Highly anticipated as the new “queen” of the Macau events, the FIA FR World Cup returns this year to prove its status inherited from the F3 World Cup.
More seasoned in the series and with more experience around the Guia circuit, this year’s edition is set to improve significantly on last year’s, with the return of a good number of racers who took part in the inaugural edition last year and who, in the meantime, have been growing into this sport and category.
The trio of Freddie Slater, Matteo de Palo, and Enzo Deligny are the most prominent members of this group of returnees.
The three recently finished the Formula Regional European Championship (FRECA) in the top three positions, with Slater winning the championship.
They are expected to carry their recent battles for the top spots in FRECA into the streets of Macau, this time for the World Cup title.
From the three, Deligny was the one who adjusted faster and better to last year’s event’s tricky conditions, which included sessions in both wet and dry conditions and everything in between.
Ultimately, Deligny placed fourth, one step away from the podium composed of Ugo Ugochukwu, Oliver Goethe, and Noel León.
With all last year’s podium finishers absent, Slater, Deligny, and De Palo are among the favorites for the top spots. However, surprises could emerge from a second group of well-prepared racers, who have had fewer spotlight moments in 2025 and are eyeing this “season finale” race to prove their worth.
The second group of contenders includes Rashid Al Dhaeri, Jin Nakamura, Evan Giltaire, Théophile Naël, and local racer Charles Leong.
Although Leong is trying the FR series for the first time, he has an edge because of his extra experience around the Guia Circuit in both F4 and F3 cars. Despite our assumption that his primary role is to provide more insights and data to Prema’s teammates, Al Dhaheri and Slater, he still needs to go fast to do that effectively, and it would be no surprise to see his name in the top 5.
In total, 27 racers have been assembled to weave their FR machinery around the challenging Guia Circuit. Practice and qualifying will take place today (Nov. 13) and tomorrow (Nov. 14). The qualifying Race will take place on Saturday (Nov. 15) ahead of the FIA FR World Cup curtain-closer event on Sunday (Nov. 16) afternoon.
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