The first of the three races of the fifth round of the Italian F.4 Championship took place today at the Autodromo Enzo e Dino Ferrari in Imola. Gabriel Gomez, Brazilian talent racing with US Racing, claimed another victory, starting from pole and firmly defending the lead through multiple restarts. It marks his second win of the season, which currently puts him second in the overall standings.
Salim Hanna, driving for Prema Racing, gained one position at the start and crossed the finish line in second place, also taking the win in the rookie classification. Championship leader Kean Nakamura-Berta, also representing Prema Racing, completed the podium in third. Starting from the front row following a grid penalty for Oleksandr Bondarev, Nakamura-Berta was passed by Hanna at the start and, despite several attempts, never found an opportunity to take the place back.
Oleksandr Bondarev, a Williams Driver Academy member with Prema Racing, finished fourth after staying in the fight at the front throughout a very tight race. Behind him came Dutch driver Reno Francot of PHM Racing, who secured fifth place with a decisive move on Sebastian Wheldon at Turn 1. Newman Chi, the rapid Chinese driver also racing with Prema Racing, took sixth.
Seventh place went to Mercedes junior Alex Powell with R-ace GP, who made up several places after starting from 11th on the grid. Just behind him came his teammate Emanuele Olivieri, the highest-placed Italian finisher in eighth. Ninth was Maxim Rehm, the German driver with US Racing, followed by Prema Racing’s Andretti junior driver Sebastian Wheldon in tenth.
Race 1 proved particularly complex to manage, with multiple safety car interventions. The first came already on the opening lap following a collision between the two Viola Racing drivers, Arthur Lorimier and Ludovico Busso. Lorimier, who locked up and caused the crash in an overly ambitious move, was handed a six-place grid penalty.
There were also issues for Kornelia Olkucka of Maffi Racing, who ran into the back of Elia Weiss from Cram shortly before a restart. Olkucka was penalised with a three-place grid drop for the next race she takes part in. Another neutralisation followed after an incident at the Tamburello corner involving Javier Herrera of Jenzer Motorsport and Guy Albag of R-ace GP. Herrera received an eight-place grid penalty for the incident.
It was also a difficult race for Andrija Kostic of US Racing, who spun off track after contact with Jenzer Motorsport’s Bart Harrison. The British driver was handed a 10-second penalty. Despite the setback, Kostic clocked the fastest lap of the race with a time of 1'47.288.
Gabriel Gomez: “It was a very tricky race. We didn’t have many clean laps. I think I had a good start and already had a good gap before the first safety car came out. Managing the restart is never easy, but overall we had a good race. It was a difficult one, but the car and the pace were very strong. Now w
Salim Hanna:“Since yesterday, we prepared well for this race. I knew how it was going to be, with Kean and Gomez ahead, but it wasn’t impossible. I got a good launch and managed to overtake my teammate. We’re still missing a bit of pace, but compared to the last three rounds, where we struggled a lot, today was much better. The past is the past, now we move forward. Overall, a good start to the weekend: we have the pace.”
Kean Nakamura-Berta: “We had a dreadful start. All weekend we’ve been struggling with the team for straight-line speed. It’s already difficult to overtake here, and even if I had good exits from the last corner, I had nothing to challenge the driver in front. It’s a tough weekend. In the corners we gain a lot, but it’s a shame to lose so much on the straights. Two races left, maybe a bit of rain to shake things up, which could be interesting. Good points today, and we keep moving.”