MP Motorsport’s #98 Sebastian Wheldon delivered a composed drive at Zandvoort to win Race 1 of the 2026 FIA Formula Regional European Championship (FREC) weekend. The American driver started from pole and, despite intense pressure from PREMA Racing’s #88 Salim Hanna in the closing laps, crossed the line first to secure MP Motorsport’s first FREC victory on home soil.
Grid penalties reshape the front pack for 2026 FREC Race 1 at Zandvoort
After Qualifying 1, Wheldon lined up on pole alongside Hanna. However, PREMA Racing’s #51 Kean Nakamura-Berta lost his front-row start after he carried penalties from the Spielberg opener. Race officials converted those unserved penalties into a ten-place grid drop, which pushed him down to P12.
Meanwhile, PREMA Racing’s #60 Tomass Štolcermanis and MP Motorsport’s #15 Alexander Abkhazava started from the second row and immediately placed themselves in contention for the lead battle.
Štolcermanis launches into the lead
When the lights went out, Wheldon made a strong launch, but Hanna and Štolcermanis attacked immediately. Štolcermanis made the best start of the leading trio and swept into the lead ahead of Wheldon.
However, trouble quickly broke out behind them. At Turn 8, ART Grand Prix’s #19 Kabir Anurag clipped RPM’s #5 Miguel Costa. Anurag ran through the gravel and rejoined, but Costa stopped at the side of the circuit. Soon after, RPM suffered another blow when #99 Giovanni Maschio retired with apparent rear-left damage.
As a result, Race Control deployed the Safety Car and halted the early battles.
Wheldon strikes back at the restart
When racing resumed with around 25 minutes remaining, Štolcermanis locked up and opened the door for Wheldon. The MP Motorsport driver seized the opportunity, reclaimed the lead and immediately began to build a gap.
Behind him, R-ace GP’s #71 Rashid Al Dhaheri and Rodin Motorsport’s #2 Alex Ninovic made contact while fighting for position, although both drivers avoided retirement. At the same time, Hanna passed Štolcermanis, while R-ace GP’s #73 Emanuele Olivieri overtook Abkhazava to move into fourth.
Further back, Nakamura-Berta tangled with R-ace GP’s #12 Yuki Sano, which sent Sano through the gravel. Race Control later gave Nakamura-Berta a 10-second penalty for causing the collision.
Olivieri joins the podium fight in 2026 FREC Race 1 at Zandvoort
As the race reached its halfway point, Wheldon continued to lead, but Olivieri began to charge. The R-ace GP driver attacked Hanna into Turn 1 and moved into second place. However, Hanna refused to let him escape and soon reclaimed P2.
Meanwhile, CL Motorsport’s #69 Reno Francot climbed into the top five after passing Abkhazava. He then continued his progress and overtook Štolcermanis for fourth with a clean move into Turn 1.
At the same time, Race Control investigated the starts of Štolcermanis, Ninovic and Van Amersfoort Racing’s #11 Francisco Macedo. Nevertheless, Macedo kept his focus on the race and battled Rodin Motorsport’s #4 Reza Seewooruthun before making his way forward.
Al Dhaheri charges as Štolcermanis fades
Štolcermanis continued to lose ground in the final ten minutes. First, Abkhazava passed him. Then Al Dhaheri closed in and attacked for sixth. Although Štolcermanis tried to respond into Turn 1, Al Dhaheri defended strongly and pulled away.
Soon afterwards, Race Control gave Abkhazava a five-second penalty for his earlier contact with Al Dhaheri. That penalty later changed the order behind the podium.
Further back, Macedo continued his rise. He passed CL Motorsport’s #24 Jules Roussel and then became the main winner in a close fight involving Rodin Motorsport’s #78 Gabriel Gomez, Seewooruthun and Roussel.
Hanna pressures Wheldon to the flag
In the final five minutes, Hanna slashed Wheldon’s advantage to under a second and placed the leader under heavy pressure. However, Wheldon absorbed the attack and kept his car ahead through the final sector.
Behind them, Ninovic closed on MP Motorsport’s #28 Zhenrui Chi, but Chi defended well and held the position. Meanwhile, tyre degradation and lock-ups added further tension across the field.
Ultimately, Wheldon kept his composure and crossed the line first. Hanna finished second after a determined chase, while Olivieri completed the podium for R-ace GP.
2026 FREC: Zandvoort Race 1 results (Provisional)
- #98 Sebastian Wheldon – MP Motorsport
- #88 Salim Hanna – PREMA Racing
- #73 Emanuele Olivieri – R-ace GP
- #69 Reno Francot – CL Motorsport
- #71 Rashid Al Dhaheri – R-ace GP
- #2 Alex Ninovic – Rodin Motorsport
- #60 Tomass Štolcermanis – PREMA Racing
- #15 Alexander Abkhazava – MP Motorsport
- #28 Zhenrui Chi – MP Motorsport
- #55 Dion Gowda – Van Amersfoort Racing
- #33 Maksimilian Popov – Trident Motorsport
- #11 Francisco Macedo – Van Amersfoort Racing
- #78 Gabriel Gomez – Rodin Motorsport
- #4 Reza Seewooruthun – Rodin Motorsport
- #24 Jules Roussel – CL Motorsport
- #27 Matteo Giaccardi – ART Grand Prix
- #3 Saqer Al Maosherji – G4 Racing
- #12 Yuki Sano – R-ace GP
- #7 Andrea Dupé – Van Amersfoort Racing
- #87 Kai Daryanani – Trident Motorsport
- #95 Alexandre Munoz – ART Grand Prix
- #8 Jan Przyrowski – RPM
- #51 Kean Nakamura-Berta – PREMA Racing
- #67 Marcus Sæter – G4 Racing
- #9 Thomas Strauven – CL Motorsport
- #19 Kabir Anurag – ART Grand Prix
- #23 Rahim Alibhai – G4 Racing
- #47 Andrija Kostić – Trident Motorsport
DNF:
- #99 Giovanni Maschio – RPM
- #5 Miguel Costa – RPM
