Photo: Mumbai Falcons

Andy Consani won twice in the final UAE4 round at Losail, but it was not enough to deny Sasha Bondarev the title.

Formula 4 Middle East race-winner Tomass Stolcermanis joined PHM Racing’s line-up and Ben Nguyen returned to Evans GP’s garage for the races in Qatar.

Pre-event testing was up first, and R-ace GP’s Kenzo Craigie pipped Mumbai Falcons’ Bondarev by 0.098 seconds. Hitech GP’s Scott Lindblom was third, 0.327s behind.

In free practice, Bondarev set a 1m55.645s to lead R-ace’s Consani by 0.018s and Yas Heat Academy’s Adam Al Azhari by 0.11s as a second split the top 19.

Trident’s Bernardo ‘Beco’ Bernoldi was first to set a representative laptime in qualifying for race one, then Pinnacle Motorsport’s Rowan Campbell-Pilling led the way. Consani and Bondarec were on top after that, with Consani prevailing by 0.176s.

Mumbai Falcons’ Alp Aksoy Hasan and Craigie were next up, 0.426s and 0.496s off pole respectively, then it was Al Azhari, Lindblom and his team-mate Theo Palmer.

In Q2, setting race three’s grid, Evans GP’s Thomas Ingram Hill were Palmer were the drivers to beat mid-session. Craigie went quickest for 0.911s before Prema’s David Cosma Cristofor lowered the pace in his tow, then Bondarev bettered that benchmark by 0.071s.

Prema’s Christian Costoya went even faster by 0.002s, and that kept him on top until after the chequered flag when Consani laid down a lap that earned him pole by 0.208s over Cosma Cristofor.

Lindblom qualified fifth, ahead of Aksoy, R-ace’s Elia Weiss, Al Azhari and title outsider Craigie.

Consani held off Bondarev’s attacks through the first corners of race one, while Al Azhari stalled and fell down the order. The safety car was then summoned due to PHM’s Platon Kostin crashing out at turn one.

Red flags waved on lap four due to Cosma Cristofor stopping on track, and green flags did not wave again until lap six by which point the sun was setting.

Several incidents meant the safety car returned on lap seven, and only one lap of racing remained once it left.

Consani led a weaving snake down the pit straight, held off Bondarev on his outside through turn one then led the field to the finish. His win cut Bondarev’s championship lead to 17 points.

Lindblom tried taking fourth, and Xcel Motorsport’s Joseph Smith claimed reversed-grid pole for race two the next day by coming home 12th.

Smith defended at the start but was passed by Mumbai Falcons’ Niccolo Maccagnani and a fast-starting Stolcermanis before turn one. He also briefly lost out to Weiss, and Consani had a terrible launch that dropped him outside of the top 20.

Bondarev passed Craigie for seventh at the end of lap two, and Consani recovered to 17th before being eliminated in a huge crash with Al Azhari on lap five. The safety car was called then red flags waved.

A lap behind the safety car occurred at the restart, then the field was released. Smith forced Stolcermanis into defending turn one, and Bondarev hassled Costoya multiple times as Maccagnani sprinted off.

Lindblom overtook Craigie for eighth after several corners of battling on lap eight, just before the safety car was needed again due to a collision down the field.

The race was then red flagged on lap nine, and process was repeated for the next restart which meant one lap of racing. Maccagnani was unrivalled again, and PHM’s Iacopo Martinese took fourth from Weiss who then lost several more places.

Craigie and Lindblom’s continued battle cost them places, and Bondarev got into fifth but then race-ending red flags waved again due to his team-mate Kingsley Zheng crashing so results were taken from the previous lap.

Maccagnani won, and seventh for Bondarev meant Consani remained in title contention.

Race three was also interrupted, with the safety car heading out on lap one after Stolcermanis crashed. Racing could continue by lap three though, and Bondarev had an off that cost him fourth to Lindblom.

The safety car returned on lap eight, as Kostin had crashed out and Craigie had stopped on track, eradicating Consani’s 1.9s lead.

Four laps remained on the next restart, and Consani built a huge 2.7s lead. Cosma Cristofor and Costoya completed the podium, and Bondarev was crowned in fifth place. From 12th on the grid, Martinese charged up to seventh.

Results round-up
Race 1 (11 laps)
1 Andy Consani R-ace GP 45m09.622s
2 Sasha Bondarev Mumbai Falcons +0.736s
3 Alp Aksoy Hasan Mumbai Falcons +1.503s
4 Kenzo Craigie R-ace GP +1.935s
5 Scott Lindblom Hitech GP +2.579s
6 Theo Palmer Hitech GP +3.359s
7 Iacopo Martinese PHM Racing +3.698s
8 Christian Costoya Prema +4.228s
9 Tomass Stolcermanis PHM Racing +4.720s
10 Elia Weiss R-ace GP +5.250s
Pole: Consani, 1m55.393s
Fastest lap: Consani, 1m56.079s

Race 2 (10 laps)
1 Niccolo Maccagnani Mumbai Falcons 37m01.397s
2 Stolcermanis +1.913s
3 Joseph Smith Xcel Motorsport +3.794s
4 Weiss +6.422s
5 Martinese +8.978s
6 Costoya +10.554s
7 Bondarev +11.668s
8 Craigie +12.888s
9 Lindblom +14.798s
10 Aksoy +15.798s
FL: Bondarev, 1m57.113s

