ITALIAN F4 GOES TO VALLELUNGA AFTER INCREDIBLE SEASON OPENER AT MISANO

A rookie on top, Maffi on the podium and a race leader knocked out before the Safety Car restart. Misano had everything a season opener could dream of in Italian F4.

Qualifying

It was redemption for Luka Sammalisto (US Racing), who crushed the opposition in the first group, taking pole with four tenths of margin. After his FREC contract fell through, he worked hard to be the fastest driver in F4, and his great pace demonstrates he’s managed to do it.

Niccolò Maccagnani (Prema) qualified P2 in the first group, taking as an excuse that he’s too used to F2 and F3 machinery. Edu Robinson (US Racing) reacted well taking P3 after stepping back from FRECA. David Whalter (Maffi) layed the solid foundations for a dream weekend for his team. The biggest surprise might be Bader Al Sulaiti (Jenzer), who clinched P9, as he improved considerably since last season.

Rookie Alp Aksoy (Prema) took pole in the second group by just 42 thousands of a second over his teammate David Cosma.

Andy Consani (R-ace GP) met the expectations, qualifying P3, ahead of fellow Mercedes junior Kenzo Craigie (R-ace GP), who recovered from free practice thanks to a key setup change.

Heat B-C

Niccolò Maccagnani crossed the line in P1, but Alp Aksoy inherited the win after the Italian received a 10 second penalty for starting the engine before the 1′ board. It was a mistake for which he was heavily scolded by his team. This meant Oleksandr Bondarev jumped up to P2 and Ary Bansal stepped on the podium in P3.

It was a disaster for R-ace GP, as Consani picked up damage at the start and was later forced to retire after making contact with Federico Diaz (Alpha54), while Craigie retired with 4 laps to go due to a collision with Oleksandr Savinkov (US Racing), who still managed to end in P9.

Heat A-B

Luka Sammalisto could finally celebrate his first win, after a perfectly executed race. The Flying Finn led the Prema duo of David Cosma and Alp Aksoy, who were no match for the US Racing driver.

There was a scary moment at the start, when Kenzo Craigie stalled his car in P10 and was narrowly avoided by all the backmarkers. He eventually came back to a remarkable P13, scoring 4 points.

Heat A-C

It was all set for a Sammalisto double, until technical problems prevented him from leading the field at the Safety Car restart. Instead, it was Maccagnani who capitalised on the US car gremlins and scored his first official win, making it up for his mistake in Race 1.

David Walther was another one to take advantage of the leader’s knock out and took Maffi Racing’s first podium in Italian F4. The Swiss-Ethiopian backmarkers finally got to celebrate, after coming close to a podium last year in Misano.

Final

Rain threatened to hit, but never impacted the race, as slick tires were a no-brainer despite the humid surface. Aksoy won in dominant fashion, leading Bansal and Walther to the tape, as they pulled away from the field. Savinkov held back teammate Sammalisto in the closing stages, the Finn clocking the fastest lap while closing the gap.

Thomas Bearman (VAR), Ollie’s brother, had a scary moment at the start, when he stalled on the grid and was hit by Nicolas Cortes (Jenzer). Luckily, they both escaped unharmed.

Championship standings

Aksoy leads the standings after round 1 (both absolute and rookie), followed by Maccagnani, who would have been first had he not taken the penalty in race 1, and David Cosma.

Here’s the top ten.

In the rookie standings, Aksoy leads Oscar Repetto (PHM) and Arn Levi (Jenzer).

In the women’s standings, Mercedes’ Payton Westcott (R-ace GP) leads Emily Cotty (R-ace GP) and F1 Academy leader Emma Felbermayr (PHM).

Next round sees drivers and teams travel to Vallelunga for the second round of the Italian F4 championship taking part this weekend, close to Rome.

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