=350000|code=EUR}}. These costs are typically met by either the competitors' families or personal sponsors.{{Cite web |last=Series |first=Feeder |date=2024-04-05 |title=A year in, where does Eurocup-3 stand among its rival series? |url=https://feederseries.net/2024/04/05/a-year-in-where-does-eurocup-3-stand-among-its-rival-series/ |access-date=2024-07-18 |website=Feeder Series |language=en}}

Media

Races are livestreamed and are available on YouTube at no cost.{{Cite web |title=Formula Regional European Championship by Alpine |url=https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCrCEln9HtJvw5TDIDli1Rwg |access-date=2024-07-18 |website=YouTube |language=en}}

Champions

File:FREC 2022 Spielberg racing scene.jpg

=Drivers'=

class="wikitable" style="font-size:85%; text-align:center;"
scope=col|Season

!scope=col|Driver

!scope=col|Team

!scope=col|Poles

!scope=col|Wins

!scope=col|Podiums

!scope=col width="40"|Fastest laps

!scope=col|Points

! scope=col width=20|% points achievable

!scope=col|Clinched

!scope=col width="50"|Margin

2019

|align=left| {{flagicon|DEN}} Frederik Vesti

|align=left| {{flagicon|ITA}} Prema Powerteam

|10

|13

|20

|9

|467

|77.833

|Race 21 of 24

|131

2020

|align=left| {{flagicon|BRA}} Gianluca Petecof

|align=left| {{flagicon|ITA}} Prema Powerteam

|5

|4

|14

|7

|359

|62.435

|Race 24 of 24

|16

2021

|align=left| {{flagicon|SUI}} Grégoire Saucy

|align=left| {{flagicon|FRA}} ART Grand Prix

|7

|8

|10

|2

|277

|55.400

|Race 17 of 20

|68

2022

|align=left| {{flagicon|SWE}} Dino Beganovic

|align=left| {{flagicon|ITA}} Prema Racing

|4

|4

|14

|2

|300

|60.000

|Race 19 of 20

|26

2023

|align=left| {{flagicon|ITA}} Andrea Kimi Antonelli

|align=left| {{flagicon|ITA}} Prema Racing

|3

|5

|11

|5

|300

|60.000

|Race 18 of 20

|39

2024

|align=left| {{flagicon|BRA}} Rafael Câmara

|align=left| {{flagicon|ITA}} Prema Racing

|7

|7

|12

|7

|309

|61.800

|Race 18 of 20

|73

=Teams'=

class="wikitable" style="font-size:85%; text-align:center;"
scope=col|Season

!scope=col|Team

!scope=col|Poles

!scope=col|Wins

!scope=col|Podiums

!scope=col width="40"|Fastest laps

!scope=col|Points

!scope=col|Clinched

!scope=col width="50"|Margin

2019

|align=left| {{flagicon|ITA}} Prema Powerteam

|13

|16

|40

|14

|870

|Race 23 of 24

|390

2020

|align=left| {{flagicon|ITA}} Prema Powerteam

|18

|16

|43

|12

|842

|Race 22 of 24

|347

2021

|align=left| {{flagicon|FRA}} R-ace GP

|3

|5

|21

|6

|481

|Race 20 of 20

|59

2022

|align=left| {{flagicon|ITA}} Prema Racing

|11

|10

|21

|6

|531

|Race 18 of 20

|110

2023

|align=left| {{flagicon|ITA}} Prema Racing

|7

|7

|18

|6

|512

|Race 20 of 20

|2

2024

|align=left| {{flagicon|ITA}} Prema Racing

|13

|12

|25

|9

|575

|Race 17 of 20

|264

=Rookie=

class="wikitable" style="font-size:85%; text-align:center;"
scope=col|Season

!scope=col|Driver

!scope=col|Team

!scope=col|Poles

!scope=col|Wins (rookie)

!scope=col|Podiums

!scope=col width="40"|Fastest laps

!scope=col|Points (rookie)

!scope=col|Clinched

!scope=col width="50"|Margin

2019

|align=left| {{flagicon|DEN}} Frederik Vesti

|align=left| {{flagicon|ITA}} Prema Powerteam

|10

|13 (14)

|20

|9

|467 (506)

|Race 21 of 24

|125

2020

|align=left| {{flagicon|BRA}} Gianluca Petecof

|align=left| {{flagicon|ITA}} Prema Powerteam

|5

|4 (7)

|14

|7

|359 (430)

|Race 24 of 24

|43

2021

|align=left| {{flagicon|FRA}} Isack Hadjar

|align=left| {{flagicon|FRA}} R-ace GP

|1

|2 (8)

|5

|3

|166

|Race 20 of 20

|44

2022

|align=left| {{flagicon|ITA}} Leonardo Fornaroli

|align=left| {{flagicon|ITA}} Trident Racing

|0

|0

|0

|0

|83

|Race 20 of 20

|4

2023

| align="left" |{{flagicon|NOR}} Martinius Stenshorne

| align="left" |{{flagicon|FRA}} R-ace GP

|3

|5 (13)

|11

|3

|261

|Race 18 of 20

|150

2024

| align="left" |{{flagicon|DEN}} Noah Strømsted

| align="left" |{{flagicon|ITA}} RPM

|1

|0 (7)

|4

|3

|121

|Race 20 of 20

|24

Drivers graduated to FIA Formula 2/3 Championship

class="wikitable sortable" style="font-size:85%; text-align:center"

