2025 Formula Middle East Season Announced

• Formula Regional and Formula 4 Middle East Championships consolidated under regional umbrella
• Five-stop 30-race 2025 season commences January 17 in Kuwait
• Expanded three-round Formula Trophy to close out 2024

Middle East, September 4, 2024: International motorsport promoter Top Speed has unveiled the provisional calendar for a new-for-2025 Formula Middle East which incorporates both the Formula Regional and expanded Formula 4 Middle East Championships, each Certified by FIA, under a single umbrella event. The change further supports the growth of single seater competition in the region, and complements the young driver development initiatives implemented by teams and circuits across the Middle East.

Commented Top Speed General Manager Davide de Gobbi: “While both series attract capacity grids, broadening the scope of the Formula 4 series to a Middle East Championship will ensure this is sustained over the long term. It will also allow us to fully harness and integrate the exponential growth of junior single seater talent development across the wider region. Bringing the two successful championships under the umbrella of Formula Middle East creates a high-profile showcase for the world’s brightest up-and-coming talent across the first two levels of the FIA driver development programme.”

The five-stop Formula Middle East 2025 season gets underway with two rounds at Kuwait Motor Town on January 17 and 24, moving to the Dubai Autodrome on February 8, on to Abu Dhabi’s Yas Marina Circuit on February 15,with the final event on February 27 at a location to be announced. Each series will comprise three races at each round for a total of 30 races over a seven-week period.

The Formula Middle East season will be preceded by an expanded Formula Trophy at the end of 2024. Formerly a stand-alone support event for the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, this year the Trophy will comprise three rounds, kicking off with a triple-header at Dubai Autodrome on December 1. Two races in support of the Formula 1 Grand Prix at the Yas Marina Circuit on December 7-8 will be followed by a double-header at the same track alongside the Gulf 12 Hours on December 15.

Added de Gobbi: “Given the current challenges surrounding international shipping, we are pleased to have created the opportunity for Formula 4 teams to contest a total of eight events in the Middle East between December and February. With ideal weather conditions and four FIA Grade 1circuits, both teams and drivers are able to maximise their track time while competing amongst a quality international entry.”

The F4 Middle East Championship, formerly F4 UAE, started for the 2016/17 season and has since been the launch pad for numerous young talents. Earlier this year, current F4 Italian Championship leader Freddie Slater took the 2024 crown. Meanwhile, two of the most notable Formula Regional Middle East champions to-date, which prior to the 2022 season was known as the F3 Asian Championship, are Stake F1 Team Kick Sauber’s Zhou Guanyu, China’s first-ever F1 driver, and 2023 champion Andrea Kimi Antonelli.