Photo: Top Speed
New McLaren junior Christian Costoya has been announced as doing a double Formula 4 programme in Europe with Prema.
The 15-year-old Spaniard will race full-time in Italian F4 and sister championship E4 with the team, which he made his single-seater debut with last month in UAE4. He took a win in round three, and sits sixth in the points with one round to go.
Costoya became a McLaren junior last December, at the end of a year in which he was CIK-FIA European Karting champion, WSK Euro Series champion and WSK Super Master Series runner-up on OK karts. He had previously been European championship runner-up at the junior level.
“Very happy to join Prema for the 2026 F4 season,” said Costoya. “This marks a new chapter for me in a new category. I’m fully committed to giving my best, continuing to progress and improve as a driver, and making the most of this opportunity.”
Stephen Mitas has become Prema’s team principal and chief executive officer amid off-season overhaul of the Italian outfit.
“Christian showed great potential in karting and we are delighted to welcome him to our team for a very challenging and important step in his career,” he said of the team’s latest driver signing.
“We will give him our best support as he approaches the transition to single-seater and gets ready for the year ahead.”
Also racing in E4 and Italian F4 this year is Ludovico Busso, who will be part of US Racing’s line-up. He is currently racing for the team in the Iberia-based Formula Winter Series, and sits 10th in the standings with one podium.
The 16-year-old Italian debuted in single-seaters with a FWS cameo last year. He drove for Viola Formula Racing, and remained with the team for Italian F4. After round three he was the team’s only driver, and after round five he switched to US’s line-up. That also meant a team switch following one E4 round. Busso failed to score in both championships, and came 23rd in E4’s standings.