Ferrari Driver Academy talent Tuukka Taponen became the 2024 Formula Regional Middle East Champion (FRMEC) in the final round at Dubai Autodrome. Victory in Saturday’s opening race of the weekend for R-ace GP’s 17-year-old Finnish star was enough to put him beyond reach of his only remaining title rival, Taylor Barnard, and for good measure, Taponen put on a dominant display in Sunday’s season finale to further underline his superiority with another win.

Three different drivers stood atop the podium during a thrilling Formula Regional Middle East Championship Certified by FIA (FRMEC) Round 3 at Dubai Autodrome, but it was a fourth who emerged from the action with an expanded points lead. While Taylor Barnard, Nikhil Bohra, and Rafael Câmara tasted glory on the weekend, in the longer game it is Tuukka Taponen who is looking ever more difficult to beat to the ultimate prize, with two events – comprising a total of six races – remaining.

The Formula Regional Middle East Championship certified by FIA (FRMEC) was the domain of the sensational Tuukka Taponen over the course of the second round on the full 5.281km Formula 1 layout of the Yas Marina Circuit. The 17-year-old Finn, who is backed by the Ferrari Driver Academy, topped both qualifying sessions and then drove his R-ace GP car to his first two victories in the category. 

Abu Dhabi, February 19, 2023: Mercedes Formula 1 protégé Andrea Kimi Antonelli became the inaugural Formula Regional Middle East (FRMEC) champion during another thrilling weekend of action in the final round at the Yas Marina Circuit in Abu Dhabi. The 16-year-old Italian didn’t win any races, although he did take the chequered flag first in one of them. But a penalty for a collision with main title rival Taylor Barnard as they battled for the lead in race one converted victory into no points for Antonelli, and kept things at boiling point overnight before the deciding two races on Sunday.

Dubai, February 12, 2023: Thrilling racing on the Formula Regional Middle East Championship’s (FRMEC) return to Dubai Autodrome culminated in Andrea Kimi Antonelli taking an encouraging points lead into the final round next weekend at Yas Marina Circuit in Abu Dhabi. But such has been the unpredictable nature of the season so far, that nothing can be taken for granted. Antonelli may have shared the wins in Dubai with Pepe Martí and Nikita Bedrin, but it was Taylor Barnard who scored the biggest points total of the weekend and he is still very much in the picture for the title.