Mugello - Twelve victories throughout the season, three of them secured during the final weekend at the Mugello Circuit. That is Luka Sammalisto's remarkable tally in the Italian F4 Championship. The Finn had already mathematically secured the Drivers' title at Misano, while his team, US Racing, had also clinched the Teams' championship. Nevertheless, he arrived at the final round of the season with the same determination, intent on confirming his dominance. And he did exactly that: three wins in the three races contested at Mugello, bringing his season tally to 12 victories and equalling the record set by Dennis Hauger in 2019. The record had stood for three years, until Andrea Kimi Antonelli surpassed it in 2022 (driving a car bearing the number 12).
Luka Sammalisto: “The whole weekend was really good again. In the last race, I think our pace was really strong. Elia and I had a good battle, and I think both of us had really strong pace. There were a couple of Safety Cars, and then I lost the lead. We had one more lap to race, and I think I stayed quite close behind him. On the last corner, I just thought I would go for the win, and it worked out quite well. Overall, the whole weekend was really good, and I want to thank the whole team again. I wouldn't be standing here without them and the amazing work they've done. We won in the dry, and now we've also won in the wet. It really shows how hard we've worked for this. No matter what the conditions are, we're still up there. I can't thank all the sponsors, the team and everyone who has supported me enough. This has been the Italian F4 season, and I'm really happy to end it this way and with how the weekend went”.
After taking the first two victories of the weekend, Sammalisto was determined to complete the job in the wet. The Final started behind the Safety Car due to the track conditions and featured several interruptions. Following the final restart, which came with just one lap remaining, the Finn was running second behind Elia Weiss. Sammalisto immediately pushed to regain the lead, making his decisive move at the final corner and securing his third victory of the weekend in a thrilling run to the chequered flag.
Weiss crossed the line in second place, rounding off his best weekend of the season after already securing a third place and a victory. David Cosma-Cristofor of Prema Racing completed the podium, claiming his second podium finish of the day after taking second place in Race 3.
Fourth place went to Kenzo Craigie, who also secured his third Rookie victory of the weekend. The R-ace GP Mercedes junior driver had already mathematically clinched the Rookie title at the end of the first race of the day, completing a successful season in which he had also won the E4 Championship.
Kenzo Craigie: “It's been a great first year, and I can't thank the team enough for helping me learn this car so quickly. We've struggled a little bit at the start of the season, but as the rounds have gone on, we've continued to build our pace and momentum, and we've got better and better. I feel like we've ended on a good note. So I'm really happy with all the championships I've competed in this year”.
Andy Consani, another R-ace GP Mercedes junior driver, finished fifth overall after a very solid weekend highlighted by his podium finish in Race 3. Augustus Toniolo of Trident Motorsport also enjoyed a strong weekend, finishing the final race in sixth place, ahead of Poland's Alex Ruta of Van Amersfoort Racing. Alp Aksoy, Ferrari Driver Academy driver representing Prema Racing, finished eighth, concluding his first season in Formula 4 as runner-up in the Italian F4 Championship.
Ninth place in the Final went to Iacopo Martinese, US Racing driver and member of ACI Team Italia. Also inside the top 10 was Nicolas Cortes, the Mexican driver from Jenzer Motorsport, ahead of US Racing’s Oleksandr Savinkov and Florentin Hattemer of Trident Motorsport. PHM Racing’s Emma Felbermayr crossed the line in thirteenth, having already mathematically secured the 2026 Women’s Trophy on Saturday. However, the Austrian driver received a five-second penalty for overtaking under yellow flags, dropping her to nineteenth place.
Canadian driver Alexander Chartier of PHM Racing was classified thirteenth. A penalty was also handed to the driver behind him, Danish racer David Walther of Maffi Racing. Walther had been excluded from the Race 3 classification following technical checks due to a non-compliant battery fitted to his car. In the Final, he received a 25-second penalty for an incident involving Thomas Bearman (Van Amersfoort Racing), who subsequently dropped to the back of the field. This promoted Prema Racing’s McLaren junior Christian Costoya to fourteenth, followed by his Chinese teammate Kwan Ho Kingsley Zheng.
The final race of the season got underway in the rain, with the start initially taking place behind the Safety Car. The on-track battles were intense, but the conditions required several interruptions. Dean Pedersen (CRAM Motorsport) and Oscar Repetto (PHM Racing) were among those forced to retire after spinning following contact at the Scarperia corner. Noah Killion (US Racing) subsequently ended up in the gravel. Jensen Burnett also spun in the middle of the pack during the closing stages, but managed to reach the finish. US Racing drivers Ary Bansal and Ludovico Busso were not as fortunate, both retiring from the Final after completing three and six laps respectively.
Elia Weiss: “This was probably my best race of the weekend. Obviously, it's unfortunate that I made a mistake at the last corner while leading the race and then lost the position to Luka. But he also did a great job all season long, especially this weekend. It's a tough one to take, but I've learned from it. Overall, it was a very good weekend. We had a first, second and third place, so I'm really satisfied with myself and the team in general. I'm happy to end the season on such a high”.
David Cosma-Cristofor: “It was really difficult, considering this was basically my first proper race in the wet. I think we managed the race quite well. The Safety Car periods were also tricky to deal with because of the crashes. But I'm happy with my performance and the result. It's something positive to build on for next year”.