! rowspan="2" |Driver

! colspan="4" |Formula Regional European

! colspan="5" |FIA Formula 3

! colspan="5" |FIA Formula 2

! rowspan="2" |Other major titles before FREC

Seasons

!Races

!Wins

!Podiums

!Seasons

!First team

!Races

!Wins

!Podiums

!Seasons

!First team

!Races

!Wins

!Podiums

align="left" |{{flagicon|FIN}} William Alatalo

|2021–2022

|22

|0

|1

|2022

|Jenzer Motorsport

|18

|0

|0

|N/A

|N/A

|N/A

|N/A

|N/A

|

style="background:gold;"

| align="left" |{{flagicon|ITA}} Andrea Kimi Antonelli

|2023

|20

|5

|11

|N/A

|N/A

|N/A

|N/A

|N/A

|2024

|Prema Racing

|26

|2

|3

|Italian F4 Championship
ADAC F4 Championship

align="left" |{{flagicon|EST}} Paul Aron

|2021–2022

|40

|8

|15

|2023

|Prema Racing

|18

|1

|4

|2023–2024

|Trident

|30

|1

|8

|

align="left" |{{flagicon|ITA}} Brando Badoer

|2024

|20

|0

|7

|2025

|Prema Racing

|4*

|0*

|0*

|N/A

|N/A

|N/A

|N/A

|N/A

|

style="background:gold;"

| align="left" |{{flagicon|SWE}} Dino Beganovic

|2021–2022

|40

|4

|13

|2023–2024

|Prema Racing

|38

|2

|8

|2024–2025

|DAMS

|8*

|0*

|2*

|

align="left" |{{flagicon|POL}} Roman Biliński

|2022–2024

|52

|0

|2

|2025

|Rodin Motorsport

|4*

|0*

|1*

|N/A

|N/A

|N/A

|N/A

|N/A

|

align="left" |{{flagicon|BRA}} Gabriel Bortoleto

|2021–2022

|40

|2

|6

|2023

|Trident

|18

|2

|6

|2024

|Invicta Racing

|28

|2

|8

|

align="left" |{{flagicon|ESP}} Mari Boya

|2021–2022

|40

|0

|2

|2023–2025

|MP Motorsport

|42*

|1*

|2*

|N/A

|N/A

|N/A

|N/A

|N/A

|

align="left" |{{flagicon|GBR}} Olli Caldwell

|2019

|24

|1

|7

|2020-2021

|Trident

|38

|1

|4

|2021–2022

|Campos Racing

|26

|0

|0

|

style="background:gold;"

