First half
The 2025 Formula Regional Middle East Championship commenced around Yas Marina Circuit's Grand Prix layout with Mumbai Falcons’ Freddie Slater taking pole position in both qualifying sessions. [28] In the first race, Slater capitalized on his teammate Rashid Al Dhaheri overtaking ART Grand Prix’s Evan Giltaire for second place, allowing him to establish an early lead. The top three positions remained unchanged after Al Dhaheri’s opening move in an otherwise largely uneventful season opener. [29] The reversed-grid second race saw ART’s Kanato Le start from pole position and successfully defend against Saintéloc Racing’s Théophile Naël and R-ace GP’s Enzo Deligny throughout the race, securing his maiden Formula Regional victory. [30] In the third race, Slater delivered another commanding performance, leading Giltaire from start to finish and concluding the opening round with a 26-point lead over the French driver. Jesse Carrasquedo Jr. overcame an early challenge from his Pinnacle Motorsport teammate Ernesto Rivera to secure third place. [31]
Just three days later, the second round took place on Yas Marina’s corkscrew layout, with Slater and Giltaire securing the pole positions. [32] Slater led the opening stages of the first race but made an error with ten minutes remaining, allowing Giltaire to pass. Slater continued to drop down the order and finished fifth, while Al Dhaheri and ART’s Taito Kato completed the podium. [33] The second race saw early trouble for Giltaire, who failed to start due to a gearbox issue. PHM Racing’s Brando Badoer started from pole position and controlled the race to secure a lights-to-flag victory ahead of Naël and Mumbai Falcons driver Jack Beeton. [34] Giltaire returned to the front in the third race, where the title battle took another turn as Slater was spun around by Kato. He fell to the back and later retired after another collision. At the front, R-ace GP’s Ugo Ugochukwu briefly led before hitting the wall a few laps later, allowing Giltaire to claim victory ahead of Badoer and Deligny. With the result, Giltaire moved into a twelve-point lead over Slater in the standings. [35]
For the third round, the field traveled to Dubai Autodrome, where Giltaire swept qualifying and took both pole positions. However, a dusty track led to a slow start in the first race, allowing Ugochukwu and Badoer to pass him into the first corner. Badoer spent much of the race defending against Giltaire, which enabled Ugochukwu to pull away before the race was cut short due to a crash. [36] In the second race, R-ace GP’s Jin Nakamura started from reversed-grid pole position and maintained his lead. Slater, starting fourth, moved up to second and applied pressure on Nakamura. Multiple attempts to pass him did not pan out, however, and Slater had to fend off attacks from behind himself. Nakamura held on to win, with Slater finishing second and Al Dhaheri securing third. [37] Giltaire finished fourth in race two but converted his pole position in race three into a largely uncontested victory, extending his championship lead over Slater to 36 points. Ugochukwu attacked Giltaire once but was unable to get through. He finished second, ahead of Naël. [38]
Second half
Championship contenders Giltaire and Slater each claimed a pole position as the series returned to Yas Marina. [39] Giltaire started the first race from the front, but Slater made a stronger start and took the lead before the first corner. He successfully managed two safety car restarts, while Ugochukwu executed a decisive move to demote Giltaire to third. Although Ugochukwu closed the gap to Slater, he was unable to challenge for the lead, allowing Slater to secure his third victory of the season. [40] In the second race, R-ace GP’s Akshay Bohra started from pole position and spent the race defending against Saintéloc Racing’s Nikita Bedrin. Despite staying within a few car lengths, Bedrin was unable to overtake and finished just 0.1 seconds behind Bohra, while Badoer completed the podium. [41] The third race featured another direct battle between title rivals Slater and Giltaire, with Slater emerging victorious ahead of Giltaire and Ugochukwu. That allowed him to reduce his deficit to 17 points behind Giltaire heading into the final round. [42]
The final round of the championship marked its debut at Lusail International Circuit, with Giltaire and Ugochukwu securing pole positions in qualifying. [43] Rain ahead of the first race led to an early lead change as Giltaire dropped to third. A collision with Slater pushed both down the order, but Giltaire recovered back to third before struggling with tire wear. Bedrin capitalized on this to claim victory ahead of Ugochukwu, while a post-race penalty relegated Giltaire to sixth, promoting Nakamura to third. [44] In race two, Pinnacle Motorsport’s Hiyu Yamakoshi led from reversed-grid pole until Al Dhaheri overtook him. However, tire degradation once again reshuffled the standings, with Deligny, Rivera, and Bedrin able to take the top three spots. Giltaire’s fourth-place finish secured him the title. [45] Race three saw Beeton charge from fifth to first by lap five, holding off pole sitter Ugochukwu and Bedrin, who finished second and third, respectively. Slater finished fourth and claimed the Rookie Championship title, while his team won the teams’ title. [46]
Slater began his campaign with strong performances, positioning himself as a contender to become the series’ third consecutive rookie champion after Antonelli in 2023 and Taponen in 2024. He secured four race victories - more than any other driver in the field - demonstrating an impressive debut in Formula Regional competition. However, Giltaire performed more consistently on circuits other than the Yas Marina Grand Prix layout, allowing him to take the championship lead in the second round and maintain it for the remainder of the season. As a result, Slater had to be content with taking the runner-up spot and the Rookie Championship title. Still, missing out on this title will not hamper his reputation as one of Britain’s most promising junior single-seater talents, and his battle against Giltaire will resume in the Formula Regional European championship.
