Three seasons, three champions, three different countries, and not one of them India. Here's the complete roll of honour, with what each driver did next.
The champions
| Season | Champion | Nationality | Team |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | Cooper Webster | Australia | Chennai Turbo Riders |
| 2024 | Aqil Alibhai | South Africa | Hyderabad Blackbirds |
| 2025 | Shane Chandaria | Kenya | Chennai Turbo Riders |
Chennai Turbo Riders have two of the three, which makes them the most successful team in the short history of the series.
The inaugural title was announced back in August 2021 and had already changed its technical package once, dropping the planned Tatuus and Abarth combination for the Mygale M21-F4. Alpine engine has run ever since.
Webster took the first title with Chennai Turbo Riders, racing at the Madras International Circuit, which was the championship's only venue that first year.
Alibhai won six races on the way to the title with Hyderabad Blackbirds, holding off Ruhaan Alva, who finished runner-up at the 2024 F4 Indian Championship. was at that point one of the more talked-about young Indian prospects. Alva had already been through Ferrari Driver Academy Asia-Pacific selections and raced in GB4.
2024 was also the year Kari Motor Speedway joined the calendar, and the year Alva set the Formula 4 lap record there at 1:06.386. It still stands.
The youngest champion the series has had. Chandaria arrived as a rookie and finished the year as champion at fifteen, with Chennai Turbo Riders, sealing it at the Madras International Circuit.
Winning an FIA-certified Formula 4 championship in a debut season at that age is a notable result in any country.
On paper, a funded seat in the following season of the Formula Regional Indian Championship.
That championship was announced for 2022 and has never run a race, so none of the three has been able to collect the prize as advertised. What that means for the Indian ladder is covered in what the F4 Indian champion actually wins.
What they did get, and what counts, is FIA superlicence points and a season of comparable lap times in a spec car. For a junior driver that second thing is the currency.
Why no Indian champion yet
Three seasons is a short history and a small sample, but the question comes up every December so it's worth addressing rather than leaving hanging.
This is the cheapest FIA-certified Formula 4 season in the world, which attracts strong international entries who'd otherwise be priced out of a European campaign. Indian drivers are racing a more competitive field than a purely domestic one would be. We've argued that's a feature rather than a problem in why the Indian F4 championship is full of foreign drivers.
The 2026 season has four Indians on the grid: Sai Aditya, Bhuvan Bonu, Swarnav Das and Krishay Gutte. Current standings are on the 2026 grid page.
The 2026 race
After the opening round at Kari, Aris Kyriakou of Australia led on 51 points from three podiums, ahead of South Africa's Luviwe Sambudla on 38 and Singapore's Aaron Mehta on 32.
The title gets settled in December at the new Navi Mumbai Street Circuit, the first time this championship has finished on a street layout. Venue details here.
We update this page at the end of every season.
