After seven years with the Tatuus F3-T318, Europe’s main Formula Regional series will undergo major changes in 2026 with the introduction of the Tatuus T-326. Feeder Series sat down with Giovanni Delfino – the chief executive officer of both Tatuus and its parent company, the Korus Group – to discuss the Italian constructor’s upcoming projects and how he hopes the new car can address complaints about its predecessor.
By Perceval Wolff-Taffus
In 2026, the Formula Regional European Championship by Alpine will be formally rebranded as the FIA Formula Regional European Championship. Engine manufacturer Alpine and engine preparer Oreca have parted ways with the series and will be replaced by Toyota and Autotecnica respectively, while the FIA will replace the French marque as a promoter alongside the Automobile Club d’Italia (ACI).
FR Europe’s long-awaited car change will finally happen as the Formula Regional category enters its second generation. The Tatuus T318, criticised for its weight and an aero philosophy that inhibits overtaking, will be replaced by the brand-new Tatuus T326 in FR Europe and FR Middle East starting from 2026. Its Toyota engines will be prepared by Autotecnica, a sister brand of Tatuus in the newly created Korus Group, which was unveiled on Monday 27 October.
For Delfino, Korus’ chief executive, it marks the start of a new approach to regional-level category. Can the new car be expected to solve the issues of its predecessor?
“The T326 is a totally different car compared to the T318,” Delfino told Feeder Series. “We are following the rules and the technical regulations and specs that are defined by FIA. We are just executing what FIA is thinking.”
“What we have to do at the very beginning of the design phase of a car is indeed following the prescriptions and making a huge calculation of, let’s say, the structure we need to match the FIA specs. So this is the very first change. There is a different package of safety specs that we have to follow,” he added.
The changes to dimensions are minor on the outside but potentially significant on the inside. While the car, at 0.950 metres in height, is fractionally shorter than its 0.955m-tall predecessor, it has now increased to 4.861m in length, up from 4.850m. The biggest change is to its width, which is now 1.87m compared to 1.85m on the Tatuus T-318.
These extra two centimetres come alongside an adjustment to the ergonomic configuration inside the cockpit, which will be less narrow compared with the previous generation’s.
“Second, the aerodynamics of the car have totally changed. In some way, we are designing a car which is reminiscent of the new Formula 1 shapes. So compared to the first generation of car, what you will see is a different car, which is not only a little bit longer, but also looks way different.
“The wings are simpler than the old car. The engine has changed as well, even if the power-to-weight ratio of a Formula Regional has remained the same. But we are designing it internally with Autotecnica, the engine manufacturer that is part of our Korus Group.”
This 1.6-litre, inline-three ATM163T engine is provided by Toyota, derived from the Toyota GR Yaris.
“On this side, one of our main target was to achieve a different drivability. The torque figures and the torque curve will be a little bit different from the [first-generation car], where the turbo intervention was heavily felt. We are trying to develop a smooth curve, keeping the same ratio defined by FIA, giving the drivers a different feeling in terms of drivability.
“In the very first stage of the first generation, some of the drivers were complaining about the strength that you needed to put on the steering wheel to turn into the corner. Now, we have completely changed the geometry of the suspensions.
“Last but not least, we have passed from 13-inch rims to 15-inch rims, which gives the cars a different look and also gives a little bit of weight more, which we are compensating with the rest of the car and the engine. So following the FIA prescription, we have developed a tyre together with Pirelli, which is now being the supplier of all FIA Formula Regional series. I would say everybody is happy with the results of the package that we are developing right now.”
The Tatuus T326 was officially unveiled in the Monza paddock at FR Europe’s final round, but the second-generation car has already hit the ground running in testing, with drivers such as former FR Europe competitor Marta García and Formula Renault Eurocup race winner Lorenzo Colombo at the wheel.
“What we have done in the testing phase, which we are still carrying on, is asking the drivers to give us feedback in terms of comparison between the first and second generation,” Delfino said. “All of them confirmed it’s a totally different car, and that’s exactly what we wanted to achieve when we designed the car. Also, we have already tested with some female drivers, which was among our top priorities, and from their side, they are really happy with the car, feeling a considerable difference compared to the previous one.
The first-generation car received both criticism and praise from engineers working in FR Europe. Some say mastering the car proves one could master any car. Could having a car that’s easier to drive ultimately reduce its effectiveness for driver development?
“The car, as a matter of fact, will be easier to drive, and we worked in that direction along with FIA but without sacrificing the honest feedback that the car gives you,” Delfino said. “The new dimension of the tyre will play a major role to give honest feedback to the drivers.”
The new tyre dimension, along with the suspension design, would, Tatuus later wrote to Feeder Series, ‘balance the easier handle with an increased rigidity in the key points where forces are applied on key points of the car’.
“This overall change will make the car behavior more predictable for the driver, resulting in both an easier handle and good feedback,” he added. “[The] car does not behave differently from what the driver expects.”
One of the main issues cited with the first-generation car was the lack of overtaking it produced, which led to the introduction of a push-to-pass system in FR Europe in 2022. This device will be kept with the second-generation cars and has been included in the technical specifications for FRegional championships released by the FIA.
“We will have to wait a little bit more, until the FR Middle East championship, to see if it will be easier to overtake,” Delfino said. “But as a matter of facts, once we follow the FIA prescriptions, as a car manufacturer, we cannot do anything more to facilitate an overtake. So it will be something that we will see in the very first races, which are coming in January next year.
“According to our calculations, overtakes will be easier, but calculations and reality are different things.”
