Last weekend, at the Autodromo Enzo e Dino Ferrari in Imola, the fifth of seven rounds of the Italian F.4 Championship 2025 took place. This is the development series promoted by ACI Sport and WSK Promotion, which since 2014 has held a leading role in the international landscape of entry-level single-seater racing.
The weekend was marked by races that were particularly challenging to manage, putting many drivers to the test. Of particular note was the start of Race 2, where a crash involving several cars led to the suspension of the race. The Federation is currently evaluating all options for rescheduling the race during one of the two remaining rounds of the season.
As a result, only two races were held over the weekend. Japanese-Slovak driver Kean Nakamura-Berta, racing for Prema Racing, retained the lead in the overall standings thanks to two podium finishes, bringing his total to 246 points.
Just behind him is Gabriel Gomez, the Brazilian driver for US Racing, who delivered a strong weekend with a victory in Race 1 and a fourth-place finish in Race 3.
Previously tied for second with Sebastian Wheldon, Gomez now holds second place alone with a total of 191 points.
Sebastian Wheldon, the American-British driver racing with Prema Racing under the banner of Andretti Global, experienced his most difficult weekend so far, managing to collect only one point. Despite this, he remains third in the standings with 155 points.
Alex Powell, a Mercedes junior driver competing for R-ace GP, confirmed his place in fourth, finishing seventh in both races after strong recoveries, having been hampered by traffic during a challenging qualifying session.
Thanks to an excellent weekend with 28 points scored from a second-place finish and a fifth place, Salim Hanna, the Colombian driver for Prema Racing, returns to the top 5. Hanna also leads the Rookie standings, reserved for first-year drivers in the category.
Among the Rookies, Oleksandr Bondarev, a young talent from the Williams Driver Academy racing with Prema Racing, is emerging strongly. At Imola, he claimed his first overall victory in the championship.
In the Female Trophy, wins over the weekend went to British driver Emily Cotty of R-ace GP and Californian Payton Westcott of Van Amersfoort Racing. Cotty continues to lead the standings with an 11-point advantage. In third place, further back, is Kornelia Olkucka of Maffi Racing, who had a particularly challenging weekend.
In the Team standings, the fight is now limited to a few contenders: Prema Racing, US Racing, and, if Race 2 is recovered, R-ace GP. The Italian team currently holds a wide and comfortable lead, with a 236-point advantage over the team from Kerpen.
Now comes the summer break. Then, the young drivers on the road to Formula 1 will return to action in Barcelona for the sixth and penultimate round on the weekend of September 21, before the season finale in Misano, from October 9 to 12.