Photo: Macau GP Organising Committee

Theophile Nael snatched victory from KCMG Pinnacle Motorsport team-mate Mari Boya in the 72nd running of the Macau Grand Prix.

Nael led less than a lap of racing before the fourth safety car period of the race began, and since it ran to the end that secured him the FIA Formula Regional World Cup.

Prema’s Freddie Slater started the 15-lap race from pole, and jinked to the right off the line before surging to the left to try to cover off Boya coming up on his inside. But Boya took the lead into turn one, then Slater was forced to hold off Nael.

That defending compromised Nael and allowed R-ace GP’s Enzo Deligny to pass him, with ART Grand Prix’s Taito Kato alongside too before Lisboa. Kato carried too much speed into the corner, checked up and lost out to PHM Racing’s Mattia Colnaghi, then at the next corner a five-car pile-up behind led to the first safety car interruption.

Before it was called out, Slater had tried passing Boya around the outside of turn eight, and when racing resumed on lap four he was on the attack again. Boya weaved his way down the first straights, Slater looked to his outside after Mandarin and as soon as he was fully ahead he cut to the inside to prevent Boya from braking late at Lisboa.

Slater pulled three seconds clear before the safety car returned on lap nine after Evans GP’s Oscar Wurz drove into Lisboa’s barriers.

On the lap 11 restart, the roles were reversed. Slater weaved, Boya attacked on the outside after Mandarin then cut straight to the inside once fully ahead. As he pushed to stay with Boya, Slater slid wide at the final corner, clouted the wall and picked up race-ending damage. It triggered another safety car period on lap 12.

Nael had been pressuring Deligny after the first restart, nosing ahead approaching Lisboa twice but backing out of passing attempts due to being on the outside, then on his third attempt backing off early so he could switch to Deligny’s inside but then having to slam on the brakes.

The pair had been gapped by the top two during the green flag action, but on the penultimate lap restart they both kept with a weaving Boya who after looking in his mirrors chose to cover off Deligny after Mandarin. He could then do nothing as Nael swept past both into lead.

Behind them, Prema’s Rashid Al Dhaheri crashed out of ninth by striking the barriers through turn two, an incident which then caught TOM’S driver Tokiya Suzuki and meant his race ended down the Lisboa escape road.

R-ace’s Jin Nakamura and Prema’s Charles Leong collided after Lisboa, and the safety car was called later in the lap.

Before racing was neutralised, Kato had gone around the outside of team-mate Evan Giltaire for fifth through Lisboa after Giltaire had passed him there two laps prior, and Boya had got onto Nael’s gearbox at two corners but then had to check up twice which allowed his team-mate to lead unchallenged through the mountain section.

Colnaghi kept out of trouble in fourth, while Trident’s Noah Stromsted and R-ace’s Matteo De Palo gained two spots from the crashes to finish seventh and eighth but had entered the top 10 when Stromsted overtook Sainteloc Racing’s James Egozi up Moorish Hill and De Palo followed through around the outside at Dona Maria I.

Race results (15 laps)

The post Nael snatches Macau GP victory from Boya in Pinnacle Motorsport 1-2 appeared first on Formula Scout.

Photo: Macau GP Organising Committee

Jules Roussel won the inaugural FIA Formula 4 World Cup at Macau after his battle with Rayan Caretti ended with the latter crashing.

Roussel and Caretti spent the 10-lap main race disputing the lead until Caretti found the barriers with two-and-a-half laps remaining. That brought out the safety car, which stayed on track to the end.

Emanuele Olivieri was runner-up after narrowly avoiding Caretti’s crashed car, with Rintaro Sato completing the podium after starting 11th.

Roussel got a good getaway from second to take the lead from poleman Olivieri into the opening corner. Caretti followed him past down the next straight, then after Mandarin a spinning Shimo Zhang wiped out Itsuki Sato.

Kyusho Lee drove straight into the barriers at Lisboa, and there was further drama as mechanical issues meant Kean Nakamura Berta could not reach racing speed and had to pit.

The safety car came out as the three crashed cars were cleared, and racing resumed on lap three.