Race 3 (14 laps)
1 Consani 30m58.767s
2 David Cosma Cristofor Prema +2.741s
3 Costoya +3.183s
4 Lindblom +3.836s
5 Bondarev +4.416s
6 Aksoy +4.759s
7 Martinese +5.914s
8 Weiss +6.905s
9 Palmer +8.671s
10 Smith +9.802s
P: Consani, 1m54.921s
FL: Consani, 1m56.479s

Championship standings
1 Bondarev 191   2 Consani 183   3 Craigie 118   4 Maccagnani 98   5 Cosma 97   6 Costoya 86   7 Lindblom 71   8 Aksoy 70   9 Martinese 46   10 Emily Cotty 37

The post Consani wins twice but Bondarev takes UAE4 crown in Losail finale appeared first on Formula Scout.

Photo: Top Speed

Christian Costoya and Sasha Bondarev won UAE4’s second and third races at Dubai Autodrome today.

QMMF by Hitech’s Nasser Al Thani missed the reversed-grid race two due to amassing too many penalty points, and at the front of the 38-car grid was Xcel Motorsport’s Jarrett Clark. Prema’s Costoya started second, ahead of PHM Racing’s Iacopo Martinese, Prema’s Payton Westcott and R-ace GP’s Emily Cotty.

Costoya took the lead on the inside before the opening corner, and at turn two Mumbai Falcons’ Alp Aksoy had a race-ending collision. Xcel Motorsport’s Joseph Smith retired in the pits, and Pinnacle Motorsport’s Ryusho Nakazato came in for a new nosecone. The clean-up required a safety car intervention, and the field was released again on lap three.

There was lots of fighting in the points positions thereon. Clark held off Westcott until she was overtaken by R-ace’s Andy Consani on lap four, but Prema’s David Cosma Cristofor was able to clear both. Bondarev passed Mumbai Falcons team-mate Niccolo Maccagnani for seventh, and the top 10 was completed by R-ace’s race one winner Kenzo Craigie and Yas Heat Academy’s Adam Al Azhari.

Consani went past Cosma at turn 10 on lap five, and Craigie overtook Maccagnani. Once they were back on the pit straight, Consani took third and Bondarev overtook Westcott. Bondarev also got ahead of Cosma before the safety car was called and then red flags waved, as a crash had sent Evans GP’s Rafael Vaessen rolling repeatedly.

The race restarted with two laps behind the safety car, and the order at the time red flags waved. When the field was released, three laps remained. Consani took two attempts to demote Martinese to third on the restart lap, then tried chasing McLaren junior Costoya who picked up his first car racing win.

Bondarev overtook Clark through turn 10 on the final lap, and Maccagnani retired in the pits after dropping out of the points. Hitech GP’s Scott Lindblom started 36th but charged to 10th.

Qualifying two set race three’s grid, and Craigie set a 2m00.3s to comfortably claim pole by 0.496 seconds over Bondarev. Consani was pipped to second by 0.005s, and trailing by 0.919s and 0.996s respectively in fourth and fifth were Aksoy and Cotty. While the top five were spread out on pace, a second split the next 21 drivers.

Vaeesen had to miss the race and a two-place penalty put Maccagnani 10th on the grid, behind Cosma, Lindblom, Hitech’s Theo Palmer and Costoya.

Craigie moved to the inside then back to the outside down the long pit straight on lap one, but Bondarev was still able to sweep around his outside at the first corner to take a lead he would not give up. Aksoy grabbed third, and at turn six there was deamatic contact as Yas Heat’s Zakaria Doleh drive over the rear of R-ace’s Tamas Gender but the latter carried on driving for several corners with Doleh riding on top.

Cosma tried passing Aksoy into turn 10, and actually completed the pass exiting the corner before Aksoy got back alongside. Consani was ahead of both before the safety car was deployed, and Martinese and then Mumbai Falcons’ Kingsley Zheng pitted.

When racing resumed on lap four, Consani made a late dive on Craigie into turn 10 and there was almost contact. After that, the top two began pulling away.

Lindblom climbed from eighth to sixth ahead of Palmer, Cotty and Maccagnani. The latter two swapped places after a three-wide moment into turn one on lap five, then Costoya and Pinnacle’s Rowan Campbell-Pilling passed Cotty too.

There was another three-wide move four laps later. Maccagnani and Costoya went past Palmer down the pit straight, and Cotty made progress attempting tried getting alongside Palmer through turn one. She had another go but on the outside on the penultimate lap.

Craigie got back onto Bondarev’s tail with two laps to go, and at turn 10 he feinted a move on the final lap which led to Bondarev locking up. The leader stayed ahead though, and victory extended his points lead.

Lindblom overtook Aksoy for fifth mid-race, but a 10s penalty for causing a collision demoted him to seventh behind Maccagnani and Costoya while Aksoy dropped to ninth late on.

