Race Report
FIA FORMULA 4
ITALIAN CHAMPIONSHIP, Rounds 10 - 12
Circuit: Imola (ITA); Length: 4.909 km, 23rd – 25th July 2021
www.autodromoimola.com
JENZER MOTORSPORT 2021:
Samir Ben (CH), Piotr Wisnicki (POL), Francesco Braschi (I), Jorge Garciarce Davila (MEX), Santiago Ramos Reynoso (MEX)
Ben and Braschi shine with rookie podiums in Imola ( TO )
The fourth of seven meetings in the Italian FIA Formula 4 Championship took place on the characterful track at Imola (I). With 30 competitors present for the meeting, their expectations were as high as could be ahead of the start.
Samir Ben (CHE)
Piotr Wisnicki (POL)
Francesco Braschi (ITA)
Jorge Garciarce Davila (MEX)
Santiago Ramos Reynoso (MEX)
© Photo Pellegrini
Qualifying
Saturday, 24/07/21, 09.40 – 10.20, Weather: Sunny, 32°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 2nd best lap time of each driver in either of the two qualifying sessions.
| Results Qualifying 1 & Grid for Race One | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | Oliver Bearman (GB) | Van Amersfoort | 1:43.890 |
| 2nd | Leonardo Fornaroli (I) | Iron Lynx | 1:43.945 |
| 3rd | Sebastian Montoya (COL) | Prema | 1:44.156 |
| 7th | Francesco Braschi (ITA) | Jenzer Motorsport | 1:44.601 |
| 12th | Piotr Wisnicki (POL) | Jenzer Motorsport | 1:44.825 |
| 17th | Samir Ben (CHE) | Jenzer Motorsport | 1:45.058 |
| 23rd | Jorge Garciarce Davila (MEX) | Jenzer Motorsport | 1:45.476 |
| 30th | Santiago Ramos Reynoso (MEX) | Jenzer Motorsport | no time |
| Results Qualifying 2 & Grid for Race Two | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | Oliver Bearman (GB) | Van Amersfoort | 1:43.815 |
| 2nd | Leonardo Fornaroli (I) | Iron Lynx | 1:44.250 |
| 3rd | Francesco Braschi (ITA) | Jenzer Motorsport | 1:44.319 |
| 17th | Piotr Wisnicki (POL) | Jenzer Motorsport | 1:45.211 |
| 21st | Samir Ben (CHE) | Jenzer Motorsport | 1:45.366 |
| 28th | Santiago Ramos Reynoso (MEX) | Jenzer Motorsport | 1:45.896 |
| 30th | Jorge Garciarce Davila (MEX) | Jenzer Motorsport | 1:46.026 |
| Grid for Race Three | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | Oliver Bearman (GBR) | Van Amersfoort | 1:43.911 |
| 2nd | Leonardo Fornaroli (I) | Iron Lynx | 1:43.999 |
| 3rd | Nikita Bedrin (RUS) | Van Amersfoort | 1:44.497 |
| 6th | Francesco Braschi (ITA) | Jenzer Motorsport | 1:44.704 |
| 12th | Piotr Wisnicki (POL) | Jenzer Motorsport | 1:45.016 |
| 16th | Samir Ben (CHE) | Jenzer Motorsport | 1:45.159 |
| 25th | Jorge Garciarce Davila (MEX) | Jenzer Motorsport | 1:45.688 |
| 29th | Santiago Ramos Reynoso (MEX) | Jenzer Motorsport | 1:45.924 |
Samir Ben (CHE)
Piotr Wisnicki (POL)
Francesco Braschi (ITA)
Jorge Garciarce Davila (MEX)
Santiago Ramos Reynoso (MEX)
© Photo Pellegrini
FIA Formula 4 Italian Championship
Race One (30 minutes + 1 lap)
Saturday, 24/07/21, 16.10, Weather: Sunny, 35°C
On Saturday afternoon, when the drivers got ready for the first race of the weekend, temperatures were very high. From 7th place of the grid, Francesco got well under way. During the opening lap, in front of Francesco, Fornaroli went wide into the gravel at Tamburello and Francesco moved up in 6th place. Behind him, an accident involving Bizzotto and Valint then brought out the Safety Car. On this frenetic first lap, Piotr managed to move up to 11th place. Starting from 17th position, a brilliant drive put Samir already in 12th position by the end of the first lap. Off to a good start as well, Jorge muscled his way past several drivers to go from 22nd to 18th position and then soon to 15th when the Safety Car was deployed. After the race resumed, Francesco built up his pace further and claimed the fastest lap of the race. Both Smal and Montoya retired after an incident, which moved Francesco up in a brilliant race in 4th place. He was putting pressure on Dufek to fight for a podium place. Unfortunately, with only just 2 minutes to go, Francesco suddenly went slow and had to come back into the pits with a technical problem. A real shame!! Samir superbly worked his way through the field to not only claim the 6th position overall but also a fantastic 3rd place on the rookies’ podium. Behind him, Piotr and Jorge fought well and clever throughout the race and crossed the line in 8th and 10th place respectively, completing the top 10 and taking brilliant points. Coming from last place on the grid, Santiago stayed out of troubles and made an amazing comeback. By the end of the first lap, he was already up in 23rd place and then made his way up through the field to cross the finish line in 12th spot, with an impressive total of 18 positions gained.
