AIX Racing have announced that Cian Shields is set to return for a second season in FIA Formula 2 with the team in 2026.
Shield is currently in the midst of his rookie campaign in the Championship with the team and so far, has a best result of P11 at the Imola Feature Race.
Prior to that, the 20 year old has one full season in FIA Formula 3 in 2024, and finished second in the 2023 Euroformula Open Championship, with four victories to his name.
Shields is now set to continue in Formula 2 next year and following the announcement, he expressed confidence in his ability to continue to grow with AIX.
I’m happy to continue with AIX Racing for another season in FIA Formula 2. This year had its challenges, but I’ve taken a lot of lessons from it and I feel ready to come back stronger. With the experience we’ve built together, I’m confident we can take a big step forward and fight for the results we want. Shields on the news.
We are excited to continue with Cian for the 2026 FIA Formula 2 season. The 2025 season has been challenging for him and the team, but we strongly believe in his talent and determination. With the team’s full backing and support, we are confident that we can create the right environment for Cian to take the next step forward; the step that both he and the team are striving for. Morne Reinecke, AIX Racing Team Principal.
AIX Racing have confirmed that Brad Benavides is set to return to the team for the 2026 Formula 3 season – completing their driver lineup for the upcoming campaign.
Benavides had a stellar 2025 F3 campaign with AIX, achieving two pole positions in Spa-Francorchamps and Monza, achieving a best finish of P4 at the Italian venue’s Feature Race.
This came a year after the American driver won the 2024 Euroformula Championship thanks to his 19 podiums, which included nine wins.
Benavides is now set to return for another campaign in Formula 3 with AIX, and at the announcement, he thanked the team for their support.
Can’t thank AIX enough for their continued support. Can’t thank God enough for not giving up on me/my love for racing. One truth is reality, and another truth is that dreaming is always worth it. With only Love, BB. Benavides on the news.
Very proud to close off our driver line-up for 2026 and to do so with Brad is the cherry on top! Brad brings to the team many fine qualities as a driver and is a real team player who has supported his team mates previously and has a very strong work ethic. I’m stoked to have him as my brother again for another season and look forward to working hard over the winter together to convert that qualifying pace that we know Brad can deliver into a strong and consistent race performance as we all witnessed in Monza. Kenny Kirwan, AIX Racing Team Manager.
Fernando Barrichello will race for AIX Racing for the 2026 FIA Formula 3 Season.
The United Arab Emirates-based outfit confirmed the Brazilian as their second driver for next season after the news Yevan David would be stepping up to F3 earlier in the month.
Barrichello, son of former Formula 1 driver Rubens, stepped up to single seaters in 2022 in Brazilian F4, finishing seventh in his rookie season.
He moved on to Spanish F4 in 2023, and most recently raced in the Euroformula Open Championship in 2024, finishing third overall. He also took part in the season finale in Monza with the team to start getting ready for the season.
Extremely grateful for this opportunity – so much hard work has gone into reaching this moment! I’m excited to join AIX Racing and fight for big things. Que honra poder representar o nosso Brasil em algo tão grande – what an honour to represent Brazil on such a huge stage. Vamos com tudo!!! Barrichello on the news.
Super excited to welcome Fernando to our team from Monza onwards. We will be throwing him into the deep end a little, however the experience will prove invaluable for his preparations for the upcoming 2026 campaign. I believe that we can develop Fernando even further and we look forward to his valuable team contribution and shared future success. Kenny Kirwan, AIX Racing FIA Formula 3 Team Manager.
Ugo Ugochukwu was the one to beat in the final Practice session of the season, the PREMA Racing driver’s last lap of the session putting him on top of the timesheets.
The American’s 1:38.473 was quickest of all, over a tenth clear of Campos Racing’s Nikola Tsolov and PREMA teammate Noel Leon.
The session got underway with Theophile Nael setting a 1:41.780, putting him over a tenth ahead of home favourite Brando Badoer. But then came the Italian’s teammate Ugochukwu and Leon, with the former going to P1 on a 1:40.455, while the latter settled for second, 0.229s behind.
Nael then took P1 back with a 1:40.084, eclipsing Leon’s improved time by 0.116s as MP Motorsport’s Alessandro Giusti rounded out the top three.