Results round-up
Race 2 (10 laps)
1 Christian Costoya Prema 26m02.588s
2 Andy Consani R-ace GP +0.739s
3 Iacopo Martinese PHM Racing +1.817s
4 Sasha Bondarev Mumbai Falcons +3.932s
5 David Cosma Cristofor Prema +4.766s
6 Jarrett Clark Xcel Motorsport +5.713s
7 Kenzo Craigie R-ace GP +5.770s
8 Payton Westcott Prema +6.244s
9 Adam Al Azhari Yas Heat Academy +7.555s
10 Scott Lindblom Hitech GP +8.141s
Fastest lap: Costoya, 2m02.858s

Race 3 (14 laps)
1 Bondarev 31m43.874s
2 Craigie +0.800s
3 Consani +4.864s
4 Cosma +12.822s
5 Niccolo Maccagnani Mumbai Falcons +17.835s
6 Costoya +21.535s
7 Lindblom +24.179s
8 Theo Palmer Hitech GP +26.158s
9 Alp Aksoy Hasan Mumbai Falcons +26.421s
10 Cotty +26.655s
Pole: Craigie, 2m00.300s   FL: Bondarev, 2m02.393s

Championship standings
1 Bondarev 157   2 Consani 133   3 Craigie 102   4 Cosma 79   5 Maccagnani 73   6 Costoya 59   7 Lindblom 47   8 Aksoy 46   9 Cotty 37   10 Al Azhari 33

The post New McLaren junior Costoya and Bondarev win at Dubai in UAE4 appeared first on Formula Scout.

Photo: Top Speed

Mercedes-AMG Formula 1 junior Kenzo Craigie claimed his maiden car racing pole and win today in UAE4.

The R-ace GP driver was quickest in the first qualifying session at Dubai Autodrome, then a few hours converted pole into victory.

Craigie claimed top spot in qualifying by 0.199 seconds, having previously been 0.531s clear of team-mate Andy Consani before Mumbai Falcons driver Sasha Bondarev posted a last-lap improvement to snatch second.

Mumbai Falcons’ Niccolo Maccagnani was 0.759s slower than Craigie in fourth, with Scott Lindblom (Hitech GP), David Cosma Cristofor (Prema), Alp Aksoy Hasan (Mumbai Falcons) and Emily Cotty (R-ace) the only other drivers within a second of pole.

The six drivers entered by Xcel Motorsport, the fastest of which was Jarrett Clark in 12th, had their cars co-run by Virtuosi Racing. Best known for its title-winning time in Formula 2, which it dropped off the grid of last year when Invicta Watch Group bought out its entry after previously investing in the team, Virtuosi now races solely in British Formula 4.

One of their contingent, the debuting Roman Felber, was eliminated in a dramatic start to race one. He and Lindblom stalled, with Lindblom’s car being struck by Nasser Al Thani (QMMF by Hitech) whose wrecked car then went spinning.

It led to the safety car being called out mid-lap, and the field heading through the pitlane at the end of the first two laps. On lap four Emma Felbermayr (PHM Racing) and Elia Weiss (R-ace) pulled up next to the pit exit and retired, and the restart was not until lap seven.

Craigie had swept to the inside at the start, which was very dusty, and Bondarev cut the first few corners but rejoined the track in second after using the escape road. He then forced Craigie into defence down the back straight before racing was neutralised.

On the restart, Craigie weaved down the pit straight again and Bondarev had another off at turn two. He held his position once more though, soaking up pressure from Consani. They got close to each other at the end of the back straight, and Bondarev’s attention then switched to Craigie.

He had eradicated his 1.2s lead by lap nine, and his look into the inside at the end of the back straight led to Craigie locking up. Another overtaking attempt was made a few corners later, and Craigie was defensive on the back straight through the next two laps. Bondarev had another lunge on the final tour, getting right onto Craigie’s gearbox, but could not get past and the results were taken from the end of lap 10.

Cosma tried taking fourth from Maccagnani on lap eight, and two laps later Maccagnani defended against him on the run to turn one. Aksoy finished sixth, Hitech’s Theo Palmer overtook Cotty for seventh on lap eight, and Pinnacle Motorsport’s Rowan Campbell-Pilling finished ninth on-the-road but got a penalty for jumping the start.

Race results (10 laps)

The post Mercedes-AMG F1 junior Kenzo Craigie claims first F4 pole and win appeared first on Formula Scout.

Photo: Top Speed

UAE4’s second round at Yas Marina Circuit concluded last Sunday with Bader Al Sulaiti and Sasha Bondarev taking a win each.

Al Sulaiti, driving a car co-entered by co-entered by Hitech GP and the Qatar Motor and Motorcycle Federation, was victorious in the reversed-grid race two.

He started second alongside R-ace GP’s Emily Cotty, and had no answer to the pole-sitter off the line as Cotty made a perfect launch to be alone up front by the time she reached the opening corner.

Xcel Motorsport’s Jarrett Clark started third and tried going around Al Sulaiti’s outside through the first two turns, then into the hotel section they both slid off and Al Sulaiti was ahead when they rejoined. Rain began to fall and Cotty was caught out, dropping to third mid-lap.

Making his way into second behind Al Sulaiti was Mumbai Falcons’ Niccolo Maccagnani, and brave three-wide moves approaching the final chicane lifted Yas Heat Academy’s Adam Al Azhari up to fifth after starting eighth.

Cotty held off Clark in the corkscrew section lap two, then could relax when the safety car was summoned as a result of Trident’s Dominik Simek crashing out in the hotel section following a three-car incident. Hitech’s Scott Lindblom pitted at the end of the lap with damage, Evans GP’s Thomas Ingram Hill retired and team-mate Alba Hurup Larsen also headed to the pits for a new nosecone.

