Photo: ACI Sport

US Racing’s Kacper Sztuka led the way in Italian Formula 4 practice at Paul Ricard.

The F4 drivers were on track early on Friday morning, and it was a busy 40-minute session with 36 cars on track. Absent for most of the session was Van Amersfoort Racing’s Brando Badoer.

He had a new team-mate in Pablo Sarrazin, who has already driven for VAR in the new Euro 4 series. Other additions to the grid include Griffin Peebles at Jenzer Motorsport, Singaporean shifter karter Kabir Anurag, who is debuting with R-ace GP after doing six tests with them, and Gabriel Holguin at Maffi Racing. Holguin has previously been entered into a F4 series in the USA.

R-ace’s Raphael Narac was the early pacesetter in FP1 with a 2m08.167s, but did not stay on top for long as laptimes improved. US Racing’s Akhay Bohra set a 2m07.801s, then team-mate Zachary David bettered that by 0.022 seconds before Prema’s James Wharton knocked 0.636s off the benchmark pace.

David responded by going 0.093s faster than him, but then Wharton went fastest by 0.683s with the first sub-2m07s lap.

US’s Kacper Sztuka reduced Wharton’s advantage to 0.387s, then knocked him off top spot by 0.057s. A third successive improvement, in the 2m05s, put him 0.433s clear while Prema duo Arvid Lindblad and Niko Lacorte, as well as David, got into the 2m06s.

Following that, most drivers were pit-bound to change tyres before their second runs. There were fewer improvements once everyone returned to track, although Wharton got within 0.088s of Sztuka and Prema’s Ugo Ugochukwu went third fastest at the very end. In total 13 drivers lapped sub-2m07s.

Bohra was first to the top in FP2 in the afternoon, setting a 2m08.510s. After almost eight minutes he was toppled, with AKM Motorsport’s Frederik Lund lapping in 2m07.922s.

Gianmarco Pradel (US) and Tina Hausmann (AKM) also beat Bohra, and a minute later he was eighth as Lacorte lowered the pace to 2m07.613s to lead AKM’s Enzo Deligny.

Prema’s Rashid Al Dhaheri set a 2m07.587s soon after, and PHM Racing’s James Egozi went third fastest.

Bohra reclaimed first with a 2m07.460s, and Wharton was 0.035s slower to slot into second. But 40s later they were fifth and sixth, as Badoer became first in the session to lap in the 2m06s. Prema’s Tuukka Taponen went second fastest, and Pradel and Egozi were the only others within half a second of Badoer’s pace.

But even Badoer could not stay ahead for long, as half a minute later Sztuka – on his second flying lap – set a 2m07.837s to go fastest by 0.048s.

Badoer responded with a 2m06.435s, and Wharton also bettered Sztuka who was unable to improve on his next lap but returned to first place the lap after with a 2m06.179s. Badoer got within 0.121s of it, then Sztuka improved again before everyone headed to the pits to change tyres.

Sztuka set FP2’s first sub-2m06s lap with nine minutes remaining, and 90s later Wharton set a 2m05.363s. Badoer got within 0.022s of it, and Sztuka within 0.029s during a flurry of continual improvements in the top 12, but Wharton’s lap appeared unbeatable until Sztuka set a 2m05.251s with half a minute to go.

Taponen was fourth fastest, 0.285s behind and 0.002s ahead of Ugochukwu.

Free practice results

The post Sztuka super in thrilling Italian F4 practice sessions at Paul Ricard appeared first on Formula Scout.

Photo: Monlau Competicion

Van Amersfoort Racing’s Pablo Sarrazin was fastest on the second day of testing for Italian Formula 4 teams at Paul Ricard.

KCMG junior Sarrazin topped the first and last sessions of Tuesday, with his 2m04.980s set early in the morning standing as the fastest lap of the day. The Frenchman is joining VAR for the new Euro 4 series which starts at Mugello this weekend.

In total, 26 of the 36 drivers set their fastest lap in the day’s first session, with PHM Racing’s Nandhavud Bhirombhakdi improving in session two while nine drivers unlocked more pace in the day’s fourth and final session.

Sarrazin’s advantage in the day’s opening session was a slim 0.183 seconds, with PHM Racing’s James Egozi going second fastest and with both off the pace of the previous day.

VAR’s Ivan Domingues was 0.264s behind in third, and in total there were 18 drivers who got within a second of Sarrazin’s benchmark.

The pace was slower in session two, with US Racing’s Akshay Bohra pipping Egozi to top spot by 0.034s. This time the top 23 were split by less than a second, with 1.617s covering the top 30.

Bhirombhakdi was third fastest, and Griffin Peebles was fourth for Jenzer Motorsport. Peebles told Formula Scout that he will join Jenzer’s line-up for the Italian F4 round at Paul Ricard later this month, having raced in the series for AKM Motorsport earlier this year.

Laptimes got even slower in the afternoon in session three, which the driver of AKM’s #87 car topped with a 2m05.937s lap. That put him 0.337s ahead of Jenzer’s day one pacesetter Ethan Ischer, with US’s Kacper Sztuka 0.428s behind in third.

