Published on Sunday, September 21, 2025

Matteo De Palo wins opening race in Barcelona and reclaims the championship lead

The 2025 Formula Regional European Championship by Alpine continues to deliver drama and on-track excitement, as demonstrated today in Barcelona, where Matteo De Palo claimed his fourth win of the season to retake the championship lead.

It was a crucial victory for the Trident Motorsport driver, who made a perfect start to get ahead of pole-sitter Freddie Slater (Prema Racing), the standings leader coming into the weekend. The Italian never looked back, keeping control of the race throughout while also setting the fastest lap, masterfully navigating the Spanish circuit. With this result, De Palo now holds a slender four-point lead over Slater, who managed to secure second place despite late pressure from Pedro Clerot (VAR). The Brazilian, fresh off a win in the last race at the Red Bull Ring, once again showed impressive form, passing Jin Nakamura (R-ace GP) in the early stages and ultimately securing the final step on the podium. His result also allowed him to overtake Enzo Deligny (R-ace GP) for third in the overall standings, with the Frenchman forced to retire after contact with Slater in turn one on the opening lap.

Nakamura finished in fourth, followed by Nandhavud Bhirombhakdi, who scored his best result of the season in fifth, bringing more valuable points to the Trident camp. ART Grand Prix teammates Taito Kato and Evan Giltaire followed in sixth and seventh, respectively, ahead of the two Prema Racing cars of Rashid Al Dhaheri and Jack Beeton in eighth and ninth. Rounding out the top ten was Kanato Le, who made a late move on Michael Belov to take the final point. Belov, driving for CL Motorsport, was involved in two separate contacts with Nikita Bedrin (Saintéloc Racing). Bedrin crossed the line in 11th, while Belov finished 15th.

The championship, jointly organized by ACI Sport and Alpine Racing, returns to action tomorrow morning at 09:50 with the second qualifying session of the weekend, which will be streamed live on the series’ official YouTube channel.

Matteo De Palo (Trident)

"I knew the start would be my best opportunity, as my launches have been strong since the beginning of the season, and I was confident going into race one. I managed to get ahead of Freddie straight away, and from there it was all about managing the tyres, keeping a consistent pace, and avoiding mistakes. The speed was good and we were able to build a solid gap of more than three seconds to take the win, which is a very positive result. Qualifying could have been better this morning, as I felt we had the potential for overall pole, but we’ll work hard overnight to fine-tune a few details and hopefully fight at the front again tomorrow. If it rains, I expect to be competitive as well, but we’ll only know once we get on track."

Freddie Slater (Prema Racing)

"The start wasn’t great, and that really made the difference, because here in Barcelona it’s very difficult to overtake. I tried to manage the tyre degradation as best as I could and focus on the right areas of the track to defend, but when you’re fighting at the front with such small gaps, it’s always tricky to make a move. I made a slight mistake at Turn 13 but managed to hold the position until the end. Our qualifying pace looks stronger than our race pace at the moment, so we’ll need to analyse the data and work on the little details overnight to improve. It’s not about big gains, just a few tenths that can add up over the race distance. Tomorrow’s conditions could also be interesting if the rain arrives. We haven’t had much running in the wet this year, so it would be a bit of an unknown for everyone."

Pedro Clerot (VAR)

"It was a good race overall. The start wasn’t ideal, but once things settled I had strong pace and managed to pass Nakamura with a nice move. From there, I focused on tyre management early on, then pushed more in the middle and towards the end, and I’m very happy with how we performed. We closed in on Matteo and Freddie, which shows the speed was there, even if I couldn’t quite get past for second. In the end, the important thing is scoring points and staying in the fight, and the championship is becoming really exciting with so many of us in the mix. Tomorrow will be another close battle, qualifying will be key, especially if the rain comes, but I’m confident we can improve and fight again at the front."

Dion Gowda (VAR)

"It was quite a tricky race with not much overtaking, and I felt we lacked a little bit of pace, but overall it was okay and I’m happy to take the rookie win. Qualifying could have gone a bit better, but the speed has been there, and I’m looking forward to tomorrow. If the rain comes, it could make things interesting, so hopefully we can put everything together and fight for another strong result."