The rain worsened on lap three, and red flags waved. Although the subsequent 10-minute stoppage presented an opportunity to switch to grooved tyres, it was passed up by most in the 39-car field. The race restarted behind the safety car with 20 minutes left on the clock, and the extra time for repairs meant Lindblom could rejoin the action.

A huge group of slick-shod runners on a track being pelted with rain meant the safety car stayed out for some time. Yas Heat’s Charbel Abi Gebrayel spun before even reaching turn two after leaving the pits, and later team-mate Zakaria Doleh lost their front wing and had to pit, Xcel’s Jaber Al Sabah spun and R-ace’s Andy Consani struck trouble so decided to join Doleh and Al Sabah in pitting for wet-weather tyres.

The decision proved fruitless as on lap five following the restart (and lap six overall), it was decided by race control to red flag the race again due to the intensity of the rain and most drivers’ tyre choices. The race clock ran down to zero while the field sat in the pits, the results were taken from the end of the last completed lap and Al Sulaiti was named victor.

Another mistake by Cotty meant she finished ninth on-the-road, gaining back a place after a 10-second penalty for a false start demoted Al Azhari from fifth to 15th.

David Cosma Cristofor made a lap one overtake to ensure he finished fifth ahead of Prema team-mate Christian Costoya, and stablemate Alp Aksoy Hasan (Mumbai Falcons) was sixth.

Bondarev had pole for race three, which began with Xcel’s Joseph Smith getting into trouble on the grid. With his car abandoned there, the safety car was summoned and the field headed through the pits at the end of the first two laps. Smith’s team-mate Brock Burton spun on lap three, and the restart did not take place until lap five.

Bondarev initially had Lindblom on his tail, but pulled away once Lindblom had to switch focus to Consani behind. He attempted a diving move into the chicane on lap eight, just avoiding contact, then pulled off a switchback move to the inside of Lindblom when they reached the first corner of the next lap. Lindblom went off shortly after, and the order of the top three was decided at that point.

Al Azhari was initially fourth ahead of Craigie (R-ace), Aksoy, Rowan Campbell-Pilling (Pinnacle Motorsport) and Cosma. The top three broke away thanks to Al Azhari’s defensive work, and Cosma got up to sixth on lap six.

Craigie got ahead of Al Azhari through the first two corners on lap seven, but then had a loose moment entering the hotel section and Al Azhari reclaimed fourth. It helped Cosma get involved, and when Craigie attempted another move at the final chicane it sent him and Al Azhari off and allowed Cosma to clear both.

Al Azhari lost out to Craigie in the same place as before on lap eight, and Aksoy was next to get on his tail. Kasper Schormans (Evans GP) passed Aksoy later in the race, and both he and Al Azhari avoided being struck when Aksoy attempted double dive into the chicane on lap 14. Hitech’s Theo Palmer was further back, and Campbell-Pilling was a distant 10th.

Al Sulaiti finished 31st after spinning mid-race, and Maccagnani was 26th after serving a drive-through penalty.

Results round-up
Race 2 (5 laps)
1 Bader Al Sulaiti QMMF by Hitech 15m07.955s
2 Niccolo Maccagnani Mumbai Falcons +0.746s
3 Jarrett Clark Xcel Motorsport +1.143s
4 David Cosma Cristofor Prema +1.756s
5 Christian Costoya Prema +2.931s
6 Alp Aksoy Hasan Mumbai Falcons +3.971s
7 Iacopo Martinese PHM Racing +4.825s
8 Emily Cotty R-ace GP +5.694s
9 Kenzo Craigie R-ace GP +6.176s
10 Sasha Bondarev Mumbai Falcons +7.209s
Fastest lap: Al Sulaiti, 1m54.976s

Race 3 (15 laps)
1 Bondarev 31m03.353s
2 Andy Consani R-ace GP +4.564s
3 Scott Lindblom Hitech GP +7.824s
4 Cosma +9.138s
5 Craigie +14.862s
6 Adam Al Azhari Yas Heat Academy +18.451s
7 Kasper Schormans Evans GP +18.655s
8 Aksoy +18.932s
9 Theo Palmer Hitech GP +21.712s
10 Rowan Campbell-Pilling Pinnacle Motorsport +27.090s
Pole: Bondarev, 1m46.139s
FL: Bondarev, 1m47.670s

Championship standings
1 Bondarev 102   2 Consani 85   3 Craigie 53   4 Maccagnani 51   5 Cosma 47   6 Lindblom 40   7 Aksoy 36   8 Cotty 32   9 Al Azhari 31   10 Al Sulaiti 29

The post Al Sulaiti and Bondarev win as weather changes for UAE4 in Abu Dhabi appeared first on Formula Scout.

Photo: Top Speed

Mumbai Falcons’ Sasha Bondarev won the first race of a UAE4 round at Yas Marina Circuit for a second successive week last Saturday.

He set the pace in pre-event testing on Friday, a 1m46.354s putting him 0.286 seconds ahead of R-ace GP’s Kenzo Craigie and 0.314s clear of Yas Heat Academy’s Adam Al Azhari. Hitech GP’s Scott Lindblom was fourth, 0.597s off the pace, and a second split the top 14 in the 39-car field.

