Race Report

FIA FORMULA 4
ITALIAN CHAMPIONSHIP, Rounds 19/20/21

Circuit: Monza (I), Length 5.793 km, 28^th/29^th/30^th October 2016
www.monzanet.it

JENZER MOTORSPORT 2016:
Diego Ciantini (ARG), Marcos Siebert (ARG), Giacomo Bianchi (CH) & Job van Uitert (NL)

Siebert is Italian Champion!

The last of seven meetings in the Italian FIA Formula 4 Championship took place on the ultra-fast GP circuit at Monza with 30 drivers in attendance, all very keen to take on this final challenge. The races can be followed live on sporttube tv.
Marcos Siebert (ARG) came to Monza with an advantage of 19 points over Mick Schumacher (D), and 30 points over Raul Guzman (MEX). Those were the only three drivers who could theoretically still win the championship with a maximum of 63 points still available. In addition to this their five worst results had to be dropped (so 16 results counted out of 21).

Qualifying

Saturday, 29/10/16, 15.30 – 16.10, Weather: Sunny, 15°C

The rules allow for two qualifying sessions of 15 minutes, with a 10 minute break in between. The Qualifying 1 times determine the grid for Race 1 and the times from Qualifying 2 determine the grid for Race 2. The starting order for Race 3 is based on the results of Race 2, but with the top ten reversed.

After two free practices the final qualifying session of the season was run in the afternoon.
Of course the session didn’t go according to plan. Marcos seemed nervous, and Job’s car had a gearshift problem. Diego put in a good performance though and Giacomo achieved his best grid positions of the season.

FIA Formula 4 Italian Championship

Race One (28 minutes + 1 lap)

Sunday, 30/10/16, 08.50, Weather: Sunny, 8°C

The first race was run early in the morning in cool temperatures, but under a perfect blue sky. Schumacher, who started from 3^rd, soon shot into the lead and because the group behind him were fighting fiercely among themselves he was soon able to open a gap. Marcos started well from 11^th and immediately improved his position, coming back in 6^th place at the end of the first lap. Marcos pt in a very convincing drive and managed to make his way up the order steadily before he overtook Guzman and, several laps later, Colombo. That put Marcos in an excellent 2^nd place but he didn’t have time to close the gap to Schumacher before the end. Regardless it was a top class result! Job, who had started from 20^th, made rapid progress up the order! In an impressive run he was soon into the top ten, setting the fastest lap of the race on his way. When Rodriguez resisted fiercely a battle developed over several, but Job didn’t put a foot wrong to claim the place, finishing in a brilliant 7^th place. Giacomo had moved up to 10^th but then had to take avoiding action that cost him several positions. Diego, who had also moved up the order, was making progress when he encountered Giacomo. He tried to pass his teammate but unfortunately the pair tangled. Giacomo had to pit with a punctured tyre and was able to rejoin the race after we changed the wheel. Diego’s car unluckily was more heavily damaged at the front end and unfortunately he had to retire from the race which was a shame!
After the race two cars were excluded from the results and that moved Job moved up to 6^th and Giacomo to 18^th.

FIA Formula 4 Italian Championship

Race Two (28 minutes + 1 lap)

Sunday, 30/10/16, 12.30, Weather: Sunny, 17°C

Marcos started from 8^th, two positions behind Schumacher and was 7^th after the first lap, while Schumacher leapfrogged to 4^th place. It was a tough fight, and Schumacher sustained front wing damage which cost him a place and enabled Marcos to catch him and set about trying to pass. A tremendous battle for positions started, with both of them having to take to the escape road more than once to avoid a collision. Finally Marcos overtook Schumacher once and for all and was able to open up a gap. In the meantime Schumacher’s front wing was hanging at a severe angle, and he ended up being shown the black and orange flag which meant he had to come in to the pits to have the part changed. Marcos held 5^th all the way to the flag which meant he’d scored enough points to secure the title with one more race still to run! Job had again moved up the order impressively, courageously fighting his way through the midfield runners and he was already up in 9^th place. On the last lap, as he was battling with Ye, the pair of them ran side by side into the Parabolica, and Ye didn’t leave Job enough room. Job ran very wide, which allowed several other cars to slip past and Job crossed the finish line a disappointed 13^th. Diego first improved his position, battling his way up to 14^th but then a move failed and he fell back again, losing his rhythm and with it more places. He crossed the finish line in 22^nd place. Giacomo got involved in an accident at the chicane just after the start and damaged his front wing but managed to limp back to the pits for a replacement which enabled him to rejoin the race. He eventually crossed the finish line in 26^th place.

FIA Formula 4 Italian Championship

Race Three (18 minutes + 1 lap)

Sunday, 30/10/2016, 16.30, Weather: Sunny, 12°C

Marcos wanted to finish the third race and final race of the season with a good result, and with that in mind he made a good start and immediately forced his way into 4^th. A lap later there was a collision behind him and one of the drivers spun into Marcos, pushing him onto the kerbs in the chicane, where he ended up beached. That unfortunately brought his race to a premature end. Job dropped back at the start but then managed to make up the places again and finished the race in a very good 9^th. That was enough to secure him an excellent 4^th place overall in the championship. To finish the championship Giacomo also claimed a very good result finishing 12^th.

That brought a very demanding season to an end for us. We are very proud to have won the Italian Championship with Marcos Siebert, and to have reached 4th overall with Job van Uitert.
We are already looking forward to the next season!

Championship Final-Standings

FIA Formula 4 Italian Championship 2016 after 21 races (5 results deleted):
1^st Marcos Siebert (ARG), 231 points; 2^nd Mick Schumacher (D), 216 points; 3^rd Raul Guzman M. (MEX), 202 points; 4^th Job van Uitert (NL), 143.5 points; 5^th Juri Vips (EST), 140 points; 6^th Juan Manuel Correa (USA), 105.5 points; 20^th Diego Ciantini (ARG), 33.5 points; 29^th Fabio Scherer (CH), 3 points; 32^nd Giacomo Bianchi (CH), 1 point; 32^nd Kevin Kratz (D), 1 point

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2016 FIA FORMULA 4 ITALIAN CHAMPIONSHIP - CALENDAR

More info:

• www.acisportitalia.it/F4/
• www.italiaracing.net