Tatuus is also present in another series between national F4 and FIA F3. At the start of the year, it introduced the Tatuus MSV GB3-025 to the GB3 Championship. The British series’ new car shares similarities with FR Europe’s car but also major differences, among them being powered by a Mountune engine.
“The chassis is exactly the same. There is no difference between the FRegional and the GB3. The cover you put on the chassis is different, but this was the request from the promoter,” he said. “For [MotorSport Vision CEO] Jonathan Palmer and MSV, it is not mandatory to follow the FIA prescriptions, so what we have done was to develop the car and its shapes alongside them, supporting the series in reaching its targets. They wanted an aggressive car, featuring different wheels, DRS, and a different shape of the sideboards and of the engine cover, and this is just a matter of promoter requirements and targets.
“In terms of powertrain, they love the aspirated engine, so the work under the engine cover is a little bit different because we need to cool a different kind of engine, providing it with a different air flow. The engine has a different torque distribution, so what we had to do was to develop the rest of the car, like the transmission, for an aspirated engine instead of a turbocharged engine [as in FR Europe].
“So the powertrain is different, yet the shape of the car is different, but in terms of chassis and mechanical parts, the car is totally the same as the new T326.”
The model used in GB3 this year, however, will be revised ahead of the series’ 2026 season following talks between MSV and Tatuus, with a focus on the ‘torsional stiffness’ of the chassis.
“We are slightly modifying the chassis in a few zones of the chassis itself,” Delfino explained. “We have worked together with the promoter and the teams to understand the behavior of the car on UK tracks, which are a little bit different from all the other circuits that you find all over the world.
“So they were asking us to modify or to strengthen the chassis a little in order to avoid any kind of difference in left and right turn, which was something that we have not discovered.”
“Modifying the car after one year is not that common, but it all depends on regulations and the will of each series,” Delfino added. “Strict regulations may make upgrades more difficult, of course. An own regulation like the GB3 one allows you to make upgrades in case you are willing to. The GB3 wants to keep growing and they decided to immediately upgrade the car in those points that they consider the most important ones to offer a better and better product.”
For several decades, Tatuus has been involved in other feeder championships, developing specific cars for some series and distributing its existing models to others. That means production of the new FRegional cars will continue through the next year in advance of their probable arrival in FR Oceania for 2027.
“The focus will be on production and mass deliveries for all the championships that we will be following,” Delfino said, “because we do have to consider that in 2027, we might also have the start of the New Zealand championships. So the production will be carried on until September 2026.”
The first generation of F4 lasted from 2014 to 2021, and the second-generation cars were introduced in 2022. Are there any talks about a third-generation F4 car?
“We are thinking about the new generation of Formula 4, which is potentially starting in 2028. However, championship promoters love to keep the car during the transition period that FIA considers. Normally, we can think of a car starting in 2028, but the reality will be that most likely, promoters will want to keep the gen two for 2028, 2029. Nevertheless, we have to be ready in 2028,” Delfino said.
“We are also working in the United States with the IndyCar feeder series ladder, and this is something we will be focusing mid-2026 as well.” USF Pro 2000, USF2000 and USF Juniors have used the same base chassis – variously called the Tatuus IP-22, Tatuus USF-22, and Tatuus JR-23 – since 2022, with the lifespan slated to run through the 2027 season.
“Discussions are open and ideas are starting to rise with USF series for new-generation single-seaters,” Delfino says. And there’s more.
“We will also design a different kind of car, totally different compared to the Tatuus DNA, because we would like to give light entry-level cars for track days. This mean to exit our normal perimeter of single-seaters to design track day cars just for fun, at the very beginning at least.”
When asked about a potential future in F3 or F2, Delfino quickly denied any rivalry with Dallara, the longstanding chassis manufacturer in both series. This comes despite the fact that Eurocup-3, another FRegional-level series, will switch from a modified version of the Tatuus T-318 to the Dallara 326 starting from next year.
“We don’t have any project of F3 or F2. We have a very good relationship with [F3 and F2 manufacturer] Dallara and we are like Italian cousins, sharing with them multiple projects at a group level.”
Delfino also revealed that the Korus Group would enter the world of karting after having purchased majority stakes at Italian American Motor Engineering (IAME), Birelart and Kart Republic. IAME manufactures engines and promotes a number of championships under the IAME Series banner, most prominently the IAME Euro Series. Birel ART and Kart Republic are rival karting teams and chassis manufacturers.
“The philosophy of the creation of this group at the very beginning, in the very first stage, was to have a group with all the competencies and all the know-how to design and produce a race car.
“We were thinking of an horizontal layout where we were covering all the products and all the know-how we need to design a car. But then, with Birel ART, we started the second phase of our dream, which is now to create also verticality in the group, starting from the karting, then going to a single-seater, and then also going to GT cars, hypercars, and prototypes.”
In practical terms, it is still too early to tell how this consolidation will affect the careers of young karting drivers. Delfino, for one, hopes it gives them more stability.
“What we would like to do is facilitate the drivers which are with us from eight years old to 14, 15 years old to enter the single-seaters world, but we cannot [help] those drivers and deny the same rights to other drivers,” Delfino said. “It’s something we are studying right now, but at least a link from the karting to the single-seater brand is quite obvious.
“We don’t want to create any obstacles to other drivers because they already have enough obstacles in their careers. But we are working on some way to create fidelity from drivers racing with KR, BirelArt or in IAME so they can enter in the next future with Tatuus.”
Header photo credit: Korus Group
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