Bondarec remained on top in practice, setting a 1m46.085s to edge R-ace’s Andy Consani by 0.077s and Lindblom by 0.27s. Prema’s Christian Costoya and Craigie were the only other drivers within half a second of him, and R-ace’s round one frontrunner Emily Cotty was 2.25s off the pace in 34th.

The next morning there was change at the top as failure to improve on his last two laps in the first qualifying session led to Bondarev being beaten to race one pole by 0.292s. Lindblom took top spot, with Consani 0.427s behind in third.

Just 0.059s split Niccolo Maccagnani (Mumbai Falcons), Craigie, Al Azhari and Costoya in the next four positions, and the next best driver not run by Prema was Evans GP’s Kasper Schormans in 10th. A second covered the top 12, and Cotty qualified 15th.

Schormans was a new addition to the field, replacing Ben Nguyen, while Cash Felber joined Xcel Motorsport and Sun Anzhe made his debut with Pinnacle Motorsport one week late after Vladimir Verkholantsev took his place in the team’s line-up in round one.

Bondarev struck back against Lindblom in Q2 despite repeating his failure to improve late in the session. This time his best effort, a 1m46.139s, came on his fifth lap of nine and it earned him pole by 0.007s.

Lindblom’s fastest lap was on his third lap of seven, and it was a similar story for most drivers in the top 10. Consani was 0.137s off pole in third, Craigie was a further 0.175s back in fourth and Al Azhari pipped Alp Aksoy Hasan (Mumbai Falcons) and David Cosma Cristofor (Prema) to fifth. This time Cotty was 12th, 0.914s slower than Bondarev.

The fight for victory in race one was settled in the opening lap, and began with Lindblom being slow off the line. He quickly dropped to fourth, and Bondarev led Maccagnani and Consani into the opening corner. Craigie tried passing Lindblom around the outside there too, and Consani took second after going side-by-side with Maccagnani at the next turn.

Lindblom sought to attack Maccagnani too entering the hotel section, and his bold overtaking attempts at turn one of the grand prix layout and the final chicane allowed the top two to break away by several seconds. They were reeled back in on lap two thanks to the presence of the safety car, as Brock Burton (Xcel) and Bernardo ‘Beco’ Bernoldi (Trident) had collided at the chicane.

Racing resumed on lap six, and Lindblom locked up into the first corner back at racing speeds. Later in the lap he went around the outside of Maccagnani at the grand prix layout’s first corner but completed his move off-track and conceded the place he had just taken. But Maccagnani then locked up entering the corkscrew section and Lindblom was ahead again.

Craigie then overtook Maccagnani, and this drama enabled the top two to gap themselves once again. It was a quiet race for them thereon, until the safety car returned for the final two-and-a-half laps due to Lucas Pasquinetti (Xcel) crashing out.

When Maccagnani tried to reclaim places on lap seven he instead ran wide and lost sixth to Al Azhari. Cosma held off Aksoy and Costoya for seventh, and Xcel’s Jarrett Clark finished 10th after Rowan Campbell-Pilling (Pinnacle) spun away the position at the final chicane on lap 12 of 15 and Schormans got a five-second penalty for causing a collision.

Xcel’s Joseph Smith also got a penalty, bringing Cotty up to 12th and earning her reversed-grid pole for race two.

Race results (15 laps)

The post Bondarev wins again in race one of UAE4’s return trip to Abu Dhabi appeared first on Formula Scout.

Photo: Top Speed

Sasha Bondarev started the UAE4 season at Yas Marina Circuit last week with victory, and left round one as points leader.

The Mumbai Falcons driver was fastest in practice on Saturday morning, setting a 1m55.575s to edge R-ace GP’s Andy Consani by 0.051 seconds. Prema’s David Cosma Cristofor was 0.218s behind in third, with 0.071s covering him, Yas Heat Academy’s Adam Al Azhari, Hitech GP’s Scott Lindblom and Prema’s Christian Costoya.

Qualifying took place in the afternoon, and it was the same drivers near the top. In Q1, Bondarev impressed to be quickest by 0.359s. Cosma was second, 0.011s ahead of Consani, with Al Azhari and Campbell-Pilling split by 0.055s and both over half a second behind. A second covered the top 13, with Mumbai Falcons’ Alp Aksoy Hasan topping the rookie classification in sixth.

Consani edged team-mate Elia Weiss to race three pole in Q2 by 0.007s, with Bondarev only 0.025s off in third. Cosma, Aksoy and Al Azhari were all within 0.2s of Consani’s pace, with half a second covering the top 10 and 20 drivers lapping within a second of pole.

Bondarev converted pole into victory at the end of the day in a relatively calm race. He covered the inside line at the start, and both Cosma and Consani tried going around his outside through the opening corner (on the layout that uses the south pits) but no positions changed.

The poleman already had a gap by the end of the lap, and after a safety car period running from lap two to four that was triggered by Yas Heat’s Charbel Abi Gebrayel crashing out he gradually pulled away to win the 15-lap encounter by 2.065s.

Consani took second by nailing a dive down the inside of the chicane on lap six, then had the pace to leave Cosma far behind. Aksoy began attacking Campbell-Pilling for fifth on lap seven, and got ahead at the end of lap 11. The response from Campbell-Pilling was immediate but brief, and he soon settled in behind.

