2026 | FREC | Monza | Collective Tests | Seewooruthun leads Chi as Round 4 begins

Reza Seewooruthun gave Rodin Motorsport the early advantage as the fourth round of the 2026 FIA Formula Regional European Championship (FREC) got underway at Monza on Thursday.

The British driver topped the opening Collective Test session at the Temple of Speed with a 1:45.588, which proved the fastest lap of the day. His benchmark placed him just 0.007s clear of Zhenrui Chi’s session-two best, while Alex Ninovic finished 0.053s away from the overall pace.

Across both sessions, the field remained tightly matched around the 5.793km Italian circuit. Seewooruthun led a closely contested morning test before Chi responded for MP Motorsport during the afternoon running.

2026 FREC Round 4: Monza: Collective Test 1: Seewooruthun sets the early benchmark

To begin with, Seewooruthun led the opening Collective Test session as Rodin Motorsport started the Monza weekend from the top of the timesheets. The British driver moved into first place during the early stages before improving his benchmark with 14 minutes remaining.

Seewooruthun posted a 1:45.588 on his 15th lap of 33, and no rival managed to surpass the effort before the end of the two-hour session. ART Grand Prix rookie Alexandre Munoz followed in second, finishing 0.056s adrift after arriving at Monza with momentum from his maiden victory at Spa-Francorchamps.

Alexander Abkhazava completed the top three for MP Motorsport, just 0.002s behind Munoz and 0.058s away from Seewooruthun’s benchmark. Sebastian Wheldon placed fourth in the sister MP Motorsport entry, while Maximilian Popov finished fifth for Trident Motorsport.

Wheldon, who remains the only driver to have claimed two victories this season following his dominant Zandvoort weekend, ended the session 0.077s off the pace. Meanwhile, Popov carried his strong Spa form into Monza by finishing within one tenth of Seewooruthun.

Ninovic placed sixth in the second Rodin Motorsport car, ahead of PREMA Racing’s Salim Hanna. Marcus Sæter led the rookie runners for G4 Racing in eighth, while R-ace GP teammates Emanuele Olivieri and championship leader Rashid Al Dhaheri completed the top 10.

The opening session underlined the competitiveness of the field, with 29 of the 30 drivers covered by just 0.928s. Only Yuki Sano finished more than one second away from Seewooruthun’s benchmark.

Collective Test 1 results

1. #4 Reza Seewooruthun (Rodin Motorsport): 1:45.588
2. #95 Alexandre Munoz (ART Grand Prix): +0.056
3. #15 Alexander Abkhazava (MP Motorsport): +0.058
4. #98 Sebastian Wheldon (MP Motorsport): +0.077
5. #33 Maximilian Popov (Trident Motorsport): +0.094
6. #2 Alex Ninovic (Rodin Motorsport): +0.126
7. #88 Salim Hanna (PREMA Racing): +0.134
8. #67 Marcus Sæter (G4 Racing): +0.295
9. #73 Emanuele Olivieri (R-ace GP): +0.328
10. #71 Rashid Al Dhaheri (R-ace GP): +0.337
11. #28 Zhenrui Chi (MP Motorsport): +0.339
12. #19 Kabir Anurag (ART Grand Prix): +0.359
13. #51 Kean Nakamura-Berta (PREMA Racing): +0.367
14. #78 Gabriel Gomez (Rodin Motorsport): +0.403
15. #11 Francisco Macedo (Van Amersfoort Racing): +0.429
16. #47 Andrija Kostić (Trident Motorsport): +0.518
17. #60 Tomass Štolcermanis (PREMA Racing): +0.541
18. #24 Jules Roussel (CL Motorsport): +0.611
19. #55 Dion Gowda (Van Amersfoort Racing): +0.659
20. #69 Reno Francot (CL Motorsport): +0.674
21. #87 Kai Daryanani (Trident Motorsport): +0.713
22. #27 Mattéo Giaccardi (ART Grand Prix): +0.716
23. #99 Giovanni Maschio (RPM): +0.740
24. #3 Saqer Al Maosherji (G4 Racing): +0.757
25. #7 Andrea Dupé (Van Amersfoort Racing): +0.765
26. #8 Jan Przyrowski (RPM): +0.789
27. #42 Kyuho Lee (CL Motorsport): +0.806
28. #23 Rahim Alibhai (G4 Racing): +0.840
29. #5 Miguel Costa (RPM): +0.928
30. #12 Yuki Sano (R-ace GP): +1.230

2026 FREC Round 4: Monza: Collective Test 2: Chi moves MP Motorsport to the top

In contrast, Chi set the pace during the second Collective Test session. The MP Motorsport driver moved to the top with a 1:45.595 on lap 15, ending the afternoon just 0.007s away from Seewooruthun’s overall Thursday benchmark.