| align="left" |{{flagicon|BRA}} Rafael Câmara

|2023–2024

|40

|8

|16

|2025

|Trident

|4*

|2*

|2*

|N/A

|N/A

|N/A

|N/A

|N/A

|

align="left" |{{nowrap|{{flagicon|FRA}} Pierre-Louis Chovet}}

|2020, 2022–2023

|31

|1

|9

|2020-2021

|Hitech Grand Prix

|10

|0

|0

|N/A

|N/A

|N/A

|N/A

|N/A

|

align="left" |{{flagicon|ARG}} Franco Colapinto

|2021

|16

|2

|4

|2022–2023

|Van Amersfoort Racing

|36

|4

|10

|2023–2024

|MP Motorsport

|22

|1

|3

|

align="left" |{{flagicon|POR}} Ivan Domingues

|2023–2024

|24

|0

|2

|2025

|Van Amersfoort Racing

|4*

|0*

|0*

|N/A

|N/A

|N/A

|N/A

|N/A

|

align="left" |{{flagicon|SUI}} Joshua Dufek

|2022–2023

|31

|0

|3

|2023–2025

|Campos Racing

|26*

|0*

|0*

|N/A

|N/A

|N/A

|N/A

|N/A

|

align="left" |{{flagicon|PAR}} Joshua Dürksen

|2022–2023

|40

|0

|1

|N/A

|N/A

|N/A

|N/A

|N/A

|2024–2025

|PHM AIX Racing

|32*

|3*

|5*

|

align="left" |{{flagicon|BRA}} Enzo Fittipaldi

|2019

|24

|2

|13

|2020-2021

|HWA Racelab

|30

|0

|1

|2021–2024

|Charouz Racing System

|67

|2

|13

|Italian F4 Championship

align="left" |{{flagicon|GER}} Sophia Flörsch

|2019

|24

|0

|0

|2020, 2023–2024

|Campos Racing

|54

|0

|0

|N/A

|N/A

|N/A

|N/A

|N/A

|

align="left" |{{flagicon|ITA}} Leonardo Fornaroli

|2022

|20

|0

|0

|2023–2024

|Trident

|38

|0

|10

|2024–2025

|Rodin Motorsport

|6*

|0*

|2*

|

align="left" |{{flagicon|BRA}} Igor Fraga

|2019

|24

|4

|11

|2020

|Charouz Racing System

|16

|0

|0

|N/A

|N/A

|N/A

|N/A

|N/A

|

align="left" |{{flagicon|FRA}} Alessandro Giusti

|2023–2024

|40

|5

|11

|2025

|MP Motorsport

|4*

|0*

|0*

|N/A

|N/A

|N/A

|N/A

|N/A

|

align="left" |{{flagicon|FRA}} Isack Hadjar

|2021

|20

|2

|4

|2022

|Hitech Grand Prix

|18

|3

|5

|2023–2024

|Hitech Grand Prix

|54

|4

|9

|

align="left" |{{flagicon|GBR}} Jake Hughes

|2019

|3

|0

|3

|2019–2021

|HWA Racelab

|37

|3

|8

|2020–2022

|BWT HWA Racelab

|26

|0

|0

|BRDC F4 Championship

align="left" |{{flagicon|ITA}} Nicola Lacorte

|2024

|20

|0

|0

|2025

|DAMS

|4*

|0*

|0*

|N/A

|N/A

|N/A

|N/A

|N/A

|

align="left" |{{flagicon|MCO}} Arthur Leclerc

|2020

|23

|6

|15

|2021–2022

|Prema Racing

|38

|3

|5

|2023

|DAMS

|26

|0

|1

|

align="left" |{{flagicon|MEX}} Noel León

|2022

|20

|0

|0

|2024–2025

|Van Amersfoort Racing

|24*

|0*

|4*

|N/A

|N/A

|N/A

|N/A

|N/A

|F4 US Championship

align="left" |{{flagicon|FRA}} Sami Meguetounif

|2021–2023

|41

|0

|4

|2024

|Trident

|20

|2

|2

|2025

|Trident

|4*

|0*

|0*

|

align="left" |{{flagicon|ITA}} Gabriele Mini

|2021–2022

|40

|3

|13

|2023–2024

|ART Grand Prix

|38

|3

|9

|2024–2025

|Prema Racing

|6*

|0*

|1*

|Italian F4 Championship

align="left" |{{flagicon|COL}} Sebastián Montoya

|2022

|20

|0

|0

|2022–2024

|Campos Racing

|40

|0

|1

|2025

|Prema Racing

|4*

|0*

|0*

|

align="left" |{{flagicon|FRA}} Théophile Naël

|2024

|20

|1

|1

|2025

|Van Amersfoort Racing

|4*

|0*

|1*

|N/A

|N/A

|N/A

|N/A

|N/A

|

align="left" |{{flagicon|ITA}} Matteo Nannini

|2019–2020

|18

|0

|0

|2020–2021

|Jenzer Motorsport

|38

|1

|3

|2021

|HWA Racelab

|8

|0

|0

|F4 UAE Championship

style="background:gold;"

| align="left" |{{flagicon|BRA}} Gianluca Petecof

|2020

|23

|4

|14

|N/A

|N/A

|N/A

|N/A

|N/A

|2021

|Campos Racing

|6

|0

|0

|

align="left" |{{flagicon|MEX}} Santiago Ramos

|2022–2023

|36

|0

|1

|2024–2025

|Trident

|24*

|1*

|2*

|N/A

|N/A

|N/A

|N/A

|N/A

|

align="left" |{{flagicon|DNK}} Oliver Rasmussen

|2020

|23

|6

|13

|2021–2022

|HWA Racelab

|24

|0

|0

|N/A

|N/A

|N/A

|N/A

|N/A

|

style="background:gold;"