Providing plenty of action for spectators was Weiss and Craigie’s fight over seventh. Craigie took the position from Weiss on lap one, with his team-mate reclaiming it on lap seven. Four laps later Craigie tried going around Weiss’s outside through the opening corner, then on lap 12 they remarkably ran side-by-side all the way to turn one of the grand prix layout where Craigie finally completed his pass.

Weiss’s attention had to switch to a charging Costoya by race-end. He had spent many laps filling the mirrors of and attempting diving moves on R-ace’s Emily Cotty, and once he finally cleared her he overtook Mumbai Falcons’ Kingsley Zheng and got onto Weiss’s tail. Lindblom started 38th but made up 15 places on lap one, and was up to 14th by the finish.

That was not enough to benefit from the reversed grid for race two on Sunday morning, while finishing 12th earned Mumbai Falcons’ Niccolo Maccagnani pole ahead of Cotty and Zheng.

Two formation laps took place and red flags waved rather than the chequered flag, meaning the race was shortened by five minutes. Maccagnani cut to the inside at the start to block off Cotty, so she tried overtaking him around the outside of the opening corner but he moved back across. Just behind, Campbell-Pilling’s car flew through the air and down onto Costoya’s.

Weiss had moved to the inside behind Costoya to avoid hitting him as they turned in, but by doing so he moved across the front of Campbell-Pilling and he had no time to react. The safety car was needed to clear the incident, with Costoya retiring in the pits sans rear wing or engine cover.

Little happened on the lap three restart, although lots of drivers went off at chicane on lap four and there was a change in the podium positions on lap five as Craigie snuck down the inside of Zheng before the first corner. Aksoy ran in fifth, ahead of Consani, Bondarev, Cosma and Lindblom. The safety car returned on that lap, as Prema’s Payton Westcott crashed out and PHM Racing’s Platon Kostin stopped on the GP layout’s pit straight.

It was not until lap eight that racing could resume, and Consani attacked Aksoy straight away. Bondarev sought to profit from their battle and overtook Consani off-track in the hotel section. It was calm up front, and Maccagnani was unchallenged before the next safety car period began on lap 10 due to Xcel Motorsport’s Brock Burton stopping on track.

Although green flags waved again on lap 12, Pinnacle Motorsport’s Kaylee Countryman crashed before the lap even began and then a huge crash on the back straight led to the race being stopped and the results being taken from lap 10.

It ensured Maccagnani won, while Lindblom was locked into eighth place having climbed six spots before red flags waved.

Consani led lights-to-flag in race three, helped initially by a lap one fight for second place. Bondarev went side-by-side with Weiss mid-lap then got ahead under braking into the chicane despite a big lock-up. Weiss fought back at the first corner of lap two, then the battle was interrupted by the safety car on lap two as Burton had gone off and come to a stop.

Drama elsewhere led to Xcel’s Jarrett Clark pitting for a new front wing, with Maccagnani also having to pit.

Racing resumed on lap four, and a lap later Bondarev got alongside Consani on the outside through turn one. He then went off, and as he rejoined the next three drivers bunched up behind. Aksoy had spun on lap one, leaving Al Azhari to attack Cosma. On lap five he did just that exiting the hairpin, and was ahead into the chicane but Cosma cut it to be fourth again.

He returned the position on lap six but the delay in doing so copped him a five-second penalty, and they were dropped by the lead trio.

Consani began pulling away and Consani was pressuring Al Azhari until the safety car interrupted again on lap eight.

When Consani brought the field back to racing speeds at the end of lap nine, Bondarev stuck with him. He tried Consani’s outside at the start of lap 11, then the safety car made another appearance a lap later. There were two incidents causing yellow flags, one of which was Al Azhari overtaking Cosma into the hotel section but picking up damage that led to him dropping down the order and eventually pitting for key repairs.

He rejoined ahead of the field, so then let himself be lapped but still copped a 30s penalty. The safety car left before the 14th and final lap, but more drama meant the race officially ended on lap 12.

Cosma passed Weiss for third off-track at turn one, while Consani held off Bondarev and met the chequered flag as the winner. Exiting the final chicane, the battle for third ended with Cosma crashing into the barriers heavily and Weiss pitting. Red flags waved after Consani had crossed the line, and Weiss was found at fault for the incident and penalised 15s.

Cosma got another five-second penalty of his own for his overtake, meaning in the updated results it was Campbell-Pilling who completed the podium with Costoya in fourth. He had clashed with Cotty on his way up the order, and she finished fifth.

Craigie was sixth, and Lindblom went on another charge from 38th to seventh to end the weekend 12th in the standings. Bondarev leads Consani by two points.

