Asia Racing Team is proud to announce that Timur Shagaliev will join the squad for the 2026 F4 Chinese Championship.
Timur Shagaliev has been competing in karting since the age of eight and has built an impressive junior career, collecting multiple silverware across Russian national competitions. In 2024, he was crowned ROTAX MAX Russia Champion and secured third in the Russian Karting Championship, in addition to representing Russia at the Rotax MAX Grand Finals and contesting rounds of the highly competitive WSK Series.
In 2025, Timur Shagaliev competed in the Russian OK Championship, finishing fifth overall, before stepping up to single-seater racing midway through the season. He contested several rounds of the Russian Formula 4 Championship at the wheel of the Tatuus F4 T-421 (Gen 2) and also took part in the Winter Cup, racing under the iconic number 27. Just last week, he finished third overall in the Russian Formula 4 Winter Series.
The young driver recently completed private testing with Asia Racing Team at the Zhuhai International Circuit, where he drove the team’s Ligier JS F422, gaining his first experience with the Zhuhai-based outfit ahead of his full campaign in China.
Timur Shagaliev commented: “After several test days with Asia Racing Team, I realised how positive and professional the environment is. The experience the whole team shared with me was extremely valuable. I am fully motivated to keep developing, increase my pace and fight for the highest positions. I truly believe that anything is possible within such a professional team. Thank you to everyone who supports me, and especially to Rodolfo Avila for the trust and the opportunity to be part of Asia Racing Team.”
Team Manager Rodolfo Avila added: “We are very happy to welcome Timur to the team. We had the opportunity to test him in Zhuhai, where he impressed us with both his speed and his commitment at such a young age. All the circuits will be new to him, but we are confident he will adapt quickly and be a strong contender from the very first race.”
The 2026 F4 Chinese Championship season gets underway at Shanghai International Circuit on 17–19 April. The six-round calendar will also visit Tianjin V1 International Circuit, Ningbo Speedpark International Circuit, Hunan International Circuit, Chengdu Tianfu International Circuit, and Zhuhai International Circuit.
