The Formula Winter Series has already attracted a great deal of interest in its first winter. Many teams have already registered their ambitions to participate next season. The Formula Winter Series is already publishing the calendar for next winter.
Six stations instead of four, Aragón new in the programme
Whereas the debut season only included four stations, the Formula Winter Series will be held at six international FIA circuits in the 2023/2024 season. Robin Selbach from the promoter Gedlich Racing: “We are responding to the demand from the teams. Some want to race as early as December, others prefer January to March. We want to do justice to everyone with our calendar. So that the teams don’t have to take part in all the events in order to become champions, there are strike results. “A new addition to the programme is Motorland Aragón, another circuit with FIA Grade 1 status. “This is also due to popular demand,” says Selbach.
Three races per event
The driving time is also new. The series, which was held on just one race day last season, now runs over two days per event. “This gives us more room in the schedule, which we acknowledge with one more race and thus more driving time,” says Selbach. The race duration per race will be 30 minutes, as before.
Strike results for an optimal personal calendar
Because not all teams have the option of taking part in all six stations, the FWS has introduced three strike results. This means that you can skip an event if necessary and still be competitive. “The ambitions of our teams and drivers and teams are very different,” says Racing Series Coordinator Stefan Lehner, “some people do the FWS as training under live conditions, others are determined to win the title. The rule on strike-off results keeps all options open. We have responded to the demand of the drivers and their teams.
Lots of test time before the races, but also on other dates
In addition to pure racing, it is particularly important for young drivers to drive lots of test kilometres. “The Formula Winter Series,” says Lehner, “offers two test days in the immediate run-up to the races, each with around 120 minutes of test time per day. In addition, we have 14 further test days in the programme – all of them on Formula 1-relevant international tracks. The test days can be booked as an option.
Registration or pre-registration possible as of now
Interested teams and drivers can register or book immediately.Registration is possible for single races or for the whole season.
DECEMBER
30/01 DEC 2023 Formula Race Test Aragón
04/05 DEC 2023 Formula Race Test Valencia
14/15 DEC 2023 Formula Race Test Portimao
16/17 DEC 2023 FWS Portimao
JANUARY
11/12 JAN 2024 Formula Race Test Estoril
13/14 JAN 2024 FWS Estoril
16/17 JAN 2024 Formula Race Test Jerez
FEBRUARY
08/09 FEB 2024 Formula Race Test Jerez
10/11 FEB 2024 FWS Jerez
15/16 FEB 2024 Formula Race Test Valencia
17/18 FEB 2024 FWS Valencia
26/27 FEB 2024 Formula Race Test Valencia
MARCH
29/01 MAR 2024 Formula Race Test Aragón
02/03 MAR 2024 FWS Aragón
05/06 MAR 2024 Formula Race Test Barcel. (tbc)
07/08 MAR 2024 Formula Race Test Barcel. (tbc)
09/10 MAR 2024 FWS Barcelona (tbc)
23/24 MAR 2024 Formula Race Test Imola (tbc)
26/27 MAR 2024 Formula Race Test Misano (tbc)
Robin Selbach
robin@gedlich-racing.com
+49 172 7220111
Stefan Lehner
stefan@gedlich-racing.com
+49 173 5252621
US Racing driver Zachary David wins both races at the Formula Winter Series season finale in Barcelona – Gianmarco Pradel wins the Rookie classification.
US Racing quintuple victory – debut victory of Zachary David
The first round of the Formula Winter Series ends with a victory for Zachary David. In his debut in the race series, the US Racing driver fights his way to victory from third on the grid. The up-and-coming driver, who competes under a Maltese licence, ultimately came out on top in some impressive duels and multiple battles with his teammates. Second place went to his Australian team-mate Gianmarco Pradel, who thus took a big step towards the runner-up championship and winning the rookie classification. Ruiqi Liu from China completed the Top 3.
For US Racing, the race ended with the perfect result. The successful racing team of Gerhard Ungar and Ralf Schumacher can be happy about a five-fold victory. Frederik Lund and Akshay Bohra completed the team’s successful run in the other positions, which, however, was marked by tough team-internal battles.
Two Safety Car interruptions
After a crash of Amna Al Qubaisi (GRS Racing) and a technical problem of Lola Lovinfosse (Campos Racing), the experienced race director Werner Aichinger had to send the safety car onto the GP circuit twice, which brought the field close together again and again and made for exciting as well as unpredictable restarts.
