Formula Regional European Championship

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.[1] Their bid was chosen over Renault Sport's bid with the same chassis, who attracted fewer votes from Single-Seater Commission members.[1] Following the 2020 season, the Formula Renault Eurocup merged with the Formula Regional European Championship to become the Formula Regional European Championship by Alpine.[2]

Formula Regional European Championship (FRECA)
CategoryFormula Regional
RegionEurope
ConstructorsTatuus
Engine suppliersRenault
Tyre suppliersPirelli
Drivers' championItaly Andrea Kimi Antonelli
Teams' championItaly Prema Racing
Official websiteOfficial Website
Current season

The championship's first season featured eight rounds on the circuits across Europe with half of them in Italy.[3]

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.[4]

Car edit

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.[1] In the 2019 and 2020 seasons, the car was powered by a Alfa Romeo 270PS (200kW) turbo engine tuned by Autotecnica.[1] After the merge with Formula Renault Eurocup for the 2021 season the championship uses Renault engines.

Champions edit

 
Racing scene from the 2022 season

Drivers' edit

Season Driver Team Poles Wins Podiums Fastest laps Points % points achievable Clinched Margin
2019   Frederik Vesti   Prema Powerteam 10 13 20 9 467 77.833 Race 21 of 24 131
2020   Gianluca Petecof   Prema Powerteam 5 4 14 7 359 62.435 Race 24 of 24 16
2021   Grégoire Saucy   ART Grand Prix 7 8 10 2 277 55.400 Race 17 of 20 68
2022   Dino Beganovic   Prema Powerteam 4 4 14 2 300 60.000 Race 19 of 20 26
2023   Andrea Kimi Antonelli   Prema Racing 3 5 11 5 300 60.000 Race 18 of 20 39

Teams' edit

Season Team Poles Wins Podiums Fastest laps Points Clinched Margin
2019   Prema Powerteam 13 16 40 14 870 Race 23 of 24 390
2020   Prema Powerteam 18 16 43 12 842 Race 22 of 24 347
2021   R-ace GP 3 5 21 6 481 Race 20 of 20 59
2022   Prema Racing 11 10 21 6 531 Race 18 of 20 110
2023   Prema Racing 7 7 18 6 512 Race 20 of 20 2

Rookie edit

Season Driver Team Poles Wins (rookie) Podiums (rookie) Fastest laps Points (rookie) Clinched Margin
2019   Frederik Vesti   Prema Powerteam 10 14 21 9 506 Race 21 of 24 125
2020   Gianluca Petecof   Prema Powerteam 5 7 20 7 430 Race 24 of 24 43
2021   Isack Hadjar   R-ace GP 1 2 (8) 6 3 166 Race 20 of 20 44
2022   Leonardo Fornaroli   Trident Racing 0 0 0 0 83 Race 20 of 20 4
2023   Martinius Stenshorne   R-ace GP 3 5 (13) 11 3 261 Race 18 of 20 150

Drivers graduated to FIA Formula 2/3 Championship edit

Driver Formula Regional European FIA Formula 3 FIA Formula 2 Other major titles before FREC
Seasons Races Wins Podiums Seasons First team Races Wins Podiums Seasons First team Races Wins Podiums
  Olli Caldwell 2019 24 1 7 2020-2021 Trident 38 1 4 2021 Campos Racing 6 0 0
  Pierre-Louis Chovet 2020 23 1 7 2020-2021 Hitech Grand Prix 10 0 0 N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A
  Enzo Fittipaldi 2019 24 2 13 2020-2021 HWA Racelab 30 0 1 2021 Charouz Racing System 8 0 0 Italian F4 Championship
  Sophia Flörsch 2019 24 0 0 2020 Campos Racing 16 0 0 N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A
  Igor Fraga 2019 24 4 11 2020 Charouz Racing System 16 0 0 N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A
  Jake Hughes 2019 3 0 3 N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A 20202022 BWT HWA Racelab 10* 0* 0* BRDC F4 Championship
  Arthur Leclerc 2020 23 6 15 20212022 Prema Racing 20* 2* 3* N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A
  Matteo Nannini 20192020 18 0 0 20202021 Jenzer Motorsport 38 1 3 2021 HWA Racelab 5 0 0 F4 UAE Championship
  Gianluca Petecof 2020 23 4 14 N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A 2021 Campos Racing 6 0 0
  Oliver Rasmussen 2020 23 6 13 2021 HWA Racelab 20 0 0 N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A
  Grégoire Saucy 2021 20 8 10 2022 ART Grand Prix N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A
  David Schumacher 2019 24 4 9 20192021 Campos Racing 40 1 2 N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A
  Frederik Vesti 2019 24 13 20 20202021 Prema Racing 38 4 9 2022 ART Grand Prix 0* 0* 0*
  Jüri Vips 2020 9 0 3 N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A 20202022 DAMS 31* 2* 7* ADAC F4 Championship
  Lirim Zendeli 2019 3 0 2 N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A 2021 MP Motorsport 17 0 0 ADAC F4 Championship

* Season still in progress.

Notes:

  • Gold background denotes Formula Regional European champion.

Circuits edit

  • Bold denotes a circuit will be used in the 2024 season.
Number Circuits Rounds Years
1   Circuit Paul Ricard 5 2019–present
  Red Bull Ring 5 2019–present
  Imola Circuit 5 2019–present
  Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya 5 2019–present
  Mugello Circuit 5 2019–present
  Monza Circuit 5 2019–present
7   Hungaroring 3 2019, 2022–present
  Circuit Zandvoort 3 2021–present
  Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps 3 2021–present
10   Vallelunga Circuit 2 2019–2020
  Circuit de Monaco 2 2021–2022
12   Misano World Circuit Marco Simoncelli 1 2020
  Circuit Ricardo Tormo 1 2021
  Hockenheimring 1 2023–present

References edit

  1. ^ a b c d Wood, Elliot (12 October 2018). "Italian bid beats Renault to run European regional F3 series". formulascout.com. Formula Scout. Retrieved 2 November 2018.
  2. ^ Smith, Luke (31 October 2020). "Formula Regional Europe merges with Renault Eurocup for 2021". Motorsport.com. Retrieved 31 October 2020.
  3. ^ Allen, Peter (2 November 2018). "Prema commits to Italian-promoted European Regional F3 championship". formulascout.com. Formula Scout. Retrieved 2 November 2018.
  4. ^ "The Championship". Formula Regional by Alpine. 2021-02-02. Retrieved 6 June 2021.

External links edit