Photo: Trident
Trident has now announced its 2026 Formula Regional European Championship line-up in full, with Maximilian Popov joining the team.
The 17-year-old will be team-mate to Andrija Kostic and Luka Sammalisto, who like him are stepping up from Formula 4.
“I’m really excited to join Trident as we head into a new season with a brand new car. I’m ready to give it my all and show what we can do,” said Popov.
Next year will be the Russian’s third in single-seater racing, and Trident will be the third team he has raced for.
In 2024 he drove for PHM Racing, starting off in F4 United Arab Emirates where he was a points-free 27th in the standings. His form improved in Italian F4 and E4, coming 21st in the standings of both with 13 points across the two championships.
An F4 Central European Zone cameo proved far more fruitful, as he claimed a podium on debut, won on his second start and came 11th in the points table despite contesting only one of the six rounds.
Popov was able to carry that kind of form into 2025, which he has spent with Van Amersfoort Racing. His year began with the Formula Winter Series, in which he came sixth with two podiums.
In Italian F4 he made a big improvement, making the podium five times and being the second-highest non-Prema driver in the championship as he came sixth in the standings. Prema has been less dominant in E4, where Popov sits eighth in the points but is contention to be championship runner-up.