The E4 Championship title fight will go down to Race 3. Kenzo Craigie of R-ace GP came very close to wrapping up the title early, but an incident in the closing stages put an end to his hopes of fighting for the win. This sets up a decisive showdown between the British driver and Finland’s Luka Sammalisto, with Craigie holding an eight-point advantage. The US Racing driver is ready to give everything in a bid to secure his second title of the season.
Race 2 saw Indian driver Ary Bansal claim his first-ever E4 Championship victory, leading a US Racing trio that swept the podium. Luka Sammalisto finished second, recovering valuable points ahead of the final race, while Iacopo Martinese, representing ACI Team Italia, returned to the podium in third after finishing second in Race 1. The Italian driver also claimed the Rookie class win, reserved for drivers in their first season in the category.
The three US Racing drivers moved into the top positions following the dramatic incident that decided the race. Augustus Toniolo of Trident Motorsport had led from pole position, successfully defending against Bansal’s attacks. The Brazilian faced a particularly demanding race due to the low track temperatures and several Safety Car interventions. The restarts proved crucial, with Toniolo under constant pressure but repeatedly managing to hold off his rivals and deliver some spectacular battles.
In the closing stages, Kenzo Craigie, fighting for a podium finish, made his move in an attempt to challenge for the victory. However, the British driver was hit from behind by Noah Killion, who was following closely, and was sent into Toniolo’s car, ending both drivers’ races. Killion received a 25-second penalty for the incident, dropping him from fifth place at the finish.
Andy Consani, the Mercedes junior driver racing for R-ace GP, finished fourth and will also start the final race of the weekend from pole position. Following Killion’s penalty, Filippo Sala, representing the Ferrari Driver Academy with Prema Racing, was promoted to fifth. The driver from Trentino also moved up to second in the Rookie standings, capping a positive weekend in his very first Formula 4 appearance.
Alex Ruta of Van Amersfoort Racing finished sixth, delivering another strong performance after taking the podium in Saturday’s Race 1. Seventh place went to fellow Van Amersfoort Racing driver Thomas Bearman, ahead of Oscar Repetto of PHM Racing, the third-best Rookie in the race.
CRAM Motorsport’s Simon Rechenmacher finished ninth, followed by Prema Racing’s Christian Costoya, a member of the McLaren Driver Development Programme.
The next two drivers across the line were twins Jean-Paul and Philippe-Armand Karras, both racing for R-ace GP. Dean Pedersen of Kram Motorsport and Prema Racing drivers Lyuboslav Ruykov and Roman Kamyab completed the points-paying positions.
In the women’s classification, victory went to Vicky Farfus of Prema Racing, ahead of Ginevra Panzeri of PA Racing. Payton Westcott of R-ace GP was forced to retire.
Once again, Monza highlighted just how challenging the circuit can be, with low temperatures adding another layer of difficulty. E4 Championship Race 2 opened Sunday’s schedule at the ACI Racing Weekend. The cold, less-rubbered-in track surface reduced grip in the early stages, while repeated Safety Car periods prevented the leaders from building a decisive gap, leaving everything to be settled in the final race.
A high-tension finale now awaits, with the championship title set to be decided in the last race of the season at the Temple of Speed.
The Race 2 classification remains provisional, pending the completion of technical and sporting checks by the Stewards.
Ary Bansal: “The track temperature was really low. You could feel how slippery it was as soon as you came out of the pit lane. The conditions reminded me of the Formula Winter Series, so I already had some experience in similar conditions, which probably helped. It was very difficult: you had to look for opportunities to overtake whenever possible, but the Safety Cars also kept tyre temperatures very low. It was crucial to make the most of the few laps under green-flag conditions. That was probably also why some drivers went off, as they were taking excessive risks.”
Luka Sammalisto: “The race was definitely better than yesterday’s Race 1. I’m still struggling a little with my pace, but I think the result was positive. We recovered a lot of points on Kenzo, and there’s still one race to go. I’ll be starting a little further back, but we still have a good chance and I’ll fight until the end. We’ll definitely go all-in: I want to win.”
Iacopo Martinese: “We had to make the most of the green-flag periods we had. Given the pace we had, we could have aimed for something more, without being too ambitious. The speed was there and, even starting further back, I had no problems overtaking in the opening laps and at the restarts after the Safety Car.”
Filippo Sala: “We showed that we have good pace. Unfortunately, we weren’t able to put together a really good lap in Qualifying 1, so yesterday we started a little further back. However, thanks to our pace, we managed to finish well. Today, starting from P7, I tried to manage the race as well as possible and avoid trouble, and we managed to finish P5. I’d like to thank the team and everyone for the great work.”
Oscar Repetto: “It was a very difficult race. The start didn’t go well and we lost a lot of positions. After the first restart, though, we started to recover. With so many Safety Cars, it was then very difficult to make up any more ground. For Race 3, we’ll need to get a good start and maintain a strong pace. It’s easy to overtake in the pack, but difficult to defend your position.”
Race 3 is scheduled for 1:40 PM. The race will last 30 minutes plus one lap and will be broadcast on the championship’s official channels, as well as through the extensive international broadcaster network covering both the Italian F4 Championship and the E4 Championship.