Van Amersfoort Racing has announced that it will field American rising star Payton Westcott in the 2025 Formula Winter Series.
Westcott has been tipped as a leading female talent during her karting journey, having repeatedly won KA100 kart events in the United States. In 2024, Payton’s programme was split across the Atlantic, as she was selected to compete in the Champions of The Future Academy Program, as part of F1 Academy’s Discover Your Drive initiative. She competed in the first three rounds of the season in the OK-N Senior class, netting a top ten finish in the second final at Cremona, Italy.
Despite a season that was hindered by a broken wrist sustained in June – which she continued to race with – Westcott has once again been on podium and race-winning form in the U.S. during 2024.
Westcott will now make her car racing debut in the Formula Winter Series, and will be looking to register strong results as she adapts to the Tatuus T-421, as well as Portugal and Spain’s leading international racing circuits.
Viewers across the globe can watch every moment of the 2025 Formula Winter Series, which will air live on the Winter Series YouTube Channel.
Calendar
30 JAN – 2 FEB PORTIMAO /P
13 FEB – 16 FEB VALENCIA /E
27 FEB – 2 MAR ARAGÓN /E
6 MAR – 9 MAR BARCELONA /E
More info on FWS
Last year’s
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Van Amersfoort Racing has announced its first driver for the 2025 Formula Winter Series, in the form of emerging Australian talent Dante Vinci.
Vinci made his debut in car racing with Van Amersfoort in October at Monza, having previously raced karts from the age of 12. Now a 16-year-old, Vinci reached OK World Championship-level during his relatively short tenure in motorsport’s most junior discipline.
Vinci showed promise and consistency during his first trio of F4 races, finishing on all three occasions and improving as the weekend continued. Vinci and Van Amersfoort Racing’s partnership will span three championships, as he is also set to compete in Euro 4 and the Italian F4 Championship with the Dutch team.
Van Amersfoort Racing CEO Rob Niessink said: “We are very pleased to continue our journey with Dante. His performances during testing and at the Monza race weekend showed his strong potential and ability to adapt quickly to the changing weather conditions as well as the demands of Formula 4. We are confident that, with the full program we have in place, he will take significant steps in his development as a driver. We are committed to providing the support and guidance he needs to reach his full potential. We look forward to working together to help him achieve great things in 2025!”
Dante Vinci added: “I am delighted to be joining Van Amersfoort Racing for the complete F4 season of 2025. My debut with the team at Monza was an incredible learning experience, and I’m excited to take on a full season with this fun and dynamic team. Looking forward to getting the season started!”
Vinci will compete in the highly-competitive Rookie class of Formula Winter Series, reserved for drivers with nine or fewer races in F4 machinery. As proven last year by 2024 Rookie champion Maciej Gładysz, overall podiums and even fighting for the overall championship is not out of the question for newcomers.
The 2025 Formula Winter Series season will be a great spectacle, and every moment will be streamed live on the Winter Series YouTube channel!
Calendar
30 JAN – 2 FEB PORTIMAO /P
13 FEB – 16 FEB VALENCIA /E
27 FEB – 2 MAR ARAGÓN /E
6 MAR – 9 MAR BARCELONA /E
More info on FWS
Last year’s
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Luxembourg-based team DKR Engineering will compete in the Prototype Winter Series for the 2025 season.
The team will bring a familiar line-up to the paddocks of Iberia’s finest circuits, as both Laurents Hörr and Jon Brownson are set to return in the Duqueine D08. After multiple podium finishes in 2024, the team will be searching for race victories and a championship battle in 2025.
DKR Engineering has an extensive track record in sportscar racing, winning championships in the Asian Le Mans Series, European Le Mans Series and Michelin Le Mans Cup. The team will enter the Prototype Winter Series off the back of a strong year in both LMP2 and LMP3 on a global basis, including an LMP2 Pro-AM podium at Le Mans.
