Photo: Diederik van der Laan / DPPA
Lena Buhler has ended her Formula Regional European Championship season early with four rounds to go, while Maya Weug will return to the grid in this weekend’s Imola round.
Sauber junior Buhler, graduated to FREC from Spanish Formula 4 in 2021 and had a best finish of 20th in her rookie season with R-ace GP.
She did two further rounds with the team in 2022, with one finish from three races since she failed to qualify for one of the races in Monaco, in addition to two FRegional Asian Championship rounds where her best result was a 12th place.
Last year she gained Sauber’s backing but her career took a downwards step as she returned to F4. She came 33rd in the United Arab Emirates championship, but after joining ART GP in the all-female F1 Academy her form improved and she was championship runner-up with two wins, 11 other podiums and two poles.
The 27-year-old stuck with the team for the step back up to FREC this year, and results have been hard to come by once again. Buhler lies 35th in the standings, having finished no higher than 23rd in the first six rounds.
“Update on my 2024 season: Hello everyone, I’m writing to let you all know that, unfortunately, I won’t be continuing my FRegional campaign this season,” Buhler announced via her Instagram account on Wednesday.
“Racing in the series, I have learned a lot from this year, progressing and improving session after session, although the results haven’t always met our targets.
“I want to take the opportunity to thank ART GP for the support, and I wish them all the best for the remainder of the season. While this year has been challenging, we have achieved great results together over the years, particularly finishing runner-up in last year’s inaugural F1 Academy season.
“I also want to thank the Sauber Academy, as well as my sponsors, for having been by my side on this journey. Now I will be taking some time off, as I evaluate the next steps in my racing career.”
Two places below her in the FREC standings is Yujia Gao, who has done the last three rounds with KIC Motorsport and has a best result of 25th. He will be replaced at Imola by Weug, who is cameoing but will be entered for points.
Weug came 17th in FREC last year with KIC, scoring 27 points, and was set to continue in 2024 before the Ferrari junior then repeated Buhler’s strategy of stepping down to F4 to race in F1 Academy. The 20-year-old is currently fifth there, with four podiums from the first four rounds.
Earlier this season, KIC’s team manager Peter Flythstrom told Formula Scout they were seeking a way of getting Weug back into one of their FRegional cars before the season ended.