Roussel weaved his way to Mandarin, but had Caretti all over him at Lisboa and in the mountain section. A lap later, Caretti dived down the inside at Lisboa and took the lead. He weaved exiting Mandarin on lap five, then stuck to the middle of the track as Roussel looked to his outside approaching Lisboa.

That allowed Olivieri, Ary Bansal and Sato to join in, with Sato having passed Yutsai Chan two laps prior. Although Caretti had a gap again by the Melco hairpin, he was weaving after Fishermen’s Bend and as lap six began.

Roussel closed in, and on lap seven was alongside all the way to Lisboa where he tucked back in behind as Caretti chose the middle line again.

A different approach was taken for lap eight, as Roussel overtook Caretti on the inside through the high-speed Mandarin. He defended once ahead, as Sato passed Bansal. Going into Lisboa, Sebastian Wheldon overtook Bansal too.

Caretti ran close behind Roussel into the mountain section, but had a slide at Maternity then a snap of oversteer sent him sliding into the barriers entering the Solitude Esses. The damage ended his race immediately.

The drivers behind had to take avoiding action, with Olivieri’s caution granting Roussel a three-second lead that was eradicated once the safety car appeared. But that also meant the race was won for Roussel.

Wheldon was fourth with the fastest lap, and started 15th after being a lap one retiree in the qualification race. He made up five places on lap one, another two on the restart lap, then picked off Chan and Fionn McLaughlin before reaching Bansal.

McLaughlin also climbed five places on the opening lap to sit seventh, but could progress no further before Caretti’s crash, and Thomas Bearman rose from 17th to seventh. Chan, Marcus Cheong and Gino Trappa, who started last, completed the top 10.

Alexandre Munoz stopped just after St. Francisco on lap three and retired, while Nakamura rejoined the race two laps down with a repaired car to finish 14th.

Race results (10 laps)

The post Jules Roussel wins the inaugural FIA F4 World Cup in Macau appeared first on Formula Scout.

Photo: Macau GP Organising Committee

Freddie Slater dominated the Macau Grand Prix’s qualification race, wining by over five seconds.

The Prema driver was alongside KCMG Pinnacle Motorsport’s poleman Theophile Nael straight away and took the lead on the inside through the opening corner, had his mirrors filled through the next corner, then went unchallenged through the remainder of the 10-lap race to secure pole for Sunday’s main race.

However, his Saturday ended with an investigation regarding speeding in the pitlane prior to the race.

After Nael lost the lead to a wheel-spinning Slater, Giltaire and Pinnacle team-mate Mari Boya then overtook him exiting turn one. Boya got alongside Giltaire, but tucked in behind Slater while Giltaire carried more speed on the outside through Mandarin. When they reached Lisboa, Nael looked to the outside of Boya but there was no room to attempt passing.

Slater created a 1.682-second gap on lap one, which grew to 2.6s, 3.2s and then 4.55s while Giltaire kept the faster Pinnacle drivers behind him.

Boya, who had started sixth, nosed ahead approaching Lisboa on lap two and four but could not overtake as he was on the outside line.

Giltaire weaved from Reservoir all the way to after Mandarin on lap five, but could do it no more once Boya was alongside and this time he got fully past on the straight so turned into Lisboa ahead.

While Boya then had clean air, Slater still grew his lead to 5.766s over the next two laps before the Pinnacle drivers showed their pace advantage. Nael copied Boya’s overtake on lap six, but only got back onto his team-mate’s gearbox at the end as he set the race’s only two sub-2m16s laps.

ART GP’s Taito Kato and R-ace GP’s Enzo Deligny lost out to Boya at the start, with Kato holding off Deligny into Lisboa on lap three to keep fifth. Deligny was also noted by officials for pitlane speeding pre-race.

PHM Racing’s Mattia Colnaghi finished seventh, and the top 10 was completed by James Egozi (Sainteloc Racing), Noah Stromsted (Trident) and Rashid Al Dhaheri (Prema).

There were overtakes after lap one further back, as R-ace’s Matteo De Palo and PHM’s Jose Garfias demoted Trident’s Tasanapol Inthraphuvasak to 13th on lap eight.

It was a clean race, with Evans GP’s Oscar Wurz the only retiree on lap one. Approaching the Melco hairpin he carried too much speed and locked up, and thanks to Prema’s Charles Leong weaving to the right did plough into anyone. 

