Race Report
FIA FORMULA 4
ITALIAN CHAMPIONSHIP, Rounds 07/08/09
Circuit: Vallelunga (I), Length 4.085 km, 14th – 16th June 2024
www.vallelunga.it
JENZER MOTORSPORT 2024:
Ethan Ischer (CH), Enea Frey (CH), Reno Francot (NL), Shimo Zhang (CN)
The Safety Cars of Vallelunga
The third of seven race meetings in the Italian FIA Formula 4 Championship took place at the technical circuit of Vallelunga near Rome. A big field of thirty-seven cars was entered, and beautiful warm weather accompanied the meeting.
Qualifying
Saturday, 15/06/24, 09.35 – 09.50 Q1, Weather: Sunny, 23°C
Saturday, 15/06/24, 10.00 – 10.15 Q2
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 2nd best lap time of each driver in either of the two qualifying sessions.
| Results Qualifying 1 & Grid for Race One | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | Jack Beeton (AUS) | US | 1:33.598 |
| 2nd | Freddie Slater (GBR) | Prema | 1:33.627 |
| 3rd | Matheus Ferreira (BRA) | US | 1:33.705 |
| 13th | Reno Francot (NL) | Jenzer Motorsport | 1:33.964 |
| 14th | Ethan Ischer (CH) | Jenzer Motorsport | 1:34.010 |
| 17th | Enea Frey (CH) | Jenzer Motorsport | 1:34.053 |
| 22nd | Shimo Zhang (CN) | Jenzer Motorsport | 1:34.306 |
| Results Qualifying 2 & Grid for Race Two | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | Freddie Slater (GBR) | Prema | 1:33.488 |
| 2nd | Alex Powell (USA) | Prema | 1:33.556 |
| 3rd | Hiyu Yamakoshi (JPN) | Van Amersfoort | 1:33.572 |
| 7th | Ethan Ischer (CH) | Jenzer Motorsport | 1:33.729 |
| 17th | Enea Frey (CH) | Jenzer Motorsport | 1:33.862 |
| 22nd | Reno Francot (NL) | Jenzer Motorsport | 1:34.028 |
| 24th | Shimo Zhang (CN) | Jenzer Motorsport | 1:34.089 |
| Grid for Race Three | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | Alex Powell (USA) | Prema | 1:33.564 |
| 2nd | Freddie Slater (GBR) | Prema | 1:33.624 |
| 3rd | Hiyu Yamakoshi (JPN) | Van Amersfoort | 1:33.643 |
| 16th | Enea Frey (CH) | Jenzer Motorsport | 1:33.984 |
| 19th | Reno Francot (NL) | Jenzer Motorsport | 1:34.069 |
| 20th | Shimo Zhang (CN) | Jenzer Motorsport | 1:34.089 |
| 26th | Ethan Ischer (CH) | Jenzer Motorsport | 1:34.222 |
FIA Formula 4 Italian Championship
Race One (30 minutes + 1 lap)
Saturday, 15/06/24, 15.45, Weather: Sunny, 27 °C
The first race started in the middle of a hot Saturday afternoon. The large field got off to a good start, but soon there was the first accident and the safety car had to be deployed. After the restart, two laps were driven, then Shimo was involved in an accident and flew straight off the track. The safety car took over the field again. At this point, Reno was already 8th, Ethan 9th and Enea 11th. At the restart, Reno touched with Nakamura, lost some momentum and fell back. Enea passed him, and immediately also got past Ethan. Enea was now 8th, Reno 9th and Ethan 10th. Ethan attacked again. He first passed Reno and immediately wanted to catch Enea as well. Ethan dove on the inside, couldn't get past and collided with Enea. Enea flew into the gravel and Ethan blocked the corner, causing a chaotic collision in which several drivers were involved. The safety car was deployed for a third time and it was soon clear that the clean-up work would take longer. After two laps behind the safety car, the red flag was shown and the race ended prematurely. To top off the unpleasant experience, Reno received a time penalty after the race for causing a collision. This turned a potential top result for the team and drivers into a complete zero and there was a lot of work for the mechanics, who had to repair three badly race cars well into the night.
