Photo: ACI Sport
Formula Regional Europe has published a 10-race calendar for 2027 including two new venues, Algarve International and Silverstone, as well as a race in support of the Hungarian Grand Prix.
In addition to adding new venues and a Formula 1-support race, as exclusively revealed by Formula Scout in September, the championship will revert to its traditional format of two races per weekend, having experimented with a reverse-grid third race at four events in 2026.
With the exception of the Hungarian F1 support event, all FREC weekends will retain the traditional weekend format consisting of free practice on Friday, with separate qualifying sessions and races on Saturday and Sunday. The format for the Hungaroring is yet to be finalised, but is likely to see a shift in the timing of qualifying to Friday to fit in with the scheduling demands of F1.
The Algarve circuit near Portimao in southern Portugal will host the opening round of next season’s championship, the second year as an official FIA series, on 9-11 April. Round two will take place at the Red Bull Ring, scene of the opening round this year, two weeks later.
The championship will pay its first ever visit to Britain over the weekend of 14-16 May with a round at Silverstone, which, like the Algarve, will run alongside Euroformula Open under the International GT Open package. Interestingly, Silverstone will host a round of the FIA European Karting championship over the same weekend, albeit on a separate track which has been constructed inside the Grand Prix circuit.
Rounds four and five will take in traditional stops on the FREC calendar, starting with Spa-Francorchamps on 18-20 June and moving to Paul Ricard a month later on 16-18 July. The Belgian race will be part of the SRO SpeedWeek with the French race once again accompanying International GT Open.
Though Paul Ricard represents the mid-point of the season, it now longer precedes an extended summer break, as the series will head to Hungary two weeks later for what will arguably be the jewel in the championship’s crown.
FREC will make its first appearance on the F1 support card since Monaco in 2022 for its Hungaroring event on 30 July-1 August although final comfirmation of the race is still subject to contractual agreement.
Anotherr traditional venue, Zandvoort, will stage round seven, moving from its May date to 6-8 August. Zandvoort, like the Red Bull Ring event, will support the DTM.
Imola and Monza will welcome the teams and drivers in September, with ACI Sport having managed to avoid a repetition of its clash with the Italian GP for 2027. The Autodromo Enzo e Dino Ferrari will host round eight on 10-12 September, followed by Monza two weeks later.
The championship will conclude at Barcelona on 8-10 October as FREC returns after a one year gap to another of its long-term locations, again in cooperation with International GT Open.
FIA Single-Seater Commission President Emanuele Pirro welcomed the revised calendar: “The success of FIA FREC’s inaugural season, with 11 different winners, has given us a strong foundation for 2027. Expanding to 10 rounds responds to the wishes of the teams, while the revised weekend format and the spacing between events reflect feedback from drivers, teams and partners.”
According to Pirro, the decision to expand the calendar was based on the “overwhelming wish of the teams”, with the FIA having received “plenty of interest from venue and event promoters,” in particular “from countries – and their FIA Member Clubs – that didn’t host FIA FREC events during the inaugural season in 2026.”
Pirro was particularly pleased to confirm the addition of a race in support of the Hungarian GP: “It’s really important and, equally, it’s great news. FIA FREC is the second step on the FIA Junior Single-Seater Pyramid with F1 at the very top after Formula 3 and Formula 2.
“To compete at the highest level is an ambition of all our drivers, mechanics and engineers, so the opportunity to showcase their potential in front of Formula 1 teams cannot be underestimated. It will also be exciting for fans to experience the spectacle of FIA FREC, in many cases for the first time.”