The winner of the 2026 F4 Central European Zone (CEZ) championship will earn a test in a Eurocup-3 car as part of a new opportunity designed to support progression up the single-seater ladder.
The championship has confirmed that its eventual title winner will complete a test day with one of Eurocup-3’s leading teams before the end of the year. Details of the team and test date will be announced at a later stage.
The prize arrives as the series prepares for its penultimate round at Autodrom Brno, with the title battle remaining open between several drivers.
Four drivers lead close F4 CEZ title fight
Elia Weiss leads the group of primary title contenders heading towards Brno, with David Walther, Teo Borenstein and Max Karhan also firmly involved.
Only 45 points separate the leading four drivers, leaving significant scope for the order to change during the penultimate weekend. A maximum of 75 points remains available during each race weekend, meaning the championship cannot yet be reduced to only those at the very front.
Ninth-placed Francesco Pio Coppola also remains mathematically capable of winning the title. However, Brno should significantly narrow the number of drivers still in contention before the championship heads into its final round.
The close battle gives additional value to the newly announced prize, with the eventual champion receiving an opportunity to sample machinery from the next stage beyond F4.
Eurocup-3 test offers step up from F4 machinery
The champion will drive Eurocup-3’s current-generation Dallara 326 during the test.
The car uses the Toyota TGE33 1.6-litre turbocharged three-cylinder engine, prepared by Japanese engineering company TOM’S. ENGISER 101 handles trackside maintenance of the power units used across the championship.
For the F4 CEZ champion, the test will provide an opportunity to experience a faster and more technically advanced single-seater after competing in F4 machinery throughout the season.
F4 CEZ promoter Josef Křenek believes the test can give the eventual champion an important insight into the demands of the next level.
“I think it is a great opportunity for the F4 CEZ champion to experience a new and faster car, which represents one of the ideal next steps in a driver’s career,” said F4 CEZ promoter Josef Křenek. “We arranged this test in cooperation and the support of Eurocup-3, and we are very grateful for the opportunity to give the best driver in our championship an insight into what the next stage of his career could look like.”
Eurocup-3 strengthens link with F4 CEZ
Eurocup-3 and F4 CEZ are both contesting their fourth seasons in 2026, while several drivers have already demonstrated a pathway between the two championships.
Current Eurocup-3 competitor Gino Trappa won the F4 CEZ title in 2025 before stepping up for this season. That progression gives the 2026 champion a recent example of how experience in the Central European championship can translate into a move further up the junior ladder.
Eurocup-3 has also produced several drivers who subsequently progressed into higher-profile categories. Previous champion Esteban Masson later became an ELMS champion, while Christian Ho and Mattia Colnaghi both progressed to F3.
The test therefore gives the F4 CEZ champion an opportunity to assess a category that has increasingly positioned itself as one of the available routes between F4 and the higher levels of single-seater racing.
Brno could reshape fight for Eurocup-3 test
The identity of the driver who earns the test remains far from settled, with the 45-point spread across the leading four ensuring Brno could dramatically alter the championship picture.
Weiss, Walther, Borenstein and Karhan currently hold the strongest positions, but the amount of points still available means mistakes or mechanical problems could quickly change the order. Coppola and other mathematically eligible drivers also retain an outside possibility until the gap becomes too large.
The Eurocup-3 test adds another incentive to the championship battle beyond the F4 CEZ title itself. It provides the winner with practical experience in faster machinery while also allowing one of the series’ leading Eurocup-3 teams to assess the champion directly.
F4 CEZ will announce the team involved and the date of the test in due course, with the session scheduled to take place before the end of 2026.
