March 11, 2025 | Formula Winter Series
Going into the first race on Saturday, US Racing’s Gabriel Gomez held a commanding 67-point lead over his closest rival Fionn McLaughlin, with just 82 points available at the final weekend. Therefore, the odds of anyone besting the Brazilian driver for the championship were long, especially since Gomez had finished on the podium in every race of the season.
However, as the first race of the weekend began, there was an immediate curveball for Gomez, and his title rivals McLaughlin and Leo Robinson. After an error on the first formation lap from Simon Schranz left the Renauer Motorsport driver in the gravel, the start was delayed.
The field lined-up in their grid slots for a second time. Gomez was an uncharacteristic eighth on the grid, while Robinson and McLaughlin filled-out the front row. As the race finally began, Gomez found himself stranded on the grid. Mercifully, the fielded avoided him, but the Brazilian was pushed into the pits and retired from the race.
At the front, Robinson retained his lead. He and McLaughlin both drove away from the chasing pack, but it was anything but formation flying for the Hitech pair; with Robinson just nine points back from McLaughlin in the championship, the Irishman knew he needed to pass Robinson to increase his chances of challenging Gomez for the title, or at least retaining second in the points.
However, as the race continued, McLaughlin’s car looked increasingly unstable, and threats began to emerge from behind. These came from third-placed Kabir Anurag, who had moved up from sixth on the grid. The Singaporean had spent the early part of the race behind Bart Harrison, however, Harrison’s Jenzer car suffered a radiator leak. After several corners fighting the car as it slid on its own fluid, the Brit had no choice but to withdraw.
This released Anurag to close in on the top two, however, he was unable to move his US Racing car any further forward. Robinson held onto his lead, keeping himself in mathematical championship contention, and tying with McLaughlin in the points standings. McLaughlin took the rookie class victory and second overall, while Anurag rounded out the podium.
Artem Severiukhin finished fourth for Jenzer, while AKM Motorsport’s Davide Larini completed the top five in his Formula Winter Series appearance. Emily Cotty, who joined the Hitech line-up for Barcelona owing to Nina Gademan’s F1 Academy testing commitments, continued the #4 car’s success in the Female Trophy, winning the classification and taking 15th overall.
Race 2:
Sunday morning presented a slippery circuit for the drivers. For championship leader Gabriel Gomez, it was once again an unfamiliar spot on the grid, as he once again started from eighth. This time, he was able to get off the line, but he fell back to the edge of the top ten in the first corners.
Meanwhile, pole-sitter Leo Robinson led the way on the first lap. For the Algerian, the objective was simple; win the race or lose the chance to win the championship, though he would also have to rely on Gomez finishing lower than eighth.
The race was neutralised at the end of the first lap, as AKM Motorsport’s Ginevra Panzeri was in the gravel. During this safety car period, Kabir Anurag’s US Racing stopped at turn nine, ending his prematurely with a technical issue. This moved Gomez up to ninth, within touching distance of the four points he needed to win the championship.
Once the race resumed, Robinson drove away from the field, while McLaughlin struggled to match his pace. As the race entered its final ten minutes, Robinson was five seconds clear at the front, while McLaughlin was under significant pressure from Jenzer’s Bart Harrison and Artem Severiukhin.
Meanwhile, a moment for Maxim Rehm in seventh cost him two places, moving Thomas Bearman and – critically – Gabriel Gomez forward. The Brazilian was now in title-winning position, and this was further solidified moments later, as Maximilian Popov found himself stalled at turn two after a clash with Jenzer Javier Herrera.
The safety car was scrambled to collect Popov, and at the same time, Thomas Bearman ran wide at turn nine, allowing Gomez to move up to sixth.
The race resumed with two laps to go, and at turn five, Javier Herrera strayed wide. Gomez was therefore up to fifth, placing his status as the champion-elect beyond doubt.
Leo Robinson crossed the line to win the race, with McLaughlin, Harrison and Severiukhin behind. But it was Gomez in fifth who received the biggest cheer from the pitwall, as he cemented his status as the 2025 Formula Winter Series champion. US Racing also clinched the teams’ title, neatly wrapping up both championships going into the final race of the season.
Mathilda Paatz won the Female Trophy from 14th overall for AS Motorsport.
Robinson celebrated victory with an improvised robot dance atop his Tatuus chassis, and then switched focus to the next task. He was now second in the championship, but he’d need to keep Fionn McLaughlin back in the finale.
Race 3:
Unfortunately, the final race of the year started with disappointment for Fionn McLaughlin, who failed to get off the line. He eventually got his car moving, but approached the first corner in last position. Thomas Bearman appeared to have a magnificent launch, however, it was soon revealed to have been a jump start. Therefore, the young Brit was handed a five-second penalty.
During the race, which was uninterrupted by safety cars, Bearman extended his lead as far as three-and-a-half seconds, but was never quite able to build the cushion he needed to beat his penalty.
Behind him, Hitech teammate Leo Robinson moved into second early on, ahead of pole-sitter Maxim Rehm. Robinson’s race pace appeared to be weaker than had it been in the previous races, which means that Rehm, Bart Harrison and the majority of the top ten was in one long queue.
Kabir Anurag was taking advantage of the bunched-up field, as well as the fact that his car was on-song again after his technical issues in race two. The Alpine Academy driver made several bold moves, and found himself in fifth after the first dozen minutes of racing.
In the 13th minute of the race, Maxim Rehm’s luck took a turn. The inside line beckoned at turn one, and he took the opportunity to try and pass Robinson. However, Rehm got slightly unsettled at the end of braking zone, compromising his run through the corner. The pair remained side-by-side in turn two, and collided. Rehm’s tyre was cut down in the collision, by Robinson’s front wing endplate.
Rehm’s race was over, while Robinson lost positions to both Bart Harrison and Kabir Anurag.
The order at the front remained the same for the remainder of the race, and Bart Harrison stayed around three seconds behind Bearman, who still had a jump start penalty hanging over his head.
Bearman took the chequered flag, still happy with his performance even though he was aware of the penalty. Running in second at the line, Bart Harrison celebrated his presumed win, but a last-minute track limits violation meant he was penalised on the cool-down lap.
This meant that Kabir Anurag inherited the win from third on the road, a fact that not even he knew on arrival under the podium. Bart Harrison was also under the impression that he had secured the victory, as the teams and gathered media all slowly made sense of the situation. Joy set in for Anurag as he realised he had won from eighth on the grid.
The final order was Anurag first, ahead of Bearman and Bart Harrison, both of whom had five-second penalties Bearman also took the Rookie Trophy win. Gabriel Gomez finished fourth, ahead of Jenzer’s Enea Frey. Ginevra Panzeri (AKM Motorsport) was the final Female Trophy winner of the season.
Leo Robinson’s car appeared to be in sub-optimal condition after the collision with Rehm. He came home in eighth, but still secured the runner-up spot in the Formula Winter Series, ahead of Rookie champion Fionn McLaughlin.
The 2025 Formula Winter Series season came to an end with a worthy winner in Gabriel Gomez. The Brazilian had set himself apart from the field from the very first round with his consistent efforts, and while the final round was a challenge, it was a storm that he weathered well.
US Racing delivered a second driver to the top of Formula Winter Series, after winning the inaugural season with Kacper Sztuka in 2023. A broader range of teams than ever joined the series in 2025, and an even greater variety of teams from across Europe are expected to compete in 2026.
