The Formula Regional European Championship by Alpine returned to action this morning for the opening qualifying session of the weekend at the Hungaroring, where once again, under dry conditions, the 30 cars of the international series organised by ACI Sport and Alpine Racing delivered plenty of excitement and spectacle.
Making headlines was Matteo De Palo, who clinched his first-ever pole position in this championship. This season, at the wheel of a Trident Motorsport car, he is firmly in the hunt for the overall title, now trailing leader Freddie Slater (Prema Racing) by just a single point. The Italian driver, who has already claimed one victory and two podiums in the first part of the season, set the fastest lap of Group B with a benchmark time of 1:37.431.
First out on track, however, was Group A, where Pedro Clerot emerged on top after a fiercely contested session. The Brazilian driver, fresh from his most recent race win at Zandvoort, continued to show impressive form in qualifying, having already scored back-to-back pole positions in the Netherlands. The Van Amersfoort Racing driver posted his quickest lap in the dying moments, edging out a rapid Enzo Deligny (R-ace GP), who will start Race 1 from the second row. Behind Deligny, winner at Spa-Francorchamps, Slater was ready to pounce and had also led the timesheets during the session. Solid performance, too, from Akshay Bohra (R-ace GP), who secured a place on the fourth row, while the Group A top five was completed by Nikita Bedrin (Saintéloc Racing). Bedrin, however, will serve a two-place grid penalty for failing to leave the racing line clear for another car on a flying lap.
Group B saw an intense duel between De Palo and Rashid Al Dhaheri (Prema Racing), the latter already a pole-sitter this year in Race 2 at Spa-Francorchamps. Ultimately, it was De Palo who prevailed, edging out the Mercedes-AMG F1 Team Junior Programme driver, who in turn finished ahead of Evan Giltaire (ART Grand Prix). Completing the top five in the second group were Hiyu Yamakoshi (Van Amersfoort Racing) and Jack Beeton (Prema Racing).
Attention now turns to Race 1, a 30-minute plus one lap contest scheduled to get underway at 13:30 local time. As per tradition, the race will be streamed live on the championship’s official YouTube channel and broadcast on TV networks following the series, including ACI Sport TV (Sky channel 228).
Matteo De Palo – Trident Motorsport:
“We’ve been fast all these days here in Hungary, and today was about putting everything together. It worked well, and we took pole position. We seem quick, so let’s try to do the same in Race 1. Of course, experience helps, but overall I feel like the same driver. I’m really comfortable with Trident, they’re a great team that pushes you to be the best version of yourself. The car is on point. Starting at the front is important because overtaking isn’t easy here, so securing pole was key. Tire degradation can play a big role, as we saw before, but today the conditions are a bit cooler. We’ll see how it develops in the race.”
Pedro Clerot – Van Amersfoort Racing:
“I’m very happy with the job we did yesterday and today. We’ve built a solid weekend so far, and I’m pleased with the lap. Honestly, I wasn’t expecting pole yesterday, I thought a top three in the group would have been a good result. Big thanks to the team for working so hard and getting the car right. This is a decisive season for me, my second year in the category. I’ve put in a lot of work behind the scenes, in the gym and on the sim, to keep improving. I’m happy it’s paying off. Now I’m focused on the race. It’s very hot, so tire degradation will be a factor, but I love driving here. It’s a beautiful track and city, and it even feels a bit like Brazil with this weather.”
Go to the results page:
https://formularegionaleubyalpine.com/corsa/budapest-2025