Another victory for David
Zachary David also triumphed in the second service at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya. The Formula Winter Series debutant came from pole position on Sunday afternoon to win ahead of Singapore’s Akshay Bohra, who also made his debut in the series at the season finale on the Spanish Formula 1 circuit just outside Barcelona. As in the first race, US Racing was once again able to celebrate a five-fold victory.
Rookie classification and runner-up championship goes to Pradel
Gianmarco Pradel was also very happy. With his third place, the Australian was crowned champion in the rookie classification of the Formula Winter Series. In addition, he also secured the runner-up championship behind his team-mate Kacper Sztuka, who already won the title at the penultimate race weekend in Navarra and did not compete in Barcelona. A successful season finale for the likeable Australian!
Race ended prematurely
After an accident involving Campos Racing driver Maite Caceres, the race was stopped a few minutes before the end of the race so that the sports stewards could safely recover the crashed vehicle. Caceres, who hails from Uruguay, survived the impact at turn six uninjured, but damaged the front of her Tatuus car.
Promoter satisfied with debut season – significantly more starters expected next season
“The debut season of the Formula Winter Series knew how to thrill with exciting races, as we also experienced this weekend here in Barcelona,” said FWS project manager Robin Selbach. “We have already had some good discussions for the 2023/2024 season and we are confident about the future of the racing series. We are currently assuming that our starting field will continue to grow.”
The race calendar for the 2023/2024 season of the Formula Winter Series will be presented shortly.
The debut season of the Formula Winter Series comes to an end on the Formula 1 circuit in Barcelona. While the battle for the runner-up championship and the title in the rookie classification will be hotly contested, three young women enrich the starting field.
Zachary David replaces champion Kacper Sztuka – US Racing with fifth car
Kacper Sztuka will not be at the start. The Pole already crowned himself the superior champion of the Formula Winter Series at the last race weekend in Navarra. Together with his US Racing team, the 17-year-old Pole therefore decided that he will not compete in the season finale. Zachary David will instead drive the fourth car from the US Racing team. David already competed for the team in ADAC Formula 4 and in the Italian championship last year and took a victory in Arabian Formula 4 at the beginning of the year.
US Racing will also field a fifth Formula 4 car. Akshay Bohra from Singapore will take the wheel of the Tatuus car. Bohra already contested a race weekend in Italy in 2022 for the team of Gerhard Ungar and Ralf Schumacher.
US Racing drivers fight for rookie title
While the overall championship has already been decided, the title in the rookie classification will be contested at the two rounds on the circuit in Catalonia. The two US Racing drivers Gianmarco Pradel and his Chinese team-mate Ruiqi Liu are fighting for it. Currently, the Australian Pradel has an eleven-point lead.
The fight for the vice championship is even closer. Frederik Lund and Gianmarco Pradel share second place with 82 points each. Ruiqi Liu, in fourth position, also still has a realistic chance of beating his two team-mates.
Jenzer Motorsport adds to its team
After making its debut in Navarra, Jenzer Motorsport, the team from Switzerland, will field a third car in the practice sessions in Barcelona. In addition to Kim Hwarang and Ethan Ischer, who already competed in the Formula Winter Series last weekend, Reno Francot drive start for the traditional team. The Dutch karting newcomer will collect important test kilometres in the Formula 4 car during the practice sessions.
Three female pilots at the start
A total of three female pilots complete the starting field of the Formula Winter Series in Barcelona. Maite Caceres, who already competed in Valencia, will start for Campos Racing together with Frenchwoman Lola Lovinfosse. In addition, GRS Racing will make its debut in the Formula Championship. Amna Al Qubaisi, who has already participated in the Formula E test programme, will drive the team’s car. All three drivers will race in the new F1 Academy in 2023, a Formula 4 racing series created by Formula 1 in which only women are allowed to compete. The three will use the guest appearance in Barcelona to gain additional kilometres before the start of the season. In addition, the experience on the Spanish circuit will be helpful to them when the F1 Academy makes a guest appearance at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya in May.
Formula 1 and MotoGP circuit
The Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya was opened in September 1991 and has been the venue for Formula 1 since then. Since 1996, MotoGP has also been a guest at the 4.657-kilometre permanent racetrack in Montmeló. Typical for the circuit are the long curves, which put a lot of strain on the tyres.
First race series on Formula 1 track variant
The Formula Winter Series will be the first race series to use the old track configuration in the final sector. At the end of February, Formula 1 announced that it would no longer use the unpopular slow chicane and would instead use the two challenging downhill right-hand corners. This change is also implemented by the GEDLICH Racing organisation for the season finale of the Formula Winter Series, so that the drivers are perfectly prepared for higher tasks in motorsport.