The Prototype Winter Series will once again play host to V8 LMP3 cars, and visit Iberia’s finest racing circuits. The season will begin at Estoril on the 16-19 January, and every moment will be live on the Winter Series YouTube channel.
Calendar
16 JAN – 19 JAN ESTORIL /P
23 JAN – 26 JAN PORTIMAO /P
27 FEB – 2 MAR ARAGÓN /E
6 MAR – 9 MAR BARCELONA /E
More info on PTWS
San Marino-based AKM Motorsport has confirmed two cars for the upcoming third season of the Formula Winter Series.
In last year’s Formula Winter Series, AKM Motorsport fielded two cars for Oleksandr Savinkov and Emanuele Olivieri. Both drivers subsequently competed for AKM during the 2024 Italian F4 season, with Olivieri securing the team’s best result of the season; sixth position at Paul Ricard.
Founded by Marco Antonelli, the father of incoming Mercedes F1 driver Andrea Kimi Antonelli, AKM Motorsport has a significant history in racing across Italy and Europe. In addition to single-seater competition, the team has been a long-time proponent of GT racing. Alongside front-running and championship-winning form in Italian GT, AKM has also experienced success in single-make series from Lamborghini and Porsche.
AKM’s entry into the 2025 Formula Winter Series marks the appearance of another team that has competed in every season of Gedlich Racing’s Formula 4 category so far. In 2023, the team took a podium at Jerez with Tina Hausmann at the wheel. AKM Motorsport’s driver line-up for 2025 will be announced in the coming weeks.
The Formula Winter Series will be broadcast live on YouTube. Don’t want to miss any of the action?
Then subscribe to the Winter Series YouTube channel:
Calendar
30 JAN – 2 FEB PORTIMAO /P
13 FEB – 16 FEB VALENCIA /E
27 FEB – 2 MAR ARAGÓN /E
6 MAR – 9 MAR BARCELONA /E
More info on FWS
Last year’s
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Renauer Motorsport has announced a two-car entry for the 2025 Formula Winter Series.
The Austrian team, founded by Monika and Sepp Renauer in 1997, will be making its first appearances in the Gedlich Racing paddock, fielding cars for a pair of young talents that will be announced in the near future.
During the team’s existence, it has competed extensively in single-seater, sportscar and GT racing, with a varied list of driving talents and ex-Renauer machinery in the history books.
Renauer Motorsport will arrive into the Formula Winter Series with a strong knowledge of the Tatuus T-421 chassis, which has been cultivated in the F4 CEZ Championship. The Renauer family’s distinctive yellow and black colours will be a welcome addition to the grid.
Together with partner HM-Sports, the team founded the Formula Austria Young Driver Programme in 2023. Under the technical direction of Florian Renauer, a developing talent from this intiative is set to join the 2025 Formula Winter Series grid.
The 2025 Formula Winter Series season will begin at the Circuito Estoril on January 16-19. Every moment of racing action will be broadcast live and free on YouTube!
Calendar
30 JAN – 2 FEB PORTIMAO /P
13 FEB – 16 FEB VALENCIA /E
27 FEB – 2 MAR ARAGÓN /E
6 MAR – 9 MAR BARCELONA /E
More info on FWS
Last year’s
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CRAM Motorsport will once again compete in the Formula Winter Series, entering the category with a single car.
After a strong debut in the Gedlich Racing paddock during the 2024 season, the Italian team will look to score more positive results against a highly-competitive international field. The team’s driver for the 2025 season will be announced in the coming days.
CRAM Motorsport has a 30-year history, and has helped develop famed drivers including Tony Kanaan, Felipe Massa, Augusto Farfus, Pastor Maldonado, Jaime Alguersuari, Jose Maria Lopez, Jerome D’Ambrosio and Enzo Trulli. CRAM has won teams’ titles on seventeen occasions from 1991-2024.