| Race One Results | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | Oliver Bearman (GB) | Van Amersfoort | 31:49.608 | |
| 2nd | Nikita Bedrin (RUS) | Van Amersfoort | Gap | 2.701 |
| 3rd | Joshua Dufek (A) | Van Amersfoort | Gap | 3.502 |
| 6th | Samir Ben (CHE) | Jenzer Motorsport | ||
| 8th | Piotr Wisnicki (POL) | Jenzer Motorsport | ||
| 10th | Jorge Garciarce Davila (MEX) | Jenzer Motorsport | ||
| 12th | Santiago Ramos Reynoso (MEX) | Jenzer Motorsport | ||
| 24th | Francesco Braschi (ITA) | Jenzer Motorsport | ||
| Fastest lap: Francesco Braschi (I) in 1:45.304 | ||||
Samir Ben (CHE)
Piotr Wisnicki (POL)
Francesco Braschi (ITA)
Jorge Garciarce Davila (MEX)
Santiago Ramos Reynoso (MEX)
© Photo Pellegrini
FIA Formula 4 Italian Championship
Race Two (30 minutes + 1 lap)
Sunday, 25/07/21, 10.20, Weather: Overcast, 32°C
Although a little overcast, the air was already hot on Sunday morning. Race 2 turned out to be a very hard fought matter throughout the field, characterized by two Safety Car periods. 3rd on the grid, Francesco was up with the best and fighting hard to keep his position. He went wide and lost momentum, which cost him a few places. This is when a contact with Smal left him with a damaged car. Francesco had to stop the car on track and his race was over. From 21st spot on the grid, Samir was ready for a great chase for positions and was already up to 17th place. As the race resumed after the Safety Car period, he was preparing an overtaking maneuvre. In the battle he went wide and finally got stuck in the gravel bed, where his race ended prematurely. Jorge did a stellar job as he fought from the start until the chequered flag. From 29th place on the grid, the Mexican driver was on very good run, managed two great restarts and climbed up the order steadily. In this very close run race, risks had to be taken and Jorge fought well to secure a very positive 15th position in the end. Piotr and Santiago were all included in the battles and fought hard to eventually cross the finish line in 20th and 22nd place respectively.
