Rashid Al Dhaheri has taken control of the 2026 FIA Formula Regional European Championship (FREC) after a decisive fifth round at the Hungaroring.
The R-ace GP driver arrived in Hungary third in the standings, 15 points behind Sebastian Wheldon. However, a second place in Race 1 and victory in Race 2 moved him onto 151 points, giving him a 21-point lead over PREMA Racing’s Kean Nakamura-Berta. Wheldon, who retired from both races, drops from the championship lead to third on 121 points.
R-ace GP also strengthened its position in the Teams’ Championship. With Yuki Sano winning Race 1, Al Dhaheri taking Race 2, and Emanuele Olivieri scoring heavily across both contests, the team now leads on 322 points.
Al Dhaheri takes command after Hungaroring victory
Al Dhaheri entered the weekend on 106 points, behind Wheldon and Nakamura-Berta. However, the Hungaroring round quickly shifted the title picture.
The Emirati driver finished second behind teammate Sano in Race 1, moving back into the lead of the standings. He then claimed pole for Race 2 after topping Group A in Qualifying 2 with a 1:37.639, becoming the seventh different polesitter of the season.
From there, Al Dhaheri controlled Race 2 from the front. He led every lap, managed two Safety Car periods, and secured his third victory of the season. That moved him to 151 points and gave him his strongest championship position of the year so far.
Nakamura-Berta climbs to second as Wheldon loses ground
Nakamura-Berta leaves Hungary second in the standings on 130 points. The PREMA Racing driver finished 10th in Race 1 before returning to the podium in Race 2, where he inherited third after Alexander Abkhazava’s post-race penalty.
That result moved Nakamura-Berta ahead of Wheldon, whose weekend unravelled completely. The MP Motorsport driver arrived at the Hungaroring as the championship leader on 121 points, but retirements in both races left him stuck on the same total.
As a result, Wheldon now sits third, 30 points behind Al Dhaheri and nine behind Nakamura-Berta.
Olivieri keeps pressure on the top three
Olivieri continued his strong recent form with another important points haul. After finishing fourth in Race 1, the R-ace GP Rookie was promoted to second in Race 2 following Abkhazava’s penalty.
The Italian now sits fourth in the Drivers’ Standings on 116 points, just five behind Wheldon. His consistency has kept him firmly in touch with the main title fight, while also strengthening R-ace GP’s Teams’ Championship lead.
Reno Francot remains fifth on 84 points after adding a fifth-place finish in Race 2. Meanwhile, Salim Hanna holds sixth on 59 despite leaving the weekend without points.
Ninovic and Sano move closer after strong Hungaroring results
Alex Ninovic made useful progress for Rodin Motorsport. The Australian scored in both races, finishing eighth in Race 1 and fourth in Race 2. He now sits seventh on 57 points, just two behind Hanna.
Sano also made a major move after converting his maiden FREC pole into victory in Race 1. The R-ace GP driver now holds eighth on 55 points, continuing his sharp rise after scoring his first podium at Monza and then winning at the Hungaroring.
Zhenrui Chi remains ninth on 47, while Abkhazava completes the top 10 on 44 after losing a podium finish in Race 2 due to a Race Mode infringement.
2026 FREC Drivers’ Standings after Round 5 at Hungaroring
- Rashid Al Dhaheri — R-ace GP — 151 points
- Kean Nakamura-Berta — PREMA Racing — 130 points
- Sebastian Wheldon — MP Motorsport — 121 points
- Emanuele Olivieri — R-ace GP — 116 points
- Reno Francot — CL Motorsport — 84 points
- Salim Hanna — PREMA Racing — 59 points
- Alex Ninovic — Rodin Motorsport — 57 points
- Yuki Sano — R-ace GP — 55 points
- Zhenrui Chi — MP Motorsport — 47 points
- Alexander Abkhazava — MP Motorsport — 44 points
- Maksimilian Popov — Trident Motorsport — 41 points
- Alexandre Muñoz — ART Grand Prix — 37 points
- Reza Seewooruthun — Rodin Motorsport — 30 points
- Jan Przyrowski — RPM — 29 points
- Gabriel Gomez — Rodin Motorsport — 24 points
- Marcus Sæter — G4 Racing — 23 points
- Tomass Štolcermanis — PREMA Racing — 21 points
- Dion Gowda — Van Amersfoort Racing — 19 points
- Saqer Almaosherji — G4 Racing — 15 points
- Francisco Macedo — Van Amersfoort Racing — 10 points
- Kai Daryanani — Trident Motorsport — 10 points
- Jules Roussel — CL Motorsport — 9 points
- Andrea Dupé — Van Amersfoort Racing — 8 points
- Kabir Anurag — ART Grand Prix — 5 points
- Miguel Costa — RPM — 4 points
- Andrija Kostić — Trident Motorsport — 0 points
- Kyuho Lee — CL Motorsport — 0 points
- Mattéo Giaccardi — ART Grand Prix — 0 points
- Rahim Alibhai — G4 Racing — 0 points
- Enea Frey — CL Motorsport — 0 points
- Giovanni Maschio — RPM — 0 points
- Noah Lisle — CL Motorsport — 0 points
- Thomas Strauven — CL Motorsport — 0 points
Al Dhaheri leads Nakamura-Berta by 21 points, while Wheldon sits another nine points behind in third. Only five points separate Wheldon and Olivieri in the fight for third.
R-ace GP extends Teams’ Championship lead
R-ace GP delivered the standout team performance of the round. Sano won Race 1 from pole, Al Dhaheri finished second and then won Race 2, while Olivieri added fourth and second across the two races.
That dominant Hungaroring return moved R-ace GP from 220 to 322 points. The team now leads MP Motorsport by 110 points, a significant increase from the eight-point gap it held after Monza.
MP Motorsport and PREMA Racing remain close
MP Motorsport endured a difficult round. Wheldon’s double retirement, Abkhazava’s Race 2 penalty, and Chi’s non-scoring weekend left the team on 212 points.
PREMA Racing closed to within two points of MP Motorsport after Nakamura-Berta’s Race 2 podium and Stolcermanis’ fifth place in Race 1. The Italian team now sits third on 210 points, keeping pressure on MP in the fight for second.
Rodin Motorsport remains fourth but moved to 111 points after Seewooruthun’s Race 1 podium, Ninovic’s double points finish, and Gomez’s Race 2 point. CL Motorsport holds fifth on 93 after Francot’s fifth place in Race 2.
2026 FREC Teams’ Standings after Round 5 at Hungaroring
- R-ace GP — 322 points
- MP Motorsport — 212 points
- PREMA Racing — 210 points
- Rodin Motorsport — 111 points
- CL Motorsport — 93 points
- Trident Motorsport — 51 points
- ART Grand Prix — 42 points
- G4 Racing — 38 points
- Van Amersfoort Racing — 37 points
- RPM — 33 points
Hungaroring reshapes the title fight
Round 5 transformed the championship picture. Al Dhaheri now holds a clear lead, while Wheldon’s pointless weekend has moved him from first to third.
Nakamura-Berta remains firmly in contention, and Olivieri has joined the leading group after another consistent weekend. However, the momentum currently sits with R-ace GP, which now leads both championships as the series heads towards Circuit Paul Ricard.