It was still a close field overall, with Peebles in 16th only 0.990s off the pace and 1.936s covering the top 26.

Sarrazin returned to the top in session four by setting a 2m04.989s, being the only driver all day to lap sub-2m05s. Domingues moved into third overall by lapping 0.222s slower than Sarrazin, and Egozi was third fastest in the session.

Brando Badoer, the driver of the #87 and Tina Hausmann were in the session’s top 10 and improved their pace, as did five other drivers including VAR’s new Euro 4 signing Lund.

Day two results

The post VAR’s new Euro 4 signing Pablo Sarrazin tops day two of Paul Ricard test appeared first on Formula Scout.

Photo: KCMG

Pablo Sarrazin will move from the French Formula 4 championship to the Spanish one for his second year in single-seaters, and will race for the Monlau Motorsport team.

Monlau competes in partnership with Dutch team Van Amersfoort Racing, and also made its first venture into open-wheel racing last year in Spanish F4 as a three-car outfit.

Sarrazin is the son of ex-Formula 1 and Formula E racer Stephane, who is a two-time Le Mans Series champion, European Rally Championship event winner and former World Rally Championship factory driver.

“I’m really happy to join the VAR/Monlau team, thanks to everyone at KCMG Driver Development Project, as without them this wouldn’t be possible,” said the younger Sarrazin.

“It’s great to have Edoardo [Liberati, driver coach] by my side again, his knowledge was a big help last year and I trust him to help me improve throughout 2023. I know what my targets are, and I’ll do everything I can to achieve them. Now, we need to continue the hard work during pre-season to be ready for the opening round at Spa in May.”

Sarrazin made his single-seater debut in a guest French F4 appearance in 2021, and also began his rallying career in Latvia (due to the country’s lower minimum age). For 2022 he decided to concentrate on his car racing career, and scored three times en route to 18th in the French F4 standings.

KCMG DDP was launched two years ago, and 2022 British F4 champion Alex Dunne was the first single-seater driver on its books. The Hong Kong-based company also created the halo-shod car used in the Motorsport Games F4 Cup, and has its own team in Super Formula.

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The 16-year-old is the son of one-time Formula 1 starter and former Formula E, World Endurance Championship and World Rally Championship star Stephane Sarrazin whose WRC appearances in the last decade have been supported by KCMG.

The KCMG Driver Development Project was launched in 2021, and F4 racer Alex Dunne was the first single-seater driver on its books. The Hong Kong-based company also created the halo-shod car used in the Motorsport Games F4 Cup.

“I’m really proud to have been selected for the KCMG Driver Development Project,” said Sarrazin.

“It’s a great opportunity to join a great team so early in my career and I’m looking forward to making the step up to cars this season. The FFSA Academy and French F4 championship provides a great platform for development and I’m ready to give my all to have a successful year.”

Sarrazin made his single-seater debut in a guest French F4 appearance last year, and also began his rallying career in Latvia (due to the country’s lower minimum age). He will now embark on F4 full-time and will have Edoardo Liberati, a former Formula 3 racer who has been part of KCMG’s sportscar line-up in GT racing since 2018, as his coach and driver mentor.

“I’m very happy to continue my journey with the team,” said Liberati. “[KCMG DDP] is a great programme, it’s something very special and rare in motorsport, so I am delighted to be involved. I’m looking forward to helping our young drivers develop and grow both in and out of the car, giving them the tools they need for a successful racing career. Thanks to Paul Ip for trusting me in this role, I’m excited to get started!”

The next pre-season French F4 test is at Le Mans on April 5, with racing beginning at Nogaro on April 16-18.

The post Pablo Sarrazin added to KCMG’s driver development programme appeared first on Formula Scout.

Photo: FFSA Academy

The FFSA Academy has revealed a list of 22 drivers already entered to race in its French Formula 4 Championship in 2022 in its new second-generation Mygale chassis.

Heading the list is the 2021 series runner-up Hugh Barter, who claimed two victories this year after landing a seat by winning the Richard Mille Young Talent Academy.

Another of the favourites will be Alessandro Giusti, who won the 2021 junior title for drivers aged 14 at the start of the season and finished sixth overall with a pair of outright wins. His three full-season junior rivals Dario Cabanelas, Enzo Geraci and Pierre-Alexandre Provost will all return too, as will Gael Julien who claimed seventh overall.

Several drivers who made guest appearances in 2021 are entered for next season including Enzo Peugeot, the 2020 French junior karting champion and FEED Racing finalist who made his debut in the Magny-Cours season finale. Pablo Sarrazin, the son of one-time-Formula 1 racer and sportscar ace Stephane, contested the mid-season round at Ledenon, while Enzo Richer took in four rounds, Romain Andriolo entered two and Louis Pelet was present at Paul Ricard. American Luciano Morano also returns after racing in the final two events of the season.

The most interesting newcomers are the two winners of this year’s Suzuka Racing School-Formula scholarships, Yuto Nomura and Souta Arao. They will follow in the footsteps of SRSF graduates and Honda juniors Ayumu Iwasa and Ren Sato, who largely dominated the 2020 championship, with Iwasa already poised to race in Formula 2 in 2022.

