Race Report

FIA FORMULA 4
ITALIAN CHAMPIONSHIP, Rounds 01/02/03

Circuit: Adria (I), Length 2,702 km, 21^st/22^nd April 2018
www.adriaraceway.com

JENZER MOTORSPORT 2018:
Giorgio Carrara (ARG), Gregoire Saucy (CH), Nazim Azman (MAL), Javier Gonzalez (MEX), Oliver Rasmussen (DK) & Federico Malvestiti (I)

Malvestiti & Gonzalez start with a podium at Adria

The first of seven meetings in the Italian FIA Formula 4 Championship took place at the technical track at Adria (I) where summer sunshine was on the program. A massive field of 31 drivers from 17 different countries have signed up to race, and 21 of these drivers were racing in the Italian FIA Formula 4 Championship for the first time! You can follow the races live on sporttube tv.

Qualifying

Saturday, 21/04/18, 17.40 – 18.20, Weather: Sunny, 26°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 2^nd best lap time of each driver in either qualifying session.

When the huge field set off for the first qualifying session of the season on Saturday evening it was as hot as summer out there. The lap times were incredibly close, with 26 drivers within 1 second of the best time at the end of the second session. Our boys performed to the best of their abilities and scored some very good positions.

FIA Formula 4 Italian Championship

Race One (28 minutes + 1 lap)

Sunday, 22/04/18, 09.00, Weather: Sunny, 20°C

The sun was out again on Sunday morning for the start of the first race of the season. Federico made a good start and held onto his 2^nd place, but Gregoire was pushed off and dropped back to 11^th. Javier was 9^th and Oliver, who got away well in his first ever race start in a single seater car, was 14^th. Giorgio and Nazim were in 18^th and 19^th places respectively. Over several long, hard fought laps Federico did a good job of sticking to Fittipaldi’s tail and when, towards the end of the race the Safety Car had to be deployed, he managed the restart well too. On the penultimate lap of the race Lorandi, who was getting stronger, pushed his way past Federico, but Federico was still proud to celebrate his first podium in the category with 3^th place. Javier was fighting hard as well, and towards the end of the race he reclaimed his original position and finished 8^th to collect his first points. Gregoire had the top ten in sight but was unable to catch them until close to the end, crossing the finishing line in 12^th place. Giorgio, who put in several courageous overtaking manoeuvres was making steady progress, and shortly before the end he managed to overtake Gregoire, snatching 11^th place away from his team-mate. Nazim drove a good first race, managing to hold his position in the usual midfield battles, coming home safely in 17^th place. Oliver was doing well until he made a short off-track excursion and lost several places, ending the race just behind Nazim in 18^th place. That meant all our cars reached the finish undamaged in the first race of the new season.

FIA Formula 4 Italian Championship

Race Two (28 minutes + 1 lap)

Sunday, 22/04/18, 13.00, Weather: Sunny, 24°C

At the start of the second race Gregoire ran wide and was thus unable to make the best of his good starting position. He was running 6^th, with Javier in 7^th and Federico 8^th. There was some tough fighting in the midfield and a few incidents as a result. Nazim was hit, and his suspension was damaged such that he had to pull in to the pits and retire from the race. Oliver also made contact with another car and had to abandon his car track-side with a punctured tyre, which was a shame. Giorgio made steady progress up the order after a short Safety Car phase in the early stages of the race. The front-runners were setting a furious pace and it took Gregoire several laps before he was able to find a way past Rodriguez. Now he was 5^th, Javier 7^th and Federico 8^th. Javier’s tyres were starting to go off, which helped Federico to pass him. Giorgio, who had moved into the top ten, came flying up from behind, and he too managed to pass Javier. Gregoire finished the race in 5^th position, Federico held on to 7^th place, Giorgio claimed 9^th and Javier managed to hang on to 10^th place all the way to the chequered flag. Four out of our six cars claimed a place in the top ten.

FIA Formula 4 Italian Championship

Race Three (28 minutes + 1 lap)

Sunday, 22/04/2018, 17.00, Weather: Sunny, 26°C

Federico did not make the best of starts and came back at the end of lap 1 in 6^th place, while Javier immediately improved to 7^th, Gregoire was 9^th and Giorgio 11^th. Oliver was unfortunately hit by another car, causing a flat tyre; he was able to make it back to the pits, where he was fitted with another tyre, rejoining the race and finishing in 19^th place. Nazim had a very good race, claiming his best result so far by finishing 13^th. At the top there were numerous tough battles and some courageous moves. Federico lost several places after a collision, but still managed to finish the race in the top ten (he was 9^th). Gregoire put in an attacking drive and managed to claim his best result of the weekend by finishing 5^th. Giorgio also achieved his best result this weekend, starting from 13^th place and working his way up to 6^th. However, Javier, who made several resolute passing moves, worked his way up to the excellent 3^rd place to proudly and well-deservedly climb on to the podium for the first time this weekend.

The next race of the Italian F4 Championship takes place on the weekend of 13^th May 2018 at Paul Ricard (F).

Championship Standings

FIA Formula 4 Italian Championship 2017 after 3 races:
1^st Enzo Fittipaldi (BRA), 65 points; 2^nd Leonardo Lorandi (I), 61 points; 3^rd Gianluca Petecof (BRA), 34 points; 4^th Toby Sowery (GB), 24 points; 5^th Federico Malvestiti (I), 23 points; 6^th Olli Caldwell (GB), 22 points; 7^th Javier Gonzalez (MEX), 20 points; 8^th Gregoire Saucy (CH), 20 points; 10^th Giorgio Carrara (ARG), 10 points

Rookie-Classification:
1^st Gianluca Petecof (BRA), 75 points; 2^nd Petr Ptacek (CZE), 42 points; 3^rd Umberto Laganella (I), 33 points; 11^th Oliver Rasmussen (DK), 12 points

2018 FIA FORMULA 4 ITALIAN CHAMPIONSHIP - CALENDAR

More info:

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