February 17, 2026 | News | Formula Winter Series
This necessitated a condensed schedule for Sunday, with three 20-minute +1 lap races replacing the planned 30-minute encounters. This presented a test of adaptability for all 31 drivers on the grid, newcomers and regulars alike. Remarkably, on the Sunday alone, 13,000 fans were in attendance, as the Winter Series collaborated with ROOW to bring more entertainment and thrilling vehicles to the paddock.
Championship leader Dries Van Langendonck (Rodin) lined up for the first race of the weekend on pole position, and was joined by Van Amersfoort’s Aleksander Ruta on the front row. Third on the grid was Canadian newcomer Jensen Burnett, who stepped into Mathilda Racing for his first F4 race. Ludovico Busso (US Racing) qualified fourth, following his breakthrough podium at Portimão.
As the race sprang into life, Burnett failed to launch. Thankfully, the field avoided the stricken Mathilda Racing car, which eventually continued in the race from the back of the pack. At the front, Van Langendonck held an uncontested lead, and Rocco Coronel took advantage of a flying start to move into second.
The green flag running didn’t last long, as Zoe Florescu ended up stranded at the turn four gravel trap with a broken front wing. After a brief safety car, the race continued, and while Van Langendonck and Coronel held formation, Aleksander Ruta didn’t anticipate the start as well as VAR teammate Thomas Bearman. The British driver applied pressure to his Polish colleague, but Ruta held on around the outside at turns two and three to retain his podium place.
The side-by-side exchange sent Bearman back into the clutches of Ludovico Busso, who tried to dive to the inside at turn 11. Unfortunately, the pair collided, and both would lose places. However, as Bearman ended up tracking through the gravel, he would fall well into the teen positions. Bearman joined other prospective front-runners including the recovering Jensen Burnett and Oleksandr Savinkov in the second-half of the pack. After a troubled qualifying, Savinkov, who came into the weekend third in the standings, started his US Racing car from the penultimate row of the grid.
There were no such troubles at the front of the field for Dries Van Langendonck, who had built himself a buffer of almost three seconds over Rocco Coronel. In the final laps, the gap would shrink down to half-a-second, but Van Langendonck was still able to take his fourth victory of the season in the Formula Winter Series. Coronel and Ruta completed the podium, with the former two also making up the top two Rookie class runners.
Pedro Lima had a strong run to fourth in his VAR entry, ahead of US Racing’s Ary Bansal and Alfie Slater, who took sixth overall and the last step on the Rookie class podium. After spending much of the race fighting in a particularly hectic midfield, Chiara Bättig (Campos) won the Female Trophy from 16th overall.
Race Two:
For the second race of the weekend, Dries Van Langendonck once again started from pole position. However, the Rodin driver did not achieve a perfect launch, while both Aleksander Ruta and Pedro Lima of VAR were fast out of the blocks. The pair of black-and-orange cars went either side of Van Langendonck, with Ruta assuming the race lead. Rocco Coronel briefly held fourth, before Thomas Bearman locked up into turn two, spinning his VAR teammate and ending the Dutchman’s race.
Further back, the action was frenetic in the midfield once again, and it was something of an inevitability that a collision would happen. Sure enough, Vittorio Orsini found himself stuck in the Turn 11 gravel with a damaged front wing, which triggered a Safety Car.
Alfie Slater (Rodin) elected to pit from 16th during the Safety Car, for a fresh set of Pirellis. This was one of several attempts to generate a strong lap time in race two; both Oleksandr Savinkov and Arjen Kräling started from the pits. The pair of US Racing drivers were due to line-up at the back of the field, and instead decided to join the race late, in clean air. This decision would prove beneficial later on.
At the front of the field, Aleksander Ruta managed the race restart well. Meanwhile, Dries Van Langendonck made a dive to the inside of Pedro Lima for second place, but locked up. The pair made light contact, and strayed wide, allowing Thomas Bearman to move up to second place. Van Langendonck was still third, now behind Bearman, and Pedro Lima would soon pass him on-track too. The Belgian racer looked to be struggling with car balance, repeatedly locking both tyres on the front axle.
There were no such dramas at the front for Aleksander Ruta, who eased his way to an inaugural Formula 4-level victory. It was a Van Amersfoort 1-2; despite a five-second penalty for Bearman after his first lap collision with Rocco Coronel, the Brit was over five seconds clear of Van Langendonck, and thus held second. On the road, it was a podium sweep for the Dutch team, but Pedro Lima would be demoted to eighth owing to a five-second track limits penalty.
Van Langendonck won the Rookie class from third overall, while Zoe Florescu once again claimed Female Trophy honours.
Race Three:
US Racing’s decision to treat race two as qualifying for Arjen Kräling and Oleksandr Savinkov was an inspired choice. Kräling – who to this point in the season had only one points finish to his name – now found himself on pole position. He was joined on the front row by Thomas Bearman, while Aleksander Ruta and Oleksandr Savinkov made up the second row of the grid.
Dries Van Langendonck would only start 12th, after struggling for speed in race two.
Arjen Kräling got a better start than Bearman as the race began, while Ruta had an ideal launch from third. The Polish driver was to Kräling’s outside at the first corner, but the German held on to the lead, standing his ground against Ruta. Further back, on the first lap, Georgiy Zasov and Andre Rodriguez collided. Zasov limped a damaged car home, while Rodriguez was stranded in the gravel, triggering a Safety Car.
Kräling gained himself a car length upon launching back to racing speeds, holding the lead as the race resumed. This, however, would not be the only restart of the race, as Jenzer’s Levi Arn rotated himself into the gravel at turn 12, after initially clipping another gravel trap on corner entry. Chiara Bättig missed her apex at the cornet while avoiding the spinning Arn, and would then find herself in a collision at turn 14, as AKM’s Vittorio Orsini made a miscalculated lunge at the last corner.
As the race restarted for the final time, Kräling once again held the lead, and would do so until the chequered flag one lap later. The German’s victory meant a second consecutive new winner of the day; he was followed home by Aleksander Ruta, who achieved the same feat earlier in the day. Thomas Bearman finished third, just ahead of Oleksandr Savinkov.
In the Rookie standings, CRAM Motorsport’s Samuel Ifrid finished eight overall to win the category. The Swiss pipped Dries Van Langendonck to the line to secure the result. Zoe Florescu profited from Chiara Bättig’s dramas to once again win the Female Trophy standings, finishing 21st overall.
Heading to the next round at Motorland Aragon, Dries Van Langendonck once again arrives with an extended points advantage, now holding 155. Ary Bansal still sits second in the standings on 94 points, meaning a 61-point advantage for Van Langendonck, and a real chance of sewing up the title a round early.
Third in the points now belongs to Aleksander Ruta, on 92 points, while Thomas Beaman and Oleksandr Savinkov round out the top-five. Van Langendonck also leads the rookie standings over Rocco Coronel, and looks likely to sew up the trophy in Aragon. US Racing holds an 11-point advantage in the Teams’ Championship on 226, ahead of Rodin and VAR, both tied on 215 points.
The battles will continue next time out, as the Formula Winter Series returns to a venue that historically produces thrilling moments in the category. The Motorland Aragon event takes place from 5-8 March.
22 – 25 JAN ESTORIL /P
5 – 8 FEB PORTIMAO /P
12 – 15 FEB VALENCIA /E
5 – 8 MAR ARAGÓN /E
12 – 15 MAR BARCELONA /E