However, with nearly 20 minutes gone in the session and after setting the fastest first sector, Roman Bilinski spun into the barrier at the Ascari chicane, bringing out the Red Flags.
Running resumed with 16 minutes to go and there were several changes near the top of the field as Rafael Camara went fastest on a 1:39.346, with Martinius Stenshorne following him across the line to end up 0.242s off the 2025 Champion.
The Hitech TGR driver then improved to a 1:39.189 on his next lap to go fastest. But just as he did that, many of the teams opted to bring their drivers into the pitlane to swap the carry-over Medium tyres to the Softs.
On the first runs it was Callum Voisin that went fastest on a 1:38.721, with Nael and Nikola Tsolov in second and third all within a tenth of the Rodin Motorsport driver.
But they were able to push on for another lap on the Softs and this time it was Ugochukwu that took P1 on a 1:38.473, beating Tsolov by 0.128 with his teammate Leon in third.
Qualifying-
Group A
Nikita Johnson and Roman Bilinski were the first ones out of the pitlane at the green light, with the rest of the field joining them out on track with over five minutes to go.
Rafael Camara’s only lap put him P1 with a 1:38.520, just 0.093s clear of Ugo Ugochukwu, with Tasanapol Inthraphuvasak in third.
Alessandro Giusti, Tim Tramnitz and Callum Voisin, having been at the front of the field, were the only ones able to continue on for a second lap. But just as they did that, Camara’s time was deleted for exceeding track limits at Turn 5.
Giusti then completed his lap to go P4 ahead of his MP Motorsport teammate, while Voisin wound up 10th in the group.
This let Ugochukwu on top of the group and on provisional pole with a 1:38.613. Inthraphuvasak was 0.013s behind in second, with Bilinski third.
Group B
The next set of 15 made their way out on track immediately at the green light with 1:38.613 the time to beat for pole.
Noah Stromsted was quickest after the first set of laps on a 1:38.647, just 0.014s ahead of PREMA’s Noel Leon with Theophile Nael in P3.
Mari Boya then went to P1 but was quickly beaten by Charlie Wurz and then Tuukka Taponen, who was on provisional pole with a 1:38.502s, as Martinius Stenshorne went 0.058s behind in P2.
The Hitech TGR driver was the only member of the field not able to push on for a third lap and there were several improvements, before Benavides took a second pole of the season with a 1:38.120s.
Leon was second in the group ahead of Nikola Tsolov, and Matias Zagazeta, as Taponen and Stenshorne slipped to fifth and sixth respectively.
Yevan David has become the first driver to be confirmed for the 2026 FIA Formula 3 season, with AIX Racing announcing his signing for next season.
David is currently competing in the Euroformula Open Championship where he was taken four race victories so far this season and a further five podium results. He also achieved a top 10 finish in GB3 at the beginning of August.
Prior to that, David competed in the Eurocup-3, Spanish F4 and UAE F4 Championships last year, in what was his first full season of single-seater racing after graduating from karts.
He is now set to become the first driver from Sri Lanka to compete in FIA F3. Speaking about his signing with AIX, the 18 year old said he was proud to become the first driver from his country to compete in the championship and very grateful for the opportunity.
Very thankful to have this opportunity to be racing as the first Sri Lankan driver in Formula 3, and with AIX racing. They’ve proved themselves and I’m excited to achieve great milestones with them for the season ahead. David on the news.
AIX Racing have become the first team to confirm part of their plans for 2026 with the signing of Emerson Fittipaldi Jr for next season.
The Brazilian, son of two-time Formula 1 World Champion Emerson Fittipaldi, will be making his Formula 2 debut next season.
Fittipaldi Jr has been racing in the Eurocup-3 Championship in 2025 and is currently 13th in the standings.
In 2021 he took part in the F4 Danish Championship where he finished 3rd overall with 2 wins, and 8 podiums to his name.
Last year he took part in the Eurocup-3 where he finished 5th overall with 4 podiums to his campaign.
Speaking about his confirmation for 2026, Fittipaldi Jr said that it was a huge opportunity, and that he was looking forward to working with AIX team.