Results round-up
Race 1 (15 laps)
1 Sasha Bondarev Mumbai Falcons 31m23.563s
2 Andy Consani R-ace GP +2.065s
3 David Cosma Cristofor Prema +5.842s
4 Adam Al Azhari Yas Heat Academy +6.501s
5 Alp Aksoy Hasan Mumbai Falcons +11.571s
6 Rowan Campbell-Pilling Rodin Motorsport +12.458s
7 Kenzo Craigie R-ace GP +14.263s
8 Elia Weiss R-ace GP +15.014s
9 Christian Costoya Prema +15.267s
10 Kingsley Zheng Mumbai Falcons +17.632s
Pole: Bondarev, 1m55.565s
Fastest lap: Consani, 1m55.914s

Race 2 (10 laps)
1 Niccolo Maccagnani Mumbai Falcons 25m52.269s
2 Emily Cotty R-ace GP +0.373s
3 Craigie +0.764s
4 Zheng +1.317s
5 Aksoy +1.635s
6 Bondarev +1.973s
7 Consani +2.303s
8 Scott Lindblom Hitech GP +2.738s
9 Cosma +3.262s
10 Al Azhari +3.606s
FL: Consani, 1m56.750s

Race 3 (12 laps)
1 Consani 27m24.280s
2 Bondarev +0.451s
3 Campbell-Pilling +1.845s
4 Costoya +2.428s
5 Cotty +3.015s
6 Craigie +3.772s
7 Lindblom +4.297s
8 Bader Al Sulaiti QMMF by Hitech +5.090s
9 Iacopo Martinese PHM Racing +6.143s
10 Alba Hurup Larsen Evans GP +6.722s
P: Consani, 1m55.674s
FL: Consani, 1m56.292s

Championship standings
1 Bondarev 51   2 Consani 49   3 Craigie 29   4 Cotty 28   5 Maccagnani 25   6 Campbell-Pilling 23   7 Aksoy 20   8 Cosma Cristofor 17   9 Costoya 14   10 Al Azhari 13

The post Bondarev and Consani star in opening UAE4 round at Yas Marina Circuit appeared first on Formula Scout.

Photo: Red Bull Content Pool

Hitech GP’s Scott Lindblom set the pace in UAE4 pre-season testing at Yas Marina Circuit over the last two days.

The Red Bull junior, who began his single-seater career by coming third in Saudi Arabian Formula 4 and ninth in Formula Trophy last month, will be team-mate to the British F4-experienced Theo Palmer and two drivers backed and co-entered by the Qatar Motor and Motorcycle Federation.

Lindblom was fourth fastest in Tuesday’s opening session, as R-ace GP’s Andy Consani laid down a 1m55.739s benchmark to lead Prema’s late signing David Cosma Cristofor by 0.175 seconds. Despite taking poles in Italian F4 as a single-seater rookie last year, Cosma came 26th in the standings there and was 17th in F4 Middle East.

Sasha Bondarev, driving for the Prema-run Mumbai Falcons squad, was 0.305s off Consani in third and 0.107s ahead of Lindblom who pipped Yas Heat Academy’s local driver Adam Al Azhari to fourth.

Prema’s Christian Costoya and Payton Westcott, who has confirmed she will race for the team, were one-two in session two. A 1m56.123s put Costoya ahead by 0.145s, with Bondarev a further 0.034s back. Consani, Niccolo Maccagnani (Mumbai Falcons) and Cosma were also within 0.3s of Costoya, as a second covered the top 16.

Cosma lowered the pace to 1m55.881s in session three, edging Lindblom by 0.026s and Bondarev by 0.221s. Maccagnani, Westcott and Costoya all trailed by over 0.37 but under 0.4 seconds as only nine drivers were within a second of Cosma.

Lindblom posted an unbeatable 1m55.633s in session four, securing top spot overall by 0.055s over Consani whose team-mate Kenzo Craigie was a further 0.392s back in third. Palmer, Rowan Campbell-Pilling (Pinnacle Motorsport) and Bondarev were also within 0.5s of Lindblom as a second split the top 14.

A 1m56.1s was enough to put Lindblom on top in session five the next morning, but by a tiny margin again as he pipped Campbell-Pilling by 0.012s. Al Azhari trailed by 0.225s in third, edging R-ace’s Emily Cotty. Consani, Jarrett Clark (Xcel Motorsport), Craigie and Palmer were within 0.1s of her as the top 17 was convered by a one-second difference in pace.

Bondarev set a 1m55.73s in session six to lead Consani by 0.3s, Maccagnani by 0.642s and go third fastest overall. Consani set an identical laptime to top session seven, 0.228s ahead of Bondarev, 0.26s clear of Lindblom, 0.376s faster than Costoya and 0.449s up on Clark.

Testing concluded with Lindblom on top again, a 1m55.862s earning him session eight’s top spot with a 0.311s gap to Clark and 0.461s to Palmer in third. While only eight drivers were within a second of Lindblom, the same gap covered the whole test’s top 19.

Test results

The post Hitech’s Lindblom leads 39-car field in UAE4 pre-season testing appeared first on Formula Scout.

Photo: Sauber Motorsport

The UAE4 grid is continuing to grow with just a few days before the season begins at Yas Marina Circuit.

PHM Racing has announced it will run Emma Felbermayr, Platon Kostin and Iacopo Martinese.

Felbermayr, 18, raced for Rodin Motorsport during her rookie year in single-seaters last year and came 10th in the all-female F1 Academy championship with the support of the Audi-owned Sauber Formula 1 team.

In Spanish F4 the Austrian came 27th and 29th in the winter and main championships, missing a round in both.

Kostin was sixth in Russia’s SMP F4 championship last year, and is currently third in its winter series’ 2025-26 campaign.

Martinese steps up to cars with the backing of sportscar team Cetilar Racing, which previously competed in F4 back in 2022 in association with Iron Lynx. He was chosen for the seat by Dino Chiesa, the head of kart brand and team Kart Republic.

