Race Report
FIA FORMULA 4
ITALIAN CHAMPIONSHIP, Rounds 01/02/03
Circuit: Misano (I), Length 4.226 km, 2nd – 5th May 2024
www.misanocircuit.com
JENZER MOTORSPORT 2024:
Ethan Ischer (CH), Enea Frey (CH), Reno Francot (NL), Shimo Zhang (CN)
Francot and Ischer in the points in Misano
The first of seven meetings in the Italian FIA Formula 4 Championship took place at the Misano World Circuit near Rimini (I). With 37 competitors present for the meeting, their expectations were as high as could be ahead of the start.
Qualifying
Friday, 03/05/24, 16.50 – 17.05 Q1, Weather: Sunny, 17°C
Friday, 03/05/24, 17.15 – 17.30 Q2
The rules allow for two qualifying sessions of 15 minutes, with a 10-minute break in between. The Qualifying 1 times determine the grid for Race 1 and the times from Qualifying 2 determine the grid for Race 2. The starting order for Race 3 is based on the 2nd best lap time of each driver in either of the two qualifying sessions.
| Results Qualifying 1 & Grid for Race One | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | Freddie Slater (GBR) | Prema | 1:34.778 |
| 2nd | Alex Powell (USA) | Prema | 1:35.047 |
| 3rd | Gianmarco Pradel (AUS) | US | 1:35.238 |
| 13th | Reno Francot (NL) | Jenzer Motorsport | 1:35.510 |
| 14th | Ethan Ischer (CH) | Jenzer Motorsport | 1:35.525 |
| 20th | Enea Frey (CH) | Jenzer Motorsport | 1:35.751 |
| 28th | Shimo Zhang (CN) | Jenzer Motorsport | 1:36.261 |
| Results Qualifying 2 & Grid for Race Two | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | Freddie Slater (GBR) | Prema | 1:34.615 |
| 2nd | Alex Powell (USA) | Prema | 1:34.634 |
| 3rd | Akshay Bohra (USA) | US | 1:34.779 |
| 6th | Reno Francot (NL) | Jenzer Motorsport | 1:34.968 |
| 11th | Ethan Ischer (CH) | Jenzer Motorsport | 1:35.136 |
| 18th | Enea Frey (CH) | Jenzer Motorsport | 1:35.264 |
| 25th | Shimo Zhang (CN) | Jenzer Motorsport | 1:35.706 |
| Grid for Race Three | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | Freddie Slater (GBR) | Prema | 1:34.647 |
| 2nd | Alex Powell (USA) | Prema | 1:34.684 |
| 3rd | Akshay Bohra (USA) | US | 1:34.872 |
| 7th | Reno Francot (NL) | Jenzer Motorsport | 1:35.088 |
| 16th | Ethan Ischer (CH) | Jenzer Motorsport | 1:35.348 |
| 18th | Enea Frey (CH) | Jenzer Motorsport | 1:35.381 |
| 24th | Shimo Zhang (CN) | Jenzer Motorsport | 1:35.724 |
FIA Formula 4 Italian Championship
Race One (30 minutes + 1 lap)
Saturday, 04/05/24, 11.30, Weather: Cloudy, 17°C
The large field got off to a good start in the first race of the weekend. But there was an accident at the back of the field and a vehicle got stranded in a unsafe spot, so the safety car had to be deployed. Reno and Ethan had held on to 13th and 14th, Enea had moved up to 18th and Shimo had improved to 27th. At the restart, Reno managed to get past Gowda and move up to 12th place. A few laps later, Gowda managed to regain his position. Reno then brought home a clean 13th place. Ethan was surprised by Ferreira at the restart and fell back to 15th place. However, he soon managed to regain his place and eventually moved up to 13th position, finishing just behind Reno. Enea had held on to 18th place for long laps, but when he went wide in one corner, two drivers behind him took advantage of this to slip through. This meant Enea was back in 20th place, from where he had started into the race. He then got this place well across the finish line. Shimo was in a fight with Anurag and Sammalisto, and he finally managed to stay in front of them. In the end he had even worked his way up to 24th place.
| Race One Results | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | Freddie Slater (GBR) | Prema | 32:56.451 | |
| 2nd | Alex Powell (USA) | Prema | Gap | 0.727 |
| 3rd | Gianmarco Pradel (AUS) | US | Gap | 3.389 |
| 12th | Reno Francot (NL) | Jenzer Motorsport | ||
| 13th | Ethan Ischer (CH) | Jenzer Motorsport | ||
| 20th | Enea Frey (CH) | Jenzer Motorsport | ||
| 24th | Shimo Zhang (CN) | Jenzer Motorsport | ||
| Fastest lap: Tomass Stolcermanis (LVA) in 1:35.238 | ||||
FIA Formula 4 Italian Championship
Race Two (30 minutes + 1 lap)
Saturday, 04/05/24, 17.45, Weather: Sunny, 18°C
Reno started great from 6th place and was getting through the first few corners well when Nakamura made a mistake, fell back and collided with Larini. The safety car had to take over the field. Reno was now 5th, Ethan got around the accident well and was now 7th. Enea was in 24th place and Shimo was 26th. At the restart, Reno managed to catch Yamakoshi and move up to 4th place. Ethan held 7th position and managed to put pressure on the man in front Al Dhaheri. Another safety car phase interrupted the race briefly, and Reno and Ethan managed the restart well. Meanwhile, Shimo had moved up to 20th place, and Enea was right behind him. The two also switched positions a few times, and then, one following the other, made their way further forward. Shimo was already 16th and Enea 17th when a new accident made the safety car necessary. The race then entered the final phase and Reno put pressure on Bohra, who was ahead of him. This was about third place on the podium! Ethan was also flawless and very fast, and was close to Al Dhaheri. Shimo had improved to 15th place and Enea was doing well in 16th place when Mrad braked late and collided with Enea. This meant the race was over for the two with damaged vehicles. Double yellow flags were waved but the safety car was not dispatched. The final laps of the race were completed as planned and were still incredibly exciting. Reno attacked Bohra strongly on the last lap and finished in an excellent fourth place. Ethan proudly crossed the finish line in 7th place, and Shimo had improved even further and crossed the finish line in very good 14th place. Enea was listed 29th in the rankings.