I am very much looking forward to this opportunity. Racing in the FIA Formula 2 is going to be a big learning curve for me. I will be competing against the best drivers in the world, so it will be an honour to be racing against all of them on the race track. My expectations are that I will be learning a lot, every single day and every single week. Emerson Fittipaldi Jr on the news.
Mari Boya got his weekend off to the best possible start by topping a rescheduled Free Practice session at 2:06.111.
The Campos Racing driver was immediately out front on his first attempt as everyone looked to make the most of the shortened 30 minute session.
Boya set the early pace on a 2:06.111, 0.4s ahead of teammate Tasanapol Inthraphuvasak in an early 1-2 for the Spanish team.
Ugo Ugochukwu disrupted that on his second attempt, moving up to second, 0.3s down on the best effort, but there were plenty more improving behind him.
Martinius Stenshorne went second soon after and to within 0.121s of Boya’s earlier effort, while MP Motorsport’s Bruno del Pino moved himself up to third just over a tenth adrift of the Spaniard.
After a brief spell in the pit lane, the track got busy once again inside the final 10 minutes. There were several personal bests logged but nobody could dislodge Boya from the P1 spot.
Stenshorne and del Pino finished second and third ahead of Ugochukwu, with Inthraphuvasak completing the top five.
Qualifying-
AIX Racing’s Brad Benavides earned his and the team’s maiden FIA Formula 3 Aramco Pole Position Award late on in a thrilling Qualifying session.
The American found time on his final attempt to record a 2:04.253 and beat Championship leader and TRIDENT driver Rafael Camara to the to spot, with Rodin Motorsport’s Callum Voisin in third.
With the first runs in the books, Camara hit the front with a 2:05.557 to set the pace ahead of Ugo Ugochukwu by 0.234s.
Practice pace-setter Mari Boya had been in the top five but lost his opening effort to exceeding track limits after running over the white line at Pouhon.
Drivers remained on circuit for another attempt on their first set of tyres and there were improvements in the top 10. Tasanapol Inthraphuvasak closed the gap to Camara in second, with Alessandro Giusti third on his next attempt for MP Motorsport.
Everyone returned to the pit lane with half the session remaining for a fresh set of the Pirelli Medium tyres.
One of the drivers to go early on the second run was Theophile Nael, who went fastest on a 2:05.508. Van Amersfoort Racing Teammate Santiago Ramos improved to third, 0.172s down on the Frenchman’s laptime.
With the rest of the grid back out for their next set of laps, Boya led the train and put in a personal best, but track evolution was huge, leading to a massive improvement in times.
Benavides delivered a 2:04.253 for the provisional top spot with three minutes to go. Camara also made an improvement but could not better the time of the American driver, settling 0.106s behind in second.
A squabble for track position ended when Ugochukwu moved to the head of the queue for the final attempts with less than 30 seconds to go and with almost the entire grid looking to start their final lap as late as possible.
However, nobody could find an improvement, leaving Benavides with pole for the Feature Race on Sunday, his and AIX’s first in the championship.
The top 10 are- Pole: Benavides, P2: Camara, P3: Voisin, P4: Bilinski, P5: Stenshorne, P6: Ugochukwu, P7: Tsolov, P8: Inthraphuvasak, P9: Wurz and P10: Del Pino.
AIX Racing have announced the signing of Nicola Marinangeli for the upcoming Formula 3 season, their second confirmed driver for the 2025 season.
Marinangeli first started out in single seater racing in 2018 and achieved several podium and points finishes during his four full seasons, including a victory in the 2020 Formula 4 UAE Championship.
The Italian driver then made the move to sportscars in 2022 and has gone on to score nine podiums since then, three of those being victories.
Two of his wins came last season, the 21 year old being part of a team which finished third in the 2024 International GT Open.
For 2025, he is set to race for AIX in F3, and speaking following the announcement, Marinangeli revealed how motivated he is for the new challenge.
Such a great honour for me to join the FIA Formula 3 grid with AIX Racing this year. It will be an interesting challenge for me, considering the two years racing in GT3. Couldn’t be more motivated for this experience. Let’s see what this year brings to us. Marinangeli on the news.
