MP Motorsport had added Chinese-Italian racer Zhenrui ‘Newman’ Chi to its FIA Formula Regional European Championship roster for 2026. The 16-year-old from Wenzhou is the Dutch team’s second FIA FREC driver to be announced in a line-up of three cars.

In 2025, Chi made his first Formula Regional acquaintance when he joined the European championship in the Red Bull Ring and Hockenheim rounds, showing promising form, while also taking part in the FR World Cup at Macau later in the year. He acquired experience at a similar level with a top-ten qualifying and points-finishing performance at the Monza round of the GB3 championship. All the while, the teenager honed his craft in a combined Italian F4 and Euro4 campaign, taking him to fifth in the final Italian standings to complete a strong full first year in single-seaters. Now, Chi is ready for his first full-time FIA FREC season with MP, joining Alexander Abkhazava in the three-car team.

“I’m extremely delighted to become part of the MP fold in 2026”, said Chi. “They showed excellent form with the new FR car in the Formula Regional Middle East Trophy, which is boding well for their chances in the main European championship. Our opposition will be strong, but that’s how it should be. I will be working to further integrate into the team over the next weeks before racing gets underway at Paul Ricard at the end of next month. I can’t wait to get going!”

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“It’s great news that Newman will join the MP family in our FIA FREC line-up for this season”, said Sander Dorsman, MP Motorsport’s team principal. “We’ve closely followed his progress last season, and have been amazed by the steps he has been able to make at his young age. We are convinced that he will continue to move forward in FIA FREC. With Alex and Newman, we have two talented youngsters in the team, so I’m looking forward to a great season with the both of them.”

Chi stepped up from karts to single-seaters with a late-2024 move into the UAE Formula Trophy for Formula 4 cars, immediately claiming two podiums and a pole position to finish fifth in the final standings. Coming over to Europe for his first full season, Chi took a win at Monza and three more podiums during his main Italian F4 campaign of 2025. Earlier this year, he became a regular points scorer in the Formula Regional Middle East Trophy to set him up for his switch to MP.