After the race, Reno was given a 5 second time penalty for overtaking while exceeding the track limits. This meant he fell back to 9th place. This promoted Ethan up to 6th place.
| Race Two Results | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | Freddie Slater (GBR) | Prema | 32:43.882 | |
| 2nd | Alex Powell (USA) | Prema | Gap | 1.437 |
| 3rd | Akshay Bohra (USA) | US | Gap | 2.511 |
| 6th | Ethan Ischer (CH) | Jenzer Motorsport | ||
| 9th | Reno Francot (NL) | Jenzer Motorsport | ||
| 14th | Shimo Zhang (CN) | Jenzer Motorsport | ||
| 29th | Enea Frey (CH) | Jenzer Motorsport | ||
| Fastest lap: Freddie Slater (GBR) in 1:35.450 | ||||
FIA Formula 4 Italian Championship
Race Three (30 minutes + 1 lap)
Sunday, 05/05/24, 11.00, Weather: Sunny, 21°C
On Sunday morning the drivers were greeted by beautiful blue skies and sunshine. The large field set off to the last race of the weekend, but immediately there were a few incidents and the safety car had to take over. Reno had maintained his 7th place, Ethan had made up one position to 15th, Enea had moved up to 18th and Shimo had improved up to 21st position. The restart went well and as the race progressed everyone did their best to improve their positions further. Shimo overestimated himself when he attacked Enea, and the contact sent Enea's vehicle halfway through the air. Luckily nothing happened to Enea, but he then stopped on the track so that the safety car had to be deployed again. At the restart, Ferreira managed to get past Ethan, and as the race continued, Ethan was constantly fighting for position with Ferreira and Rehm. Ethan had moved up to 13th and was well positioned when Rehm misjudged his breaking and pushed Ethan off the track. Ethan was able to continue in 20th position and managed to finish the race in that same position. Shimo was holding on to his position well and crossed the finish line in 17th place. Reno had defended 7th position during the race, but was surprised by Stolcermanis during a restart. Reno brought his car to the checkered flag in 8th place, bringing home the points for the second time this weekend.
After the race some time penalties were give, and with that our drivers moved up to the following positions: Reno 7th, Shimo 15th, Ethan 17th.
| Race Three Results | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | Freddie Slater (GBR) | Prema | 31:50.236 | |
| 2nd | Alex Powell (USA) | Prema | Gap | 1.137 |
| 3rd | Kean Nakamura Berta (USA) | Prema | Gap | 1.598 |
| 7th | Reno Francot (NL) | Jenzer Motorsport | ||
| 15th | Shimo Zhang (CN) | Jenzer Motorsport | ||
| 17th | Ethan Ischer (CH) | Jenzer Motorsport | ||
| DNF: | Enea Frey (CH) | Jenzer Motorsport | ||
| Fastest lap: Freddie Slater (GBR) in 1:35.534 | ||||
Ethan Ischer (CH)
Enea Frey (CH)
Reno Francot (NL)
Shimo Zhang (CN)
© Photo Pellegrini
Championship Standings
FIA F4 Italian Championship 2024 after 3 races:
1st Freddie Slater (GBR), 75 points; 2nd Alex Powell (USA), 54 points; 3rd Hiyu Yamakoshi (JPN), 32 points; 4th Akshay Bohra (USA), 27 points; 5th Gianmarco Pradel (AUS), 23 points; 6th Rashid Al Dhaheri (UAE), 21 points; 9th Ethan Ischer (CH), 8 points; Reno Francot (NL), 8 points
Rookie-Standings:
1st Alex Powell (USA), 75 points; 2nd Tomass Stolcermanis (LVA), 40 points; 3rd Andrej Petrovic (SRB), 40 points; 7th Shimo Zhang (CHN), 17 points; 12th Enea Frey (CH), 4 points
2024 Italian FIA Formula 4 Championship
| 03/04/05 May | Misano (I) | |
| 31/01/02 June | Imola (I) | |
| 14/15/16 June | Vallelunga (I) | |
| 12/13/14 July | Mugello (I) | |
| 19/20/21 July | Paul Ricard (F) | |
| 27/28/29 September | Barcelona (E) | |
| 25/26/27 October | Monza (I) |
Read more:
