The 2024 Macau Grand Prix (formally the 71st Macau Grand Prix – FIA FR World Cup) was a motor race for Formula Regional cars held on the streets of Macau on 17 November 2024. The race itself was made up of two races: a ten-lap qualifying race that decided the starting grid for the fifteen-lap main event. The 2024 race was the 71st running of the Macau Grand Prix, the first for Formula Regional cars and the inaugural FIA FR World Cup.[1]
The Macau Grand Prix is a race considered by drivers as a stepping stone to higher motor racing categories such as Formula One, and is Macau's most prestigious international sporting event.[2][3] The event was made a non-championship round of the FIA Formula 3 Championship for the first time in 2019, before the COVID-19 pandemic caused heavy disruptions, particularly concerning entry of foreign drivers into Macau. This caused the race to be held as a domestic Formula 4 event for three years, serving as a round of the Chinese Formula 4 Championship.[4][5][6]
After a return of Formula 3 and other international series to Macau in 2023,[7] the FIA announced that the 2024 event would see a switch to Formula Regional machinery. The organizing bodies called this change a "natural consequence of the evolution of the junior single-seater landscape over the last couple of years", with Formula Regional now effectively embodying the multi-region multi-spec nature that F3 had previously been synonymous with.[8]
Ahead of the event, the organising committee announced measures to minimise the impact of Typhoon Toraji, including potential schedule adjustments if necessary.[11] The event featured two 40-minute practice sessions: the first on Thursday morning before the initial qualifying session, and the second on Friday before the second qualifying round. The qualification process itself was divided into two 40-minute sessions, with each driver's best time from either session determining their starting position for the qualification race.
The first qualifying session on Thursday afternoon started in clear conditions on a drying track, with drivers on wet tires. PHM Racing’s Liu Ruiqi crashed into Lisboa before any laps were completed, halting the session. It resumed with 35 minutes remaining, during which Goethe posted the fastest time at 2:03.482s, followed by Taponen and MP’s Valerio Rinicella. Kiwi Motorsport’s Jett Bowling then crashed heavily at Moorish, causing another stoppage before anyone else could set a time. As barrier repairs commenced, it began to rain, worsening track conditions. PHM’s Rashid Al Dhaheri recorded the fastest time after the stoppage, over five seconds behind Goethe. The session faced further interruptions when Evans GP’s Kai Daryanani and Tiago Rodrigues stalled at the Lisboa runoff area, prompting consecutive red flags. By that point, the rain had intensified further, with initial times after the session resumed almost 15 seconds slower than Goethe’s opening lap. With more cars then venturing out on track, times were beginning to get faster again, but no improvements were made inside the top 15 positions. Kobayashi then caused another red flag with four minutes remaining after stopping at Lisboa. The session did not restart, confirming Goethe, Taponen, and Rinicella as the top three, with Al Dhaheri, Slater, and PHM's Matteo De Palo following. Dunne, Webster, Beganovic, and Naël completed the top ten.[14][15]
The second practice session commenced on a wet track with light rain, which intensified as the session continued, leading to the fastest laps being set early on. León recorded the best time of the session at 2:35.772s, narrowly ahead of Naël by just over a tenth, while Kanato Le of ART Grand Prix secured third place. Evan Giltaire, also representing ART, finished fourth, followed by Boya, Wharton, and Taponen. Ugochukwu's lap placed him eighth, just ahead of Deligny, with Alexander Abkhazava of Saintéloc Racing completing the top ten. The session was marked by multiple interruptions as drivers tested the limits on the narrow circuit. Several cars were stopped at the Melco hairpin, causing a blockage, while Daryanani collided with the wall, necessitating a brief pause for clearance. Although all drivers managed to resume, Daryanani had another incident shortly after, resulting in further disruption. A significant crash by León at the Solitude Esses ultimately concluded the session two minutes prematurely.[16][17]
A major accident during the preceding FIA GT World Cup qualifying session caused a 45-minute delay to the second qualifying session. With conditions now clear and dry, the first qualifying session's lap times were rendered obsolete. Following the initial laps, Beganovic led with a time of 2:22.199s. Goethe was the only driver to complete a second lap, which did not improve his time, before a significant three-car collision exiting Police corner triggered a red flag. Sato crashed into the wall exiting the corner, and Dunne and Beganovic collided with Sato’s stationary car. The subsequent pile-up led to Le stalling his vehicle, ending his session. The session resumed but was quickly halted again when Taponen hit the wall at the same corner. Drivers resumed laps with 28 minutes left in the session, and Beganovic's leading time was immediately beaten with León setting the fastest time at 2:20.190s. Goethe then improved, with Ugochukwu moving into second before Jin Nakamura of TOM'S Formula crashed at R Bend after Wharton hit him. This incident caused a nearly 30-minute red flag, extended due to necessary barrier repairs at the pit entry. Upon resumption, Ugochukwu set the fastest lap at 2:19.610, securing provisional pole position. Three further red flags followed for incidents involving Kobayashi, ART teammates Wharton and Giltaire, and Bowling, ending the session with three minutes remaining with some drivers able to set laps, but no changes to the top of the order. Ugochukwu secured pole, 0.014 seconds ahead of Goethe and León, with Deligny and Boya completing the top five. Webster, Slater, Naël, and Giltaire followed, with De Palo in tenth place.[18][19]
Qualifying classification
Each of the driver's fastest lap times from the two qualifying sessions are denoted in bold.