CRAM Motorsport are among a host of prestigious, title-winning teams competing in the 2025 Formula Winter Series. Every moment of 2025’s races will be streamed live; subscribe to the Winter Series YouTube channel to never miss a moment of what promises to be a great season!
Calendar
30 JAN – 2 FEB PORTIMAO /P
13 FEB – 16 FEB VALENCIA /E
27 FEB – 2 MAR ARAGÓN /E
6 MAR – 9 MAR BARCELONA /E
More info on FWS
Last year’s
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Hitech GP has announced its driver line-up for the 2025 Formula Winter Series, as preparations continue at pace for the team’s debut in the series.
Silverstone-based Hitech has announced Leo Robinson, Thomas Bearman, Fionn McLaughlin and Nina Gademan as its quartet of competitors for the upcoming season in Portugal and Spain.
Leo Robinson arrives into the Formula Winter Series with plentiful car racing experience. The 15-year-old Anglo-Algerian was a race-winner in the 2023 Ginetta Juniors, before switching to the F4 Danish Championship mid-season. Despite missing eight races in the Danish series, he finished fourth in the standings, and never finished off the podium.
After a strong 2024 British F4 season that saw him take three victories, Robinson has formed a new partnership with Hitech for the Formula Winter Series.
Thomas Bearman, 15, debuted in single seaters with Hitech during the tail-end of 2024. Having already netted top-10 finishes in British F4, just three weekends into his career in cars, it is expected that Bearman will make big strides during the Formula Winter Series season. The British hopeful is looking to emulate his older brother and 2025 Haas F1 driver, Oliver.
Red Bull Junior Team driver Fionn McLaughlin, 17, steps into single-seaters after a strong career in karts. In 2023, he was the driver to beat in the FIA World Karting Championship, only losing the final due to an engine problem. He would go on to secure victory in the FIA Academy Champions of the Future race in Abu Dhabi. In 2024, the Irishman has once again been a front-runner in international karting, and is a hotly-anticipated single-seater debutant.
Both Fionn and Thomas will be classed as Rookies for the 2025 season.
Nina Gademan, 21, is looking to build upon a full season in British F4, where she secured a best finish of 11th at Knockhill. The Dutch racer also impressed on home turf as an F1 Academy wildcard in Zandvoort. Gademan finished fourth in race one, a feat she matched in race two before a penalty was applied. With a broad range of experience in single seaters and tin tops, Gademan has great experience to capitalise on during the 2025 Formula Winter Series.
Commenting on Hitech’s Formula Winter Series line-up, Dominic Stott, Team Manager for F4 Championships, said: “We are looking forward to the new challenge of Formula Winter Series, on four great circuits, pitting ourselves against some of the best teams and drivers in Europe. In preparation for 2025, everyone is working hard to ensure we can hit the ground running in January and with Leo, Thomas, Fionn and Nina working well together already, and all pushing each other, we are confident in the group of people and drivers we have put together to spearhead another successful year of F4 competition.”
Formula Winter Series is for F4 cars with a Tatuus T421 chassis and Abarth engine, and uses Pirelli tyres and TM Brakes.
Each event comprises two test days and two race days, with two qualifying sessions (2x 15 mins) and three sprint races (3x 30 mins +1 lap).
The opening round lines up alongside Gedlich Racing’s inaugural Portimão 6h race weekend from 30th January-2nd February and will be broadcast live on YouTube.
Calendar
30 JAN – 2 FEB PORTIMAO /P
13 FEB – 16 FEB VALENCIA /E
27 FEB – 2 MAR ARAGÓN /E
6 MAR – 9 MAR BARCELONA /E
More info on FWS
Last year’s
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SR Motorsport will return to the GT4 Winter Series in 2025, after a race and championship-winning 2024 campaign.
In the second season of the SRO-licenced category, SR Motorsport will once again field the Mercedes-AMG GT4, this time entering two of the 4.0-litre turbocharged V8s. In addition, the team will continue to compete within the Cayman Trophy class for Porsche Cayman GT4 CS machinery.
