Monza - A spectacular start to the final weekend of the 2025 E4 Championship unfolded at Monza, with Race 1 delivering plenty of drama and several safety car interventions. Kean Nakamura-Berta (Prema Racing) claimed victory, extending his championship lead at the end of a fiercely fought race that remained undecided until the very last meters.
The Japanese driver, who started from pole position, prevailed in a race that saw several contenders alternating at the front: Newman Chi (Prema Racing), who led the early stages after light contact with Nakamura-Berta at the first chicane, Brazilian Gabriel Gomez (US Racing), and American Sebastian Wheldon (Prema Racing). Both Gomez and Wheldon started with grid penalties but made impressive comebacks.
Wheldon, who had a two-place grid drop, moved into the lead in the closing stages but was forced to give the position back to his teammate after gaining it by cutting a corner. Later, the Panel of the Stewards handed him a five-second penalty for overtaking under safety car conditions, dropping him to eighth in the final results.
Gabriel Gomez thus moved up to second place after a strong recovery drive from his own two-place grid penalty. In the final laps, he successfully defended the position from Zhenrui Chi (Prema Racing), who had led part of the race before receiving a ten-second penalty for ignoring a black-and-orange flag shown due to front wing damage.
The third step of the podium was inherited by Kabir Anurag (US Racing – Alpine Academy), who delivered a very competitive weekend. The Singaporean driver starred in an exciting wheel-to-wheel battle with Zhenrui Chi for fourth place.
Maksimilian Popov (Van Amersfoort Racing) finished fifth ahead of Andrija Kostic (US Racing) and Reno Francot (PHM Racing). Olekandr Bondarev (Prema Racing – Williams Driver Academy) took seventh overall and claimed victory in the Rookie class. Andy Consani (R-ace GP – Mercedes Junior) followed in ninth after a close fight with Bondarev and Salim Hanna (US Racing), who received a ten-second penalty for a false start. Rounding out the top ten, and taking the final point, was Oleksandr Savinkov (R-ace GP).
In the female trophy, victory went to Emily Cotty (R-ace GP), ahead of Mathilda Paatz (Mathilda Racing by AS Motorsport) and Ginevra Panzeri (AKM Motorsport). With this result, Cotty moves to the top of the standings with 118 points, compared to Panzeri’s 108.
The race featured numerous incidents: Payton Westcott (Van Amersfoort Racing) was forced to retire after contact with Guy Albag (R-ace GP), which also earned her a four-place grid penalty. Elia Weiss (Jenzer Motorsport) also retired following contact with Dante Vinci (Van Amersfoort Racing), who was handed a 25-second penalty, while Ary Bansal (US Racing) also failed to finish due to the crash.
Ludovico Busso (US Racing) will drop six places on the next starting grid for contact with Andrea Dupe (Prema Racing), which resulted in the retirement of both. Another incident involved Aleksandr Ruta (Van Amersfoort Racing) and Jenzer Motorsport drivers Teo Schropp and Nicholas Cortes.
On the eve of Race 2, the title fight is now down to two contenders: Kean Nakamura-Berta leads the standings with 131 points, followed by Gabriel Gomez on 114. Tomorrow, Sunday, October 26, Monza will crown the 2025 E4 Championship winner in a finale reminiscent of the Italian Formula 4 Championship showdown two weeks ago.
Kean Nakamura-Berta: “We had a good start, even though there was some unlucky contact in Turns 1 and 2. Luckily, there was no damage, and I could stay on track. From there, I just kept recovering positions one by one. The two safety car restarts were managed very well. It was a solid race and a positive result for the championship. I’ll start from pole again in the next one, and I’ll try to get another podium or a win. If we keep doing what we’ve done all year, scoring points and maximizing opportunities, the championship will take care of itself.”
Gabriel Gomez: “It wasn’t an easy race. I had a great start, even though I started from fifth after a penalty. I was already second by Turn 1, then there were a lot of battles. I managed the first part well and was even in front for a while, but at Monza the slipstream makes a big difference. The last restart wasn’t perfect, I lost some time and couldn’t close the gap. I got back closer on the final lap, but it was too late. It would’ve been better to win for the championship fight, but we’ll go again tomorrow.”
Sebastian Wheldon: “Monza is always crazy for racing. There were a lot of safety cars, and I just tried to hold my position and not lose places. The last restart didn’t go well; it took me a bit to catch Kean again, and I tried to pass him on the last lap, but it didn’t work out.”
The remaining two races of the weekend will take place on Sunday, October 26, with Race 2 at 9:30 a.m. and the season finale at 3:50 p.m. All races will last 30 minutes plus one lap and will be broadcast live in Italian on ACI Sport TV (channel 228 on Sky and streaming on live.acisport.tv). The English-language live stream will be available on the official championship social media channels and through international broadcasters of the E4 Championship network.