Race Report

FORMULA 4
FIA F4 CEZ CHAMPIONSHIP, Rounds 16/17/18

Circuit: Salzburgring (A), Length 4,255 km, 20^th – 22^nd September 2024
www.salzburgring.com

JENZER MOTORSPORT 2024:
Oscar Wurz (AT), Max Karhan (CZ), Teodor Skorpil Borenstein (CZ)

Oscar Wurz wins the finale at the Salzburgring and is 2024 FIA F4 CEZ Champion

The six and therefore last race event for the 2024 FIA F4 CEZ (Central European Zone) Championship took place on the beautifully situated, traditional and super fast race track of the Salzburgring (A). For all participants this was a new challenge at the end of the season.

Qualifying

Saturday, 21/09/24, 13.30 – 13.50, Weather: Sunny, 22°C

In this championship there are three practice sessions available on Friday, followed by the official part with one qualifying session of 20 minutes, followed by three races of 25 minutes each.
The grid for the first race will be drawn up in the order of the fastest qualifying time achieved by each driver in the qualifying. The grid for the second race will be drawn up in the order of the race 1 result. The grid for the third race will be drawn up in the order of the reverse order of the 4 – 8 positons in race one (tbc according to amount of starters).

We were happy that Teodor was back in the racing car for the first time since his serious accident. His program was planned to be somewhat shortened to begin with. He took part in the free practice sessions and the qualifying session, but left out the races.

FIA F4 CEZ Championship

Race One (25 minutes)

Saturday,21/09/24, 17.30, Weather: Sunny, 21°C

The tension was high because it had not yet been decided who would take home the 2024 championship title. Before this race, three drivers still had a chance: Oscar Wurz, Kirill Kutskov and Max Karhan. Since the sun was already low in the sky, the race was started behind the safety car. Kutskov managed to get off to a good start, but Oscar was close to him. Max had accelerated a little less well. Oscar immediately put pressure on and, despite smoking brakes, managed to get past Kutskov on the outside. But Kutskov soon countered and took the lead back. Now Oskar tried to attack practically every lap, but of course he didn't want to risk anything fatal. Max was lying in wait behind the two of them and was ready to benefit from every mistake made by his competitors. Oscar couldn't find a way past Kutskov on this super fast, flowing track until the end. Oscar reached the finish in 2^nd place, with Max directly behind him in 3^rd position.
This meant that only Oscar and Kutskov were left in the race to win the championship.

FIA F4 CEZ Championship

Race Two (25 minutes)

Sunday, 22.09.24, 11.00, Weather: Sunny, 18°C

Beautiful autumn weather accompanied us throughout Sunday. The second race of the weekend brought the decision for the championship title. Oscar showed nerves and did not get off to a good start. But then he began a heated chase. Lap after lap he worked his way up through the field. When he arrived in 3rd place behind Max, this would have been enough to secure the championship with these points. But Oscar was not satisfied. He managed to get past Max and finish in 2^nd place. Max, who was directly behind Kutskov at the beginning of the race and also attacked him, braked badly and had to drive through the emergency exit. This of course meant that he lost contact with the leader. His tires were probably a bit dirty from this excursion, and so Oscar soon managed to get past him. Oscar thus reached 2^nd place on the podium and Max 3^rd place.
Kutskov could no longer catch Oscar in terms of points. This meant that the championship order of the top three was already set:
2024 FIA F4 CEZ champion was Oscar Wurz, 2^nd place went to Kirill Kutskov, and 3^rd place went to Max Karhan.
Now only the third race of the weekend was still missing, and everyone wanted to enjoy it.

FIA F4 CEZ Championship

Race Three (25 minutes)

Sunday, 22.09.24, 15.30, Weather: Sunny, 22°C

The third race of the weekend, and also the last race of the season, started in the middle of the afternoon. The safety car took over the field when Sabaj's spin left a lot of gravel on the track and it had to be cleaned. At the restart, Max was close to Kutskov. He managed to overtake him and take the lead. But Kutskov soon countered and gained the position back. Max was not able to overtake him again until the end of the race. Oscar drove in third place and brought it home without any problems. This brought an exciting racing weekend and a good season to a successful end.

© 2024 Harald Lindtner

Championship final standings

FIA F4 CEZ Championship 2024 after18 races:
1^st Oscar Wurz (AT), 301 points; 2^nd Kirill Kutskov (KGZ), 276 points; 3^rd Max Karhan (CZ), 242 points; 4^th Miroslav Mikes (CZ), 161 points; 5^th Michalina Sabaj (POL), 84 points; 6^th Jonathan Correrella (F), 58 points; 12^th Teodor Borenstein (CZ), 9 points

2024 FIA F4 CEZ CHAMPIONSHIP – AGENDA

More information:

• www.f4-cez.com
• formulascout.com