However when Leong turned onto the racing line, Wurz broke his front wing and front-right wheel on him as he drove past at a corner where overtaking is not allowed. Wurz was able to stop down the escape road, meaning not even yellow flags were needed.

Van Amersfoort Racing’s Newman Chi finished last after getting a 10s stop-go penalty for a mechanic being on the grid after the one-minute board was shown.

Race results (10 laps)

The post Slater nails start to set up dominant Macau GP qualification race display appeared first on Formula Scout.

Photo: Macau GP Organising Committee

Emanuele Olivieri won the FIA Formula 4 World Cup qualification race in Macau.

He mostly had to hold off Fionn McLaughlin, who set no laptimes in practice but lined up sixth after Jules Roussel’s three-place grid penalty meant he started ninth.

Sebastian Wheldon had pole, ahead of Kean Nakamura Berta and Olivieri. Nakamura was overtaken before the opening corner, then Olivieri swept around the outside of Wheldon through the high-speed Mandarin right-hander to lead.

Approaching the first braking zone at Lisboa, Nakamura went to Wheldon’s outside but both failed to turn in early enough and drove straight into the barriers.

A stunning start by McLaughlin meant he was second after going past the crashed cars, with Tiago Rodrigues rising from fifth to third while Thomas Bearman maintained fourth.

However their victory chances ended at Moorish, where Rodrigues hit the barriers and since Bearman was right behind he had no time to avoid him despite swerving and crashed into his rear.

Gino Trappa was the fifth lap one retiree, and the safety car appeared as the crashed cars were craned away.

Racing resumed on lap four of eight, with Olivieri leading McLaughlin, Rintaro Sato, Roussel, Shimo Zhang, Ary Bansal, Rayan Caretti and Yutsai Chan.

McLaughlin was immediately on the attack, looking to Olivieri’s outside on the straight before Lisboa and then approaching turn eight too as the field went uphill. He could not get alongside either time, then at the Melco hairpin — where passing is not allowed — he nosed into Olivieri’s gearbox at the apex.

It was McLaughlin who suffered the worse traction exiting the corner and Olivieri pulled away. He ended the lap 0.458 seconds ahead, which grew to 1.023s on lap five as Caretti passed Bansal for sixth.

McLaughlin reduced the gap to 0.517s on lap six then utilised Olivieri’s slipstream as they began the penultimate lap. He thought about going to the leader’s inside at Lisboa, but did not commit, with Roussel considering the same as he pressured Sato for third.

The top two went into the final lap split by 0.714s, and ran nose to tail through the mountain section until Melco where McLaughlin caught the edge of the inside barrier with his rear-right wheel.

It caused damage that meant he parked up a few metres later, allowing Olivieri to finish with a 5.687s lead up front to secure pole for the main race.

Roussel had tried overtaking Sato on the outside into Lisboa on the last lap, but backed out of the move after getting alongside, then a pass at R Bend meant they finished side-by-side and Roussel took second by 0.094s.

Rayan Caretti, who started 15th, finished fourth after Zhang had a last-lap incident that damaged the front-right of his car and meant he limped over the line in eighth.

Sato and Bansal are under investigation for being out of position at the first safety car line on the restart.

Race results (8 laps)

The post Olivieri wins F4 World Cup qualification race as three rivals crash out appeared first on Formula Scout.

Photo: Macau GP Organising Committee

Sebastian Wheldon claimed pole position at the FIA Formula 4 World Cup in an incident-filled qualifying session in Macau.

The first 15 minutes ran clean. Fionn McLaughlin, who had not set any laptimes in practice, was first to the top before Wheldon and then Emanuele Olivieri lowered the pace. Olivieri’s 2m25.719s put him 0.301 seconds ahead, with Jules Roussel a further 0.018s behind.

On his next lap, Olivieri improved to 2m23.455s to lead Kean Nakamura Berta by 0.046s until Roussel completed his lap and went fastest by 0.119s. Rintaro Sato then posted a 2m25.284s to pip him by 0.052s.