Chi, who recently joined the Aston Martin Aramco Driver Academy, finished 0.046s clear of Ninovic. The Australian had held first place for much of the session after setting a 1:45.641, but Chi displaced him shortly before the late red-flag interruption.

Wheldon remained among the pace-setters and ended the afternoon third fastest, 0.198s behind his MP Motorsport teammate. After finishing fourth in the morning, the American completed both sessions inside the leading four.

Kean Nakamura-Berta led PREMA Racing’s efforts in fourth, finishing 0.286s away from Chi’s benchmark. Dion Gowda followed in fifth for Van Amersfoort Racing, while Sæter once again headed the rookie classification.

The G4 Racing driver placed sixth overall with a 1:45.933, finishing narrowly ahead of CL Motorsport’s Jules Roussel. Francisco Macedo took eighth for Van Amersfoort Racing, just 0.002s behind Roussel.

Munoz followed in ninth after placing second during the opening session, while Olivieri completed the top 10 for R-ace GP. Further back, championship leader Al Dhaheri finished 18th, 0.620s away from the fastest time.

The session also continued Kyuho Lee’s championship debut with CL Motorsport. The South Korean rookie improved from 27th in the morning to 15th during the afternoon.

Notably, the leading 25 drivers finished within 0.843s of Chi’s benchmark, while the top 10 remained covered by less than four tenths.

Collective Test 2 results

1. #28 Zhenrui Chi (MP Motorsport): 1:45.595
2. #2 Alex Ninovic (Rodin Motorsport): +0.046
3. #98 Sebastian Wheldon (MP Motorsport): +0.198
4. #51 Kean Nakamura-Berta (PREMA Racing): +0.286
5. #55 Dion Gowda (Van Amersfoort Racing): +0.312
6. #67 Marcus Sæter (G4 Racing): +0.338
7. #24 Jules Roussel (CL Motorsport): +0.355
8. #11 Francisco Macedo (Van Amersfoort Racing): +0.357
9. #95 Alexandre Munoz (ART Grand Prix): +0.373
10. #73 Emanuele Olivieri (R-ace GP): +0.386
11. #88 Salim Hanna (PREMA Racing): +0.473
12. #69 Reno Francot (CL Motorsport): +0.484
13. #12 Yuki Sano (R-ace GP): +0.507
14. #33 Maximilian Popov (Trident Motorsport): +0.517
15. #42 Kyuho Lee (CL Motorsport): +0.604
16. #19 Kabir Anurag (ART Grand Prix): +0.609
17. #8 Jan Przyrowski (RPM): +0.616
18. #71 Rashid Al Dhaheri (R-ace GP): +0.620
19. #7 Andrea Dupé (Van Amersfoort Racing): +0.649
20. #27 Mattéo Giaccardi (ART Grand Prix): +0.652
21. #15 Alexander Abkhazava (MP Motorsport): +0.677
22. #5 Miguel Costa (RPM): +0.718
23. #4 Reza Seewooruthun (Rodin Motorsport): +0.789
24. #60 Tomass Štolcermanis (PREMA Racing): +0.839
25. #78 Gabriel Gomez (Rodin Motorsport): +0.843
26. #47 Andrija Kostić (Trident Motorsport): +1.038
27. #23 Rahim Alibhai (G4 Racing): +1.047
28. #99 Giovanni Maschio (RPM): +1.075
29. #3 Saqer Al Maosherji (G4 Racing): +1.120
30. #87 Kai Daryanani (Trident Motorsport): +1.434

Seewooruthun leads a close field into Friday

Following both Collective Test sessions, Seewooruthun ended Thursday fastest overall, with Chi second and Ninovic third. The result gave Rodin Motorsport the headline pace, while MP Motorsport showed depth with Chi and Wheldon inside the afternoon top three.

However, the small margins suggest Friday could prove highly competitive. Seewooruthun, Chi, Ninovic, Munoz, Abkhazava, Wheldon and Popov all recorded times within one tenth of the overall benchmark.

Sæter also produced a consistent start to the weekend by leading the rookie classification in both sessions. Munoz remained another leading rookie contender after finishing second in the morning and ninth during the afternoon.

Track action resumes on Friday with the weekend’s sole Free Practice session from 08:30 to 09:20 local time. Qualifying 1 will then take place at 16:25, with the 30 drivers split into Groups A and B.

Conclusion

In conclusion, Seewooruthun gave Rodin Motorsport the strongest possible start to the Monza weekend by topping Thursday’s overall order. Chi remained firmly in contention for MP Motorsport, while Ninovic and Wheldon kept both teams near the front.

Nevertheless, with only 0.007s separating the two session leaders and seven drivers covered by less than one tenth overall, Thursday offered only an early indication of the competitive order.

Therefore, Friday’s split-group qualifying session will likely prove decisive as FREC prepares for its first racing action of the weekend at Monza.