Monza - The second day of the ACI Racing Weekend at Monza opens with the single-seaters of the Italian F.4 Championship ready for another great battle. At the end of the final lap, which started at the thirtieth minute of the race, it is Arvid Lindblad, Red Bull junior driver from Prema Racing, who emerges victorious with his second win of the weekend and fifth of the season. The Londoner started from pole position and maintained control throughout the race, despite several attempts from Kacper Sztuka behind him to gain the lead. However, the Polish driver from US Racing couldn’t make the overtake and settled for crossing the finish line in second place. However, a 5-second penalty pushed him down the rankings for passing Ugochukwu outside the track limits, gaining an advantage from the shortcut without giving it back. Ugo Ugochukwu, McLaren junior driver from PREMA Racing, fought from the start to take the lead, exchanging positions at the Roggia corner when Sztuka briefly moved into second place. He was then engaged in a battle with Akshay Bohra from US Racing and Tuukka Taponen, Ferrari Driver Academy from Prema Racing, who, unfortunately, did not finish the race due to being involved in an incident on the final lap. The Singaporean driver experienced a loss of power due to a technical issue, resulting in the accident. Ugochukwu, who finished third on track, was promoted to second place following his rival's penalty, who dropped to fourth.
In third place is Brando Badoer from Van Amersfoort Racing, delivering a solid performance after a chaotic start where he slipped back in the pack. He fought strenuously to regain a podium position, particularly after the Safety Car restart (caused by the recovery of Aurelia Nobels' car, Ferrari Driver Academy of Prema Racing, involved in a collision and spun off track). Badoer attempted to take second place but faced resistance from Sztuka. He then defended well against Ugochukwu's attacks before eventually surrendering his position. It is the Venetian driver's second podium of the weekend, following his second-place finish yesterday.
Finishing in fifth place after an intense battle that once again saw him among the main contenders is James Wharton, Ferrari Driver Academy racing for Prema. The Australian driver fought hard during race 2, making a comeback even after briefly falling out of the points zone. Sixth and seventh across the finish line were Rashid Al Dhaheri from Prema Racing and Zachary David from US Racing. The two drivers engaged in an incredibly thrilling race, especially in the final stages. However, they both overtook each other off track, resulting in a 5-second penalty. Alfio Spina from BVM, who chased them during the race, also received the same penalty during the battle with Al Dhaheri. This changed the top 10, with Valentin Kluss moving up to sixth place. The German driver from PHM Racing, in his second year in the series after his rookie season, continued to show significant growth in the Italian F.4, consistently scoring points. Then came Nicola Lacorte from Prema Racing. The driver from Pisa once again put on a spectacle in the battle for points in race 2, facing unexpected difficulties when he came into wheel-to-wheel contact with Zachary David in the final stages of the battle. Eighth place went to Gianmarco Pradel from US Racing, who was involved in a battle with Sicilian driver Spina in the early stages of the race. With the eighth position, Pradel becomes the third-best rookie in race 2 after Lindblad and Lacorte.
The Italian F.4 Championship continues to provide excitement at Monza, with a race that, despite Lindblad starting from pole position and never losing the lead, was incredibly tense and exhilarating. There have been numerous exchanges within the leading group, but the battle in the midfield was equally thrilling, with every position hotly contested. The action at the Autodromo Nazionale Monza has been unmatched so far, with its high-speed nature and slipstreaming opportunities leading to significant changes from the starting positions.
There is only one race left before closing the 4th round of the Italian F.4 Championship at Monza. Race 3 is scheduled to start at 14:20, with a duration of 30 minutes plus one lap.
All the races of the weekend will be broadcast live with English commentary on the Italian F.4 Championship's YouTube and Facebook pages, as well as on Motorsport TV (https://eu.motorsport.tv/). The races will also be broadcast with Italian commentary on ACI Sport TV (Sky channel 228), on www.acisport.it, and on the Facebook page @acisporttv.
Admission is free, and there is open access to the paddock for those who want to experience the excitement of the ACI Racing Weekend firsthand. All the information is available on the official website of Autodromo Nazionale Monza: https://www.monzanet.it/events/aci-racing-weekend-1-2/
Arvid Lindblad: “It was really difficult. Kacper was super-fast for the whole race, he was really strong always in Parabolica, which made it difficult into T1 because he was really close and I had to defend a lot. After the Safety Car I felt I came back a little bit, I was a bit stronger. In the second half of the race the pace was quite good, and I feel I made a couple of too many mistakes, otherwise I maybe could have had the pace to break away. I am really happy with the results, it is a super difficult track to lead and maintain the lead. I did it a good job in that sense, but still too many mistakes on my side, but regardless, still a good result. Another victory. I’m super grateful to the Team and everyone, and we’ll push in race 3 to try to win again. [The weekend] is looking good at the moment, but is still a long way to go, the job is not finish. It will be a difficult last race, so I cannot let up at all for sure.”
Ugo Ugochukwu: "I got back on track knowing that yesterday I performed really well, and I managed to make up a lot of positions. I tried to do the same today. I had a great start and managed to take the lead at the first turn. However, I slipped back to third at the second turn as an opponent cut across the track to overtake me. From there, I tried to make a comeback, and my pace was very good. There were a lot of slipstream battles where it was challenging to find the right line. In the end, in the last two laps, I managed to get back on the podium. I'm quite happy because these are valuable points, and I hope to do even better in race 3."