|align="left" |{{flagicon|SUI}} Grégoire Saucy

|2021

|20

|8

|10

|2022–2023

|ART Grand Prix

|36

|0

|3

|N/A

|N/A

|N/A

|N/A

|N/A

|

align="left" |{{flagicon|GER}} David Schumacher

|2019

|24

|4

|9

|2019–2022

|Campos Racing

|44

|1

|2

|N/A

|N/A

|N/A

|N/A

|N/A

align="left" |{{flagicon|NOR}} Martinius Stenshorne

|2023

|20

|5

|11

|2024–2025

|Hitech Pulse-Eight

|22*

|1*

|3*

|N/A

|N/A

|N/A

|N/A

|N/A

|

align="left" |{{flagicon|NOR}} Noah Strømsted

|2023–2024

|24

|0

|4

|2024–2025

|Trident

|6*

|0*

|1*

|N/A

|N/A

|N/A

|N/A

|N/A

|

align="left" |{{flagicon|GER}} Tim Tramnitz

|2022–2023

|40

|3

|10

|2024–2025

|MP Motorsport

|24*

|1*

|5*

|N/A

|N/A

|N/A

|N/A

|N/A

|

align="left" |{{flagicon|FIN}} Tuukka Taponen

|2024

|20

|4

|7

|2024–2025

|ART Grand Prix

|6*

|0*

|1*

|N/A

|N/A

|N/A

|N/A

|N/A

|

align="left" |{{flagicon|USA}} Ugo Ugochukwu

|2024

|20

|1

|2

|2025

|Prema Racing

|4*

|0*

|0*

|N/A

|N/A

|N/A

|N/A

|N/A

|

align="left" |{{flagicon|NED}} Laurens van Hoepen

|2022–2023

|40

|0

|2

|2024–2025

|ART Grand Prix

|24*

|0*

|3*

|N/A

|N/A

|N/A

|N/A

|N/A

|

style="background:gold;"

| align="left" |{{flagicon|DNK}} Frederik Vesti

|2019

|24

|13

|20

|2020–2021

|Prema Racing

|38

|4

|9

|2022–2023

|ART Grand Prix

|53

|7

|15

|

align="left" |{{flagicon|EST}} Jüri Vips

|2020

|9

|0

|3

|N/A

|N/A

|N/A

|N/A

|N/A

|2020–2022

|DAMS

|59

|3

|12

|ADAC F4 Championship

align="left" |{{flagicon|AUS}} James Wharton

|2024

|20

|4

|10

|2024–2025

|Hitech Grand Prix

|6*

|0*

|0*

|N/A

|N/A

|N/A

|N/A

|N/A

|

align="left" |{{flagicon|POL}} Piotr Wiśnicki

|2022

|17

|0

|0

|2023–2024

|PHM Racing by Charouz

|28

|0

|0

|N/A

|N/A

|N/A

|N/A

|N/A

|

align="left" |{{flagicon|PER}} Matías Zagazeta

|2022–2023

|39

|0

|0

|2024–2025

|Jenzer Motorsport

|22*

|0*

|1*

|N/A

|N/A

|N/A

|N/A

|N/A

|

align="left" |{{flagicon|GER}} Lirim Zendeli

|2019

|3

|0

|2

|2019, 2022

|Sauber Junior Team by Charouz

|34

|1

|3

|2021–2022

|MP Motorsport

|19

|0

|0

|ADAC F4 Championship

* Season still in progress.

Notes:

  • Gold background denotes Formula Regional European champion.

Circuits

  • Bold denotes a circuit will be used in the 2025 season.

class="wikitable" style="text-align=center"

!Number

!Circuits

!Rounds

!Years

rowspan="6" |1

|{{flagicon|FRA}} Circuit Paul Ricard

|6

|2019–present

{{flagicon|AUT}} Red Bull Ring

|6

|2019–present

{{flagicon|ITA}} Imola Circuit

|6

|2019–present

{{flagicon|ESP}} Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya

|6

|2019–present

{{flagicon|ITA}} Mugello Circuit

|6

|2019–2024

{{flagicon|ITA}} Monza Circuit

|6

|2019–present

rowspan="3" |7

|{{flagicon|HUN}} Hungaroring

|4

|2019, 2022–present

{{flagicon|NED}} Circuit Zandvoort

|4

|2021–present

{{flagicon|BEL}} Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps

|4

|2021–present

rowspan="3" |10

|{{flagicon|ITA}} Vallelunga Circuit

|2

|2019–2020

{{flagicon|MCO}} Circuit de Monaco

|2

|2021–2022

{{flagicon|GER}} Hockenheimring

|2

|2023–present

rowspan="2" |13

|{{flagicon|ITA}} Misano World Circuit Marco Simoncelli

|1

|2020

{{flagicon|ESP}} Circuit Ricardo Tormo

|1

|2021

References

{{reflist}}

External links

  • {{Official website|https://formularegionaleubyalpine.com/}}

{{FREC circuits}}

{{Formula Regional}}

{{FIA Global Pathway}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Formula Regional European Championship}}

Category:European auto racing series

Category:Recurring sporting events established in 2019

Category:2019 establishments in Europe

Category:Formula Regional

Category:FIA championships

Category:One-make series