Race Report

FIA FORMULA 4
ITALIAN CHAMPIONSHIP, Rounds 07/08/09

Circuit: Imola (I), Length: 4.909 km, 27^th/28^th/29^th May 2016
www.autodromoimola.com

JENZER MOTORSPORT 2016:
Diego Ciantini (ARG), Marcos Siebert (ARG) & Giacomo Bianchi (CH).
Guest drivers for Imola: Job van Uitert (NL) & Fabio Scherer (CH)

Siebert wins, van Uitert and Ciantini score podiums!

The third of seven meetings in the Italian FIA Formula 4 Championship took place on the character-packed Imola circuit. 35 drivers were in attendance, all very keen to take on the latest challenge. The races can be followed live on sporttube tv.

Qualifying

Friday, 27/05/16, 17.35 – 18.15, Weather: Sunny, 26°C

The new 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 practice sessions the two qualifying sessions were held at the end of a hot afternoon. In the first session the fight started immediately and our drivers were quickly able to get into a good rhythm. Job and Marcos were at the top of the timing sheet and then an accident caused a red flag stoppage. When the session restarted there was only enough time for one flying lap. Diego made a great effort and was able to improve his position to 6^th to get into the top ten. Fabio finished 14^th and Giacomo was 25^th.
Marcos got into the top ten in the second session as well, this time finishing 3^rd. Again there was a red flag shortly before the end of the session, and this time Job managed to improve to 7^th, while Diego finished in 11^th, Fabio was 20^th and Giacomo was again 25^th. It was a tough fight and the lap times throughout the field were very close.

FIA Formula 4 Italian Championship

Race One (28 minutes + 1 lap)

Saturday, 28/05/16, 12.00, Weather: Sunny, 26°C

Marcos made the best of his pole position and immediately took the lead. Job also made a good start but was soon under pressure from Schumacher. Schumacher managed to get past during that first lap and that dropped Job to 3^rd. Diego held 6^th, Fabio was 18^th and Giacomo, who’d made a poor start, lost a few places. A few laps into the race there was an accident and the Safety Car was deployed. Diego had driven quite aggressively and was already 5^th, and at the restart he managed to get past Colombo. That meant he was now 4^th and it wasn’t long before he was right behind Job. Further back in the field there was another accident and the Safety Car had to be deployed again. Shortly after the restart Shlom flew off and got stuck in the gravel trap which caused the race to be red flagged. There would be no restart which meant a brilliant win for Marcos. He put in a strong drive throughout the race and was able to control the restarts, keeping Schumacher back easily. Job was on the podium with an excellent 3^rd place, and Diego rounded out the great team performance with his best result of the season, in a superb 4^th place. Fabio also put in a very good race as he worked his way forward to 13^th. Giacomo made up the places he’d lost at the start and he crossed the finish line in 25^th.

FIA Formula 4 Italian Championship

Race Two (28 minutes + 1 lap)

Sunday, 29/05/16, 09.50, Weather: Rain, 20°C

Just as the Formula 4s lined up on the grid the rain started falling. All the drivers except Cunati rushed to change their tyres from slicks to wets. The race started behind the Safety Car and the rain eased off for a brief moment but then started to come down even harder. The track was very wet, and there were several accidents which meant the Safety Car had to be deployed again. At the restart Marcos held his 3^rd place from Schumacher and Bertonelli, and Job managed some courageous overtaking to move up into 4^th. Diego was 9^th and fighting hard to move up the order. Fabio spun off track after contact with another driver and hit the tyre wall, where he stopped with a damaged car. Giacomo had an excursion into the gravel trap, but was able to extricate himself and continue in 29^th place. After several more accidents the Safety Car took over again but because time had nearly run out for the race it was finally red flagged. Bertonelli was handed a time penalty, because he had not served a Drive Through penalty during the race he dropped back to 24^th as a result. That moved all of our drivers up one place in the result, so Marcos was now 2^nd, Job 3^rd and Diego 8^th, while Giacomo finished in 27^th place.

FIA Formula 4 Italian Championship

Race Three (18 minutes + 1 lap)

Sunday, 29/05/16, 17.20, Weather: Sunny, 22°C

The afternoon started sunny, but then another thunderstorm washed over the track. However, half an hour before the race start the sun came out again. The track dried quickly and everyone started on slick tyres despite the track being damp in parts and really soaking wet off line. For safety reasons the start took place behind the Safety Car. Everyone got away cleanly when the race finally got underway and a hard battle for places started. It wasn’t long before there was an incident and the Safety Car had to be deployed for a lap. At the restart there wasn’t much time left and everybody again went for it. Diego had already moved up to 2^nd and continued to fight for the win. At the end of the straight he made contact with the car in front and got airborne. Luckily Diego climbed out of the car unhurt, but the car was damaged and the race director opted to red flag the race. As a result the race was classified from a lap back and so Diego proudly climbed onto the podium in 2^nd place for his first podium of the season. Marcos and Job were battling it out from the start with Schumacher and at the end Marcos was classified 5^th and Job was 7^th. Fabio and Giacomo didn’t have much of a chance to improve their positions in what was a very short race. Fabio ended up 26^th and Giacomo was 28^th.

The next race of the Italian F4 Championship will take place on the weekend of 17^th July at Mugello.

Championship Standings

FIA Formula 4 Italian Championship 2016 after 9 races:
1^st Marcos Siebert (ARG), 151 points; 2^nd Mick Schumacher (D), 109 points; 3^rd Raul Guzman M. (MEX), 107 points; 4^th Maurizio Baiz (BRA), 81 points; 5^th Job van Uitert (NL), 76 points; 6^th Joao Vieira Q. (BRA),58 points; 13^th Diego Ciantini (ARG), 19 points; 27^th Fabio Scherer (CH), 2 points; 29^th Kevin Kratz (D), 1 point

2016 FIA FORMULA 4 ITALIAN CHAMPIONSHIP - CALENDAR

More info:

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