FIA announces new grassroots Formula championship

Written by Lorenzo Baer, Edited by Vyas Ponnuri

FREC takes the place of the current FRECA in the annual Formula Regional calendar | Credit: FIA

On Thursday, 31st August, the International Automobile Federation (FIA) announced the creation of a new European junior formula championship for 2026, set to replace the current Formula Regional European Championship by Alpine (FRECA). 

Termed the Formula Regional European Championship, or simply FREC, the championship will be a spiritual successor of the current FRECA, which currently holds the position of the main regional racing championship in Europe. 

Until 2025, much of the FIA's presence in organising Formula Regional events was linked solely on sanctioning and delimiting more technical aspects of the category; but great changes inside the institution structure in recent years prompted the Federation into a greater  participation in decisions regarding the competition, hoping to acquire a stronger and more present voice in grassroots Formula. 

In an official statement, the FIA asserted that the “initiative is fully aligned with the Federation’s mission to ensure a clear, accessible, and effective path for young drivers, from national FIA Formula 4 championships to FIA Formula Regional Championships, and ultimately to FIA Formula 3”.

For the transition from FRECA to FREC, the FIA hopes to maintain the cooperation agreements for the organisation of the championship, which are currently shared between chassis maker Ligier Automotive and the Automobile Club d'Italia (ACI), the governing body of the series, to date. 

With the partnership of Alpine, Pirelli and ACI, the FIA hopes to give new impetus to the development of Formula Regional in Europe | Credit: FIA

All signing parties of the new FREC have agreed on the key terms through a non-binding Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), with the objective of finalising the long-form agreement and the strategic plan before the start of the inaugural season in 2026.

Tullio Del Sette, current Special Commissioner of the institution, spoke on behalf of the ACI: “With the official entry of the Formula Regional European Championship into the FIA series, the Italian Federation reaffirms its leading role in the development of international motorsport. This is a prestigious recognition of the work carried out by ACI and the effectiveness of our organizational model. 

“This step up in category enhances the value of the series on a global scale, offering drivers a technical and sporting context comparable to that of higher-level championships, while also contributing to the development of future champions,” he concluded.

What we know so far about the FREC

The FIA will assume the sporting, technical and safety activities, and will support ACI in the overall strategy of the Championship, while Alpine will play a special role in the new tournament, providing technical support to the teams involved. This will primarily be through logistics services for the new GEN2 Alpine chassis that will debut in the 2026 FREC. 

Although not officially revealed to the public, the car is being jointly developed by Alpine and Mygale, after the latter was acquired by Alpine earlier this year. 

The 2026 chassis is developed by Alpine, which replaces the Tatuus models used by FRECA since 2019 | Credit: FIA

However, some documents already released by the FIA state that the vehicle will weigh between 650 and 700 kg, have a width of 1850 mm, and a wheelbase between 2800 and 3100 mm. A new generation of Renault-Alpine-Oreca engines is also expected to power the cars in the debut FREC season.

Pirelli tyres will also be used in the revamped championship, the Italian company establishing a strategic partnership with the FIA to supply not only FREC, but all Formula Regional championships sanctioned by the institution around the world from 2026 onwards.

The new tournament, despite not deeply reshaping the general Formula Regional calendar, appears as an interesting take, since it assumes the place of FRECA, a competition gaining great acceptance since its first edition back in 2019. 

After seven years and several success stories, FRECA says goodbye to the world motorsport scene, making way for the new FREC | Credit: ACI

Over the past seven seasons, more than 160 drivers have competed in the series, which served as the first international stage for the emergence of now well-known names in the sport, such as the current F1 drivers Andrea Kimi Antonelli, Isack Hadjar, Gabriel Bortoleto, and Franco Colapinto.

The FREC will be part of the FIA Global Pathway from Karting to Formula One, a unified system that seeks to integrate all categories of single-seater open-wheeler disciplines into a single ladder, aiming to promote continuous development for future motorsport talents.