The 15-year-old Martinese spent a year in senior karting, starting off with the WSK Final Cup late in 2024 which he came sixth in. In 2025 the Italian was fifth in WSK’s Super Master Series, sixth in Champions of the Future, 11th in the CIK-FIA World championship and 20th in the European championship on OK karts. He ended his year at the USA’s SuperNationals event, finishing third in the X30 Pro class and also making the final in KA100 Senior karts.

During his junior karting career, Martinese was WSK Euro Series champion, came third in the CIK-FIA European championship two successive years, fourth in CotF, sixth in WSK SMS and eighth in WSK’s Final and Champion cups.

Evans GP now has four drivers signed with the addition of Alba Hurup Larsen, who will miss the fourth and final round at Losail while Ben Nguyen will return to the team’s line-up at that point after missing rounds two and three.

Larsen started her single-seater career with in 2024, doing two Indian F4 rounds with MP Motorsport. Last year she came seventh in F1 Academy with the team, and was 23rd in British F4 and 32nd in FWinter Series’ standings as a part-timer.

Pinnacle Motorsport’s UAE4 line-up has expanded to four cars, as Vladimir Verkholantsev joins for all but round two. In 2025 he was fourth in SMP F4, and currently leads its winter series.

The post Evans GP, PHM Racing and Pinnacle add to UAE4 line-ups appeared first on Formula Scout.

Photo: Ida Wood

French team R-ace GP has announced in full its five-car line-up for the upcoming UAE4 season.

Its first signing to be revealed was Elia Weiss. Over the weekend, four more team-mates have been named.

Two of those are Mercedes-AMG Formula 1 juniors, with Andy Consani and car racing debutant Kenzo Craigie continuing an association with the team that began in 2025.

Craigie drove in five major Formula 4 tests with R-ace last year as he prepared for the step up from senior karting. On the OK class of karts the 15-year-old Briton won the Champions of the Future title, was fifth in the CIK-FIA World Karting Championship, ninth in WSK’s Super Master Series and 10th in the European championship.

Consani’s primary programme in 2025 was French F4. His season began with pole position and a third place finish, but there were no more podiums and after missing the last third of the began he dropped to 13th in the standings.

Once he dropped his French F4 commitments, the 15-year-old Frenchman joined R-ace for the last two rounds of both E4 and Italian F4. In the former he scored twice to come 18th in the championship, and in the latter he was a points-free 32nd in the standings but ahead of eight full-timers including team-mate Emily Cotty and Weiss.

Cotty will continue to be part of its line-up in UAE4, which she also raced in last year when it was known as F4 Middle East. She scored three points en route to 21st in the standings, while she was points-free in E4 and Italian F4. The 16-year-old Briton also cameoed in the Formula Winter Series and finished 13th in the FIA F4 World Cup which was held in Macau.

The fifth and final of R-ace’s signings is Tomika Gender (otherwise known as Tamas Gender Jr). He also tested with the team in 2025, and in the OK kart class came 32nd in the WSK SMS standings as a driver in Victor Martins’ Victory Lane squad.

The post R-ace GP to run two of Mercedes-AMG’s F1 juniors in UAE4 appeared first on Formula Scout.

Photo: UAE4

Four of the teams competing in UAE4 have named additions to their line-ups for the season ahead of its opening round next week.

The championship recently underwent a rebrand, meaning it will have used three different names in three seasons when racing gets underway at Yas Marina Circuit.

Known as F4 United Arab Emirates from 2016 to 2024, and having only featured rounds abroad during that time, the championship changed designation to F4 Middle East last year as its five-round season featured a round in Qatar.

Two months ago it was announced it would revert to being called F4 UAE, despite the Qatar round being retained, then without an announcement the championship changed all of its branding at the start of this year to UAE4.

Evans GP has announced Ben Nguyen and Rafael Vaessen will be part of its line-up for the season ahead. Vaessen cameoed in F4 South East Asia round and came 24th in the UAE-based Formula Trophy last year with the team, with Nguyen heading to UAE4 with similar experience.

He drove for BlackArts Racing in F4 SEA and came seventh in the standings with one podium, and did one FTrophy round with Evans. His UAE4 campaign will consist of round one then the fourth and final round at Qatari circuit Losail.

R-ace GP’s first UAE4 signing is 16-year-old Elia Weiss, who was a surprise call-up by Porsche for last year’s Formula E rookie test in Berlin.

The German is backed by his national federation and won its championship for X30 Senior karts alongside coming ninth in the IAME Euro Series in 2024. As a car racing rookie, he came 20th in E4, 28th in the Formula Winter Series as a part-timer and 35th in Italian F4.

Like Evans GP, Pinnacle Motorsport now has a three-car line-up having signed Kaylee Countryman, Ryusho Nakazato and Anzhe Sun.

Countryman will do the first three rounds before switching focus to her USF2000 and F1 Academy campaigns. She has the patronage of the Haas Formula 1 team for the latter.

Nakazato came 27th in Japanese F4 last year, while Sun’s career is overseen by the Nicolas Todt-led All Road Management firm and is graduating from karting. He will also race in British F4 in 2026.

Xcel Motorsport is the only local team in UAE4, and its only driver so far is Emirati racer Jaber Al Sabah. He came 17th in FTrophy as a part-timer and made a British F4 cameo with the team last year.

The post Evans GP, Pinnacle Motorsport, R-ace GP and Xcel name UAE4 signings appeared first on Formula Scout.