2022 PREVIEW - Formula regional eu by alpine

This weekend, the Formula Regional European Championship by Alpine starts its second season. In this article we take a look at the teams and their drivers, athe season calendar, the race format of a weekend, the points system, pre-season testing and more. You'll also find out where to watch the races and what my personal predictions are for the drivers and teams championships.

36 drivers from twelve different teams are competing for points, podiums and wins in the most competitive race series besides F2 & FIA F3 this year. With the Trident team, which has taken over the starting place from JD Motorsport and the one car entry from RPM, there are also two new teams on the grid. Also no longer on the grid compared to last season is DR Formula. Defending champion of the team championship from last season is the French team of R-ace GP.

Prema Powerteam

Paul Aron, Dino Beganovic, Sebastián Montoya, Hamda Al Qubaisi

This year Prema will start with four drivers. In addition to Aron and Beganovic, who were already part of the team last year, two new drivers are joining the team. Sebastián Montoya already competed in a few races in Formula Regional Asia in preparation for the season and was convincing right from the start with Mumbai Falcons. The son of former F1 driver and Indy500 winner Juan Pablo Montoya finished last year's Italian F4 Championship in fourth place with several podium finishes. Hamda Al Quabisi has also been racing in Formula Regional Asia in preparation for the season. The driver from the United Arab Emirates has been racing in Formula 4 for the past three years. She won several races in F4 UAE and was the first woman to stand on the podium in Italian F4. Swede Dino Beganovic enters his second Formula Regional season. The third-place finisher in the 2020 Italian F4 won his first Formula Regional race at the Dubai Autodrome earlier this year. Paul Aron from Estonia finished third in Formula Regional EU by Alpine last year. He won two races last year, was on the podium seven times and therefore is one of the biggest favorites for the title this year.

Trident

Roman Bilinski, Tim Tramnitz, Leonardo Fornaroli

The Italian Trident team makes its Formula Regional European Championship debut this year. The FIA F3 team champions are also competing with three FRECA rookies. Nevertheless, the team should not be underestimated. Pole Roman Bilinski has been racing in British F4 and British F3 in recent years. Last season he won three races in the GB3 championship. Tim Tramnitz from Hamburg, Germany was a double Formula 4 vice champion in Italian F4 and German ADAC F4 last year. He won 9 out of 33 races he participated in last season and finished on the podium a total of 18 times. The third driver is also already a race winner. Italian Leonardo Fornaroli competed with Iron Lynx in the Italian F4 Championship and selected ADAC F4 races in 2020 & 2021. In addition to one race win, he was able to stand on the podium nine times.

Monolite Racing

Macéo Capietto, Pietro Armanni, Cenyu Han

Like last year, Monolite Racing will be fielding three rookies this season. Frenchman Macéo Capietto has so far driven one season in French Formula 4, where he regularly fought for victories and podiums. He finished the championship in third place with six wins and four further podium finishes. Italian Pietro Armanni made his single-seater debut in Italian F4 last year with Iron Lynx. His best result was a seventh place at Imola. The most experienced driver of the team is Cenyu Han. The Chinese has already contested two years in Italian F4 and ADAC F4. With Van Amersfoort Racing, he clinched a podium finish at the Red Bull Ring last year.

G4 Racing

Axel Gnos, Matías Zagazeta, Belén García, Owen Tangavelou

The Swiss team of G4 Racing enters the 2022 season with two new and two familiar faces. Axel Gnos, the son of the team owner, enters his second Formula Regional season. So far, a fourteenth place finish in Barcelona has been his best result. Matías Zagazeta makes his Formula Regional debut next weekend. The Peruvian finished runner-up in British Formula 4 last year with four race wins and eleven podium finishes. W Series driver Belén García will again compete with the team in selected races this year. The team is completed by Frenchman Owen Tangavelou. He last raced for two years in French F4, where he finished two races on the podium, and is contesting his debut season in Formula Regional.

FA Racing by MP

Esteban Masson, Victor Bernier, Nicolás Baptiste

FA Racing starts the season with three newcomers. Esteban Masson is the reigning French Formula 4 champion. The Frenchman finished the 2021 season with eleven podiums and six race wins. His compatriot Victor Bernier also competed in Formula 4 most recently. Last season he finished fourth in the German ADAC F4 with R-ace GP, stood on the podium four times and won a race at the Hockenheimring. Their teammate this year is Colombian Nicolás Baptiste. Last year he raced with Cram Motorsport in Italian Formula 4. A fifth place at the Red Bull Ring was his best race result.

