Race Report

FORMULA 4
FIA F4 CEZ CHAMPIONSHIP, Rounds 1/2/3

Circuit: Balaton Park (HU), Length 4,115 km, 26^th – 28^th April 2024
www.balatonparkcircuit.com

JENZER MOTORSPORT 2024:
Oscar Wurz (AT), Andrija Kostic (RS), Max Karhan (CZ), Ethan Ischer (CH), Shimo Zhang (CN)

Super start for Oscar Wurz in the FIA F4 CEZ Championship at Balatonpark

The first of six events for the FIA F4 CEZ (Central European Zone) Championship – was held at Balatonpark Circuit near Budapest (HU), exactly where it finished last season.
Oscar Wurz, Andrija Kostic and Max Karhan got company at this even from Ethan Ischer and Shimo Zhang who were entered as guest drivers. At total of 14 drivers was keen to start into the new season.

Qualifying

Friday, 26/04/24, 16.35 – 16.55, Weather: Cloudy, 14°C

In this championship there are two practice sessions available on Friday, followed by the official part with one qualifying session of 20 minutes, followed by three races of 25 minutes each.
The grid for the first race will be drawn up in the order of the fastest qualifying time achieved by each driver in the qualifying. The grid for the second race will be drawn up in the order of the race 1 result. The grid for the third race will be drawn up in the order of the reverse order of the 4 – 8 positons in race one (tbc according to amount of starters).

Being the first cars to put down some rubber, the track surface didn’t offer much grip to the drivers. During the course of Friday, our drivers gained experience while making steady progress in terms of lap times. Going into qualifying, everything was possible.

FIA F4 CEZ Championship

Race One (25 minutes)

Saturday, 27/04/24, 14.45, Weather: Sunny, 19°C

The first race of the weekend started in Balatonpark in the early afternoon. The sun came out this morning just in time for race day and the temperature was finally very pleasant. Ethan got off to a great start and took the lead. Oscar followed Ethan closely, but couldn't find a way past. Behind them, Shimo and Andrija had issues in the first corner after the start and both lost a few positions. This contributed to Max becoming the third Jenzer driver following in 6^th place. Shimo started a great recovery run and was the fastest driver on track. He first managed to overtake Andrija, then Max and also Savu. His maneuvers didn't always stick on the first try, but Shimo didn't give up. Soon he appeared in Mikes' mirrors and after a few corners he managed to pass without hesitation. Shimo was now in 4^th place and needed to make up some more ground to catch up with the 3^rd place driver, who at this point was Kutskov. Once Shimo had closed the gap, he found that Kutskov was defending his line well. Finally, Shimo made a bold move and managed to hold on to impressively secure 3^rd place on the podium. Andrija, who experienced his first ever race in a formula car, gave everything to follow suit and improve his position. In the battle with his former competitors in karting, he did very well and ultimately made it back to 4^th place. However, after the race he was given a 10-second time penalty for failing to comply with track limits. This meant he took 6th place in the overall ranking. Max, who hadn't tested much before the season, has now returned to racing mode. He drove consistently and finished seventh, the same position from where he started.

FIA F4 CEZ Championship

Race Two (25 minutes)

Sunday, 28/04/24, 09.45, Weather: Cloudy, 16°C

Early on Sunday morning, Ethan got off to a very good start also in the second race. He confidently took the lead and immediately put a small distance between himself and Oscar. Oscar had to defend himself strongly against Kutskov at first, but soon prevailed and began pursuing Ethan. Shimo, who didn't get off well at the start, wanted to immediately make up for the places he had lost. Shimo soon was battling with Andrija and the two had a big fight for 3^rd place. There was also contact in this fight, which resulted in Andrija going to the pits with a broken rear tire. He had a replacement fitted and was able to join the field again. Shimo had damaged his front wing, lost control of the vehicle and drove straight into the barrier. Luckily nothing happened to the driver, but the race was red flagged so that officials could rescue the vehicle and then replace part of the barrier. The field waited lined up behind the safety car on the starting grid until the restart was given behind the safety car. Ethan was undeterred and managed a clean restart, Oscar held on to 2^nd place and Max, who had moved up to 4^th place, also managed to defend this position against his Czech compatriot Mikes. Andrija, who was able to get back into the race, managed to gain a few places in the remaining two laps and finished the race in 9^th place. Ethan celebrated an excellent second race win, but received no points for it as a guest starter. Oscar, however, with superb 2^nd place, once again had the largest number of points credited to his account.

FIA F4 CEZ Championship

Race Three (25 minutes)

Sunday, 28/04/24, 15.20, Weather: Sunny, 23°C

The start of the third race took place in beautiful sunshine and in front of a large crowd of spectators. Ethan managed to catapult himself from 4^th starting position straight to 2nd place. Oscar was 3^rd and, like in the previous two races, very close to Ethan. Shimo stopped at the start and only got away when the whole field was already on the move. However, he immediately set about making up the places. Soon there was an accident involving two vehicles and the safety car had to take over the field. After the restart, Ethan came under great pressure from Oscar, who soon managed to move up to 2^nd place in a great maneuver. Andrija was now 4^th and Shimo had surprised Max at the restart and was now 6^th, Max 7^th. As the race went on, there were big fights for the positions in the midfield and many positions changed. At the end, Oscar confidently brought home 2^nd place, and Ethan finished the race in an excellent 3^rd place. Shimo crossed the finish line in 4^th, Max in 6^th and Andrija in 8^th. After the race, Shimo and Max were each given a 5 second time penalty for some infringements. This changed the final result as follows: Shimo was now 5^th, Andrija 8^th and Max ended up in 10^th place. Oscar brought home the highest points total for the third time this weekend, making him the championship leader after three races. All of our drivers had gained a lot of experience and we are all looking forward to the next races.

Championship standings

FIA F4 CEZ Championship 2024 after 3 out of 18 races:
1^st Oscar Wurz (AT), 68 points; 2^nd Kirill Kutskov (AND), 58 points; 3^rd Miroslav Mikes (CZ), 34 points; 4^th Shimo Zhang (CN), 30 Punke; 5^th Max Karhan (CZ), 25 points; 6^th Jonathan Corrella (IT), 21 points; 8^th Andrija Kostic (RS), 18 points

2024 FIA F4 CEZ CHAMPIONSHIP – AGENDA

Read more:

• www.f4-cez.com
• formulascout.com