2026 | FREC | Hockenheim | Race 1 | Przyrowski claims maiden win, Drivers' Championship to be decided in final race

Spread the love

Jan Przyrowski claimed victory in Race 1 of the 2026 FIA Formula Regional European Championship (FREC) finale at Hockenheim, as the Drivers’ Championship fight was left to be decided in the final race of the season.

The RPM driver secured his maiden win of the season after starting from the second row, moving into the lead early and controlling the race across all 18 laps.

The result also saw R-ace GP mathematically secure the Teams’ Championship, while the Drivers’ title remains between Emanuele Olivieri, Kean Nakamura-Berta, Sebastian Wheldon and Rashid Al Dhaheri.

Przyrowski entered the weekend in strong form after topping the overall timesheets across Friday’s two Free Practice sessions. He qualified second in his group in Qualifying 1 before starting Race 1 from the second row.

Olivieri retires from contact with Wheldon

Polesitter Sebastian Wheldon made the strongest start and retained the lead into Turn 1, with championship leader Olivieri alongside him on the front row. The pair made contact at the opening corner, sending Olivieri off the track and forcing the R-ace GP driver into immediate retirement.

Wheldon was able to continue but dropped to the back of the field, eventually finishing 22nd after receiving a 10-second penalty for the opening-lap collision and a further five-second penalty for leaving the track and gaining an advantage over Yuki Sano.

Up front, Przyrowski moved into the lead as PREMA Racing’s Tomass Stolcermanis initially slotted into second before dropping back behind Kean Nakamura-Berta and ART Grand Prix’s Alexandre Munoz.

The Safety Car was then deployed, with the field completing three laps under neutralisation before racing resumed with Przyrowski leading Nakamura-Berta.

Rashid Al Dhaheri quickly began attacking Stolcermanis for fourth, while further back, ART Grand Prix’s Kabir Anurag spun following contact with Oleksandr Bondarev.

Munoz then dropped back at the end of lap five, allowing Stolcermanis and Al Dhaheri to move into third and fourth respectively.

Stolcermanis would later suffer a problem with around two minutes remaining and pull over at the side of the track, promoting Al Dhaheri onto the podium.

Przyrowski continued to control the race at the front, setting the fastest lap and extending his advantage over Nakamura-Berta to more than two seconds.

Kostic into the barriers

The final major incident came when Andrija Kostic crashed his Trident Motorsport car into the barriers, but the race continued through to the chequered flag.

Przyrowski crossed the line to take victory, with Nakamura-Berta finishing second and Al Dhaheri completing the podium.

MP Motorsport’s Zhenrui Chi finished fourth ahead of Trident Motorsport’s Maksimilian Popov, while RPM’s Miguel Costa and PREMA Racing’s Salim Hanna followed in sixth and seventh.

Bondarev finished eighth as the highest-placed Rookie, with Rodin Motorsport’s Reza Seewooruthun and Alex Ninovic completing the top 10.

Despite Olivieri’s retirement, the championship leader remains at the top of the standings heading into the final race. Nakamura-Berta has closed the gap to seven points, while Wheldon sits third, 11 points behind the PREMA driver.

Al Dhaheri is a further 20 points behind Olivieri, leaving all four drivers mathematically in contention with a maximum of 28 points still available across Qualifying 2 and Sunday’s final race.