Misano World Circuit - Italian F4 Championship leader after the opening round is Alp Aksoy (Prema Racing), who came close to a perfect scorecard at the Misano World Circuit. With two victories and a third-place finish, the Turkish driver collected 82 out of the 90 points available and became the first championship leader of the 2026 season.
His first triumph had come in the opening race of the weekend, where he initially crossed the line second before being promoted to victory following a penalty handed to Niccolò Maccagnani (Prema Racing). After finishing third in Race 2, Aksoy returned to the track for the Final, starting from pole position.
From there, he managed the race from the front in complex conditions, with rain arriving earlier than expected and catching the field on slick Pirelli tyres. The Turkish driver held on to secure victory in the Final on Mother’s Day, later dedicating the win to his mother.
The race that brought the opening round to a close immediately delivered drama, as Thomas Bearman (Van Amersfoort Racing) stalled on the grid and was hit from behind by Nicolas Cortes (Jenzer Motorsport). Andre Rodriguez (CRAM Motorsport) and Augustus Toniolo (Trident Motorsport) were also caught up in the incident to a lesser extent. All drivers were unharmed but forced to retire.
After several laps behind the Safety Car, the battle intensified, with the Prema Racing drivers initially leading while being chased by Ary Bansal (US Racing) and David Walther (Maffi Racing). Both managed to climb through the order and eventually secure podium finishes.
Bansal, in particular, produced an impressive recovery drive from sixth on the grid, executing several spectacular overtakes to climb to second place. From there, the Indian driver continued to pressure Aksoy until the closing stages in a race marked throughout by close battles and minimal gaps across the entire points-paying positions.
David Walther claimed another podium finish after starting from the third row of the grid, further highlighting the excellent work carried out by Maffi Racing during the opening weekend and firmly placing the team among the front-runners.
Fourth place went to Oleksandr Savinkov (US Racing), who was involved in an intense on-track battle with teammate Luka Sammalisto. The Finnish driver eventually finished fifth. Earlier in the weekend, Sammalisto had secured the fastest qualifying time and two pole positions: the first converted into victory, while the second slipped away because of a technical issue on his Tatuus while leading Race 3.
Sixth place went to Niccolò Maccagnani (Prema Racing). The Ferrari Driver Academy driver had battled his teammate in the opening phase of the race before becoming involved in fights with the chasing pack and losing several positions. Nevertheless, thanks to his Race 3 victory, he leaves Misano second in the standings with 66 points, 16 behind his teammate.
A strong Final race also came from Mercedes junior Andy Consani (R-ace GP), who recovered several positions after starting from the fourteenth row of the grid. Behind him finished Arjen Kräling (US Racing) and Williams Driver Academy driver Oleksandr Bondarev (Prema Racing), both heavily involved in the battles at the front during the early stages of the race.
Tenth place went to Romania’s David Cosma-Cristofor (Prema Racing). After two runner-up finishes during the weekend, he leaves the opening round third in the drivers’ standings with 61 points.
Polish driver Alex Ruta (Van Amersfoort Racing) completed the weekend in eleventh place, ahead of Bader Al Sulaiti (Jenzer Motorsport) and Mercedes junior Kenzo Craigie (R-ace GP). The British driver once again stepped onto the Rookie podium, finishing second in class behind Aksoy.
Completing the points-paying positions were Edward Robinson (US Racing) and McLaren junior Christian Costoya (Prema Racing), the latter finishing as third-best Rookie in the Final.
In the Female Trophy classification, Californian driver Payton Westcott claimed victory ahead of Emily Cotty. Both race for R-ace GP, with the win allowing Westcott to take the lead in the standings. The only other female driver to qualify for the Final was Emma Felbermayr, but the PHM Racing driver was unable to start due to a technical issue with her car.
The Final fully delivered on expectations, featuring thrilling action and battles throughout the field, with no driver able to break away from the pack. It proved to be a fitting conclusion to the opening weekend of the single-seater series promoted by ACI Sport and WSK Promotion.
Also present on the grid for the four races was Riccardo Patrese, legendary Formula 1 driver with 256 Grand Prix starts and now ambassador for ACI values. Patrese also worked alongside the young Italian F4 drivers during activities organised by the ACI Sport Federal School, continuing the traditional mentoring programme held during championship rounds.
Alp Aksoy: “It was a really good weekend, we won the hardest race of the weekend, and we showed our potential. This one goes to my mom, I love you! I want to say thank you to my family, my sponsors, Prema Racing, and everyone who supported me during the weekend. Going to Vallelunga as championship leader is not pressure, it is motivation. It’s really positive as a Rookie and I’m really happy about it.”
Ary Bansal: “The Safety Car restart was quite good. I was able to attack everybody and put pressure on Aksoy. We were right behind him at the end. I was able to keep attacking constantly every lap and had no problems.”
David Walther: “Amazing feeling. I overtook the guys in front of me. I was fast, and I was there from the beginning to the end. Honestly, I couldn’t ask for more this weekend. The journey is only starting now.”
Kenzo Craigie: “Starting from the back is definitely tricky, but we made our way through nicely. We struggled with grip for the whole race, so it was quite tough. It has been a difficult weekend, but we are learning every race.”
Christian Costoya: “We were missing a bit of pace in qualifying and couldn’t fight at the front. In Race 1, we got a puncture, started from the back and still recovered 15 positions. In Race 2, we got hit on the straight… an unlucky weekend! In the final, the pace was there, and we were very quick. There are still positive things to take from the weekend, and we’ll try to come back stronger at Vallelunga.”
Payton Westcott: “I was hoping for a bit more rain, but overall the race was quite good, and we managed to stay on track the whole time. I’m happy with our race today, and yesterday's Race 2 already showed good improvement. I just want to keep moving upwards from here.”