Amir Sayed also has single-seater experience from Formula LGB cars in his native India, while Ecuador’s Mateo Villagomez has won six-hour sportscar races in his homeland as well as being a national karting champion.

The highest-profile arrival from karting is Belgian driver Lorens Lecertua, who has raced internationally for the past three seasons and came seventh in the final round of this year’s European championship in the OK class.

Jeronimo Berrio has represented Colombia at the Rotax Max Challenge grand finals, while Pol Lopez from Andorra raced KZ karts for Praga in the Spanish championship in 2021.

Leny Reveillere is a graduate of the FFSA Academy’s French junior karting championship, where he came seventh this year, while Edgar Pierre finished third in the French Senior Cup. Antoine Fernande will make his racing debut.

The post French F4 reveals 22 drivers entered to race new car in 2022 appeared first on Formula Scout.

Photo: F4 UAE

Pre-season testing for the first series to adopt second-generation Formula 4 machinery has begun, with the French and United Arab Emirates championships in action this week.

F4 UAE debuted its new Tatuus T-421 car last week with a support race at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, then has moved to Dubai Autodrome for the first of its official pre-season tests.

Mercedes-AMG Formula 1 junior Andrea Kimi Antonelli was fastest on Thursday’s running, and marginally improved on his best laptime through Friday’s action.

In the opening test session of the day he set a 1m21.598s, 0.011 seconds up on his benchmark from the previous day, with Abu Dhabi Racing by Prema team-mate Charlie Wurz 0.061s slower in second place.

Conrad Laursen was third in the next Prema car, ahead of MP Motorsport’s Rik Koen and Richard Verschoor. The latter was absent from Formula 2 testing to instead drive for his former team as he coaches drivers there.

Nikita Bedrin put new German team PHM Racing in eighth place, 0.779s off Antonelli’s pace, with Luke Browning only marginally slower in ninth place as he shook down Hitech GP’s two cars.

Over in France, the new Mygale M21-F4 has been tested at Le Mans by a wide selection of drivers looking to compete in French F4 next year. The car, to be powered by an upgraded Renault engine once it’s used in the championship in 2022, was actually the first to make a competition appearance as it appeared in free practice sessions at the tail-end of this season.

Stephane Sarrazin’s son Pablo was one of the drivers at Le Mans, as he evaluates how to combine his rally and single-seater aspirations.

Test results

The post UAE and French F4 championships embark on Gen2 pre-season testing appeared first on Formula Scout.

Photo: Sarrazin Motorsport

Pablo Sarrazin, the son of motorsport all-rounder Stephane, is set to move into single-seaters in French Formula 4 at the same time as he starts his rallying career.

The 15-year-old has spent the last few years karting, twice finishing runner-up in the Southern France championship in Nationale karts and coming 12th in the national junior championship in 2020. He’s been on Nationale karts again this year.

Through 2021 he’s also been testing in F4 and rallying. He made his competition debut in the latter last month, and will join the French F4 grid for the first time at Ledenon this weekend. Formula Scout asked Sarrazin’s father about his career plans.

“He was driving one of my cars in the [Sarrazin Motorsport] team, the Peugeot 208 R2. Old spec,” Sarrazin Sr said.

“He’s 15, and it was great to see him on the rally. I was really happy. He loves rally and racing, so it’s a good start, a good start.”

The first test in the Sarrazin Motorsport-run two-wheel-drive Peugeot came in May, and at the start of August he headed to Latvia – where drivers can enter rallying at a younger age – to compete in the Cesis Rallysprint and Amata Minirally one-day events on the same weekend. He made the junior classification podium in both despite brake issues.

The focus now is on his upcoming F4 debut, before he picks up on his rallying career again in 2022.

“I think next year we do Formula 4. F4 in France,” Sarrazin’s father added. “And some rallies in Latvia [and Estonia].

“Maybe in Germany also because apparently we can do some [aged 16]. So yeah it will be interesting, and it’s great because it’s my passion and he has the same passion so it’s good to share it.”

Paul Trojani, who competed against Sarrazin in the French Karting Championship in Junior karts last year, will also be debuting in F4 at Ledenon.

Sarrazin Sr was a race-winner in International Formula 3000 before debuting in Formula 1 at the 1999 Brazilian Grand Prix, but his F1 career didn’t go beyond that and he switched to sportscar racing and rallying – both of which he’s still active in.

He won the Le Mans Series twice and finished second in the Le Mans 24 Hours on four occasions, and as a factory Subaru driver in the World Rally Championship claimed a best finish of fourth. Sarrazin has two European Rally Championship wins, taken 13 years apart, three Formula E podiums and a podium in the new off-road Extreme E series.

Combining racing in XE with running his own rallying team and supporting his son’s career is “flat out”, but he enjoys it.

“All the time [I’m working on my team],” he said. “I love to follow my drivers to share my experience and to share my driving idea point of view with them to help them to set up the car. I did a team to do it, so I’m very happy, and I’m very happy to do both. Racing myself, and running my team.

The post Stephane Sarrazin’s son set for move into F4 and rallying appeared first on Formula Scout.