The 10-lap qualifying race to set the main race's starting order commenced at 15.55 Macau Standard Time (UTC+08:00) on 16 November. Conditions at the start were cloudy, but dry, with the air temperature at 27 °C (80 °F). Drivers reported drops of rain on their reconnaissance laps, but all fitted slick tires. Boya stalled during the formation lap and, after attempting to regain his original grid position by overtaking multiple competitors, was forced to start from the pit lane. At the start, Goethe drew alongside Ugochukwu, while Ogawa and Taponen ran wide at Mandarin Bend and collided with the outside barrier. Ugochukwu maintained his lead into the first braking zone at Lisboa before the safety car was deployed to clear the damaged vehicles.
With eight laps remaining, the safety car withdrew, allowing Ugochukwu to make a strong restart and pull away from Goethe, while Boya was disqualified for his overtaking during the formation lap. Ugochukwu extended his lead to 1.3 seconds over Goethe during the restart, as Naël overtook Webster for sixth place. On lap five, Goethe set the fastest lap, closing to within 0.7 seconds of Ugochukwu. Slater overtook Deligny at the beginning of lap six, and Webster misjudged his braking at Lisboa, making contact with Naël and sending him into the runoff area. A second safety car was deployed following the retirement of MP's Mattia Colnaghi, and a red flag soon followed due to rainfall.
After a 15-minute break, the drivers returned to the track on mandated wet-weather tires, led by the safety car, with three laps remaining. Most of the circuit was dry, except for the heavily soaked braking zone at Lisboa corner. Race Control determined the conditions too hazardous for racing, leading to two additional laps under the safety car before the race concluded with the chequered flag. Ugochukwu, unchallenged, secured victory ahead of Goethe, with Léon, Slater, and Deligny completing the top five. Webster was penalized for hitting Naël, so De Palo, Wharton, Dhaheri, Giltaire and Beganovic rounded out the top ten.[20][21]
The 15-lap race began at 15:30 local time (UTC+08:00) on 19 November under clear and dry conditions, with an air temperature of 26 °C (79 °F). Due to wet patches on the track from earlier rain, Race Control ordered a safety car start. After one lap, the safety car withdrew, allowing a rolling start. Ugochukwu seized the opportunity to lead over Goethe before a major incident at the Lisboa corner. Wharton, attempting an outside pass on Deligny and De Palo, hit the outer barrier, causing Deligny to collide with Wharton's stationary car and continue moving. Rodrigues, Bowling, Le, and Daryanani were also caught in the ensuing pile-up, while Kobayashi managed to reverse and continue. Sato, who made contact while avoiding the crash, retired later that lap as the race was red-flagged.
Following a 22-minute pause, the race resumed behind the safety car with 12 laps remaining. Once the safety car exited, Ugochukwu pulled ahead of Goethe, who was defending from León. Beganovic dropped three positions at Lisboa, exiting the top ten. The safety car was deployed again when Ruiqi crashed at Police corner before another lap was completed. With eight laps left, Ugochukwu maintained his lead at the restart and widened the gap over Goethe. The order at the front remained steady, with Ugochukwu holding a 1.6-second advantage by lap eight. Rinicella brushed the wall at Fishermen's Bend but kept racing, while Ogawa struck the wall on the main straight and stopped, prompting another safety car. Naël pitted to repair his car, losing positions.
With two laps remaining, the field was released again. Nakamura, caught out by Ugochukwu's delayed acceleration, collided with another car and retired with damage. Goethe stayed close but could not mount a challenge. Ugochukwu built a 1-second lead by the final lap as Colnaghi hit the wall at Fishermen's. On the last run to Lisboa, Slater attempted to overtake León for third but braked too late and crashed. Yellow flags waved when Ugochukwu entered the final sector, allowing him to win the Macau Grand Prix without further challenge from behind.[22][23]
De Palo, Al Dhaheri and Naël were all disqualified after the race, with the former two failing the post-race technical checks and Naël judged to have received outside assistance after he stalled when he made a pit stop during the race.[24]
^Abkhazava is Russian-Georgian, but competed under a Kazakh licence as Russian national emblems were banned by the FIA following the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
^Daryanani is Indian, but competed under a British licence.