AIX Racing has confirmed Cian Shields for the 2025 FIA Formula 2 season.
Shields raced for AIX Racing in the two final rounds of the 2024 season, as he got his preparations for his step up to F2 early. He will continue with the team alongside Joshua Duerksen, who was confirmed in mid-December.
Last season, Shields completed his rookie campaign in FIA Formula 3, securing a best finish of 14th. Overall he finished 30th out of 30 drivers.
Back in 2023, he took part in the Euroformula Open Championship, where he finished as runner-up where he grabbed four wins and 10 podiums from 23 races.
I’m super excited to be competing in FIA Formula 2 with AIX Racing for 2025! I can’t wait to get started and push myself to new limits this season and super excited to get to work, we worked very well together at the end of last year. A huge thank you to the team for believing in me and giving me this incredible opportunity to race under their colours. Cian Shields on the news.
AIX Racing have confirmed that Joshua Duerksen will be joining the team this year for a second campaign in FIA Formula 2.
The Paraguayan driver completed his rookie campaign in the Championship with the team in 2024, achieving four podium results along with two race wins, including the season-ending Yas Marina Feature Race.
Duerksen made the jump up to Formula 2 after competing in the 2023 edition of Formula Regional European Championship by Alpine where he secured multiple points finishes and a podium.
I am really excited and happy to announce that I will continue one more year with AIX Racing. We had a great season this year, having four podiums and two wins. And of course, I hope that next year we can replicate a lot more of this success. The progress of the year has been incredible. And I am just extremely happy that you can see me with these colours again next year. Duerksen on the news.
Never change a winning Team. We are more than happy to start a second consecutive year with Joshua in 2025, who was, without any doubt, the most progressing and also surprising Driver in F2 2024. We were aware of his talent and work-ethic and beside that having a great personality. His achievements 2024 are underlining our ambitious goal, to fight permanently for the top ranks in 2025. Everyone is highly motivated and delighted to continue 2025 were we finished with Joshua in 2024. Vamos…. Roland Rehfeld, AIX Racing Sporting Director.
AIX Racing have confirmed that Javier Sagrera will be driving for them in FIA Formula 3 next year, becoming their first driver signing for the 2025 season.
The Spanish driver makes the step up to F3 following a strong campaign in the 2024 Eurocup Championship during which he claimed four victories with 10 podiums in total.
The 20 year old also previously took part in the Spanish F4 and GB3 Championships, achieving podium finishes in the latter.
Sagrera will now graduate to F3 with AIX having also taken part in both post-season tests in Jerez and Barcelona with the team.
I am really happy to be joining AIX Racing for the 2025 season. I couldn’t be more excited and motivated to see what comes ahead next year. And I am for sure more than confident that, together with the team, we can put on a big challenge and we are going to make sure to work as much as we can this winter to do so. I believe in every single individual of this team and I am just really grateful and excited for this opportunity. Sagrera on the news.
Warm welcome Javier. I was following Javier now for two years and his 2024 campaign winning the Eurocup-3 Championship on track, convinced us to test him at the F3 Postseason Testing 2024. Also here he showed directly the necessary potential with his speed, driving and working attitude. Beside that his personality is well matured, grateful and just sympathetic. We are convinced about his talent and are sure to achieve successful results next season, and surprising a lot of people. AIX Racing Sporting Director, Roland Rehfeld.
AIX Racing have confirmed that Cian Shields will see out the rest of the Formula 2 season with the team, replacing Niels Koolen for the Lusail and Yas Marina rounds.
Shields steps up to F2 after a single season in Formula 3 where he achieved a best result of 14th at the Barcelona Sprint Race.
Prior to that, the 19 year old finished as the runner up in the 2023 Euroformula Open Championship thanks to 10 podiums which included four wins.
He is now set to step up to Formula 2 for the final two rounds of the season with AIX, an opportunity he is delighted to be getting.
I’m super excited to be joining AIX Racing for the final two rounds of the FIA Formula 2 Championship in Qatar and Abu Dhabi. I’m looking forward to this fantastic opportunity and ready to make an impact with the team, giving it everything in these last races. Shields on the news.
Jordan's Track Talk 