Race Report

FIA FORMULA 4
ITALIAN CHAMPIONSHIP, Rounds 1/2/3

Circuit: Vallelunga (I), Length 4.085 km, 1^st/2^nd/3^rd May 2015
www.vallelunga.it

JENZER MOTORSPORT 2015:
Marcos Siebert (ARG), Lucas Mauron (CH), Nico Rindlisbacher (CH) and Ali Al Khalifa (BRN)

Start with Podium for Mauron at Vallelunga

The first of seven meetings of the Italian FIA Formula 4 Championship took place on the interesting Vallelunga circuit. 26 drivers were present and were looking forward to the start of the season with great expectations. Competing for Jenzer Motorsport are Marcos Siebert from Argentina, a rookie in this series, as well as Lucas Mauron, Nico Rindlisbacher and Ali Al Khalifa, who all made their debuts in this series in 2014. There races can be followed live on sporttube tv.

Qualifying

Saturday, 02/05/15, 09.10 – 09.50, Weather: Cloudy, 18°C

The rules of the championship allow for two qualifying sessions, each 15 minutes long, with a break of just ten minutes in between. Results from qualification 1 determine the grid for Race One, while results from qualification session 2 determine the grid for Race Three; the grid for Race Two is based on the results of Race One, with the first ten finishers starting in reverse order.

The first qualifying session of the 2015 Italian F4 championship began as planned and the huge field moved out onto the track under a slightly cloudy sky. Our drivers were well prepared and finished in good positions, although it wasn’t easy with 13 cars within one second of the fastest time in the first session, and 18 cars within a second of the fastest time in the second session.

FIA Formula 4 Italian Championship

Race One (28 minutes + 1 lap)

Saturday, 02/05/15, 14.10, Weather: Sunny, 21°C

The sun came out for the first race and the start went smoothly. Marcos shot forwards to claim 6th by the end of the first lap. Then he defended his position against Shwartzman who was pushing him hard, sitting almost under Marcos‘ gearbox. A few laps in Marcos had no choice but to give way to him. Beckmann had also closed up from behind and was pushing to overtake. The inevitable moment came and the two clashed, Marcos flying off the track while Beckmann fell back. Marcos was punished after the race for causing the accident and had to start from the back of the grid in race two. Nico gained several places at the start and was already 10^th at the end of the first lap, with Lucas close behind him in 12^th. When Marcos and Beckmann clashed several drivers had take avoiding action, which meant those who were not as inconvenienced by the incident were able to profit from the situation. Nico and Lucas both kept well clear and gained several places, Nico coming out in 6th. He was doing well and was able to overtake Shlom to secure an excellent 5^th place. Lucas was in 8^th, fighting it out with Sato. The pair swapped places several times, but Lucas finally got the better of his rival and stayed in front all the way to the chequered flag, also finishing in the top ten. Ali didn’t get a good start and the whole field passed him before he could get going. He made several places in the race and came home in 18^th place.

FIA Formula 4 Italian Championship

Race Two (18 minutes + 1 lap)

Sunday, 03/05/15, 09.00, Weather: Sunny, 18°C

The sun shone and temperatures were agreeably warm for Race 2. Lucas made a good start and defended his starting position, slotting in to 3^rd place. He managed to maintain a great pace and kept up with Baruch. Vieira couldn’t get close to him so there was no pressure from behind which meant Lucas was able to come home in an excellent 3^rd place. Nico didn’t get away quite as well, and was 8th at the end of lap 1. Behind him Shwartzman was pushing to get to the front and a few laps in he managed to pass Nico. That left Nico was now battling with Zhou Yu. When he tried to pass Zhou Yu, he had the door closed in his face and lost his front wing. Nico had to pit for a new wing and by the time he rejoined he was down in 23^rd. Ali made a good start and was setting some very fast time, improving his position until he was up in 14^th, when his brakes locked and he went off, losing several places. He finally crossed the finish line in 20^th. Marcos started right at the back of the field but suffered a first corner collision which punted him into a roll. The car was heavily damaged. Luckily the driver was unhurt, but Marcos was penalised by being barred from Race 3.

FIA Formula 4 Italian Championship

Race Three (28 minutes + 1 lap)

Sunday, 03/05/15, 14.20, Weather: Sunny, 24°C

Nico made a great start to race three and moved straight into 8^th place. He was fighting for positions when he had a brief off track moment which dropped him back several places. With his tyres dirty he needed several laps to find his rhythm again. In the closing stages of the race he managed to improve his position and finished the race in 14^th. Lucas was 13^th after the start and was working his way forward steadily. When Vieira was handed a drive through penalty Lucas moved up to 8^th. He was on a roll and managed to overtake Kanayet and Guzman right towards the end of the race to claim a superb 6^th place. That meant Lucas had scored points in all three races during the weekend. Ali made a good start but several corners later he was pushed off track. Several cars passed him which dropped him to 24^th. During the race he worked his way forward again and finally crossed the line in 18^th.

The next race meeting for Formula 4 Italy takes place in four weeks time, on the weekend of 31^st May at Monza (I).

Championship Standings

FIA Formula 4 Italian Championship 2015 after 15 races out of 21:
1^st Ralf Aron (EST), 56 points; 2^nd Guan Zhou Yu (CIN), 31 points; 3^rd David Beckmann (D), 25 points; 4^th Joao Vieira (BRA), 24 points; 5^th Lucas Mauron (CH), 21 points; 6^th Robert Shwartzman (RUS), 21 points; 11^th Nico Rindlisbacher, 10 points

2015 FIA FORMULA 4 ITALIAN CHAMPIONSHIP - CALENDAR

More info:

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