Watch the races in the stream
The two half-hour final races of the Formula Winter Series debut season will take place on Sunday 12 March at 11:45 and 14:55. Before that, the race day will open with a two-part qualifying session. Both races can be followed around the world via livestream so that fans do not miss the exciting decisions in the rookie classification and for the runner-up championship.
Interested fans can follow the GT Winter Series and Formula Winter Series rounds from Barcelona via livestream.
Fans of the GT Winter Series and the Formula Winter Series will be able to follow a total of five races from Barcelona via livestream. The racing series will broadcast all the races live via YouTube on 12th March. The broadcast will begin at 10:30.
Lukas Gajewski will be the presenter and will welcome exciting interview guests at his microphone. As commentator, Adam Weller from Great Britain, who is known for the ADAC GT Masters and the NASCAR Whelen Euro Series, among other things, will follow the races.
Exciting background reports
Between the races, there will be exciting features about the background of the championships. There will also be interesting interviews and presentations of series partners.
Livestream times:
10:30 – Start broadcast
11:00 – GT Winter Series Race 1
11:45 – Formula Winter Series Race 1
14:10 – GT Winter Series Race 2
14:55 – Formula Winter Series Race 2
16:50 – GT Winter Series Endurance Race
Livestream link:
https://www.youtube.com/@gedlichracinggmbh6369/streams
US Racing driver Kacper Sztuka has secured an early title in the junior series at the Formula Winter Series in Navarra.
Sztuka wins race one from pole position
US Racing driver Sztuka, who had won three out of four prior to the Navarra event, showed he would be the dominant man on the day in race one on the 3.933 kilometre track. From pole position, the 17-year-old from Ustron, Poland, prevailed in clear fashion, once again flashing his talent.
With a gap of 6.4 seconds, Frederik Lund, who was the only driver who could still threaten Sztuka in the fight for the title before the race weekend, drove into second position. Thus, Sztuka took another step towards winning the title after the first serve on Sunday afternoon.
Rookie victory for Gianmarco Pradel
Gianmarco Pradel, who also drives for the team of Gerhard Ungar and Ralf Schumacher, won the rookie classification. The Australian was thus able to extend his lead in the sub standings, as his rival for the title, Ruiqi Liu, finished the race in sixth position.
Start accident causes interruption
The second race started with an interruption. Frederik Lund and Jenzer driver Ethan Ischer collided on the starting lap, causing one of the cars to roll over. While both drivers were able to leave their vehicles uninjured, the Tatuus Formula 4 cars had to be recovered. To make this possible, the race had to be interrupted for a longer period of time. The accident also caused the championship pendulum to swing further towards Sztuka, as the Dane Lund remained without points after the incident.
Sztuka drives confidently to early title after restart
In the remaining 15 minutes after the restart on Sunday afternoon, Pole Sztuka drove confidently to victory and the early title win in the Formula Winter Series. With another fastest lap, the youngster also drove to the optimum points haul on the race weekend in Navarra. With 54 points, Sztuka collected the optimum of possible points. Thus, the talented young rider was able to win the title in style. It will be interesting to see how the Pole’s career will develop in the coming years; Sztuka certainly has the talent to assert himself in the higher racing classes.
Liu closes gap with class win
Chinese Ruiqi Liu finished the race in second place and thus took the class win in the rookie classification. The US Racing driver thus shortens the gap to his team-mate Pradel, who finished the sixth championship round in third place.
As a result, Formula fans can look forward to an exciting battle for the title in the rookie classification at the Formula 1 circuit in Barcelona, which will be broadcast worldwide via livestream. Several newcomers and returnees will enrich the Formula Winter Series field on the track in Catalonia, so that the GEDLICH Racing organisation is currently assuming a starting field of 16 Tatuus cars.
The third race weekend of the Formula Winter Series is coming up in Navarra, and Kacper Sztuka can crown himself champion early. Meanwhile, Jenzer Motorsport makes its debut in the racing series.
Kacper Sztuka has won three of the four Formula Winter Series races so far this season. At the season opener in Jerez, the US Racing driver scored two victories and in Valencia, the Pole also won a race. As a result, Sztuka travels to the third event in Navarre with a 33-point lead over his team-mate Frederik Lund. Should he extend his lead to over 52 points at the race weekend in Los Arcos, he will be crowned the first champion in the history of the Formula Winter Series at the penultimate event of the season. The season finale of the series will take place at the Formula 1 circuit in Barcelona, where further renowned teams will join the starting field.
