Emanuele Olivieri claimed his maiden FIA Formula Regional European Championship (FREC) victory with a commanding performance on home soil at Monza in 2026. Racing for R-ace GP under the ACI Team Italia banner, the Rookie converted pole position into victory in the third and final race of the weekend.
Olivieri also became the first Italian driver to win a Formula Regional European Championship race at Monza since Andrea Kimi Antonelli triumphed in 2023. Behind him, Sebastian Wheldon secured second for MP Motorsport and returned to the championship lead, while Yuki Sano charged from 14th to claim his first podium of the campaign.
Olivieri controls the start before an early Safety Car
Olivieri made a strong launch from pole position and immediately covered the inside line into the opening chicane. Kean Nakamura-Berta followed him through in second, while Gabriel Gomez retained third ahead of Maksimilian Popov and Jan Przyrowski.
However, the race quickly came under neutralised conditions. Contact with Marcus Sæter sent Kai Daryanani into the gravel on the opening lap, prompting race control to deploy the Safety Car. Elsewhere, Francisco Macedo sustained front-wing damage and entered the pits for repairs.
The brief intervention allowed officials to recover Daryanani’s Trident Motorsport car and brought the field back together behind Olivieri.
Nakamura-Berta’s challenge ends in retirement
Race control released the field after only one lap behind the Safety Car. Olivieri managed the restart well and resisted Nakamura-Berta’s initial attempt to challenge for the lead. The PREMA Racing driver attacked again on lap three as the pair approached Lesmo. However, slight contact between the two cars sent Nakamura-Berta off the circuit and ended his race.
The incident triggered a second Safety Car period and dealt a significant blow to Nakamura-Berta’s championship hopes. He had entered Race 3 as the points leader after winning the opening contest of the weekend, but his retirement left him unable to add to his total.
Olivieri retained the lead ahead of Gomez and Popov when racing resumed. Meanwhile, Miguel Costa also retired after an earlier incident ended his afternoon.
Wheldon climbs into podium contention
Olivieri quickly re-established his rhythm and set a provisional fastest lap of 1:49.571 on lap six. Further behind, Wheldon overtook Przyrowski and moved into fourth, placing himself directly behind Gomez and Popov in the podium battle.
Jules Roussel later claimed the final fastest lap honours with a 1:48.271 on lap nine. However, the racing action soon stopped again when Sæter came to a halt, prompting the third Safety Car intervention of the contest.
Race control restarted the race with less than six minutes remaining. Once again, Olivieri controlled the field and opened a small advantage, while Gomez defended second from Popov.
Further back, Race 2 winner Rashid Al Dhaheri attempted to recover from 13th on the grid after a difficult Qualifying 2 session. However, he became involved in an incident with Alexander Abkhazava at the second chicane.
Abkhazava could not continue, and race control deployed the Safety Car for a fourth time.
Final-lap scramble promotes Wheldon and Sano
With the race clock almost expired, officials released the field for one final racing lap. Olivieri produced another strong restart and prevented the slipstreaming cars behind from mounting an immediate challenge.
The battle for the remaining podium positions developed rapidly. Gomez and Popov made slight contact while fighting behind the leader, allowing Wheldon to move through and claim second place.
Sano also capitalised on the disorder. The R-ace GP driver had started 14th but steadily progressed through the field while avoiding the incidents around him. In the closing moments, he passed Gomez and secured third place.
Olivieri crossed the line 1.910 seconds ahead of Wheldon to complete his maiden victory. Sano followed 1.907 seconds behind the American, while Gomez narrowly missed the podium by 0.479 seconds.
Przyrowski finished fifth, only 0.021 seconds ahead of Roussel. Popov dropped to seventh during the final-lap battle, while Salim Hanna, Al Dhaheri and Saqer Almaosherji completed the top ten.
Wheldon returns to the championship lead
Wheldon’s second-place finish returned him to the top of the standings after a challenging start to the Monza weekend. He had crossed the line second in Race 2, but two post-race penalties dropped him to 20th and removed a significant points haul.
The MP Motorsport driver responded in Race 3 by climbing from seventh on the grid and capitalising on the final-lap contact ahead. His result proved particularly valuable after Nakamura-Berta retired on lap three.
Nakamura-Berta now sits seven points behind Wheldon, while Al Dhaheri also surrendered the championship lead after finishing ninth.
Meanwhile, Olivieri completed a breakthrough weekend by adding victory to his second-place result in Race 1. His success also delivered the Rookie win and gave R-ace GP two drivers on the podium after Sano’s recovery from the seventh row.
The official classification included several post-race penalties, although none changed the top four.
2026 FREC: Monza Race 3 results
- #73 Emanuele Olivieri — R-ace GP
- #98 Sebastian Wheldon — MP Motorsport
- #12 Yuki Sano — R-ace GP
- #78 Gabriel Gomez — Rodin Motorsport
- #8 Jan Przyrowski — RPM
- #24 Jules Roussel — CL Motorsport
- #33 Maksimilian Popov — Trident Motorsport
- #88 Salim Hanna — PREMA Racing
- #71 Rashid Al Dhaheri — R-ace GP
- #3 Saqer Almaosherji — G4 Racing
- #95 Alexandre Muñoz — ART Grand Prix
- #28 Zhenrui Chi — MP Motorsport
- #55 Dion Gowda — Van Amersfoort Racing
- #23 Rahim Alibhai — G4 Racing
- #99 Giovanni Maschio — RPM
- #7 Andrea Dupé — Van Amersfoort Racing
- #4 Reza Seewooruthun — Rodin Motorsport
- #60 Tomass Štolcermanis — PREMA Racing
- #2 Alex Ninovic — Rodin Motorsport
- #27 Mattéo Giaccardi — ART Grand Prix
- #69 Reno Francot — CL Motorsport
- #47 Andrija Kostić — Trident Motorsport
- #11 Francisco Macedo — Van Amersfoort Racing
- #42 Kyuho Lee — CL Motorsport
- #19 Kabir Anurag — ART Grand Prix — one lap behind
Retired:
- #15 Alexander Abkhazava — MP Motorsport
- #67 Marcus Sæter — G4 Racing
- #5 Miguel Costa — RPM
- #51 Kean Nakamura-Berta — PREMA Racing
- #87 Kai Daryanani — Trident Motorsport
Penalties
- #2 Alex Ninovic received a five-second time penalty for causing a collision with Jan Przyrowski. He dropped from fifth on the road to P19 and received one penalty point on his licence, bringing his total to seven for the 2026 season.
- #27 Mattéo Giaccardi received a six-second time penalty for using race mode before crossing the finish line for the second time after the Safety Car returned to the pits. He dropped from P19 to P20.
- #42 Kyuho Lee received a 15-second time penalty for using race mode before crossing the finish line for the second time after the Safety Car returned to the pits. He dropped from P11 to P24.
- #11 Francisco Macedo received an eight-second time penalty for using race mode before crossing the finish line for the second time after the Safety Car returned to the pits. The stewards classified him in P23.
- #69 Reno Francot received a 10-second time penalty for leaving the track and rejoining unsafely in front of Dion Gowda. He dropped from P13 to P21 and received two penalty points on his licence, bringing his total to four for the 2026 season.
- #15 Alexander Abkhazava received a five-second time penalty for a false start. As he retired from the race, the stewards converted the sanction into a three-place grid penalty for the next race in which he participates.
- #5 Miguel Costa received a 10-second time penalty for forcing Marcus Sæter off the track. As he retired from the race, the stewards converted the sanction into a five-place grid penalty for the next race in which he participates. Costa also received two penalty points on his licence, bringing his total to four for the 2026 season.
