Behind him, Christian Costoya made the most of a perfect start, overtaking Germany's Elia Weiss through the middle to move up into second place. The Jenzer Motorsport driver subsequently tried to reclaim the runner-up spot, particularly during the second half of the race, but could not find a way past. Costoya therefore held on to P2 until the chequered flag, with Weiss completing the podium.
Fourth place went to US Racing's Sicilian driver Ludovico Busso, who enjoyed a fiercely contested race, particularly in the closing stages, when he had to defend against attacks from Andy Consani. The R-ace GP driver and Mercedes junior had himself previously been fighting against Prema Racing's Ferrari Driver Academy driver Alp Aksoy. Consani eventually finished fifth, ahead of Trident Motorsport's Brazilian driver Augustus Toniolo.
Starting from eleventh on the grid, Toniolo produced an impressive recovery, standing out in several battles before securing sixth place overall and second in the Rookie podium. Seventh overall and third among the Rookies was Alp Aksoy, who currently leads the category standings. The Turkish driver is involved in a direct fight with Kenzo Craigie, R-ace GP's Mercedes junior, who was assigned to Group A and therefore did not compete in Race 1. The Ferrari Driver Academy versus Mercedes Junior Programme battle will continue in the remaining races.
Eighth place went to Iacopo Martinese, the Apulian driver competing with PHM Racing under the ACI Team Italia banner, ahead of Jenzer Motorsport's Mexican driver Nicolas Cortes in ninth. Van Amersfoort Racing's Alex Ruta finished tenth, followed by US Racing's Indian driver Ary Bansal. Van Amersfoort Racing's Pedro Lima finished ahead of US Racing's Noah Killion, while PHM Racing's Canadian driver Alexander Chartier took fourteenth place.
Payton Westcott completed the overall points-scoring positions. The Californian R-ace GP driver also claimed victory in the women's classification, ahead of Austria's Emma Felbermayr of PHM Racing, who retains the lead in the standings.
Third place for Mathilda Paatz, representing Mathilda Racing.
It was an unfortunate race for Italian driver Ginevra Panzeri, competing with Prema Racing, who was involved in an incident on the opening lap and forced to retire. Following the incident, Race Control handed Trident Motorsport's Yibei Sun a drive-through penalty.
The Race 1 classification remains provisional pending the completion of technical and sporting checks.
Luka Sammalisto: "The start was really good, and I think the pace was really strong right from lap one. At Mugello, managing the tyres is really important, and I think I did that very well. We led every lap of the race and finished P1. I'm really happy with how the race went. It's my tenth win, and I'm really happy about that. A big thank you to the whole US Racing team for everything throughout the year. I think we really deserved this. We still have a couple more races to go, and I hope to get a couple more wins for myself and the team."
Elia Weiss: "I had a really difficult start. I didn't get away the way I wanted to, with a bit of wheelspin. I think I managed to attack Christian once, but I couldn't overtake him. After that, I focused on managing P3 and the gaps ahead and behind me. I'm quite happy. We'll start from P2 again tomorrow, so hopefully we can finish even better."
Payton Westcott: "That was quite a good race for me. I still have some things to improve. I went out really focusing on my technique, and I think I did quite well. I'm looking forward to the next race. It's really difficult to manage the tyres at this track. I had a lot of understeer and was struggling quite a bit, so that's something I can work on."
The action will resume today, Saturday, October 31, at 14:40 with Race 2, featuring Groups A and B. Sunday's schedule, November 1, will begin at 08:40 with Race 3, featuring Groups A and C. The season will then come to an end with the Final at 12:15, reserved for the top 36 drivers from the qualifying races.
All races will run over 25 minutes plus one lap and will be broadcast live on ACI Sport TV and the championship's social media channels, as well as through the international broadcaster network bringing the Italian F4 Championship to fans around the world.