2026 | FREC | Spielberg | Race 1 | Nakamura-Berta takes the first race victory of the 2026 FREC season

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After a back and forth battle with Rashid Al Dhaheri, Kean Nakamura-Berta took the Race 1 victory in the 2026 FREC Championship in Spielberg.

In Friday’s Qualifying 1 session of the Formula Regional European Championship, Nakamura-Berta secured the first pole position of the 2026 season, topping both qualifying groups with a benchmark lap of 1:25.765.

Al Dhaheri lined up alongside him on the front row after going quickest in Group B with a 1:25.951, setting up a tightly contested Race 1. Just behind, GB3 champion Alex Ninovic started from P3, with Sebastian Wheldon completing the second row in P4.

Al Dhaheri takes the lead on Lap 1 of Race 1

Nakamura-Berta made a clean launch off the line to lead the field into the opening corners, while Olivieri stalled at the start and dropped down the order.

Al Dhaheri wasted no time applying pressure, making his move stick within the opening lap to take the race lead. Behind them, Maschio spun on Lap 1 but managed to recover, albeit losing several seconds to the pack.

At the end of the first lap, it was Al Dhaheri leading Nakamura-Berta, followed by Ninovic, Wheldon and Francot rounding out the top five.

Early Safety Car and restart battles

The race was neutralised on Lap 2 after Giaccardi made contact with Gomez, leaving Gomez stranded on track and bringing out the Safety Car. Tomass Stolcermanis was forced into the pits with debris lodged underneath his PREMA Racing car.

Racing resumed with 22 minutes remaining, and Al Dhaheri led the field back to green. However, a heavy lock-up opened the door for Nakamura-Berta, who briefly reclaimed the lead around Turn 6 before Al Dhaheri fought back into Turn 7 to stay ahead.

Further behind, Wheldon began to apply pressure on Ninovic, eventually making the move stick later in the lap to move into P3.

Lead changes in Race 1

The fight at the front continued to intensify, with Nakamura-Berta reclaiming the lead on the following lap. Wheldon capitalised on the momentum and also found a way past Al Dhaheri, moving up into P2.

Elsewhere, Francot attempted a move on Ninovic for P4, but ran wide and dipped two wheels into the gravel, dropping down the order.

Further back, a tightly packed train began to form from P7 to P10, led by Chi, with Munoz, Abkhazava and Seewooruthun all closely bunched together as the midfield battle intensified.

A second safety car with 16 minutes on the clock

Almaosherji went wide into the gravel, but the front of his G4 Racing machinery dug into the gravel, toppling his car over, bringing out the safety car for a second time.

On the restart with just nine minutes remaining, Nakamura-Berta held firm at the front and began to edge away, while Wheldon struggled to get the same launch behind him.

That opened the door for Ninovic, who made a decisive move to take P2 for Rodin Motorsport. Ninovic set the fastest lap of the race and began closing the gap to drivers ahead.

As the race entered its closing stages, Rashid Al Dhaheri came back into play. Having saved some of his push-to-pass allocation, he began to apply pressure on Wheldon for P3 with just two minutes remaining.

Wheldon, meanwhile, attempted to fight back by going after Ninovic, but ran wide off track in the process. The mistake proved costly, allowing Al Dhaheri to move through and reshuffle the order.

After the chaos, Nakamura-Berta led the race, with Al Dhaheri in P2, Ninovic in P3 and Wheldon in P4. The battle for P5 was fought out between Chi and Francot, with Chi moving into P5.

Heading onto the final lap, Nakamura-Berta held a six-tenths advantage over Al Dhaheri and managed the gap to perfection, crossing the line to secure victory in Race 1 at Red Bull Ring.

Al Dhaheri followed home in P2, while Ninovic completed the podium in P3, capping off an action-packed and closely fought opening race of the weekend.