R01 Imola - Formula Regional European Championship by Alpine Race Preview
PREMA Racing will head into a new Formula Regional European Championship by Alpine season this weekend at Imola, and lining up at the tough Italian racetrack, it hopes to carry its 2022 form into the new year. The team will field a completely new line-up featuring two rookie drivers, and left a good impression in the recent collective testing sessions.
Returning to the championship for his third season, Lorenzo Fluxá will be the most experienced driver of the bunch. The 18-year-old Spaniard is looking for a breakthrough after fighting for the podium positions in this winter's Formula Regional Middle East Championship.
Ferrari Driver Academy member Rafael Camâra will move up to Formula Regional after finishing third in the 2022 Italian and German F4 championships and grabbing the rookie title in the German series. The 17-year-old Brazilian had a brilliant run in a recent collective test at Imola and hopes to carry the same form into the season. This year, he finished third in the Formula Regional Middle East Championship, where he was a leading contender.
Andrea Kimi Antonelli will also contest his rookie FRECA season and had a stunning start by securing the Formula Regional Middle East crown with three wins to his credit. The 16-year-old Italian, a Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS F1 Team Junior driver, is the reigning Italian and German F4 champion. For him and Camâra, the jump to an extremely close and contested championship will be no easy task, but having shown such good promise, the goal is to keep fighting at the top of the series.
Rene Rosin - Team Principal
"We are looking forward to another season in this incredibly challenging championship. Being the reigning champions, we know that everyone will be extra motivated to beat us and we worked extremely hard to stay at the top of our game. For sure we were competitive in testing with all three drivers, but race weekends are a different thing so we will keep pushing to the best of our ability. In FRECA no mistakes are allowed for drivers and teams alike. Everything needs to be perfect. "