The Italian F4 Championship closed the day at Mugello with a dramatic twist. Race 2 featured the drivers from Groups A and B, with Germany's Elia Weiss (Jenzer Motorsport) starting from pole position. Weiss looked determined to bring Jenzer Motorsport back to victory after the last one came in 2020. However, after controlling the race from the front, the R-ace GP Mercedes Junior Team driver Andy Consani came under increasing pressure, sparking an intense battle. Contact between the two resulted in a puncture for Weiss, forcing the Jenzer driver into the pits. Consani suffered front wing damage but was able to continue, only to later receive a 25-second penalty from Race Control.
Starting from ninth on the grid, Ary Bansal easily conquered the race lead and went on to cross the finish line first, securing his maiden victory in the Italian F4 Championship. In a curious historical coincidence, car number 46 climbed to the top step of the podium at Mugello.
Another excellent result came from Ferrari Driver Academy driver Niccolò Maccagnani (Prema Racing). After winning Race 1 earlier in the day, the Italian finished second in the afternoon, bringing his tally to 56 points scored on the opening day of the weekend. Third place went to David Cosma-Cristofor, the main championship challenger to current leader Luka Sammalisto, who was not involved in Race 2 due to the group rotation format. The Romanian Prema Racing driver once again demonstrated excellent pace, securing another podium finish and confirming himself among the championship's most consistent contenders.
Fourth place went to Williams Driver Academy driver Oleksandr Bondarev (Prema Racing), who claimed the position after a spectacular battle with US Racing's Oleksandr Savinkov. The Ukrainian eventually finished ahead of his rival following a duel that lit up the final lap.
Sixth overall and Rookie winner was McLaren Development Programme driver Christian Costoya (Prema Racing). The Spaniard finished ahead of Thomas Bearman (Van Amersfoort Racing) and Oscar Repetto (PHM Racing). Dominik Simek and Florentin Hattemer, both representing Trident Motorsport, crossed the line in ninth and tenth respectively, completing the Rookie podium.
Alex Ruta (Van Amersfoort Racing) finished eleventh ahead of PHM Racing's Simon Rechenmacher. Ludovico Busso (US Racing) took thirteenth, while fourteenth overall was enough for Emma Felbermayr (PHM Racing) to secure victory in the Female Trophy. The Austrian driver not only finished inside the points but also prevailed over a competitive field including Payton Westcott (R-ace GP), Zoe Florescu (Real Racing), Rafaela Ferreira (Cram Motorsport) and Ginevra Panzeri (PA Racing). The final point-paying position went to ACI Team Italia driver Iacopo Martinese (PHM Racing).
Ary Bansal: "Obviously it was quite difficult. I was focused on surviving. It was quite chaotic, but I was able to make use of it. We managed the tyres really well. We got ourselves into P3, and then the top two collided, which helped me quite a bit. After that, it was easier to catch and overtake Consani. I've been working not only with the team, but also on myself. I was trying to figure out how to make the best use of what the team gave me. The team has been really strong since the first round, I just had to keep improving and maximize everything."
Niccolò Maccagnani: "It has been a good start to the weekend, and hopefully we can keep it going in the Final. For now I'm really happy, and I'd like to thank the whole team for their work. I got a good start and managed to move up to second. The others had fresh tyres, so I decided not to fight too hard because it was already a battle I couldn't win. I simply held my position, and then I was fortunate with the incident ahead, which allowed me to score some important points."
David Cosma-Cristofor: "The main goal is to finish as high as possible to get as many points as we can for the Championship. In Race 1 we had a few problems with the setup, and I had a bad start, but then it was alright. This time we were also a bit lucky with the penalty the other driver received, and the pace was also much better. I think we can aim for a top-three or top-four finish in tomorrow's Final. We expect some rain, so it'll be interesting. I'm looking forward to it."
Action resumes tomorrow, Sunday, July 26. The day will begin with the race featuring Groups A and C at 9:00, before the Final, reserved for the best 36 drivers of the weekend, gets underway at 15:50.
All races are run over 25 minutes plus one lap, award full championship points to the top 15 finishers, and will be broadcast live on ACI Sport TV, streamed on the official ACI Sport and Italian F4 Championship social media channels, as well as through the international network of broadcasters bringing Italian Formula 4 to fans around the world.