Salim Hanna converted pole position into his maiden FREC victory in Race 2 at Imola, becoming the ninth different winner of the 2026 season after controlling the reverse-grid encounter from start to finish.
The PREMA Racing driver survived three Safety Car periods and repeated pressure from series debutant Oleksandr Bondarev to win by 0.352s. Bondarev delivered an outstanding second place for Van Amersfoort Racing and secured Rookie honours, while Reno Francot completed the podium for CL Motorsport and returned to the top three for the first time since his home round at Zandvoort in May.
The championship fight also tightened behind them. Sebastian Wheldon finished eighth and took one point out of Emanuele Olivieri’s advantage after the Race 1 winner came home ninth, leaving only two points between the leading pair. Rashid Al Dhaheri finished sixth and Kean Nakamura-Berta 10th to keep all four title contenders firmly involved.
Grid penalties alter order behind reverse-grid front runners
Race 2 used the partially reversed order from Friday’s opening Qualifying session, putting Hanna on pole alongside CL Motorsport’s Jules Roussel. Bondarev started third ahead of Kabir Anurag, with Francot and Alexander Abkhazava occupying the third row before Al Dhaheri and Mattéo Giaccardi.
Several penalties affected the starting order further back. Marcus Sæter started from the rear following his Qualifying disqualification, while Tomass Štolcermanis carried a three-place grid drop and therefore started 14th rather than 11th. Andrea Dupé and Andrija Kostić also served five-place grid penalties.
Those changes promoted Olivieri to 11th, with Maksimilian Popov starting 12th and Nakamura-Berta 13th. The leading title contenders therefore began from the midfield while Hanna had clear track ahead for the start.
Hanna controls start as Bondarev challenges Roussel
Hanna immediately made the most of pole and retained the lead when the lights went out, while Roussel secured second from the outside of the front row. Bondarev settled into third and immediately remained within striking distance as the leading trio began to establish itself.
Francot made early progress behind them, passing Anurag at the start of Lap 2 to take fourth. Abkhazava held sixth ahead of Al Dhaheri, while Giaccardi and Wheldon remained close behind as the midfield compressed during the opening laps.
Olivieri began his own recovery on Lap 3 by overtaking Alexandre Munoz at Tamburello to move into 10th. At the front, Bondarev then attacked Roussel and completed the move for second, putting the debutant directly behind Hanna.
Popov and Kostić trigger first Safety Car
Bondarev had little opportunity to immediately attack the leader because Trident Motorsport teammates Popov and Kostić both went off during the same sequence and became stranded in the gravel.
Their incidents brought out the first Safety Car and erased the small gaps that had developed during the opening laps. Both ultimately retired after completing only three laps, leaving Hanna facing his first restart with Bondarev immediately behind.
Hanna handled the restart cleanly and maintained first, although Bondarev stayed close enough to apply pressure. Further back, Olivieri and Wheldon continued their progress and moved into eighth and ninth respectively, bringing the two leading championship contenders together on track behind Al Dhaheri.
Second Safety Car interrupts Bondarev challenge
The next interruption followed contact between Zhenrui Chi and Yuki Sano deeper in the field. Sano came off worse from the incident and became stranded in the gravel, forcing Race Control to deploy the Safety Car for a second time.
Racing resumed with just over 10 minutes remaining and Bondarev again attempted to stay close enough to threaten Hanna. The PREMA driver resisted the pressure and retained control, while the battles behind continued to intensify as the remaining green-flag running became increasingly limited.
Hanna’s ability to repeatedly manage the restarts proved important. Despite Bondarev having enough pace to remain close throughout the race, the Ukrainian never found the opportunity required to take first away from the Colombian.
Al Dhaheri and Wheldon gain positions in title battle
At the beginning of Lap 13, Abkhazava made a small mistake at Rivazza and opened the door for Al Dhaheri. The R-ace GP driver took advantage to move into sixth, giving himself valuable points after retiring from Race 1 following his opening-lap contact with Štolcermanis.
The championship battle then changed directly behind. Wheldon overtook Olivieri to take eighth, pushing the Italian back to ninth and putting himself in position to reduce the championship deficit by one point. Nakamura-Berta followed in 10th after starting 13th.
Francot also made a decisive move at the front of the midfield battle, passing teammate Roussel for third. That overtake ultimately secured his first podium since Zandvoort, while Roussel remained fourth ahead of Anurag.
