Photo: Macau GP Organising Committee
It has been announced that this year’s Macau Grand Prix will include Formula 4 support races that will award the inaugural FIA F4 World Cup title.
The iconic street race, held on the Guia Circuit in the micronation of Macau, actually ran for F4 cars from 2020 to ’22 when it was part of the Chinese F4 championship. F4 South East Asia had a non-championship round at the track two years ago.
Formula 3, the single-seater category that has historically been most closely associated to the grand prix, reclaimed the grand prix title in 2023 after the FIA revived the F3 World Cup. Motorsport’s global governing body swiftly moved on from that, as last year it created the FIA Formula Regional World Cup and the Macau GP ran for FRegional cars for the first time.
It will do so again in 2025, with a World Motor Sport Council vote approving the creation of the FIA F4 World Cup in support.
FRegional Middle East promoter Top Speed will “provide the technical and operational support” for the Macau GP entrants, while Chinese F4 organiser Mintimes Motorsport will co-ordinate the F4 races with technical support from the FFSA, motorsport’s national association for France which also centrally runs the French F4 championship.
Despite the selection of these two organisations, it has not been confirmed by the FIA which car will be used and if the races will be open to multiple teams or all entries will operated by a single entity. Both Chinese and French F4 use second-generation Mygale chassis.
According to the FIA, “there will be a rigorous driver selection process, with only the most talented young drivers given the opportunity to compete” in the F4 World Cup. Karters from China and Macau eyeing a future in single-seaters will be invited into the paddock too.
“Macau is an essential part of the education of a young driver, and we have a duty to protect its legacy and its future,” said FIA Single-Seater Committee president Emanuele Pirro.
“There are so few challenges like the Macau GP left that we felt it was the right moment to introduce the FIA F4 World Cup. It will give the best drivers coming from the national level an opportunity to learn what it takes to drive the Guia Circuit in an F4 car, which is a bit more forgiving than an FRegional car, so that when they come back in one or two years for the FRegional World Cup they are ready to really show what they can do.
List of F4 race-winners in Macau
| Year | Race | Winner (Team) |
|---|---|---|
| 2020 | Chinese F4 [Macau GP qualification race] | Charles Leong (Smart Life Racing) |
| 2020 | Chinese F4 [Macau GP main race] | Charles Leong (Smart Life Racing) |
| 2021 | Chinese F4 [Macau GP qualification race] | Charles Leong (Smart Life Racing) |
| 2021 | Chinese F4 [Macau GP main race] | Charles Leong (Smart Life Racing) |
| 2022 | Chinese F4 [Macau GP qualification race] | Gerrard Xie (Smart Life Racing) |
| 2022 | Chinese F4 [Macau GP qualification race] | Andy Chang (Champ Motorsport) |
| 2023 | F4 South East Asia (non-championship) | Arvid Lindblad (Prema/Theodore Racing) |
| 2023 | F4 South East Asia (non-championship) | Arvid Lindblad (Prema/Theodore Racing) |