Arden Motorsport

Joshua Dürksen, Noel León, Eduardo Barrichello

The British Arden Motorsport team will be competing with an all-Latin American lineup this year. Joshua Dürksen from Paraguay will start his first Formula Regional season. In the past three years, he has mainly competed in the German ADAC F4 and Italian Formula 4. He won a total of six races with Mücke Motorsport over these three years and was on the podium a total of 17 times. Noel León is racing in Europe for the first time this year. The Mexican is the reigning Formula 4 US champion and also won the Mexican F4 in 2020. The Red Bull Junior won two of 17 races last year and was on the podium eleven times. The team is completed by Brazilian Eduardo Barrichello. The son of former F1 driver Rubens Barrichello and 2020 USF2000 runner-up is entering his second Formula Regional season in Europe. His best result from last year with JD Motorsport was a 16th place finish in Monaco.

Van Amersfoort Racing

Levente Révész, Joshua Dufek, Kas Haverkort

Van Amersfoort Racing will start with three new drivers compared to last season. Hungarian Levente Révész is contesting his first year in Formula Regional EU by Alpine. Last year he raced with AKM Motorsport in Italian Formula 4. Joshua Dufek will also start his first season in Formula Regional EU by Alpine. He competed in Italian F4 and German ADAC F4 with Van Amersfoort Racing last year, winning one race and finishing on the podium a further eight times. The team is completed by Kas Haverkort. The Dutchman drove for MP Motorsport last season and was Spanish Formula 4 champion in 2020.

R-ace GP 

Lorenzo Fluxá, Hadrien David, Gabriel Bortoleto

The defending champions from R-ace GP will once again be competing for the title in both championships this year. At the beginning of the year, all three drivers prepared quite successfully with the team in Formula Regional Asia. With two race wins and eleven podium finishes, Hadrien David was runner-up last season. The Frenchman will again be at the front of the field this year. Lorenzo Fluxá from Spain is entering his second Formula Regional season. Last year a twelfth place with Van Amersfoort Racing was the best result of the 2020 F4 UAE runner-up. Brazilian Gabriel Bortoleto also enters his second Formula Regional season. With FA Racing, he finished second on the podium at the Red Bull Ring last season.

MP Motorsport

Sami Meguetounif, Michael Belov, Dilano van't Hoff

The Dutch MP Motorsport team will start with two new and one familiar driver. Sami Meguetounif is contesting his first full Formula Regional year. The Frenchman has most recently been racing mainly with R-ace GP in the German ADAC F4. Michael Belov enters his second full Formula Regional season this year. The Russian competes under a neutral flag for well-known reasons. With G4 Racing, he won two races last year and finished on the podium three times. Dutchman Dilano van't Hoff enters his first full season in Formula Regional EU by Alpine. Last year he became Spanish F4 champion, winning ten races and standing on the podium a further six times.

KIC Motorsport

Piotr Wiśnicki, Francesco Braschi, Santiago Ramos

The Finnish team KIC Motorsport enters the 2022 season with three newcomers. All three have been racing mainly in Italian F4 in recent years. Pole Piotr Wiśnicki, like Francesco Braschi, was part of the Jenzer Motorsport team for two years. The Italian Braschi was racing with R-ace GP in Formula Regional Asia in preparation for this season. Their teammate this year is the Mexican Santiago Ramos who was racing in the Italian F4 for three years and could convince with strong results here and there. He was also a part of the Jenzer Motorsport team for two years.

ART Grand Prix

Laurens van Hoepen, Gabriele Minì, Mari Boya

The French ART Grand Prix team is attacking the drivers' title again this year. Gabriele Minì was already able to impress during pre-season testing. The Italian F4 Champion of 2020 enters his second Formula Regional season with the team. Last year he already scored four podiums and finished the championship in a strong seventh place. Mari Boya also enters his second season in Formula Regional. Last year, the Spanish F4 runner-up from 2020 was still racing with Van Amersfoort Racing. He finished the championship in 14th place with one podium finish. Their teammate Laurens van Hoepen is contesting only his second ever single-seater season in 2022. The Dutchman raced in the Ultimate Cup Series last year, where he finished third overall with seven wins from nine races.

