Sebastian Wheldon put the disappointment of Saturday’s opening race behind him to claim the final pole position of the 2026 FIA Formula Regional European Championship (FREC) season at Hockenheim, while Kean Nakamura-Berta secured the other place on the front row for the championship decider.
Wheldon produced a 1:34.271 for MP Motorsport to top Group A and take his fourth pole of the season, as well as his second of the Hockenheim weekend. Race 1 winner Jan Przyrowski finished just 0.085s behind, but Wheldon responded on his final flying lap to reclaim the top spot and secure two valuable championship points.
Nakamura-Berta meanwhile topped Group B after beating championship leader Emanuele Olivieri by just 0.003s. The PREMA Racing driver enters the final race seven points behind Olivieri, while Wheldon remains in contention 16 points further back. Rashid Al Dhaheri completes the four-way title fight but faces a more difficult task after finishing seventh in Group A.
Wheldon turns page on frustrating Race 1
Wheldon’s second pole of the weekend came less than 24 hours after a difficult opening race in which his title challenge suffered a significant setback.
Having started Race 1 from pole, the MP Motorsport driver was involved in an opening-lap incident with Olivieri before enduring a difficult recovery through the field. That result left Wheldon needing a strong Sunday if he was to keep himself in contention for the championship.
Qualifying provided the response he wanted. Wheldon initially set the Group A benchmark before Przyrowski briefly moved ahead with a 1:34.356 late in the session. With one final opportunity remaining, Wheldon found another 0.085s and delivered the fastest lap of the entire qualifying session.
Rather than dwelling on what had happened the previous day, the American was focused on converting another strong starting position into the result his pace had promised throughout the weekend.
“Yesterday was frustrating, especially given the pace we had, but today is a new day. We’re starting from the front row again, so the aim is to get a good start and see what we can do in the race. The team have given me a really good car. I’ve felt confident since the first Free Practice session, and I can’t thank MP Motorsport enough. Now we need to make the most of it in the race.”
Wheldon’s confidence in the car has been evident throughout the Hockenheim weekend. He topped both qualifying sessions and will once again lead the field away, giving himself the best possible opportunity to end the season with a strong result.
His championship situation, however, means victory alone may not be enough. Olivieri remains ahead in the standings and Nakamura-Berta has moved between the two after his second-place finish in Race 1, leaving Wheldon dependent on the results of his rivals as well as his own performance.
Nakamura-Berta returns to front row at crucial moment
Nakamura-Berta also delivered when it mattered most during the final qualifying session of the season.
Olivieri initially appeared to have control of Group B, lowering the benchmark to a 1:34.406 with just over four minutes remaining. Nakamura-Berta then reduced the gap to only 0.040s before finding further time on his final lap.
His 1:34.403 was enough to take first place in the group by just three thousandths of a second, securing a front-row start alongside Wheldon and, crucially, placing him two positions ahead of Olivieri on the grid.
For Nakamura-Berta, the result came after two weekends in which PREMA Racing had not consistently enjoyed the qualifying performance it wanted. With overtaking difficult throughout the season despite the introduction of push-to-pass, he believes starting at the front remains especially important.
“Qualifying has been the most important part of the weekend throughout this championship. We’ve seen it everywhere: even with the new push-to-pass system, you still need to be at the front. It’s really good to be back on the front row. We’ve struggled a little over the past two weekends, but I think we’ve finally moved in the right direction. I put a few good sectors together, although it was incredibly close out there. I think we maximised what we had, and we’ll give it our best later today.”
The timing of PREMA’s improvement could hardly be more important. Nakamura-Berta entered Hockenheim needing to close the gap to Olivieri and did exactly that in Race 1, finishing second while the championship leader failed to score.
He now enters the finale only seven points behind, with a direct opportunity to challenge for the title from the front row.
Nakamura-Berta starts ahead of championship leader
Starting second also gives Nakamura-Berta an immediate advantage over Olivieri, who will begin the race from fourth after finishing second in Group B.
Przyrowski separates the two championship rivals in third after continuing the strong Hockenheim form that carried him to his maiden FREC victory on Saturday. That places Nakamura-Berta in a position where he can focus initially on Wheldon ahead while knowing that Olivieri must negotiate at least one car before reaching him.
The PREMA driver’s comments nevertheless reflected the fine margins that defined qualifying. His advantage over Olivieri was only 0.003s, meaning the difference between starting on the front and second rows came down to thousandths of a second.
After maximising the opportunity, Nakamura-Berta now has one race remaining to overturn Olivieri’s seven-point advantage.
Wheldon still in title fight despite points deficit
Wheldon faces a more complicated route to the championship, but pole position ensures he remains firmly involved in the final showdown.
The MP Motorsport driver enters the race on 184 points, behind Olivieri on 200 and Nakamura-Berta on 193. His two points from qualifying reduced the deficit and kept him within reach heading into the final race of the year.
His immediate objective is therefore clear: convert pole position into the strongest possible result and allow the championship picture to develop behind him.
That approach also explains Wheldon’s emphasis on making the most of the car MP Motorsport has provided. Having demonstrated front-running speed from the opening Free Practice session onwards, the frustration of Race 1 came from failing to translate that pace into the expected points haul.
Sunday provides one final opportunity to do so.
Four drivers remain in Hockenheim title decider
While Wheldon and Nakamura-Berta occupy the front row, Olivieri remains the driver in control of the championship.
The R-ace GP driver heads into the finale on 200 points and starts fourth, directly behind Przyrowski. A strong result would allow him to secure the championship regardless of the pressure being applied by the drivers ahead.
Al Dhaheri retains an outside mathematical chance on 180 points but faces the most difficult starting position of the four contenders. Seventh in Group A leaves the R-ace GP driver further down the grid and needing a significant recovery alongside favourable results elsewhere.
The championship equation is therefore very different for each contender. Olivieri has the points advantage, Nakamura-Berta has moved himself within seven points and onto the front row, Wheldon starts from pole but needs results elsewhere to fall his way, while Al Dhaheri requires an even greater turnaround.
At the front, however, Wheldon and Nakamura-Berta have given themselves the strongest possible starting positions. Both spoke of maximising what their teams had provided, and both now have one final opportunity to convert qualifying pace into a championship-defining result.
The 2026 FREC season will therefore end with two title contenders sharing the front row, another directly behind them on the second row and the championship still unresolved ahead of the final race at Hockenheim.