2024 was a great season for SR Motorsport in the GT4 Winter Series, with overall victories for Mercedes pair Joel Mesch and Marcel Marchewicz. In the Cayman Trophy class, Michael Sander secured a championship win, adding to his 2021/2022 GT Winter Series title.
For new competition coming into the GT4 Winter Series, SR Motorsport will be one of the benchmark teams in the battle across Portugal and Spain’s best circuits.
The GT4 Winter Series will be broadcast live throughout its 2025 season. Subscribe to the Winter Series YouTube channel to never miss a moment of the action!
Calendar
16 JAN – 19 JAN ESTORIL /P
23 JAN – 26 JAN PORTIMAO /P
13 FEB – 16 FEB VALENCIA /E
27 FEB – 2 MAR ARAGÓN /E
6 MAR – 9 MAR BARCELONA /E
AS Motorsport will take part in the 2025 Formula Winter Series with a two-car effort.
The Slovenian team will be returning to the Gedlich Racing Winter Series paddock, having previously raced at the first two rounds of the 2023 season. AS Motorsport has 15 years of experience on the junior single-seater scene, first running young talents in Formula Renault machinery during 2010. During the 1990s and 2000s, the team achieved numerous successes at rallies in Slovenia and beyond.
Having switched to Formula 4 almost a decade ago, AS Motorsport’s line-ups have featured talents including Frederik Vesti, GT Winter Series race winner Finn Wiebelhaus, and the inaugural Formula Winter Series champion Kacper Sztuka. The team’s 2025 Formula Winter Series drivers will be announced in the coming weeks.
AS Motorsport is the latest in a significant pool of teams making a return or debut in Formula Winter Series for 2025, adding to a grid that will be one of the most competitive and international within European F4 competition.
Fans never have to miss a moment of the Formula Winter Series, as every race of the season will be broadcast live on YouTube. Subscribe to the Winter Series channel today to see the action unfold in 2025!
Calendar
30 JAN – 2 FEB PORTIMAO /P
13 FEB – 16 FEB VALENCIA /E
27 FEB – 2 MAR ARAGÓN /E
6 MAR – 9 MAR BARCELONA /E
More info on FWS
Last year’s
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Maffi Racing has committed three cars to the 2025 Formula Winter Series.</h3/
After debuting in Gedlich Racing’s Formula 4 series in 2024 with a single-car effort for Nathanaël Berreby, Maffi Racing will expand to run a trio of Tatuus T-421 chassis in the 2025 season. The Swiss team’s driver line-up will be announced at a later date.
The Maffi team’s origins lie in Ethiopian motorsport, with over 50 years of history in the sport through Giorgio Maffi, a leading light in the early days of rallying in the African nation. After starting the Maffi Racing team to compete in the 1969 Ethiopian Highland Rally. The Maffi team would go on to compete for decades in Eastern Africa, winning on rally stages and circuits along the way.
Giorgio’s sons Daniel and Cristian, revived Maffi Racing in Switzerland, partnering up with a third founder, Alex. After competing in Italian F4 for the first time in 2022, the team has been on the rise ever since, finishing second in the FIA CEZ F4 in 2024 and grasping their first top 10 finishes in the Italian F4. The team is looking to do even better in 2025.
The Maffi Racing team will be part of a highly competitive 2025 Formula Winter Series grid. The first round of the season will take place in Portimão from 30 January – 2 February.
Calendar
30 JAN – 2 FEB PORTIMAO /P
13 FEB – 16 FEB VALENCIA /E
27 FEB – 2 MAR ARAGÓN /E
6 MAR – 9 MAR BARCELONA /E
More info on FWS
Last year’s
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Partners of the Winter Series
Exclusive Partners of the GT Winter Series
Exclusive Partners of the GT4 Winter Series
Exclusive Partners of the Prototype Winter Series
Exclusive Partners of the Formula Winter Series