RPM

Pietro Delli Guanti, (Keith Donegan)

The new Race Performance Motorsport team has so far only officially confirmed one driver for the season, but tested another car with Keith Donegan. So it is quite possible that Donegan will join the championship in the course of the year. The officially confirmed driver is Pietro Delli Guanti. The Italian enters his second Formula Regional season after racing with Monolite Racing in 2021. The Italian F4 race winner has scored 18 points so far in Formula Regional EU by Alpine.

As in the previous season, 20 races spread over 10 weekends will be held in 2022. The season opener will be held this year at the Autodromo Nazionale di Monza. The only new circuit on the calendar is the Hungaroring, which replaces last season's Circuit Ricardo Tormo. The season finale will take place at the Mugello Circuit at the end of October.

Round 1: Autodromo Nazionale di Monza, Italy (23-24 April)

Round 2: Imola Circuit, Italy (7-8 May)

Round 3: Circuit de Monaco, Monte Carlo (28-29 May)

Round 4: Circuit Paul Ricard, France (4-5 June)

Round 5: Circuit Zandvoort, Netherlands (18-19 June)

Round 6: Hungaroring, Hungary (9-10 July)

Round 7: Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps, Belgium (28-29 July)

Round 8: Red Bull Ring, Austria (10-11 September)

Round 9: Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, Spain (15-16 October)

Round 10: Mugello Circuit, Italy (22-23 October)

On every race weekend of the Formula Regional EU Championship by Alpine there will be two races of 30 minutes (+1 lap) duration each. The positions for the start formation will be determined for both races by two separate qualifying sessions. Since this year, due to the large starting grid, the qualifying sessions are divided into two groups each. Each group is on the road for 15 minutes. In addition, two practice sessions of 50 minutes each will be held on Friday.

Each Formula Regional EU by Alpine race will award traditional F1 points to the top ten classified drivers with 25, 18, 15, 12, 10, 8, 6, 4, 2 and 1 points. Furthermore there are no extra points for pole positions or fastest race laps.

This year, the teams and drivers of Formula Regional EU by Alpine have already been able to test on three different tracks. In Barcelona, Paul Ricard and Monza they were on the road for two days each.

Barcelona - Day 1:

On the first day of testing in Barcelona, Gabriele Minì set the fastest lap time. The ART Grand Prix driver completed 72 laps on the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya. The busiest drivers on the first day were Owen Tangavelou and Sebastián Montoya with 87 laps each.

Overall Results:

P1: Gabriele Minì (ART Grand Prix) / 1m40.497s

P2: Dino Beganovic (Prema) / +0.288s

P3: Kas Haverkort (VAR) / +0.379s

P4: Eduardo Barrichello (Arden) / +0.455s

P5: Gabriel Bortoleto (R-ace GP) / +0.529s

P6: Victor Bernier (FA Racing) / +0.727s

P7: Michael Belov (MP Motorsport) / +0.770s

P8: Joshua Dürksen (Arden) / +0.778s

P9: Joshua Dufek (VAR) / +0.820s

P10: Hadrien David (R-ace GP) / +0.830s

Barcelona - Day 2:

On the second day in Barcelona, Italian Gabriele Minì was again the fastest driver. Prema's driver Sebastián Montoya did the most laps of the day with 77.

Overall Results:

P1: Gabriele Minì (ART Grand Prix) / 1m40.503s

P2: Kas Haverkort (VAR) / +0.161s

P3: Matías Zagazeta (G4) / +0.171s

P4: Paul Aron (Prema) / +0.245s

P5: Dino Beganovic (Prema) / +0.332s

P6: Tim Tramnitz (Trident) / +0.387s

P7: Sami Meguetounif (MP Motorsport) / +0.497s

P8: Sebastián Montoya (Prema) / +0.516s

P9: Roman Bilinski (Trident) / +0.555s

P10: Laurens van Hoepen (ART Grand Prix) / +0.613s

Paul Ricard - Day 1:

Also on the first day at the Circuit Paul Ricard in Le Castellet, Gabriele Minì blazed the fastest lap time into the asphalt with a 1m57.226s.

