UPDATE – 10-second penalty assigned to Niccolò Maccagnani.
Niccolò Maccagnani (Prema Racing) was handed a 10-second penalty for a starting grid infringement. The Italian driver started his engine earlier than permitted under the current regulations. The resulting penalty cost him his maiden victory, dropping him to fourth place. The Ferrari Driver Academy-backed Prema Racing driver had started from second on the grid and managed to take the lead immediately at the start, taking advantage of a hesitation off the line from teammate Alp Aksoy.
From that point on, Maccagnani controlled the race, managing the restart after a safety car period perfectly and setting the fastest lap on the final tour. After a difficult launch, Alp Aksoy fought back strongly through the opening corners, quickly reclaiming second position on track and ultimately securing the first win of the year following the post-race review by the Stewards. The Turkish driver also claimed victory in the Rookie classification.
Second place went to Prema Racing driver Oleksandr Bondarev, the Ukrainian Williams Driver Academy representative, who delivered a sensational drive after climbing through the field from the seventh row on the starting grid.
The battle for fourth place was particularly intense, initially fought between Kenzo Craigie of R-ace GP and Oleksandr Savinkov of US Racing. The two engaged in a fierce duel that ended in contact between their cars, putting both out of contention for the leading positions.
The final top-five position was therefore secured by Ary Bansal of US Racing, who was also involved in several overtakes and battles throughout the race. Following Maccagnani’s penalty, Bansal was promoted to third place.
Fifth was Arjen Kräling of US Racing, who came out on top in a close fight with Bader Al Sulaiti of Jenzer Motorsport, sixth at the finish.
An excellent recovery drive saw Thomas Bearman of Van Amersfoort Racing finish seventh after starting from the eighth row of the grid. Eighth overall and second among the Rookies was Florentin Hattemer, delivering a very positive result for Trident Motorsport in the team’s debut race in the category.
Ninth at the flag was Oleksandr Savinkov, ahead of Denmark’s Knud Nielsen of Real Racing. Nielsen also secured third place in the Rookie classification, bringing valuable points home for the Romanian team.
Behind them came Roland Kuklane of PHM Racing in 11th, followed by Edward Robinson of US Racing, Arn Levi of Jenzer Motorsport, Beco Bernoldi of Trident Motorsport, and Christian Costoya of Prema Racing. Robinson and Costoya both ran into trouble during the opening stages of the race and were forced to pit after an incident also involving Ho Kingsley Zheng Kwan of Prema Racing, which triggered the safety car.
Federico Diaz of Alpha 54 Racing and Andy Consani of R-ace GP were also forced to retire after contact between the two cars ended their races. Lyuboslav Ruykov of Trident Motorsport, Augustus Toniolo of Trident Motorsport, and Alexander Chartier of PHM Racing also failed to reach the chequered flag following another collision.
PHM Racing teammates Emma Felbermayr and Iacopo Martinese were also involved in an incident. The Austrian driver was battling for a place inside the top ten when the ACI Team Italia driver attempted an overtake, resulting in contact between the two cars.
A problem on the final lap also delayed Rafaela Ferreira of CRAM Motorsport. This allowed Emily Cotty of R-ace GP to take victory in the Female Trophy classification, ahead of Californian driver Payton Westcott, also representing the French team. Italian driver Ginevra Panzeri of PA Motorsport completed the female podium in third place.
The results will remain provisional pending the completion of the technical and sporting stewards’ checks.
Post-race penalties were also handed to:
Andy Consani (R-ace GP) – 3-place grid penalty
Ginevra Panzeri (PA Racing) – 4-place grid penalty
both for starting their engines before the “1 minute” board,
Payton Westcott (R-ace GP) – 2-place grid penalty for overtaking behind the Safety Car
Kenzo Craigie (R-ace GP) – 4-place grid penalty for the incident involving car #17
Arn Levi (Jenzer Motorsport) – 10-second penalty for contact with car #69
Fabricio Fogaca (AKM Motorsport) – 2-place grid penalty for overtaking behind the Safety Car
Federico Diaz (Alpha 54 Racing) - 6 place grid penalty for the incident involving car #73
Augustus Toniolo (Trident Motorsport) - 6 place grid penalty for the incident involging car #81
Fabricio Fogaca (AKM Motorsport) - drive trhough served during the race for the incident involging the car #25
The Saturday schedule still includes Race 2, reserved for Groups A and B, set to start at 5:15 PM. Luka Sammalisto of US Racing will start from pole position after not taking part in Race 1 due to the group rotation system used for the three heats preceding the Final.
Niccolò Maccagnani: “It was a good race. We managed to take the position at the start, then it was all about managing until the end. We did it, and I’m really happy.”
Alp Aksoy: “The start wasn’t good. He had four new tyres while I only had two, so this was the maximum we could achieve in the race, but the start could definitely have been better. I’m starting P2 for the next race, with another two new tyres. It’s going to be okay, let’s see how it goes.”
Oleksandr Bondarev: “I made a mistake on the last lap in qualifying, so we’re a bit on the back foot for the rest of the weekend. Getting a nice P3 from P7 in the first race of the season is still a good start. We still need to find a bit more pace to fight with Niko and Alp.”
Florentin Hattemer: “It’s a good result in the end, also for the team in its first year in Formula 4. It shows we have the pace. We will keep working to improve race after race and hopefully fight for the top step of the podium.”
Knud Nielsen: “We started P22, we didn’t have the best qualifying, but we have the pace to be at the front. It’s a good way to start the season.”
Emily Cotty: “It was a really eventful race. I started a bit further back because of a balance issue we had in qualifying. I think we were fighting around the top 15 for pretty much the whole race, and maybe even the top 10 towards the end. Then we had some issues with other cars and ended up just outside the top 15. I’m looking forward to pushing even harder in the next race.”
Ginevra Panzeri: “I thought it could have gone better. There’s still a lot of work to do, but never give up!”