| Race Two Results | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | Oliver Bearman (GBR) | Van Amersfoort | 32:58.583 | |
| 2nd | Leonardo Fornaroli (I) | Iron Lynx | Gap | 0.282 |
| 3rd | Nikita Bedrin (RUS) | Van Amersfoort | Gap | 0.820 |
| 15th | Jorge Garciarce Davila (MEX) | Jenzer Motorsport | ||
| 20th | Piotr Wisnicki (POL) | Jenzer Motorsport | ||
| 22nd | Santiago Ramos Reynoso (MEX) | Jenzer Motorsport | ||
| DNF: | Samir Ben (CHE) | Jenzer Motorsport | ||
| DNF: | Francesco Braschi (ITA) | Jenzer Motorsport | ||
| Fastest lap: Leonardo Fornaroli (I) in 1:44.791 | ||||
Samir Ben (CHE)
Piotr Wisnicki (POL)
Francesco Braschi (ITA)
Jorge Garciarce Davila (MEX)
Santiago Ramos Reynoso (MEX)
© Photo Pellegrini
FIA Formula 4 Italian Championship
Race Three (28 minutes + 1 lap)
Sunday, 25/07/21, 17.15, Weather: Sunny, 33°C
In the late afternoon, with temperatures still a high 33 degrees, race 3 finally got underway. Francesco made a good start from 7th on the grid when the lights went out. The Italian driver remained glued to the rear of the top five train through the first stages of the race. He managed his pace brilliantly to hold his position and resist to the attacks from behind. During the final lap, an accident involving Jorge and Smal brought out the red flag and the race came to an early end. Francesco took a fantastic 6th place overall, collecting his first points of the season. At the same time this meant the 2nd place podium in the rookie standings for him. From 16th place of the grid, Samir was on a mission to move up through the field. By the end of the first lap the Swiss driver was already in 13th place. Improving in big steps and then driving a great race, Samir finished in excellent 9th place, and as 4th placed rookie. Piotr had a more complicated start, losing some places as the lights went out but he didn’t give up and regained the positions during the race. He brought home a hard fought 12th position in the end. Further back on the grid, Santiago started 29th and made his moves to immediately put himself in 25th place. Throughout the race he battled his way up and eventually saw the checkered flag in 17th place, completing a great comeback with 15 positions gained. After starting in 24th place and managing great overtaking during the race, Jorge was running in 16th position when a clash with Smal on the final lap brought out the red flag because Smal’s car was parked dangerously on the track. As a result of the red flag, the race came to an end one lap earlier as scheduled and the results were taken from the previous lap – meaning Jorge was classified in 15th position. After the race he was handed a 10 second penalty for causing the accident. This meant he fell back several positions.
The fifth race meeting of the Italian Formula championship is scheduled for the weekend of 12th September at the Red Bull Ring (A).
| Race Three Results | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | Oliver Bearman (GBR) | Van Amersfoort | 29:52.074 | |
| 2nd | Nikita Bedrin (RUS) | Van Amersfoort | Gap | 0.311 |
| 3rd | Leonardo Fornaroli (I) | Iron Lynx | Gap | 0.784 |
| 6th | Francesco Braschi (ITA) | Jenzer Motorsport | ||
| 9th | Samir Ben (CHE) | Jenzer Motorsport | ||
| 12th | Piotr Wisnicki (POL) | Jenzer Motorsport | ||
| 15th | Jorge Garciarce Davila (MEX) | Jenzer Motorsport | ||
| 17th | Santiago Ramos Reynoso (MEX) | Jenzer Motorsport | ||
| Fastest lap: Sebastian Montoya (COL) in 1:44.640 | ||||
Samir Ben (CHE)
Piotr Wisnicki (POL)
Francesco Braschi (ITA)
Jorge Garciarce Davila (MEX)
Santiago Ramos Reynoso (MEX)
© Photo Pellegrini
Championship Standings
FIA F4 Italian Championship 2021 after 12 races:
1st Oliver Bearman (GB), 257 points; 2nd Leonardo Fornaroli (I), 122 points; 3rd Tim Tramnitz (D), 116 points; 4th Sebastian Montoya (COL), 115 points; 5th Kirill Smal (RUS), 90 points; 6th Joshua Dufek (A), 75 points; 20th Samir Ben (CH), 10 points; 21st Francesco Braschi, 8 points; 25th Piotr Wisnicki (POL), 5 points; 30th Jorge Garciarce Davila (MEX), 1 point
Rookie-Standings:
1st Nikita Bedrin (RUS), 144 points; 2nd Conrad Laursen (DK), 133 points; 3rd Leonardo Bizzotto (I), 119 points; 8th Francesco Braschi (I), 65 points; 9th Samir Ben (CH), 58 points
2021 FIA F4 ITALIAN CHAMPIONSHIP – AGENDA
| 14/15/16 May | Paul Ricard (F) | |
| 04/05/06 June | Misano (I) | |
| 25/26/27 June | Vallelunga (I) | |
| 23/24/25 July | Imola (I) | |
| 10/11/12 September | RedBull Ring (A) | |
| 08/09/10 October | Mugello (I) | |
| 29/30/31 October | Monza (I) |
More info:
