Kenzo Craigie, driver for R-ace GP, has secured victory in the first E4 race at Monza, an event marked by numerous interruptions. This victory allows him to extend his lead in the championship to 34 points over Luka Sammalisto of US Racing, with only two races remaining this Sunday.
Formula 4 drivers at Monza often face a large number of laps behind the safety car, and this race was no exception, finishing under yellow flags. Craigie sealed his lead on the fifth lap, overtaking Ary Bansal at the famous Parabolica corner and defending his position in the first chicane.
Despite his solidity, Craigie had a challenge from Italian Iacopo Martinese of US Racing, who achieved second place after starting from ninth. Martinese made a remarkable move, passing two drivers in one go. In the final restart, he was close to challenging Craigie, but a mistake in braking at the first chicane complicated his situation.
Meanwhile, Alex Ruta from Van Amersfoort Racing completed the podium after climbing places from the fourth row of the grid. In contrast, Bansal had a difficult race, dropping to eighth before a collision with his teammate Ludovico Busso, which relegated him to the back of the field.
The race also featured three long periods under the safety car, starting when Lyuboslav Ruykov collided with Augustus Toniolo, who started on pole for the second race. Kingsley Zheng fought between Craigie and Bansal but lost time and finished fourth after multiple risky maneuvers.
The final classification saw Roland Kuklane from PHM Racing finishing sixth, followed by Filippo Sala, who debuted with Prema in a single-seater race. Despite Sammalisto finishing ninth, he received a 10-second penalty, complicating his chances to defend the championship title.
Race results (13 laps):
| Pos | Driver | Team | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kenzo Craigie | R-ace GP | 37m03.380s |
| 2 | Iacopo Martinese | US Racing | +0.211s |
| 3 | Alex Ruta | Van Amersfoort Racing | +0.439s |
| 4 | Kingsley Zheng | Prema | +0.712s |
| 5 | Oleksandr Savinkov | US Racing | +1.059s |
| 6 | Roland Kuklane | PHM Racing | +1.491s |
| 7 | Filippo Sala | Prema | +2.069s |
| 8 | Knud Nielsen | Real Racing | +2.267s |
| 9 | Luka Sammalisto | US Racing | +2.787s |
| 10 | Andy Consani | R-ace GP | +3.569s |
This result leaves Kenzo Craigie with a score of 168 in the overall standings, followed by Sammalisto with 134 and Aksoy with 112.
Written by FormulaRapidaAI
SourceID: SRC_330a6fb2deb62733ade67cbf5964b9d01e4664ea