Wheldon returned to the top with a 2m25.023s set 13 minutes in, with Olivieri 0.137s behind. Roussel was able to go even faster, reclaiming provisional pole by 0.27s while Sato set a 2m25.089s to demote Olivieri to fourth.

Alexandre Munoz had set fastest sector times before a crash and then stopping at turn 16, with Wheldon reducing Roussel’s advantage by 0.002s just before red flags waved as Munoz’s car was retrieved. Rayan Caretti graced the barriers too, but got away with it.

The session clock was paused during the seven-minute stoppage, and after it restarted Gino Trappa locked up at Lisboa and stopped by the barriers, but was able to continue without issue. However just before qualifying’s halfway mark Caretti was not as lucky as he parked his car in the Lisboa barriers and red flags returned.

Nobody improved between the two stoppages, the latter lasting six minutes, and personal bests began to be set with 15 minutes left of qualifying.

Nakamura went from fifth to first with a 2m24.538s, then Olivieri rose to third by lapping 0.352s off the new benchmark.

Three minutes later, Thomas Bearman got within 0.007s of Nakamura and Tiago Rodrigues went fifth fastest. That demoted Wheldon to sixth, but when he crossed the line he set a 2m24.148s to lead the way by 0.39s.

Nakamura reduced his advantage to 0.136s with 10-and-a-half minutes to go, and Olivieri set a personal best to be 0.216s off Wheldon.

Rodrigues returned to fifth with another improvement, then Roussel tried going down his inside at Lisboa. Roussel’s front-left wheel tagged Rodrigues’s rear-right at the apex and the latter was sent into the barriers. Elsewhere, Trappa hit a barrier and was sent spinning, so red flags waved. The recovery of Trappa’s car meant the stoppage lasted almost 10 minutes.

When qualifying resumed, nine minutes remained. Nakamura slid into the barriers at Dona Maria on his first flying lap post-restart but continued, while Sato was not as fortunate as he had a session-ending shunt at Fisherman’s Bend.

Nobody had improved, meaning Wheldon secured pole for the qualification race ahead of Nakamura.

McLaughlin completed 16 laps and qualified seventh, just behind Roussel. Both moved ahead of Sato after his fastest lap was deleted for causing red flags.

Qualifying results

The post Wheldon takes pole in red flag-filled F4 World Cup qualifying in Macau appeared first on Formula Scout.

Photo: Gavin Baker Photography

Sebastian Wheldon was quickest in free practice two for the FIA Formula 4 World Cup on a drying track in Macau.

He went to the top of the order with his penultimate lap of the 40-minute session, becoming the only driver to lap sub-1m25s.

It was a more mixed session than FP1, led throughout by Kean Nakamura Berta, as first place swapped between a handful of drivers.

As first leaving the pits, Nakamura was first to set a flying lap and was swiftly beaten by Jules Roussel and then Tiago Rodrigues who posted a 2m31.816s. Unlike everybody else, Fionn McLaughlin did not set a laptime as he pitted at the end of his outlap and his engine cover was removed. A technical problem had already denied him any running in FP1.

Nakamura improved to 2m28.511s on his second lap to lead Emanuele Olivieri by 0.54 seconds, until Roussel crossed the line and set a 2m27.955s that put him 0.397s ahead of Rayan Caretti.

Gino Trappa crashed hard at Lisboa 10 minutes in, stopping the session for five-and-a-half minutes. There were three more minutes of action before Emily Cotty hit the wall at turn 15, triggering further red flags. McLaughlin had joined the rest of the field for the restart, but he and Alexandre Munoz were denied the opportunity to record their first flying laps.

Running resumed with 14 minutes remaining, with everyone heading out, and there were no further disruptions. However McLaughlin once again ended his outlap by pitting and did not return to track after that.

Nakamura lowered the pace to 2m26.240s with nine minutes to go, a benchmark which Roussel beat by 0.119s. Wheldon went third fastest, 0.322s behind, and Rodrigues was 0.788s off in fourth until Caretti completed his lap and got within 0.185s of Nakamura’s pace.

On his next lap Nakamura improved to 2m25.816s, which Olivieri was 0.124s shy of just behind. Caretti then went quickest by 0.099s, and Olivieri beat him by 0.198s with four minutes remaining.

