It is time to take stock after the opening round of the 2026 E4 Championship at Vallelunga. Already leading the Italian Formula 4 Championship, US Racing’s Luka Sammalisto has also established himself at the top of the standings in the Formula 4 series promoted by ACI Sport and WSK Promotion, leaving the opening weekend as championship leader.
The Finn secured a victory in Race 1 from third on the grid, a third place in Race 2, and another win in Race 3 from pole position, scoring a total of 82 points across the weekend.
Behind him, Kenzo Craigie of the Mercedes Junior Team, racing for R-ace GP, confirmed his strong form at Vallelunga, a circuit where he also impressed during the Italian F4 weekend. The British driver claimed victory in Race 2, taking the lead on lap one from polesitter Roman Kamyab (Prema Racing) after starting from second on the grid.
With a solid performance across the other two races (P6 in Race 1 and P9 in Race 3), Craigie collected 56 points, becoming the leading challenger in the standings.
Third in the championship is Oleksandr Bondarev, representing the Williams Driver Academy with Prema Racing, who did not score a podium across the three races but delivered remarkable consistency to finish the weekend on 52 points.
The top 10 battle is extremely close, with US Racing’s Oleksandr Savinkov and Prema Racing’s Alp Aksoy both on 42 points, followed by US Racing drivers Noah Killion and Arjen Kraling, tied on 40 points.
In the Rookie standings, reserved for first-year Formula 4 drivers, Kenzo Craigie leads with 82 points, ahead of Alp Aksoy on 74 and McLaren Driver Development Programme driver Christian Costoya on 64 points, who sits eighth overall.
In the Teams’ standings, which combine the scores of each team’s two best drivers per race, US Racing leads the way with 150 points, ahead of Prema Racing on 130, 20 points adrift.
The three races at Vallelunga have begun to shape the competitive order in the E4 Championship, confirming some pre-season expectations while also highlighting the ability of several drivers to quickly adapt and improve in the category. The weekend featured 36 drivers battling closely in high-intensity racing action.
The next round will take place at Circuit Paul Ricard in Le Castellet from 17 to 19 July.
Sammalisto is already looking ahead to the Paul Ricard round, aiming to continue his development through the season. The Finn said that he “will try to improve my driving even further for Paul Ricard and we will continue working on the car”, underlining the importance of ongoing development work with the team heading into the second round. He also added that he has “a good feeling” for the French venue and cannot wait to get back on track.
For Noah Killion, meanwhile, teammate of the Finn with whom he shared the final podium at Vallelunga, the upcoming race weekend will bring greater uncertainties: “it will be my first time at the track, so I’m not sure what to expect… we will find out!”, the Australian commented, referring to the next round at Paul Ricard, which will therefore represent a new challenge in a season that has only just begun.