Andrea Kimi Antonelli (ITA – Prema Racing) is the king of Spa-Francorchamps. The Italian driver of Prema Racing scores a hat-trick on the Ardennes circuit and reaches 5 wins in the season. Only the stubbornness of Rafael Camara (BRA – Prema Racing), among the most consistent in this beginning of the championship, does not allow the driver from Bologna to take the lead in the standings. On the Belgian track the 36 Tatuus F4 T-021 powered by the 180 hp Abarth T-Jet 1.4 engine give great spectacle with three races marked by battles and continuous overtaking between the drivers. But in the end it was Andrea Kimi Antonelli who triumphed on the Belgian circuit, after taking two pole positions out of the three available. Contending for the leadership to the Italian driver is his team mate Rafael Camara who, in race 1, climbs on the second step of the podium in a Prema team poker completed by James Wharton (AUS – Prema Racing) and Charlie Wurz (AUT – Prema Racing), in race 2 he finishes fourth and in race 3 is the author of an extraordinary comeback. After stalling at the start from pole position, the Ferrari Driver Academy’s Brazilian climbed up from 33rd position and made up ground to finish third under the chequered flag, in another Prema poker with Antonelli first, Conrad Laursen (DNK – Prema Racing) second, Camara third and Wurz, once again fourth. The podium of race 2 saw alongside Antonelli, Alex Dunne (IRL – US Racing) and the reigning rookie champion Nikita Bedrin (PHM Racing). The Irish driver continues to be the direct pursuer of Camara and Antonelli, thanks to the podium in race 2, the eighth place in race 1 and the fifth in race 3, although the gap has widened with the two Prema drivers seeming to have taken off.
Andrea Kimi Antonelli: “This was a great weekend, finally with the 3 out of 3. It is incredible to be able to win all three races at Spa-Francorchamps, after making a mistake in race 3 at Misano. This result gave me the chance to get really close in the championship, also taking advantage of Rafael’s mistake at the start of the third race. I had to manage the restarts after the safety cars and I have to admit that the one in the last race was definitely better than the one in race 2. Now we have the fourth round at Vallelunga ahead of us. It won’t be easy, but I think we can, again, have a great weekend”
Good performances for newcomer Valerio Rinicella (ITA – AKM Motorsport) and Maya Weug (NDL – Iron Dames) once again in the points thanks to a tenth place in race 2. Brando Badoer (ITA – Van Amersfoort Racing) is also getting closer to the top 10, twice finishing eleventh at the Spa-Francorchamps circuit.
The next appointment for the Italian F4 Championship is scheduled from 1 to 3 July at the Vallelunga circuit in Rome, which will mark the turning point of the season. Next week, on the other hand, the ADAC Formel 4 will be back on track on the Dutch track of Zandvoort and the F4 British Championship will take place on the Croft circuit.
Italian F4 Championship overall standings: 1. Rafael Camara (BRA – Prema Racing) 147; 2. Andrea Kimi Antonelli (ITA – Prema Racing) 144; 3. Alex Dunne (IRL – US Racing) 108; 4. James Wharton (AUS – Prema Racing) 79; 5. Charlie Wurz (AUT – Prema Racing) 72.
No comment yet, add your voice below!