Roussel was next to the top, by 0.387s as he posted a 2m25.132s, and with one-and-a-half minutes to go Nakamura set a personal best in third to sit 0.556s behind.

Olivieri also got faster, but was 0.205s off Roussel, them with 53s to go Wheldon jumped from ninth to first with a 2m24.323s which put him 0.809s clear at the top.

Nakamura reduced that gap to 0.771s after the chequered flag, with Olivieri a further 0.018s behind with his final lap.

Caretti and Rodrigues had already pitted and ended FP2 in fifth and sixth behind Roussel, while others missed the chance for a last-lap improvement as Yuzhe Wang crashed and caused yellow flags.

Rintaro Sato pipped Thomas Bearman to seventh, with the latter warned for pitlane speeding. Shimo Zhang and Ary Bansal completed the top 10.

Additional reporting by Ida Wood

Free practice results

The post Wheldon quickest by big margin with late lap in FP2 for FIA F4 World Cup appeared first on Formula Scout.

Photo: Macau Grand Prix

Kean Nakamura Berta topped the times in the first free practice session for the FIA Formula 4 World Cup in Macau.

The reigning Italian F4 champion was first to set the pace in the 40-minute session and remained in first place throughout. There were 19 drivers on track, all being operated centrally by an alliance between Chinese F4 organiser Mintimes and the FFSA which runs all cars in French F4.

Red flags bookended running in the first F4 session of the weekend, with another stoppage breaking up the action midway through FP1. The first was triggered by British F4 champion Fionn McLaughlin, who came to a stop before even reaching turn two on his outlap due to a mechanical problem.

Green flags waved eight minutes in to start running proper. Nakamura went quickest with his first flying lap, and improved on his next tour of the circuit as Chinese F4 champion Shimo Zhang rose to second place, 0.551 seconds back.

Nakamura lowered the pace two more times, becoming the only driver to go sub-2m28s. Emanuele Olivieri came closest to his 2m27.776s benchmark, but was 0.825s off his pace.

The second red flag period began 21mins in, when Alexandre Munoz crashed at turn 22. FP1 resumed with only eight minutes remaining, and yellow flags waved a minute after that as Itsuki Sato locked up at Lisboa and stopped in front of the barriers. He was able to reverse and get going again, avoiding causing further disruption, but there were soon yellow flags elsewhere as someone went off at the Melco hairpin.

Red flags then returned with four minutes to go, as Yuzhe Wang clouted the Lisboa barriers with his rear-left wheel and stopped his car before reaching the next corner. There was no restart, locking in the order established in the session’s first half.

Gino Trappa was third quickest, 1.107s off the pace and just 0.011s ahead of Zhang. Sebastian Wheldon was fifth fastest and 1.234s slower than his Italian F4 rival Nakamura, with Ryan Caretti and Munoz the only other drivers within two seconds of him. Jules Roussel, Ary Bansal and Thomas Bearman completed the top 10.

Free practice results

The post Nakamura sets the pace before red flags disrupt F4’s Macau practice appeared first on Formula Scout.

Photo: Jakob Ebrey Photography

James Piszcyk won the final race of the British Formula 4 season around Brands Hatch’s Grand Prix layout as Rodin Motorsport secured the teams’ title.

Piszcyk led lights-to-flag and finished 0.562 seconds ahead of Rodin team-mate Adam Al Azhari. The win was his sixth of the season, more than anybody else this year.

There was little movement at the front of the field for much of the race. Piszcyk held onto the lead from Al Azhari and Ethan Jeff-Hall. The top three broke away slightly from the rest of the pack, with champion Fionn McLaughlin in fourth.

In the race’s second half, McLaughlin put pressure on Jeff-Hall, trying to find a way past and allowing top two to escape down the road.

Al Azhari kept in touch with Piszcyk, but the leader offered no opportunities to overtake and Al Azhari had to settle for second.

Jeff-Hall held off McLaughlin to complete the podium, despite the Hitech GP driver seeming to have better pace at the end of the race.

The closest battle for much of the race was between Dries Van Langendonck and Martin Molnar.

Rodin’s Van Langendonck got a good start to move past Virtuosi Racing’s Molnar and Xcel Motorsport’s Theo Palmer to fifth.

