The third season of F1 Academy comes to a close in Las Vegas, as does Formula Regional Japan’s sixth season at Suzuka. Feeder Series previews the title battles on the line.
By Feeder Series
Just two professional single-seater series still have races remaining in their current seasons, and one races for the last time in 2025 this weekend. F1’s third-to-last round in Las Vegas will determine whether three or two drivers remain in the title hunt, while six drivers, including Red Bull junior Ayumu Iwasa, remain in title contention as Super Formula heads to Suzuka.
Both championships are supported by junior single-seater series, with F1 Academy ending its 2025 season with a duel between Mercedes junior Doriane Pin and Ferrari junior Maya Weug. FR Japan’s title battle, meanwhile, features two junior drivers from the same marque in Toyota, with teammates Kiyoshi Umegaki and Tokiya Suzuki separated by 23.5 points with three races remaining.
From the press: Nostalgic for more title battles from 2025? Over the past few weeks, we’ve published interviews with several of the champions across junior series this year. Click the links to hear from F3’s Rafael Câmara, FR Europe’s Freddie Slater, Italian F4’s and E4’s Kean Nakamura-Berta, AU4’s Noah Killion, and even F3 teams’ champions Campos Racing.
F1 Academy: Round 7, Las Vegas
Circuit: Las Vegas Strip Circuit, 6.201 km
Schedule: All times local (UTC−8)
Thursday 20 November
- 18:00–18:40: Free practice
- 21:30–22:00: Qualifying
Friday 21 November
Saturday 22 November
How to follow: Live timing is available via the F1 Academy website. Sessions are streamed on F1 TV and on F1 Academy’s YouTube and X accounts.
Weather forecast: Rain possible Thursday evening. Clouds expected Friday; sunny skies Saturday.
What to know: The final round of F1 Academy will take place this weekend in Las Vegas. This will be the first time the F1 Academy drivers take on the Las Vegas Strip Circuit, one of three new additions to the calendar this year.
Heading into the final round, just nine points separate championship leader Doriane Pin and her rival Maya Weug. The battle for third between Ella Lloyd, who was recently announced to be returning for a second season, and Chloe Chambers is also tight, with only two points separating them. For second-year drivers such as Chambers, the round at Las Vegas will be their last in the series.
Aiva Anagnostiadis will not be racing in the season finale as she recovers from a fractured foot, and Rachel Robertson (#56) will be taking her place in the Tag Heuer–sponsored Hitech. The 18-year-old raced in the Radical Cup UK this year, finishing third in the overall standings. Robertson also took part in the F1 Academy rookie test, finishing fifth fastest in both the morning and afternoon sessions.
Her teammate and the wild card entry for the finale is Payton Westcott (#15), who will be sponsored by Visit Las Vegas. The 16-year-old from Laguna Beach, California, competed in Italian F4 and E4 with Van Amersfoort Racing this year, and also ran a campaign in the Formula Winter Series earlier this year. Westcott also participated in the rookie test, being third fastest in the morning session and fastest in the afternoon session.
Report by Kaylene Lau
Doriane Pin heads into the season finale as the championship leader | Credit: Jiří Křenek / Mercedes-Benz Grand Prix Limited
Read the previous round’s report here.
FRegional Japan: Round 6, Suzuka
Circuit: Suzuka International Racing Course, 5.807 km
Schedule: All times local (UTC+9)
Friday 21 November
- 10:00–10:45: Practice 1
- 13:05–13:50: Practice 2
Saturday 22 November
- 9:05–9:20: Qualifying 1
- 9:30–9:45: Qualifying 2
- 12:40–13:10: Race 1
Sunday 23 November
- 8:15–8:45: Race 2
- 11:25–11:55: Race 3
How to follow: All qualifying sessions and races are live-streamed on the series’ official YouTube channel. Streams include a split-screen display with trackside cameras and live timing.
Weather forecast: Some clouds but no rain expected.
What to know: The closest championship battle of all Japanese feeder series will be decided at Suzuka in Super Formula’s support series, Formula Regional Japan.
Four consecutive wins in the previous two rounds gave Toyota junior Kiyoshi Umegaki the status of the one to beat going into the final round of the season. His rival, fellow Toyota junior and TOM’S teammate Tokiya Suzuki, trails him by 23.5 points.
The series makes its second visit to Suzuka having raced there previously in July, when Umegaki and Suzuki collided on the last lap of the first race and dropped from a safe one-two for TOM’S to seventh and eighth.
No matter the outcome of this weekend, both drivers have their futures secured, as they are expected to switch to Super Formula Lights with TOM’S in 2026.
A handful of driver changes occur going into this weekend. Rn-sports fields a second car alongside Yu Oda, driven by Hibiki Komatsu (#10). Komatsu raced in Japanese F4 in 2023 and the opening round in 2024, taking a best result of sixth in the second race when multiple frontrunning teams withdrew. In 2025, Komatsu raced in Super Taikyu with Jidosha Motorsport, coming third in the ST-3 class, and MEC120 with Studio J-Loc, in which his team is second in the v.Gramz Pro-Am class.
Masters’ class champion Yutaka Toriba (#13) returns to AiWin, replacing Ai Miura.
Report by Finjo Muschlien
Tokiya Suzuki could become the first driver to win FRegional Japan and Japanese F4 in the same year | Credit: Toyota Gazoo Racing
Read the previous round’s report here.
All times and forecasts listed above are subject to change. For the most up-to-date information, follow each series’ websites or social media pages.
Header photo credit: LAT Images / Mercedes-Benz Grand Prix Limited
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