The battle for the rookie classification is closer. US Racing driver Gianmarco Pradel leads by only seven points ahead of his team-mate Ruiqi Liu from China. In third place is Matteo de Palo, who took an overall win in Valencia, but the Campos Racing driver will not be able to contest the remaining races in the Formula Winter Series due to the testing regulations of the Spanish Formula 4 Championship. However, fans can look forward to an exciting duel between Pradel and Liu to win the rookie classification. At the first two race weekends, both drivers already proved on the track that they will fight hard to win the title. In Jerez, the Swiss Tina Hausmann was also able to impress in the Rookie classification and take a class win.
Jenzer Motorsport makes its debut
Jenzer Motorsport will make its debut in the Formula Winter Series in Navarra. The tradition-steeped team from Switzerland will compete with two Formula 4 cars in northern Spain. Kim Hwarang and Ethan Ischer will drive the two cars. While Ischer already gained racing experience with the team last year, the South Korean Hwarang will celebrate his racing debut with the team. Both drivers will also compete for Andreas Jenzer’s racing team in the summer season.
Modern race track
The Circuito de Navarra in Los Arcos was completed in June 2010. The track is 3,933 metres long and the longest straight measures 800 metres. The slightly hilly track with six left-hand and nine right-hand corners is mainly used for car races. In the early days, the GT1 World Championship and the GT World Challenge Europe Endurance Cup, as well as the Superleague Formula, which was quickly abandoned, raced on the circuit. Due to the FIA Grade 1T track licence, Formula 1 test drives were also likely to take place on the circuit. Nowadays, almost only national racing series make guest appearances at Los Arcos.
At 12:55 and 15:50 on 5 March, the two qualifying rounds of the Formula Winter Series will take place at the Circuito de Navarra. Before that, the race day will be opened by a two-part qualifying session. On the two preceding days, the drivers will have the opportunity to get to know the circuit very well during extensive test drives.
The season finale of the GT Winter Series and the Formula Winter Series in Barcelona will use the track variant that will be used in Formula 1 for the first time since 2006.
Short-term change for the season finale of the Winter Series racing series from March 10 to 12 at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya: After Formula 1 announced that it will use the old track layout in the final sector again, the Formula Winter Series and the GT Winter Series will follow the change and will also use the two fast right-hand corners. The two challenging downhill corners will be replaced by a slow chicane, which has not been met with much enthusiasm by drivers and fans. It can be assumed that many other racing series will follow this change from the Formula 1.
Project manager Robin Selbach: “Our Formula 4 drivers want to use the Formula Winter Series as a stepping stone towards Formula 1 and its frame series. To do this, we want to give them the perfect opportunity to learn, and that’s why we’ll be driving on the Formula 1 version of the track at our finale in Barcelona, after the latter announced the change at short notice. We will also use the modified track variant in the GT Winter Series.”
This year’s season is still in full swing and there is still almost a year to go before the GT Winter Series and Formula Winter Series start their next sunny winter. Nevertheless, promoter Gedlich Racing already announces a preliminary calendar that is not so preliminary at all.
Calendar is similar to this year’s
“Our goal is to be able to offer approximately the same calendar every season. That way, teams and drivers can prepare early and plan their winter racing season,” says Robin Selbach of Gedlich Racing. And so the calendar for 2023/2024 is almost like the one for this season. Only one new track is included in the program.
Now two racing days
The biggest difference is that the new season will feature two racing days per event. While this season the entire schedule took place on Sunday, qualifying and racing will then be spread over two days. This will loosen up the schedule and make room for more race series, which are still waiting to be announced.
Aragón back on the program
Back on the schedule is Motorland Aragón. This ultra-modern track was not only built by Hermann Tilke and is one of the most modern facilities in the world, but is also home to the Moto GP. The latest safety standards, 5.7 km in length and fabulous track layout ensure exciting races in a professional environment. The GTWS already raced there in the Corona year 2021.
GT Winter Series and Formula Winter Series
Also on board, in addition to the GT Winter Series, which includes various classes of GT Sports, is once again the Formula Winter Series. “There will be details of the innovations for this shortly,” says Selbach, “including the number of races, classes and staging modes.”
Calendar already almost fixed, enrollment or reservation possible
Gedlich Racing can already name a preliminary calendar, where almost all locations are fixed. Only the final confirmation of Barcelona is still pending.
For questions or feedback, teams are welcome to contact Robin Selbach or GTWS race series coordinator Stefan Lehner at any time. Here you can pre-register for the race series, so that your starting place is secured. Alternatively, you can already register now.
