Step Motorsport joins FWinter Series, VAR revises line-up and tops test

Photo: Gedlich Racing

Danish team Step Motorsport is preparing for its expansion across Europe by racing in next weekend’s Formula Winter Series finale at Barcelona.

It has run two past Danish Formula 4 champions, and this year will enter F4 Central European Zone with three cars. One of those will be driven by Danish-Swedish karting graduate Erik Poulsen, who will be its sole FWinter Series entry.

Poulsen made his single-seater debut in the previous round at Valencia’s Ricardo Tormo circuit with AS Motorsport, and had a best finish of 20th place.

For this weekend’s round at Motorland Aragon, AS has replaced Poulsen with F4 debutant Alex Chartier. The 15-year-old Canadian has raced on OK karts since July 2024, and 33rd in WSK’s Final Cup was the highlight. On OK Junior karts he finished 18th in WSK’s Champions Cup.

Several other teams have brought in new drivers this week. Platon Kostin will be part of Van Amersfoort Racing’s line-up for the last two rounds, replacing 15-year-old Rocco Coronel who is racing in Spanish F4’s Winter Championship next weekend.

Coronel sits sixth in the FWinter Series standings with one win, and ninth with two podiums in Spanish F4’s. Kostin came 23rd in UAE4 earlier this year, was a race-winner in SMP F4’s winter series and sixth in its main championship last year.

The ongoing war in the Middle East, instigated by the USA’s invasion of Iran last week, means Saudi racer Abdullah Kamel is unable to reach Aragon this weekend. AKM Motorsport has called up Belgium-based Venezuelan racer Emmilio Valentino Del Grosso to replace him, while British debutant George Proudford-Nalder is taking the place of Felipe Reijs in its line-up.

Reijs sits 20th in the Spanish F4 Winter Championship, and like Red Bull junior Coronel is racing for MP Motorsport in that paddock. The Dutch team has announced that the pair will race for them in the main championship too.

Coronel is reigning champion of entry-level sportscar series Ginetta Junior, and made the podium with MP on his second single-seater start in the 2025 Spanish F4 finale. His Dutch compatriot Reijs was 20th in Ginetta Junior’s standings, then was 21st in the F4-spec Formula Trophy.

Del Grosso drove for Mathilda Racing in FWinter Series’ second round at Algarve, and will join Elite Motorsport in GB4 later this year. The 16-year-old Proudford-Nalder hails from Australia, and the two drivers came 18th and seventh respectively in Ginetta Junior last season.

There have been two days of pre-event testing at Aragon, and the field has included Rahim Alibhai in one of Mathilda Racing’s cars. He is currently 24th in the Spanish F4 Winter Championship, came 22nd in a part-time USF Juniors campaign last year and is a member of Fernando Alonso’s A14 Management scheme.

Rain bombarded many of the test sessions, and VAR’s Alexander Ruta topped the driest one on Thursday. Rodin Motorsport’s Dries Van Langendonck was quickest in the other two sessions that day, then VAR’s Thomas Bearman set the pace in the first two Friday sessions.

Test results