Following Race 3, the Italian F4 Championship has crowned its new champion. Finland’s Luka Sammalisto has sealed the title, giving US Racing its second drivers’ championship after Kacper Sztuka’s 2023 success. Just four points were needed to mathematically secure the crown, and Sammalisto comfortably surpassed that mark by fighting his way up to 12th place after starting from 24th on the grid.
“It feels really amazing. We worked really hard with the team to achieve this, and finally here in Misano we got it. Overall, it has been a really tough weekend. Qualifying was difficult for me, I just couldn’t find the pace. The team did a great job and now we are back on track and we are really fast. For me, US Racing is family, I cannot thank them enough. I’m really grateful for the opportunity they gave me this year. I also want to thank all the sponsors. It feels amazing to be the Italian Formula 4 Champion,” Sammalisto said after the race.
While Sammalisto fought his way through the field to secure the title, Christian Costoya started from pole position at the front. The position had been inherited following the grid penalty handed to Teo Borenstein, the Jenzer Motorsport driver deemed responsible for the three-car incident in Race 2.
The Spanish Prema Racing driver, sporting the papaya colours of the McLaren junior programme, took the lead from the start and held on to claim his second victory of the season. It was his second consecutive win at Misano and will also earn him pole position for this afternoon’s Final.
British driver Thomas Bearman of Van Amersfoort Racing followed him home in second, securing his second podium of the season and matching his result from Monza. Third went to Spanish-British driver Edward Robinson of US Racing, who bounced back from the incident in Race 2, when he was involved in the three-car clash while fighting for the win.
Elia Weiss narrowly missed out on the podium. The German Jenzer Motorsport driver delivered another strong race but was unable to celebrate with champagne. On Saturday, in Race 2, he had lost his P3 finish following a penalty for failing to slow down when approaching double yellow flags.
Brazilian driver Augustus Toniolo of Trident Motorsport delivered another strong result, also finishing second in the Rookie classification behind Costoya. Canadian R-ace GP driver Jensen Burnett was sixth and also completed the Rookie podium.
Seventh and eighth went to the two Trident Motorsport drivers Florentin Hattemer and Dominik Simek. Teo Borenstein of Jenzer Motorsport finished ninth, ahead of teammate Nicolas Cortes. The two were involved in a close battle throughout the race, which also included their teammate Levi Arn, who eventually finished 16th.
Prema Racing’s Roman Kamyab finished 11th. Behind champion Sammalisto, US Racing’s Oleksandr Savinkov was 13th, followed by Sicilian driver Ludovico Busso, representing the German outfit. R-ace GP’s Andy Consani completed the Top 15.
The results remain provisional pending the completion of the technical and sporting checks.
Only the Final remains before the penultimate round of the season comes to an end. The 36 best drivers emerging from the qualifying races will take to the track at 4:20 PM.
The Final, like the previous races, will run for 25 minutes plus one lap and will be broadcast live on the official Italian F4 Championship and ACI Sport TV channels, as well as across the international network of broadcasters covering the championship worldwide.