Robin Selbach
robin@gt-winter-series.com
+49 172 7220111
Stefan Lehner
stefan@gt-winter-series.com
+49 173 5252621
Preliminary calendar 2023/2024
16/17 Dec 2023 Portimao/P
13/14 Jan 2024 Estoril/P
10/11 Feb 2024 Jerez/E
17/18 Feb 2024 Valencia/E
02/03 Mar 2024 Aragón/E
09/10 Mar 2024 Barcelona/E (tbc)
Kacper Sztuka extended his championship lead in the inaugural season of the Formula Winter Series, with a second place finish and a victory at the Circuit Ricardo Tormo. Meanwhile, the debuting Italian Matteo de Palo took his Campos Racing entry to the top step of the podium in his car racing debut.
A lot of competition for Sztuka
After taking a clean sweep of victories in Jerez, Sztuka and US Racing faced increased competition in Valencia. Campos Racing and Phinsys by Argenti both joined the Formula Winter Series field for the first time.
In preparation for a full season in Spanish F4 in 2023, Matteo de Palo was part of a three-car line-up for Campos, also including Nerea Marti and Maite Caceres. In qualifying, de Palo secured pole position for both races, with US Racing’s Kacper Sztuka joining him on the front row for each race.
Race One: de Palo shines, Sztuka stays on
As the first race began, de Palo immediately went defensive against Sztuka, who tried his best to claim the inside line for turn one. Ultimately, the Polish racer had to settle for second place in those early stages, and would continue to follow the leading Campos entry at close range.
Sztuka never allowed de Palo to rest, with less than a second between them for the entire race. But the young Italian withstood the pressure to win his first ever F4 start. Behind Sztuka, Frederik Lund (US Racing) rounded out the podium, some 12 seconds behind his teammate.
Strong lady, de Palo best rookie
Gianmarco Pradel and Ruiqi Liu, also from US Racing, retained their qualifying positions of fourth and fifth respectively. Nerea Marti worked her way to a sixth-place finish, just ahead of Drivex’s Juan Cota Alonso.
As with the overall order, the Rookie standings were topped by Matteo de Palo, with Pradel and Liu joining him on the class podium.
Race Two: de Palo stops and chases forward from behind
The start of the second race was rather less than successful for Campos’ de Palo, as he stalled the car from pole.
Because of this, the stage was set for Sztuka, who swept into an early lead ahead of Frederik Lund. This would be the order at the front throughout the race. Further back, Carl Wattana Bennett (AKM Motorsport) spun in the mid-pack at turn one on the first lap. Miraculously, the field avoided him. Bennett’s AKM Motorsport teammate Tina Larissa Hausmann came to a halt between turns three and four a few moments later, causing the first Safety Car. However, the Swiss racer managed to fire the car up once more.
Rookie crack Tina Hausmann rolls out, others spin
Alas, once the race resumed, it was paused again just as quickly. Hausmann had again stopped in the first sector, this time definitively.
After this delay, the race would only resume for a handful of laps before a second spin for Carl Wattana Bennett. The AKM driver was scrapping for tenth place with Patrick Heuzenroeder (Phinsys by Argenti), who had lost places at the start while avoiding Bennett’s opening lap incident. The pair would almost collide as Heuzenroeder locked up at turn two, and Bennett would spin just two corners later.
The stranded car required a tow, and a third Safety Car. The cars were unleashed once more with a dozen minutes left on the clock.
De Palo’s forward momentum only curbed by safety car
Following his poor start, Matteo de Palo had worked his way back to seventh place. He was soon able to dispatch his Campos teammate Nerea Marti for sixth. And then, as both he and Ruiqi Liu (Argenti) applied pressure to Juan Cota Alonso (Drivex), de Palo took the opportunity to pass Liu for fifth place.
Before the Italian could make any further progress, a fourth Safety Car was deployed for Maxi Restrepo (Drivex) and Issac Barashi (Argenti), who both came to a halt out on track. The clock ultimately ticked to zero before racing could begin again.
US Racing podium, Sztuka extends lead
Kacper Sztuka, Frederik Lund and Gianmarco Pradel sealed a US Racing 1-2-3. Pradel would also claim the rookie class honours, ahead of the other two members of the overall top five; Juan Cota Alonso and Matteo de Palo.
Despite losing his winning streak in race one, Sztuka departed Valencia with an extended lead in the FWS championship. Lund retained second, but lost further ground to his US Racing teammate in the title hunt.
Next stop: Navarra
The next round of the Formula Winter Series will take place on the 3-5 March, at the Navarra Circuit.
