It’s time to take the track again for the Euroformula Open: the 2026 season kicks off this weekend, once again on the hills overlooking Portimão and the Atlantic, in the Autódromo do Algarve, whose 4,653-km layout represents a demanding and rewarding test for any driver.
It will be the 26th running of the single-seater formula by GT Sport, the 13th under the Euroformula Open denomination and the second with the new technical package introduced last year. The Dallara 324 and the Tom’s engine, together with the Pirelli tyres, have proven in just one season to be a top-class proposition for young drivers and top teams, with no major changes to the fundamentals of the product, based on a 3-race event format, 8 rounds on prestigious and F.1-graded tracks, and a top-level TV production.
Last year, the series lived an action-packed season, ending with a breathtaking finale at Monza, which crowned Tymek Kucharczyk (BVM Racing) as champion. It is certainly interesting to note that the young Pole is now shining in the Indy NXT, where he has taken three podium finishes in the first three race, looking set to join shortly the club of EFO graduates having become IndyCar stars in recent years, which includes names such Alex Palou, Colin Herta, Louis Foster, Ed Jones, Devlin DeFrancesco, and Linus Lundqvist, to name just the most prominent. A club that has its F.1 counterparts in drivers of the likes of Carlos Sainz, Yuki Tsunoda, Liam Lawson, and Jack Doohan.
Commenting on the season about to start, Jesús Pareja, CEO of GT Sport, stated: “Thanks to the new technical package formed by the Dallara 324 and the Tom’s engine, without forgetting the Pirelli tyres, we have certainly achieved the racing product we wanted. We still haven’t reached the grid numbers we want, but we have been working hard to lay the ground for an increase, which is going to be visible from the next rounds, as we know the number of cars we have sold. The market of single-seater formulae is in constant evolution, and we are confident that quantity will soon be joining quality.”
STRONG PRESENCE OF SOUTH AMERICAN DRIVERS
Last year, the honours were evenly shared by BVM Racing and Team Motopark, as they conquered the Drivers’ and Teams’ titles, respectively. This year too, the battle will be between the two top teams in the series.
BVM Racing will start the season at Portimão with three cars, but a fourth could be added soon to the entry of the Italian squad led by Giuseppe Mazzotti. The driver line-up includes two South Americans and one Indian. Javier Herrera, a very young (16) Mexican, joins with some F.4 appearances in the Italian and CEZ F.4 under his belt. On the contrary, Venezuela’s Alessandro Famularo (22) made his EFO debut in the last three rounds of the past season, which marked his return to the international scene. The third BVM Racing driver is India’s Divy Nandan (22), seen at Winter Test earlier in March and who has F.4 and GB3 experience.
Team Motopark, on its side, fields a seven-car strong representation. The driver line-up of the Oschersleben-based squad, conducted by Timo Rumpfkeil, combines drivers who come back to the series and newcomers having gone through the team’s academy.
In the first group, we have US race Everett Stack (19), who following his very strong end of the 2025 season, will certainly be among the title bidders, Mexico’s Diego de la Torre, whose speed has always been promising, and Taiwan’s Rui-Héng (Enzo) Yeh (17), who debuted in EFO at the end of last year and has a solid background in F.Regional in different series around the world.
The group of Euroformula rookies includes another Mexican, Lorenzo Castillo (17), who has F.4 and Eurocup 3 experience, and two drivers from Central Europe, Poland’s Wiktor Dobrzański (17), with similar background, and Czechia’s Jan Koller (18) joining from F.4. The latest addition to the squad is Jesse Carrasquedo (19) from Mexico, seen mainly in F.Regional and Eurocup 3.
Last but certainly not least, Neri Autosport is a new entry as a team. The French squad founded by former driver Jean –Luc Neri and based in Belfort (Bourgogne), has a long experience in junior formulae and is now making the step into the Euroformula. It will focus all its attention on one driver, Aaron Ferrazzano (18), one of the most promising young Belgian drivers, who is the reigning Ultimate F.3 Cup vice champion and has collected many karting titles in the Benelux area.