Mugello woke up to heavy rain this morning, although the weather eased before the start of Race 3. The race was delayed by a few minutes by Race Control to ensure safe conditions. Even so, the circuit remained extremely difficult to read, with several damp sections and generally slippery conditions.
Most of the field opted to start on Pirelli slick tyres, while only a handful of drivers gambled on wets. It was those on wet tyres who were rewarded in the opening stages of the race. Drivers on slicks instead struggled for grip, in a race that required multiple Safety Car interventions.
The first came on the opening lap, when pole sitter Elia Weiss (Jenzer Motorsport) went off at Turn 1 and was forced to retire, capping off an unfortunate weekend after already losing a potential victory in Race 2 while leading the field.
The race lead was therefore contested by the drivers on wet tyres, with Levi Arn (Jenzer Motorsport), Dominik Simek (Trident Motorsport) and Bader Al Sulaiti (Jenzer Motorsport) all taking turns at the front.
In the closing laps, however, the track evolved rapidly and the drivers on slicks finally found grip. Among them was Andy Consani, who carved his way through the field with determination, producing a series of decisive overtakes on Arn and Al Sulaiti to take the lead. Another impressive performance from the Frenchman, confirming the excellent form he has shown over the past few months.
Bader Al Sulaiti eventually finished second, celebrating his first podium finish of the weekend. His gamble on wet tyres paid off for most of the race, before he came under pressure from Prema Racing's Oleksandr Bondarev in the closing stages. The final lap, however, finished behind the Safety Car after Zoe Florescu (Real Racing) became stranded in the gravel, freezing the order. Williams Driver Academy member Bondarev therefore secured third place after a strong late charge.
Fourth overall and Rookie class winner was Kenzo Craigie (R-ace GP), who crossed the line ahead of Dominik Simek and Alp Aksoy (Prema Racing), who completed the Rookie podium.
Australian driver Noah Killion (US Racing) finished seventh after battling at the front during the opening stages and making the most of the Safety Car restarts. Team-mate Luka Sammalisto crossed the line eighth, continuing to collect valuable points to maintain his championship lead. Switzerland's Levi Arn finished ninth ahead of India's Ary Bansal, winner of Race 2 on Saturday.
Thomas Bearman (Van Amersfoort Racing) finished eleventh, ahead of Knud Nielsen (Real Racing) and David Walther (Maffi Racing). Augustus Toniolo (Trident Motorsport) claimed fourteenth, while Mexico's Nicolas Cortes (Jenzer Motorsport) secured the final point-paying position.
Emma Felbermayr claimed another victory in the Female Trophy, finishing 21st overall ahead of Emily Cotty (R-ace GP) and Romania's Zoe Florescu (Real Racing), who was still classified despite her late-race incident. Ginevra Panzeri (PA Racing), meanwhile, was forced to retire.
Andy Consani: "It was really hard to manage at the start, because it was really wet. Mentally it was really hard, because the drivers with wet tyres were a lot faster than us, and we thought we were doing the wrong choice. At the end it turned in our favor, the tyre choice that we made was very good, and we managed to win the race. I'm very happy for the team, because they have done an excellent job over the past few months, and the car was perfect."
Bader Al Sulaiti: "It was a good strategy by the team. Unfortunately, with the Safety Car we were not able to extend the gap in the beginning, otherwise we would have held P1. We take P2, and hopefully for the Final we will have a good starting position and go forward from there. Towards the end the track was starting to dry, I was struggling to find grip with the wet tyres, but in the end it paid off. Thank you to the team, my sponsors QMMF and QMA, my manager Morgan and all my coaches."
Oleksandr Bondarev: "At the beginning it was really difficult to get the tyre temperature because the track was still damp and we needed a push lap for the slicks. When the Safety Car came out we thought maybe the gamble wouldn't work out. In the end, over the last two laps, we managed to get the tyres up to temperature and come through the field. The pace at the end was really strong and we had a good setup for these conditions. Unfortunately, the last lap was under Safety Car, otherwise maybe we could have fought for P2 for sure, and maybe even for the win. Big thank you to the team, they made the right strategic decision."
Emma Felbermayr: "Yesterday I was quite happy with how the race went, finishing in the points in such a competitive field. It wasn't a bad start to the weekend. Today was a bit tougher. I think wets would have been the better choice for me, especially starting further back where everyone is bunched together and it's difficult to move forward. Overall today was tougher, I just need to improve a little more."
The Final, reserved for the best 36 drivers of the weekend, gets underway today, Sunday July 26th, 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.