Asia Racing Team RFN will field four cars at the opening round of the F4 Chinese Championship certified by FIA, which takes place at the Shanghai International Circuit this weekend.
The 2026 F4 Chinese Championship certified by FIA season gets underway at the Shanghai International Circuit this weekend. The six-round calendar will also visit Tianjin V1 International Circuit, Ningbo International Speedpark, Hunan International Circuit, Chengdu Tianfu International Circuit and Zhuhai International Circuit.
The youngest member of the Asia Racing Team RFN line-up this season is 15-year-old Timur Shagaliev, who 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), experience that will serve him well on his first overseas campaign.
Equally young and promising talent Josh Feng will make his single-seater debut this weekend. The 15-year-old British-Chinese driver steps up from the Chinese karting scene for a learning year in single-seaters, and he showed encouraging pace during pre-season testing.
Joining Asia Racing Team RFN for the first time will be Chinese karter Zhuyuan Chen, who will also contest his first complete F4 season. The 19-year-old has built an impressive reputation in karting, both in China and on the international stage, and will make the step up to single-seater racing with the multiple championship-winning outfit.
Completing the line-up for this weekend’s season opener will be Chujian Huang, who will be entered in the CFGP class. The Chinese driver is well acquainted with the team, having made several appearances in the F4 Chinese Championship last year alongside a number of private test outings.
Team Manager Rodolfo Avila said: “We feel prepared for the new season, but we are also cautious in our expectations, as three of our drivers are rookies in the series and we will face opposition with more mileage in the cars than ourselves. The talent is definitely there, and we will see how we are able to translate that into results.”
The weekend begins with two Free Practice sessions on Friday morning, 17 April, followed by two Qualifying sessions in the afternoon. On Saturday, 18 April, the opening race is scheduled for 09:35 local time, with the second race – a 30-minute-plus-one-lap encounter – taking place at 13:20. The programme is repeated on Sunday, 19 April, with races at 09:15 and 16:00 respectively.