| Race One Results | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | Freddie Slater (GBR) | Prema | 28:41.649 | |
| 2nd | Jack Beeton (AUS) | US | Gap | 0.781 |
| 3rd | Hiyu Yamakoshi (JPN) | Van Amersfoort | Gap | 1.575 |
| 8th | Reno Francot (NL) | Jenzer Motorsport | ||
| DNF: | Enea Frey (CH) | Jenzer Motorsport | ||
| DNF: | Ethan Ischer (CH) | Jenzer Motorsport | ||
| DNF: | Shimo Zhang (CN) | Jenzer Motorsport | ||
| Fastest lap: Freddie Slater (GB) in 1:34.928 | ||||
FIA Formula 4 Italian Championship
Race Two (30 minutes + 1 lap)
Sunday, 16/06/24, 09.00, Weather: Sunny, 23°C
The sun was shining on Sunday morning too, but it was not quite as hot as yesterday afternoon. Ethan, who started from 7th place, got off to a good start, immediately drove with the necessary speed and soon overtook Bohra. Reno got off to a great start, but Enea got off to a slightly slower start. Reno moved up to 18th place, Enea was 19th. Shimo immediately made up places and moved up to 20th place. Several vehicles made a trip into the gravel and the safety car had to be deployed. Ethan managed the restart well, kept the pace of the front group and drove without making any mistakes. He brought home an excellent 6th place, his best placing in this championship. Reno and Enea improved simultaneously during the race. Reno moved up to 14th place and Enea to 15th. Towards the end of the race, Popov managed to overtake Enea and then Reno. Reno finished the race in 15th place with Enea right behind him in 16th place. Shimo also ran in a good rhythm and steadily improved, crossing the finish line in 19th place.
| Race Two Results | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | Freddie Slater (GBR) | Prema | 31:35.313 | |
| 2nd | Alex Powell (USA) | Prema | Gap | 5.264 |
| 3rd | Hiyu Yamakoshi (JPN) | Van Amersfoort | Gap | 6.277 |
| 6th | Ethan Ischer (CH) | Jenzer Motorsport | ||
| 15th | Reno Francot (NL) | Jenzer Motorsport | ||
| 16th | Enea Frey (CH) | Jenzer Motorsport | ||
| 19th | Shimo Zhang (CN) | Jenzer Motorsport | ||
| Fastest lap: Freddie Slater (GB) in 1:33.889 | ||||
FIA Formula 4 Italian Championship
Race Three (30 minutes + 1 lap)
Sunday, 16/06/24, 14.25, Weather: Sunny, 28°C
It was oppressively hot on Sunday afternoon. The start and the first three laps went well, but then there was an accident and the safety car inevitably had to be deployed. It took some time to clear the damaged vehicles away. Just as the safety car came in, it happened. Ethan had crashed into the back of Shimo and rolled off the track. The race director immediately had to neutralize the race yet again with the safety car. Several laps were again driven behind the safety car. Enea had moved up to 13th place, Reno was in 17th place, with Shimo right behind him in 18th place. But even after the next restart it was not long before two more vehicles collided and came to a stop in an unfortunate place with damage. The safety car took over the field again. Now only a few minutes remained until the end of the race and the race director decided to let the race practically finish behind the safety car. There was a short sprint from the safety car in-line to the finish line. Nothing changed in the result.
| Race Three Results | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | Freddie Slater (GBR) | Prema | 34:04.568 | |
| 2nd | Alex Powell (USA) | Prema | Gap | 0.278 |
| 3rd | Hiyu Yamakoshi (JPN) | Van Amersfoort | Gap | 0.508 |
| 13th | Enea Frey (CH) | Jenzer Motorsport | ||
| 17th | Reno Francot (NL) | Jenzer Motorsport | ||
| 18th | Shimo Zhang (CN) | Jenzer Motorsport | ||
| DNF: | Ethan Ischer (CH) | Jenzer Motorsport | ||
| Fastest lap: Hiyu Yamakoshi (JPN) in 1:45.518 | ||||
Ethan Ischer (CH)
Enea Frey (CH)
Reno Francot (NL)
Shimo Zhang (CN)
Team
© Photo Pellegrini
Championship Standings
FIA F4 Italian Championship 2024 after 9 races:
1st Freddie Slater (GBR), 165 points; 2nd Hiyu Yamakoshi (JPN), 127 points; 3rd Alex Powell (USA), 102 points; 4th Akshay Bohra (USA), 93 points; 5th Jack Beeton (AUS), 68 points; 6th Tomass Stolcermanis (LVA), 48 points; 14th Ethan Ischer (CH), 16 points; 15th Reno Francot (NL), 12 points
Rookie-Ranking:
1st Tomass Stolcermanis (LVA), 158 points; 2nd Alex Powell (USA), 149 points; 3rd Kean Nakamura-Berta (JPN), 99 points; 8th Shimo Zhang (CHN), 38 points; 11th Enea Frey (CH), 32 points
2024 Italian FIA Formula 4 Championship
| 03/04/05 May | Misano (I) | |
| 31/01/02 June | Imola (I) | |
| 14/15/16 June | Vallelunga (I) | |
| 12/13/14 July | Mugello (I) | |
| 19/20/21 July | Paul Ricard (F) | |
| 27/28/29 September | Barcelona (E) | |
| 25/26/27 October | Monza (I) |
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