It’s that time of the year again as we gear up for my sixth season in the Middle East with Formula Regional and F4, and a lot has changed over the last 12 months.
Firstly, the FR championship has been rebranded as the Formula Regional Middle East Trophy under the new FIA regulations for compressed timeline series, held over just a few weeks. But even more than that comes the new Tatuus F326 car – the one we’ve all been waiting for.
After speaking to the drivers in every team at length this week, there are a range of opinions. Some believe the car is significantly better than the previous iteration, some believe the car is heavier to drive and will be tough to understand over the season and some have yet to make their mind up. The teams are of a similar viewpoint – some are delighted that the new car is easier to learn and develop, others are finding difficulties in understanding the evolution. But with only four teams returning from last year, and everyone not having even driven the car until yesterday (Tuesday) these are normal reactions, and a pinch of context is needed before snap judgements.
From a commentator’s point of view, it’s sheer bliss. None of the times from the eight test sessions over the two days give us any answers as to who will be fastest, only a few clues. Many teams have been working on mileage programmes, others on qualifying simulations, some on tyre degradation with the new Pirellis, some are merely trying to see how the car actually runs on different setups, so we’re all still in the dark. I can’t remember being more excited for a new season to begin, especially as the new car looks as sensational as we were hoping it would. Hopefully the dirty air crisis the previous car revealed will be washed away in race trim, but the proof will be in the eating of the pudding rather than the ordering of it.
An early favourite on paper is likely to be Rashid Al Dhaheri, now experienced and on home soil with R-ace GP who won with Tuukka Taponen two years ago. But Kean Nakamura-Berta could emulate Kimi Antonelli in 2023 and win with Mumbai Falcons as a rookie, and his team-mates Sebastian Wheldon and Salim Hanna could help the team to a podium clean-sweep or two, likely as winners themselves. I believe Rodin will be very strong particularly with Reza Seewooruthun and Alex Ninovic, although I doubt Maxim Rehm will struggle to reach the top ten, and each team around them actually has at least one potential race winner in their lineup.
MP Motorsport could see wins from Christian Ho and Alex Abkhazava, and even Alceu Feldmann Neto has a podium or two in him, Van Amersfoort will surely give Dion Gowda and Francisco Macedo the tools for a race win, and you can’t count out Kai Daryanani and Maks Popov at Trident – the team that has won the FIA F3 drivers crown for the last three seasons. Jules Roussel could spring a shock with G4 Racing fresh off the back of his Macau F4 win, and I’d love to see some race winning pedigree from Miguel Costa and Jan Przyrowski at RPM, both as rookies.
And I haven’t even mentioned ART Grand Prix yet. If they’re as strong as last year, I can see Kabir Anurag as a champion. Taito Kato could well be a race winner, but as he’ll need to depart before Lusail to prepare for FIA F3 that sadly counts him out of being champion. Pinnacle Motorsport could be the MVPs of the season – Alex Powell joins them and has been lightning quick. He’s still a rookie at this level, but out of the shadow of the Mercedes academy the lack of intense pressure could be just what he needs to showcase his excellence.
Even the UAE4 Series looks pretty tasty for this year with only a few minor tweaks. The series now loses its FIA status which has switched to the November-December category Formula Trophy, but with EMSO and TopSpeed still running the January-February programme there will barely be any noticeable difference at all. With nearly 40 drivers over the field, expect action aplenty and drama at every turn.
In my opinion, there are realistically seven drivers in the hunt for the crown. Three of them come from Mumbai Falcons – Oleksandr Bondarev is hungrier than ever after the two F1 support race wins here last month as too will his Turkish stablemate Alp Aksoy who can’t be overlooked after an impressive debut last November, and young Niccolo Maccagnani is now ready to step into the limelight as a Ferrari junior. R-ace GP could well be led this year by Elia Weiss fresh from his Porsche Formula E test in the summer bursting with confidence, but you can’t bet against David Cosma who’s been flying for Prema. Scott Kin Lindblom is just getting better all the time as Red Bull’s latest warrior and we cannot forget the home favourite Adam Al Azhari. The Dubai youngster has the chance to triumph where his brother Keanu narrowly missed out, and on present form you’d be an idiot to overlook him.
Of course, there’s still enough talent on the grid for me to be very wrong indeed. The testing times from Emily Cotty indicate that she’s ready to step up and challenge the top five. As one of R-ace GP’s toughest workers, it wouldn’t be a big shock to see her grab overall podiums. Pinnacle have Rowan Campbell-Pilling on board who certainly has experience and wisdom that might just make the difference out of the blocks, Virtuosi have put two young stars at XCEL so we could see sparks from Joseph Smith and Jarrett Clark, and as for Theo Palmer he’s been fast both in Britain and Saudi Arabia recently so pole positions could well come his way, and he’s more than capable of converting them to silverware.
In terms of expectations, a lot of people will be keeping their eye on Prema’s new star – McLaren young driver Cristian Costoya. One of Spain’s best kart racers in recent times, the likeable young talent is already making waves and if anybody can upset the establishment and beat everybody, it’s him. He’s very well supported, and with Warren Hughes already talking him up in the garage we could be in for an epic rookie season from him.
It’ll be an honour once again to be in the commentary box for the season, although sadly this year I’ll be absent from the proceedings at Dubai Autodrome as duty calls in IAME X30 in Asia. Karting is still very close to my heart, and with two back-to-back weekends in Malaysia kick-starting our biggest ever season I refuse to be absent from one of the most important fortnights in Asia’s motorsport calendar. Sara Essa will be on hand to fill my vacancy, and I can assure you all that you’ll be in safe hands. Sara has burning passion, charisma by the bagful and enthusiasm on tap, and she’ll do a great job in my absence. Naturally, the racing will be as magic as always and I really do appreciate being part of the season’s kickstart, so a huge thanks to TopSpeed and Race TV for their continued faith in me.
I’d also like to take this chance to thank everybody who has supported me and messaged me pre-season about their excitement for the season ahead. Compliments are free and flattery costs nothing, so the fact that people would choose to go out of their way to offer it is very humbling. I know perfectly well I’m not everybody’s cup of tea, but I will still do my best to entertain and excite the crowd trackside and on broadcast. TopSpeed have been phenomenal employers over the last five years, and the fact that they keep asking me to return is one of the biggest compliments I could ever receive. “Formula Middle East” has always been the best way to start a season for me, and in 2026 I am so grateful to still be in the hotseat of the commentary box and really keen to see how the drivers crack on with new cars and new challenges ahead.
Live coverage will begin this weekend with qualifying and all three races for both Formula Regional Middle East Trophy and UAE4 Series, for the next two weeks at Yas Marina in Abu Dhabi, a week later at the Dubai Autodrome and then another visit to Lusail in Qatar for our season finale on the second weekend of February.
Let’s do this!
