Misano World Circuit - The sixth and penultimate ACI Racing Weekend of the season came to an end at Misano. The weekend crowned Luka Sammalisto as the 2026 Italian F4 Champion, while US Racing secured the Teams’ title for the season.
However, the German outfit was not the only one celebrating at Misano. Christian Costoya also had plenty to celebrate. The Prema Racing driver, racing in the colours of the McLaren Driver Development Programme, not only claimed his maiden victory in Italian F4 during the weekend, but went on to repeat the feat, turning the weekend into a perfect one with three wins from the three races he contested.
The only race he did not take part in, due to the format requiring the groups to rotate during the first three races of the weekend, was won from pole position by US Racing’s Indian driver Ary Bansal.
“It was a very positive weekend. We were able to adapt to all conditions, both wet and dry. The team did a great job to make this possible, and I’m very grateful to them. We will keep working to improve even further!” said the winner after the Final.
Managing the final race of the weekend was not easy. Despite starting from pole position, Costoya was immediately challenged by Prema Racing’s Turkish driver Alp Aksoy, who was unable to move ahead and eventually finished second.
The opening part of the race was particularly lively, with US Racing’s Spanish-British driver Edward Robinson also mounting attacks for P2. Robinson was unable to make the move and eventually completed the podium.
Australian US Racing driver Noah Killion narrowly missed out on the champagne, finishing fourth. Fifth place went to Van Amersfoort Racing’s Alex Ruta, ahead of R-ace GP’s Mercedes junior Kenzo Craigie, who completed the Rookie podium behind Costoya and Aksoy.
Brazilian driver Augustus Toniolo of Trident Motorsport finished seventh overall, capping an extremely positive weekend with his consistent presence in the battles towards the front of the field. David Walther of Maffi Racing was eighth, ahead of Race 1 winner Ary Bansal.
US Racing’s Sicilian driver Ludovico Busso and Van Amersfoort Racing’s Thomas Bearman finished tenth and eleventh respectively, with both drivers having made it onto the podium during the weekend.
Jensen Burnett of R-ace GP was twelfth, ahead of Jenzer Motorsport’s Elia Weiss. ACI Team Italia driver Iacopo Martinese finished 14th. The PHM Racing driver had also stood on the Rookie podium during the weekend, finishing seventh overall in Race 1 for his best result of the season. Prema Racing’s Romanian driver David Cosma-Cristofor completed the points-paying positions.
Emma Felbermayr claimed another victory in the women’s classification, extending her advantage over rival Payton Westcott, who retired following an incident. Both class titles will nevertheless be decided at Mugello based on the results of the final round.
It was also a difficult race for newly crowned champion Luka Sammalisto, who retired following an incident with Dean Pedersen of CRAM Motorsport. The results remain provisional pending the completion of the technical and sporting checks. The newly crowned champion Luka Sammalisto commented after mathematically securing the title in Race 3:
“It feels really amazing. We worked really hard with the team to achieve this, and finally here in Misano we got it. Overall, it was a really tough weekend. Qualifying was difficult for me, I just couldn’t find the pace. The team did a great job, and now we are back on track, and we are really fast.
For me, US Racing is family. I cannot thank them enough. I’m really grateful for the opportunity they gave me this year. I also want to thank all the sponsors. It feels amazing to be the Italian Formula 4 Champion.”
Final classification after penalties
At the end of the sporting checks, the Stewards awarded David Walther a 10-second penalty for a dangerous manoeuvre that culminated in contact with Thomas Bearman’s car. Bearman himself received a 5-second penalty for gaining an advantage by cutting off track. Both drivers therefore dropped out of the points-paying positions.
A further 5-second penalty was handed to Kenzo Craigie following a minor incident with Augustus Toniolo’s car, for which he was deemed responsible. With the additional five seconds, Craigie lost one position and finished seventh.
Grid penalties for Monza were also handed to Georgiy Zasov, who will lose 6 positions; Knud Nielsen, who will lose 3; Teo Borenstein, who will lose 6; and Levi Arn, who will lose 6 positions.
The final Top 15 is therefore:
- Christian Costoya – Prema Racing
- Alp Aksoy – Prema Racing
- Edward Robinson – US Racing
- Noah Killion – US Racing
- Alex Ruta – Van Amersfoort Racing
- Augustus Toniolo – Trident Motorsport
- Kenzo Craigie – R-ace GP
- Ary Bansal – US Racing
- Ludovico Busso – US Racing
- Jensen Burnett – CRAM Motorsport
- Elia Weiss – Jenzer Motorsport
- Iacopo Martinese – PHM Racing
- David Cosma-Cristofor – Prema Racing
- Florentin Hattemer – Trident Motorsport
- Arjen Kraling – US Racing