Third Safety Car leaves one-lap shootout
Marcus Sæter became the next driver to go off, prompting the third Safety Car and once again neutralising the race. The interruption left only enough time for a single racing lap before the chequered flag.
Hanna again timed the restart successfully and denied Bondarev a final opportunity to take the lead. The PREMA driver completed 16 laps in 33:00.850 to take his first FREC victory, while Bondarev finished only 0.352s behind on his championship debut.
Francot crossed the line another 0.488s behind Bondarev to take third, with Roussel fourth and Anurag fifth. Hanna also recorded the fastest lap with a 1:41.907 on Lap 13, completing an impressive Race 2 performance.
Bondarev takes remarkable podium on FREC debut
Bondarev’s second place capped an impressive introduction to Formula Regional machinery. The Williams F1 Team Academy driver had already topped his first Pre-Event Test session on Thursday and continued to feature near the front throughout Free Practice and Qualifying.
Starting third in the reverse-grid race gave him his first opportunity to fight directly for a FREC podium. After overtaking Roussel, he remained close to Hanna through repeated restarts and ultimately finished less than four tenths behind the winner.
His second place also secured Rookie honours on a weekend where Olivieri had already mathematically wrapped up the season-long Rookie title. Bondarev’s result represented Van Amersfoort Racing’s strongest finish of the afternoon and gave the Ukrainian immediate evidence of his competitiveness at Formula Regional level.
Wheldon closes championship gap to two points
Behind the podium battle, Al Dhaheri finished sixth ahead of Abkhazava, while Wheldon’s eighth place proved significant for the Drivers’ Championship.
Olivieri followed in ninth, meaning Wheldon took one point out of the advantage the R-ace GP driver established through his Race 1 victory. Only two points now separate the pair entering Sunday, while Nakamura-Berta’s 10th and Al Dhaheri’s sixth keep both within striking distance.
Štolcermanis recovered from 14th on the grid to finish 11th, ahead of René Lammers, Reza Seewooruthun and Giaccardi. Gabriel Gomez completed the top 15, while Munoz endured a difficult race and eventually finished 21st after starting ninth.
2026 FREC Imola Race 2 results
- #88 Salim Hanna — PREMA Racing — 33:00.850
- #11 Oleksandr Bondarev — Van Amersfoort Racing — +0.352s
- #69 Reno Francot — CL Motorsport — +0.840s
- #24 Jules Roussel — CL Motorsport — +1.503s
- #19 Kabir Anurag — ART Grand Prix — +2.269s
- #71 Rashid Al Dhaheri — R-ace GP — +2.534s
- #15 Alexander Abkhazava — MP Motorsport — +2.905s
- #98 Sebastian Wheldon — MP Motorsport — +3.293s
- #73 Emanuele Olivieri — R-ace GP — +3.693s
- #51 Kean Nakamura-Berta — PREMA Racing — +4.024s
- #60 Tomass Štolcermanis — PREMA Racing — +4.314s
- #22 René Lammers — CL Motorsport — +4.733s
- #4 Reza Seewooruthun — Rodin Motorsport — +5.068s
- #27 Mattéo Giaccardi — ART Grand Prix — +5.373s
- #78 Gabriel Gomez — Rodin Motorsport — +5.734s
- #55 Dion Gowda — Van Amersfoort Racing — +6.009s
- #8 Jan Przyrowski — RPM — +6.354s
- #99 Giovanni Maschio — RPM — +6.704s
- #5 Miguel Costa — RPM — +6.967s
- #87 Kai Daryanani — Trident Motorsport — +7.344s
- #95 Alexandre Munoz — ART Grand Prix — +7.712s
- #23 Rahim Alibhai — G4 Racing — +7.937s
- #67 Marcus Sæter — G4 Racing — +8.276s
- #7 Andrea Dupé — Van Amersfoort Racing — +8.560s
- #2 Alex Ninovic — Rodin Motorsport — +9.971s
- #28 Zhenrui Chi — MP Motorsport — +11.803s
Retired: Saqer Almaosherji, Yuki Sano, Maksimilian Popov and Andrija Kostić.
Grid penalties and notes: Sæter started from the back following his Qualifying disqualification. Štolcermanis served a three-place grid penalty, while Dupé and Kostić each served five-place grid drops.
