Future superstars set for inaugural Macau Formula 4 Race – FIA F4 World Cup
The inaugural Macau Formula 4 Race – FIA F4 World Cup has attracted an impressive entry of bright young talents set to battle over the Macau Grand Prix weekend on November 13-16.
No fewer than eight champions – or current championship leaders – at Formula 4 level are represented among the entry. Action on the challenging Guia Circuit will begin with practice and qualifying on Thursday November 13 and Friday November 14, followed by a Qualifying Race on Saturday November 15, and the first-ever Macau Formula 4 Race – FIA F4 World Cup on Sunday November 16.
Although this is the first running of the FIA F4 World Cup, the Formula 4 category is no stranger to Macao. F4 cars were used in the Macau Grand Prix itself in 2020, 2021 and 2022, and there was an international race for the formula in 2023.
Among the favourites for honours this year must be the drivers from the supremely competitive Italian F4 Championship. Anglo-Japanese racer Kean Nakamura-Berta was crowned 2025 Italian Formula 4 Champion this past weekend. The 17-year-old also leads the Euro 4 mini-series, which is fought out over three events, and has claimed a total of 10 race wins in F4 this year.
But Nakamura-Berta was beaten in the F4 Middle East Championship at the beginning of the year by young Italian Emanuele Olivieri. The 17-year-old is also on the entry list for the Macau Formula 4 – FIA F4 World Cup and sits in sixth place in the Italian standings. So too is American Sebastian Wheldon, the son of the late Indy 500 winner Dan Wheldon. At the age of 16, Wheldon has taken five race wins this season across Italian F4, in which he lies third, and Euro 4 in his first year of European racing. He is affiliated to Andretti Global, the team with which his father became an IndyCar legend.
Continuing the theme of IndyCar heroes, the son of two-time Indy 500 winner Takuma Sato is back for his second visit to Macao. Rintaro Sato last year contested the Macau Grand Prix – FIA FR World Cup, but has this year raced in the French F4 Championship in which he finished ninth.
Sato is part of a very strong delegation from the close-fought French series. Alexandre Munoz, in his second season of F4, was the star of the championship, and the 16-year-old claimed the title with five race victories. Jules Roussel, meanwhile, was still in title contention going to the final round, but there he slipped to third. Another leading contender from this series is Thai-French talent Rayan Caretti, another race winner who claimed fourth in the standings.
Yet another F4 champion from Europe joins the party for Macao in the form of exciting Red Bull Junior Fionn McLaughlin. The Irish talent claimed the British F4 Championship crown this year in his first season of car racing with five race victories, and his graduation to the FIA Formula 3 Championship for 2026 has already been confirmed. Another winner from the British series venturing to Macao is Thomas Bearman, the younger brother of Haas Formula 1 rookie star Ollie Bearman.
One more to make waves in the British F4 Championship was Indian Ary Bansal – he will be the youngest driver competing in the race this year, since he turns 16 only just before the event. Bansal was a race winner in his partial programme in F4; his priority was the GB4 series, which he clinched in style at the final round.
Finally from the European scene, young Argentinian Genaro Trappa was the man to beat in his first full season out of South America in the Central European Zone F4 championship. Six race wins were enough for Trappa to be crowned in a series that encompasses races in Austria, the Czech Republic and Slovakia, and he has also competed in the Spanish championship prior to making the trip to Macao.
Trappa raced in the Brazilian F4 Championship in 2024, and in Macao he will come up once more against Ethan Nobels. The Belgian-born Brazilian, brother of F1 Academy racer Aurélia, has remained in his domestic series this year, in which he sits sixth with three rounds remaining.
Two Chinese F4 champions are entered for the Macau Formula 4 Race – FIA F4 World Cup. Macau driver Tiago Rodrigues claimed the 2023 crown, and stepped up to Formula Regional for last year’s Macau Grand Prix – FIA FR World Cup as well as the Middle East series early in 2025. This season’s champion is Zhang Shimo, the Hong Kong, China driver returning from a stint in Europe to claim the crown with no fewer than 11 wins from the 16 races held to date. His runner-up is Kimi Yu Tsai Chan, who is also on the entry list but will first look to consolidate his position in the final championship race weekend.
The super-consistent Wang Yuzhe is another to have enjoyed a strong season in China, and also competed in the Middle East series. He too is entered for the race, as is Macao’s Marcus Cheong Man Hei, who has made one appearance in the Chinese series this year but did race in the F4 event in Macau in 2023.
Further top-level Asian representation in the comes in the form of Itsuki Sato. No relation to Rintaro or Takuma, he is currently leading the highly-competitive Japanese F4 championship with one round remaining, and for good measure he has just made a sensational race-winning debut in the Indian F4 series. From South Korea, ex-karting star Lee Kyuho has had a successful maiden season in cars, scoring points in the Middle East and Spanish F4 championships.
With an entry of this calibre, the Macau Formula 4 Race – FIA F4 World Cup is certain to be a thrilling addition to the Macau Grand Prix programme, and another chance for fans to spot the sport’s future superstars.
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Macau Grand Prix Organizing Committee