Overall Results:

P1: Gabriele Minì (ART Grand Prix) / 1m57.226s

P2: Michael Belov (MP Motorsport) / +0.365s

P3: Paul Aron (Prema) / +0.612s

P4: Gabriel Bortoleto (R-ace GP) / +0.678s
P5: Mari Boya (ART Grand Prix) / +0.736s

P6: Laurens van Hoepen (ART Grand Prix) / +0.793s

P7: Sami Meguetounif (MP Motorsport) / +0.832s

P8: Kas Haverkort (VAR) / +0.854s

P9: Joshua Dürksen (Arden) / +1.002s

P10: Tim Tramnitz (Trident) / +1.045s

Paul Ricard - Day 2:

On day two, R-ace GP rider Gabriel Bortoleto was fastest with a time of 1m58.850s before rain hit the track.

Overall Results:

P1: Gabriel Bortoleto (R-ace GP) / 1m58.850s

P2: Matías Zagazeta (G4) / +0.378s

P3: Joshua Dufek (VAR) / +0.535s

P4: Hadrien David (R-ace GP) / +0.630s

P5: Kas Haverkort (VAR) / +0.757s

P6: Owen Tangavelou (G4) / +0.757s

P7: Lorenzo Fluxá (R-ace GP) / +0.888s

P8: Leonardo Fornaroli (Trident) / +0.939s

P9: Dino Beganovic (Prema) / +1.109s

P10: Pietro Armanni (Monolite) / +1.119s

Monza - Day 1:

On the first day of testing in Monza, Michael Belov set the fastest lap time for MP Motorsport. With a total of 88 laps, Monolite driver Pietro Armanni was the busiest on this day.

Overall Results:

P1: Michael Belov (MP Motorsport) / 1m47.279s

P2: Kas Haverkort (VAR) / +0.282s

P3: Eduardo Barrichello (Arden) / +0.294s

P4: Gabriele Minì (ART Grand Prix) / +0.318s

P5: Macéo Capietto (Monolite) / +0.385s

P6: Leonardo Fornaroli (Trident) / +0.407s

P7: Tim Tramnitz (Trident) / +0.415s

P8: Dino Beganovic (Prema) / +0.436s

P9: Joshua Dürksen (Arden) / +0.608s

P10: Owen Tangavelou (G4) / +0.616s

Monza - Day 2:

On the final day of testing in Monza, Prema driver Dino Beganovic set the fastest time of the day. The busiest driver of the day was FA Racing's Victor Bernier with a total of 83 laps.

Overall Results: 

P1: Dino Beganovic (Prema) / 1m47.016s

P2: Paul Aron (Prema) / +0.272s

P3: Macéo Capietto (Monolite) / +0.286s

P4: Michael Belov (MP Motorsport) / +0.291s

P5: Gabriele Minì (ART Grand Prix) / +0.400s

P6: Laurens van Hoepen (ART Grand Prix) / +0.595s

P7: Roman Bilinski (Trident) / +0.621s

P8: Kas Haverkort (VAR) / +0.663s

P9: Joshua Dürksen (Arden) / +0.704s

P10: Eduardo Barrichello (Arden) / +0.706s

For both qualifying sessions and both races, a livestream is available on the race series channels on Youtube & Facebook. In addition, you can also follow all sessions each weekend via live timing on the website formularegionaleubyalpine.com.

Once again this season, I'm giving my personal prediction for the drivers' and teams' championships in Formula Regional EU by Alpine.

Drivers Championship Prediction

P1: Gabriele Minì

P2: Hadrien David

P3: Paul Aron

P4: Dino Beganovic

P5: Michael Belov

This season, there are several candidates for the driver championship title. Gabriele Minì, Hadrien David, Paul Aron and Dino Beganovic have already proven their talent on several occasions and are my main favorites for the title. There are also other contenders for race wins and podiums, such as Gabriel Bortoleto, Sebastián Montoya, Michael Belov, Kas Haverkort and more. In general, we can look forward to great races, as every team has at least one driver who can still get a lot out of a weaker car.

Teams Championship Prediction

P1: Prema Powerteam

P2: ART Grand Prix

P3: R-ace GP

We can also expect a close season in the team championship. I think that the three top teams ART Grand Prix, R-ace GP and Prema have moved even closer together and will probably decide the title among themselves. Behind them I mainly see Arden Motorsport, MP Motorsport and Van Amersfoort Racing fighting for the points. I also expect the new Trident team to be in this group.

written by Claudio Graf  / 19th April 2022