A weekend marking the conclusion of the winter series: championships reaching their finale and new seasons beginning around the world.
From Shanghai to Arlington (Texas), via Barcelona and Aragon: the sun will never set on Tatuus single-seaters this weekend. The return of F1 Academy in Shanghai will open each race day, followed by the Formula Winter Series (Barcelona) and the E4 Spanish Winter Championship (Aragon), before the action concludes in Arlington, Texas, with the opening round of the USF Pro 2000 season.
A special weekend during which the F1 Academy single-seaters will once again share the paddock with Formula 1 cars, while the USF Pro 2000 machines will do the same with the IndyCar Series.
F1 Academy
The second round of the Formula 1 World Championship coincides with the season opener for F1 Academy, which returns to the Shanghai circuit for the second time.
There will be many new faces on the grid, with as many as 11 drivers out of 18 making their category debut (although some already gained experience through the 2025 Wild Card round). As tradition dictates, they will represent the six competing teams—MP, Campos, Rodin, Prema, ART and Hitech—along with the ten Formula 1 teams and the championship’s prestigious brand partners: Lego, Sephora, Puma, American Express, Gatorade and Tag Heuer.
The weekend programme will begin with Friday morning’s free practice session, followed in the Chinese afternoon by qualifying (14:10 local time, 07:10 CET). Race 1 will take place on Saturday at 13:45 local time (06:45 CET), while Race 2 will close the round on Sunday at 10:40 in Shanghai (03:40 CET).
Qualifying and races will be broadcast live by all official F1 Academy broadcasters as well as on the championship’s official YouTube channel.
USF Pro 2000
The USF Pro Championships enter their third consecutive race week, concluding the 2026 opening rounds with their top category, which will take to the track in Arlington (Texas) as part of the Java House Grand Prix of Arlington.
A total of 21 cars will line up on the grid, with 12 rookies ready to challenge the nine returning drivers.
Seven teams will be competing: Comet/NCMP Racing, Exclusive Autosport, Jay Howard Driver Development (now partnered with Ed Carpenter Racing), Pabst Racing, TJ Speed Motorsport, Turn 3 Motorsport and VRD Racing.
The schedule for the Andersen Promotions-organised series begins with practice on Friday morning, followed by qualifying at 17:15 local time (23:15 CET). Both races will take place on Saturday, with Race 1 at 12:25 (18:25 CET) and Race 2 at 16:55 (22:55 CET), while Sunday will be entirely dedicated to the IndyCar Series.
Qualifying and races will be streamed live on the official USF Pro Championships YouTube channel.
Formula Winter Series
As tradition dictates, the Formula Winter Series organised by Gedlich will conclude its season at the Circuit de Catalunya in Barcelona.
Dries Van Langendonck (Rodin) heads into the decisive round with a 97-point advantage over Thomas Bearman (Van Amersfoort), while the battle for the teams’ championship is much closer, with Rodin leading US Racing by just three points.
Thursday and Friday will feature collective testing, with three 50-minute sessions scheduled each day. Saturday will host qualifying (10:30 local time) followed by Race 1 at 14:05.
The two Sunday races will bring the season to a close, with Race 2 starting at 11:35 and Race 3 at 15:50.
All races will be streamed live on the official Formula Winter Series YouTube channel.
E4 - Spanish Winter Championship
The Spanish F4 winter series heads to its third and final round, after replicating in 2026 the great success achieved in 2025 and setting the stage for another intense season in the Spanish summer championship.
Noah Monteiro (Campos) leads the standings with 90 points, ahead of Nathan Tye (Drivex) on 64.
The two title contenders and their rivals will have three free practice sessions on Friday to get acquainted with the Aragon circuit, before moving into the competitive phase with Saturday morning qualifying and the three scheduled races.
Race 1 will start at 11:50 on Saturday, followed in the afternoon (15:10) by Race 2, the sprint race. Sunday will begin with the second qualifying session at 09:00 and conclude at 11:00 with Race 3.
All races will be streamed live on the series’ official YouTube channel.



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