UIM F1H2O World Championship new season to begin in Cagliari in May

The city of Cagliari, in the South of Sardinia, Italy will play host to the opening round of the 2026 UIM F1H2O World Championship season, as the year’s racing will commence on the May 29-31 for the Regione Sardegna Grand Prix of Italy.

The Grand Prix will see F1H2O return to the scenic Sardinian city of Cagliari for the first time since 2004. Of those who have raced in Cagliari, only three remain as current championship drivers: Sami Selio, Duarte Benavente, and Cedric Deguisne. Selio and Benavente last left Cagliari on a post-podium high, having secured second- and third-placed finishes respectively.

While the course in Cagliari will therefore be new for most current drivers, they will be guided by the wealth of experience on the sidelines from numerous team managers who remember racing in the Sardinian city.

Sharjah Team’s Scott Gillman triumphed at the 2004 Grand Prix, trailed by Comparato F1’s Massimo Roggiero and Team Abu Dhabi’s Guido Cappellini.

F1H2O’s return to racing in Sardinia will feel like a homecoming to one of the sport’s most welcoming and loved homes, known for the enthusiastic hospitality of the locals and optimal racing conditions.

F1H2O has raced in Sardinia since 1994, when current TV commentator Jonathon Jones triumphed in Porto Cervo, with the sport last gracing the island in 2024, when rookie Rusty Wyatt took the honors in Olbia during his outstanding breakout season.

The dates and locations of further races are temporarily being withheld to ensure their viability amidst a highly volatile geopolitical climate that has created unforeseen logistical complexities. The rest of the racing calendar will therefore be announced shortly.

Meanwhile, Dubai-based Victory Team, the winners of the 2025 F1H2O Teams’ World Championship, enter the 2026 season with the same driver line-up that secured them last season’s title.

Alec Weckstrom will be the team’s lead driver alongside current World Champion Shaun Torrente, with Ahmed Al Fahim remaining as reserve driver.

The team saw both lead drivers deliver strong results throughout the 2025 season, including a maiden first place finish for Weckstrom at the Grand Prix of Zhengzhou, and a Grand Prix triumph for Torrente in Jeddah. That win, alongside strong second place finishes in both the Chinese Grand Prix of Shanghai and Zhengzhou, propelled the American to the fourth F1H2O World Championship of his career, a dream comeback following a year away from the sport.

Those strong results from both drivers allowed Victory Team to top the 2025 F1H2O Teams World Championship by a comfortable twelve points over Sharjah Team.

This season, with Sharjah Team’s adding Grant Trask to their ranks alongside Wyatt and Arand,  two drivers who also showed their strong talents by claiming Grand Prix victories last season, as well as a refreshed Team Abu Dhabi line-up now including three-time World Champion Jonas Andersson, Victory Team know they must prepare for a highly competitive year at the top of the table.