As Palmer slipped further back, Molnar stayed close to the McLaren junior ahead. He tried getting alongside Van Langendonck late on, but could not get his nose ahead and slotted back in behind. They were split by 0.388s at the finish.

Chase Fernandez ended the finale in seventh place, ahead of August Raber, Tommy Harfield and Thomas Bearman.

Race results (18 laps)

The post James Piszcyk ends British F4 season with sixth win appeared first on Formula Scout.

Photo: Jakob Ebrey Photography

Tommy Harfield took a lights-to-flag victory in the reversed-grid race at British Formula 4’s Brands Hatch finale.

The Chris Dittmann Racing driver started from pole position and was unchallenged throughout the 14-lap race. He set the fastest lap of the race on his way to the victory, leading Cole Hewetson by 1.422 seconds.

Chase Fernandez got the best start when the lights went out, passing Thomas Bearman to move up to third. The top three broke away slightly from the rest of the field on the opening lap, but that advantage would not last long.

A wide moment for Bearman dropped him back behind Fionn McLaughlin. As he came past, McLaughlin’s right rear tyre made contact with Bearman’s car, almost sending McLaughlin into a spin. The freshly crowned champion held on and would soon close the gap to the leaders ahead.

Hitech’s McLaughlin initially brought team-mate Bearman with him, but Bearman began to slip backwards in the closing stages of the race, leaving four drivers at the front of the order.

McLaughlin kept the pressure on Fernandez, but there were no opportunities to make a move, and he had to settle for fourth. Likewise, Fernandez kept close behind Hewetson, but did not pass his Xcel Motorsport team-mate.

Bearman was caught by Ethan Jeff-Hall in the closing stages of the race. The pair were separated by just 0.178s at the chequered flag, but Bearman held on to take fifth. 

Dries Van Langendonck claimed seventh ahead of Martin Molnar, both of whom fell backwards early on as McLaughlin and Jeff-Hall made up positions on the opening lap. Adam Al Azhari and Henry Joslyn completed the top 10.

Race results (14 laps)

The post Harfield nets another British F4 win in reversed-grid Brands Hatch race appeared first on Formula Scout.

Photo: Red Bull

James Piszcyk won British Formula 4’s first race on Brands Hatch’s Grand Prix layout, but had his title hopes end as Fionn McLaughlin was crowned in second place.

The Hitech GP driver clinched the title with two races to spare by finishing 0.399 seconds behind main rival Piszcyk, who led lights-to-flag.

The poleman got a poor start, but managed to stay ahead of McLaughlin and Adam Al Azhari. His Rodin Motorsport team-mate initially challenged McLaughlin, but then came under attack from Argenti Motorsport’s Ethan Jeff-Hall.

He had started fifth after receiving a three-place grid penalty for a qualifying infringement but rose to third early on and kept with the top two while Al Azhari slipped backwards.

The leading trio would spread out, with Piszcyk briefly pulling more than a second away before being reeled in. McLaughlin was never close enough to make a move for victory, but held onto second comfortably ahead of Jeff-Hall.

Al Azhari set the fastest lap, but still finished more than three seconds behind Jeff-Hall in fourth, ahead of Virtuosi Racing’s Martin Molnar and Chris Dittmann Racing’s Tommy Harfield.

Further down the field, there was pre-race drama. Dries Van Langendonck and August Raber were due to start from the pitlane, but Raber encountered problems on the way from the paddock and missed the race. Rowan Campbell-Pilling was also absent due to repair work following an incident in qualifying.

Van Langendonck did take part in the race, and came from the back of the field to finish 14th. He was aided in his climb up the order when Cole Hewetson was forced to pit early on after contact sent him spinning and caused a rear-left puncture.

Chase Fernandez, who started directly ahead of Hewetson, avoided the drama and came home seventh, ahead of Xavier Avramides and Alexandar Savinkov. He spent most of the race battling with Thomas Bearman for 10th.

Savinkov managed to find a way through in the closing laps, then a race-ending off for Theo Palmer on the penultimate lap promoted the pair each up a spot in the points positions.

Race results (14 laps)

The post Piszcyk tops race one podium but loses British F4 title to McLaughlin appeared first on Formula Scout.