- Alex Dunne, with two victories on the Austrian circuit, reduces the gap to the leader with two rounds still to go
- Victories also for Kacper Sztuka and Kimi Antonelli who remains leader, chased by Camara and Dunne
- Excellent debut for Ugo Ugochukwu who climbs the podium three times
The season finale of the Italian F4 Championship gets underway after the fifth round held at the Austrian Red Bull Ring circuit. Rain during qualifying and variable weather conditions during the races changed the situation two rounds from the end of the series organized by ACI Sport, which will close the season at the Monza and Mugello circuits. With 40 Abarth-powered Tatuus single-seaters on the track, four races were held at the Red Bull Ring with the drivers divided into three groups at the end of qualifying. The result of the first three races determines the starting grid for race 4, with the best 36 competing for victory, a return to the past of big-numbers motorsport.
In race 1 it was Alex Dunne (IRL - US Racing) to impose himself, breaking a fast of victories that had lasted since the second race of the first round of the season at Imola. On the podium, together with the Irishman, are Prema drivers James Wharton (AUS - Prema Racing), for the first time in second place, and Ugo Ugochukwu (USA - Prema Racing), who took the podium on his debut in the series.
The podium of race 2, on the other hand, mirrors the overall classification, with Andrea Kimi Antonelli (ITA - Prema Racing) winning ahead of Rafael Camara (BRA - Prema Racing) and Alex Dunne. The driver from Bologna seems to be able to impose his own law once again, but in race 3, a contact with Taylor Barnard (GBR - PHM Racing) leads to him being out of the points after returning to the pits. So the victory of the third race goes to Kacper Sztuka (POL - US Racing) who keeps behind the Prema Racing pair formed by rookie Ugo Ugochukwu and Dane Condrad Laursen (DEN - Prema Racing), authors of a good fight for the second position.
In the final race it was Alex Dunne who put his seal on the weekend at the Red Bull Ring, allowing him to catch up with Andrea Kimi Antonelli and Rafael Camara. Antonelli himself, who started from fifth position, made a comeback and finished on the second step of the podium, while Ugochuku was astonishing as he managed to take third place in race 4 on his debut in the Italian series.
Satisfied with the weekend, Alex Dunne commented: "I am very happy with these two victories. Clearly we were not the fastest this weekend, but I think these victories are the result of work done without making any mistakes. I managed to be consistent and put the pieces together. In the last race Kimi was definitely faster than me and was coming up quite fast, but I managed to keep my composure and bring the result home”.
Italian F4 Championship Overall Standings: 1. Andrea Kimi Antonelli (ITA – Prema Racing) 262; 2. Rafael Camara (BRA – Prema Racing) 201; 3. Alex Dunne (IRL – US Racing) 197; 4. James Wharton (AUS – Prema Racing) 150; 5. Kacper Sztuka (POL – US Racing) 135.
Turin, September 12, 2022
International
