Kenzo Craigie’s title hopes grew even stronger at the end of the first day of racing at Monza. The championship leader claimed his first victory of the weekend, bringing his tally to four wins in the E4 Championship. The title will be decided tomorrow, with the fight now narrowed down to two contenders: British Mercedes junior driver Craigie, racing for R-ace GP, and Finland’s Luka Sammalisto of US Racing.
The opening race of the final round also saw Iacopo Martinese claim his first overall podium finish. The Italian from Apulia, representing ACI Team Italia and making his debut with the German outfit US Racing, impressed with strong race pace. Starting ninth, he fought his way through the field before climbing from fourth to second with a spectacular multi-car overtake. Martinese then fought hard for the win, but Craigie defended effectively, closing the gaps and making the most of his racing line to hold off his rival, who was extremely quick in the slipstream. The Briton crossed the finish line first, while Martinese celebrated an outstanding second place. Alex Ruta of Van Amersfoort Racing completed the podium. Starting from the fourth row, the Polish driver made up positions with a consistent, mistake-free performance in a particularly challenging race.
Trouble began on the opening lap, with several drivers forced to retire. Among them was Brazilian Augustus Toniolo of Trident Motorsport, who was out following an incident at the First Chicane that also involved Lyuboslav Rutkov of Prema Racing.
Ary Bansal, who started from pole position, also endured a difficult race. The Indian driver from US Racing managed to defend the lead in the early stages before losing ground to his rivals. A hectic closing phase then saw him slip down the order.
Fourth across the line and third among the Rookies was Prema Racing’s Kingsley Zheng. The Chinese driver was involved in the battle at the front during the first half of the race, engaging in an intense three-way fight with Craigie and Bansal. Oleksandr Savinkov of US Racing finished fifth after a hard-fought battle with Teo Borenstein of Jenzer Motorsport. The Czech driver crossed the line in twelfth following contact between the two cars and was handed a five-second penalty for overtaking under yellow flags, dropping him to fifteenth.
Roland Kuklane of PHM Racing finished sixth, ahead of Italy’s Filippo Sala. The Prema Racing driver and Ferrari Driver Academy member made an impressive debut, securing seventh overall and fifth among the Rookies. Denmark’s Knud Nielsen of Real Racing took eighth place.
Christian Costoya of Prema Racing, a member of the McLaren junior programme, crossed the line in ninth but received a ten-second post-race penalty for rear-ending Pedro Lima. The incident sent Lima into the gravel, forcing him to return to the pits to change a punctured tyre and costing him several positions. The penalty dropped the Spaniard out of the points, promoting Luka Sammalisto to ninth.
The Finnish driver therefore limited the damage in the standings: he now trails Craigie by 34 points, with just two races remaining in the championship.
Philippe-Armand Karras of R-ace GP crossed the line behind Sammalisto, followed by his twin brother and teammate Jean-Paul in eleventh. However, both drivers were handed post-race penalties of ten and five seconds, respectively, dropping them out of the points. Andy Consani, also racing for R-ace GP and part of the Mercedes junior programme, was therefore classified tenth in the final standings. Italy’s Vittorio Orsini, representing AKM Motorsport and ACI Team Italia, finished eleventh.
Ginevra Panzeri of PA Racing, twelfth overall, scored points and won the Race 1 women’s classification, finishing ahead of Vicky Farfus of Prema Racing and Payton Westcott of R-ace GP in the category. Roman Kamyab of Prema Racing and Oscar Repetto of PHM Racing followed.
The opening race of the weekend delivered spectacular battles along Monza’s high-speed main straight and under braking at the First Chicane and the Ascari chicane, where the most intense duels unfolded. Light rain in the closing stages made the race even more challenging, reducing grip on the track. Several Safety Car interventions were required to restore order following the retirements, with the final deployment on lap 29 bringing the field to the chequered flag.
Two decisive races remain tomorrow in the battle for the title. Augustus Toniolo will start Race 2 from pole position, while Andy Consani will lead the field away in the championship’s final race.
Kenzo Craigie: “We definitely had to be smart in the race. I took my time in the beginning, then I made my move for the lead. They were all battling behind, and I had a really big gap. Unfortunately, the Safety Car came out, which closed everything back up and set up a good battle for the last couple of laps. The rain also made it quite exciting and nerve-racking. It was a really tricky race, but I’m happy to come out on top. It’s really good for the championship as well.”
Iacopo Martinese: “When I saw the Safety Car come out, I thought, ‘No!’ We still had a chance to fight for the win. Honestly, though, Kenzo defended well. He was pushing it a bit, but you have to be on the limit to win. We showed really good pace from the tests before coming here. Unfortunately, qualifying didn’t go as well as we deserved, considering the speed we had shown. I’m not discouraged, though. Tomorrow I’ll start a little further back than I did in Race 1, but with the pace we have, we can fight our way forward.”
Alex Ruta: “There was a lot of chaos and a lot of Safety Cars. I managed to stay out of trouble and made another great comeback from P8. I’m happy. At Monza, you just have to stay calm and be smart about timing your overtakes, knowing when to defend and when to attack. I was driving with my head.”
Kingsley Zheng: “We had a good start and managed the braking into the First Chicane well. Unfortunately, we lose quite a lot in the slipstream. Once Craigie pulled away, I had to manage the pack behind me. It was hard, but I think we did well as a team. The rain towards the end was another factor to manage. Suddenly, into the First Chicane, we all locked up and went straight on. It was a bit difficult, but once we adapted to the conditions, things went well.”
Ginevra Panzeri: “I fought really hard. I didn’t start from a good position, but I made up for it during the race. We lost a bit of grip in the rain, so you have to stay calmer and drive more cleanly. When you start outside the top ten, it’s difficult to stay in the pack because there can be contact and you have to be careful to avoid it. You have to look in every direction and always stay aware of everything happening around you.”
The action resumes tomorrow, Sunday, 11 October. Race 2 will open the day at the ACI Racing Weekend in Monza at 8:30 a.m., followed by Race 3 at 1:40 p.m. Both races 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 the Italian F4 Championship and the E4 Championship.