Driving for Dutch squad MP Motorsport, Wheldon built on his session-topping pace from Thursday’s collective test and Friday’s opening Free Practice to go quickest among the Group B contenders in Qualifying 1.
Kean Nakamura-Berta topped Group A but will start Race 1 from the back of the grid after being disqualified from the qualifying results due to a parc fermé infringement. His Prema Racing team-mate, Tomass Štolcermanis, was handed the same penalty and will also line up at the rear of the field.
“Overall, it was a really solid lap,” 17-year-old Wheldon (pictured below) said. “It was a shame to make a mistake in the final corner on my last flying lap, but I’m very happy with the result. I can only imagine how the team is feeling, as this is their home circuit, and securing pole position here makes it even more special.”
Rodin Motorsport’s Brazilian driver Gabriel Gomez was the first driver to break the 1m31s barrier in Group A before Nakamura-Berta (pictured below) moved to the top of the timesheets with a 1m30.856s. The Briton then found more than half a second on his next attempt, posting a 1m30.136s around the 4.259-kilometre track with just over two minutes remaining. Behind Nakamura-Berta, Italian Emanuele Olivieri (R-ace GP) climbed to second place, but was edged out in the closing moments by Latvian Stolcermanis, whose 1m30.334s completed a Prema one-two. Championship leader Reno Francot (CL Motorsport) secured the fourth-fastest time at his home circuit.
In Group B, Wheldon was immediately on the pace, posting a 1m29.943s and becoming the only driver to go under the 1m30s barrier. Colombia’s Salim Hanna (Prema Racing) secured second place with a lap of 1m30.071s. Frenchman Alexandre Munoz (ART Grand Prix) was third quickest as MP Motorsport pair Alexander Abkhazava (Kazakhstan) and Zhenrui Chi (China) rounded out the top five.
The first of the weekend’s two 30-minute races gets under way at 16:45 local time and will be streamed live on YouTube as well as being broadcast by 70 networks across 200 territories worldwide.
Positioned one step above Formula 4 in the FIA Single-Seater Pyramid, FIA FREC caters exclusively for the second-generation Formula Regional Tatuus T 326. All-new for 2026, the Pirelli-equipped car has been developed by the Italian constructor in partnership with the FIA and follows the aerodynamic philosophy deployed in Formula 1 to encourage closer racing. Its design also represents another step in terms of performance and safety.
The second-generation Formula Regional Tatuus T 326 features the new Race Mode push to pass system, which allows drivers to trigger full engine performance for a period of time when activated by a button pressed from inside the cockpit. The amount of time depends on how many times the button is pressed but each driver has a total of 100 seconds available per race. Race Mode’s introduction for the 2026 FIA FREC season is the result of extensive research and development managed by the FIA.
