Oleksandr Bondarev completed a remarkable 2026 FIA Formula Regional European Championship (FREC) debut weekend at Imola with victory in Race 3, while Emanuele Olivieri strengthened his Drivers’ Championship lead with second and Reno Francot completed another podium for CL Motorsport.
Bondarev converted his maiden FREC pole into victory after controlling the race through repeated Safety Car restarts. Olivieri remained close throughout but chose not to force an unnecessary move while his closest championship rival Sebastian Wheldon ran outside the points. Francot, meanwhile, finished third for the second consecutive race after a difficult period before the summer break.
The three podium finishers therefore left Imola with different reasons for satisfaction. Importantly, Bondarev had immediately established himself at the front on debut, Olivieri had transformed the championship picture, while Francot and CL Motorsport had confirmed their return to competitive form.
Bondarev completes remarkable FREC Imola debut
Bondarev had already considered his weekend a success after finishing second in Race 2, but Sunday elevated it further. The Ukrainian claimed pole in Qualifying 2 before making a strong start and retaining the lead throughout Race 3.
“Honestly, after yesterday, I already felt that this would be a weekend to be really proud of, even if it had ended there. But today was simply amazing. I took pole position this morning with a really good lap, and the car felt fantastic. I got off the line well in the race, which was very important because overtaking is quite difficult here. When you are in front, you can control the race a little better. That is exactly what we did, staying in the lead throughout.”
However, the repeated Safety Car periods prevented Bondarev from simply building a gap and controlling the race through outright pace. Instead, he needed to repeatedly manage restarts while competing in the Formula Regional car for the first time.
FREC restarts test Bondarev at Imola
Bondarev admitted that leading restarts in the Formula Regional machinery presented a different challenge from the Formula 4 cars he knew more closely. Nevertheless, each restart proved good enough to prevent Olivieri from creating an immediate opportunity.
“It was my first time leading a restart in this car, and it is much more difficult than in Formula 4. I don’t think my restarts were perfect, but they were good enough to keep the lead.”
The victory completed a weekend which included a runner-up finish, pole position and a maiden FREC win. Bondarev also credited the wider group around him for helping him make such an immediate impact.
“I’m extremely happy with the result. A huge thank you to everyone at Van Amersfoort Racing, Williams, my family and all my sponsors, for supporting me throughout the year.”
Bondarev therefore leaves Imola having turned a one-off debut appearance into one of the strongest weekends produced by any driver during the 2026 season.
Olivieri leaves FREC Imola with championship lead
Olivieri entered the weekend without expecting to emerge as the championship leader, but victory in Race 1 and second in Race 3 transformed his position before the Hockenheim finale.
The R-ace GP driver credited the work completed during the summer break for the pace he and the team showed throughout Imola.
“It was a mega weekend. I wasn’t expecting to leave Imola leading the championship, but the team and I worked extremely hard during the summer break to find the performance that we were able to show here. I think we had the strongest pace. Yesterday’s victory was amazing, while today there wasn’t much more I could have done because of all the Safety Car periods. Even if you have more pace, it is very difficult to make a difference in those circumstances.”
The championship situation also influenced Olivieri’s approach. With Wheldon outside the points, he saw little value in taking a major risk for victory when second already offered a substantial gain.
“I also didn’t want to take too many risks because my championship rival was outside the points, so I focused on securing as many points as possible. Overall, I’m really happy with the weekend.”
Safety Cars remove Olivieri’s late-race strategy
Olivieri believed the repeated Safety Car periods also denied him the opportunity to use Race Mode strategically against Bondarev. Without those neutralisations, he felt he might have saved more deployment and created a stronger late-race attack.
“In the final race, I never really had a clear opportunity to pass Oleksandr. Without all the safety-car periods, I might have had a chance towards the end of the race by using the push-to-pass, because he appeared to be using more of it than I was at the beginning.”
However, each interruption reduced the need for drivers to use their available deployment. Consequently, both leaders reached the closing laps with enough capacity to use the system almost continuously.
“However, with so many safety-car periods, we reached the final two laps with almost all of our push-to-pass still available, so we were effectively using it everywhere and there was no real opportunity to save it and create a proper advantage.”
That left Olivieri relying on pressure rather than a clear performance advantage.
Olivieri praises Bondarev before Hockenheim finale
Olivieri attempted to remain close enough to force an error, but Bondarev resisted the pressure throughout the final sprint.
“I tried to put him under pressure and force him into a mistake, but credit to him because he drove a fantastic race. There was nothing more I could have done.”
The result leaves Olivieri in a considerably stronger position heading into the final round at Hockenheim. Nevertheless, he does not intend to build his approach around a complicated championship strategy.
“I don’t have a particular strategy for Hockenheim. I’ll simply do everything I can, give it my best and see what the outcome is.”
That straightforward approach follows a weekend in which Olivieri combined outright pace with restraint when the championship situation demanded it.
Francot frustrated by limited FREC Imola overtaking
Francot completed the podium but admitted the race offered few genuine opportunities to improve from third. Three Safety Car restarts repeatedly compressed the field, while Imola’s layout still made passing difficult despite the new Race Mode system.
“It was a very difficult race. Having three safety-car restarts made it almost impossible to get anything done. Even with the new Race Mode system, it is still extremely difficult to overtake at this circuit. We were all running in one long train.”
The CL Motorsport driver remained close to Olivieri but could not create a meaningful opportunity to move into second.
“I did everything in my power to move up to second place, but in the end there was very little I could do.”
Nevertheless, Francot viewed the broader weekend far more positively than the individual race result might suggest.
Francot takes double FREC Imola podium into Hockenheim
Francot secured third in both Race 2 and Race 3, ending a difficult spell for CL Motorsport and providing evidence that the team had made meaningful progress during the summer break.
“Nevertheless, I’ll take the positives from this weekend. Two third-place finishes are definitely something to be proud of, especially after the difficult period we had before the summer break. I’m happy with the progress we have made.”
That improvement gives Francot confidence that CL Motorsport can remain in contention when the championship concludes at Hockenheim.
“We can head to Hockenheim with this level of performance and see whether we can fight for another race victory.”
Imola therefore delivered three different forms of momentum across the podium. Bondarev leaves as a winner after an exceptional FREC debut, Olivieri carries a stronger championship position into the finale, while Francot heads to Hockenheim believing CL Motorsport can fight for victory again.
