2018 Italian F4 Championship - Leonetti Champion!

[DemocalypseNow]

Alright, let's do the RNG and see if Webber accepts.

Mark Webber
1-30 Accepts the invitation
31-100 His ties to Porsche means going into such a heavily Fiat influenced series is not an option
94. He is not in a position to accept given his current relationship with another manufacturer.

[matisena]

Alright, let's do the RNG and see if Webber accepts.

Mark Webber
1-30 Accepts the invitation
31-100 His ties to Porsche means going into such a heavily Fiat influenced series is not an option
94. He is not in a position to accept given his current relationship with another manufacturer.

I saw your last message, and edited my decission.

[DemocalypseNow]

Alright, let's do the RNG and see if Webber accepts.

Mark Webber
1-30 Accepts the invitation
31-100 His ties to Porsche means going into such a heavily Fiat influenced series is not an option
94. He is not in a position to accept given his current relationship with another manufacturer.

I saw your last message, and edited my decission.

Mick Schumacher is a bit too young for such a position - the idea is it's someone with seniority over the other drivers. You need to be looking at ex-F1 and ex-ARWS drivers, especially those who are either Italian or have spent time working with Italian teams in the past.

[matisena]

Alright, let's do the RNG and see if Webber accepts.

Mark Webber
1-30 Accepts the invitation
31-100 His ties to Porsche means going into such a heavily Fiat influenced series is not an option
94. He is not in a position to accept given his current relationship with another manufacturer.

I saw your last message, and edited my decission.

Mick Schumacher is a bit too young for such a position - the idea is it's someone with seniority over the other drivers. You need to be looking at ex-F1 and ex-ARWS drivers, especially those who are either Italian or have spent time working with Italian teams in the past.

Okay, I choose Kimi Raikkonen so...

[DemocalypseNow]

Kimi Raikkonen
Kimi has a bit of a quandry about this offer. On the one hand, he's not one for indulging in extra-curricular activities, preferring to spend his time on jet-skis and the like. On the other hand, he'd only have to attend one test all year. It's easy money. What motivates him - a desire to avoid travelling, or some extra dosh?
1-50 Kicks up his feet in Finland
51-100 Is enticed by the paycheck
40. Kimi always was a sucker for easy money.

[DemocalypseNow]

R3 // Autodromo Vallelunga Piero Taruffi // Finale
Qualifying & Race Result | Championship Standings

Legeret wins manic finale as Szervanszky collapses

The title race was already becoming a two horse race, but Lucas Legeret has put the first nail in the coffin of his main rival Magda Szervanszky, despite the Hungarian taking pole position. Legeret took the lead at the start, and while he found himself having to fend off the likes of Gunter Masakan and Paolo Leonetti for victory, brought home another 15 points for his title challenge.

Szervanszky started strongly, but faded over the course of the race, slowly but surely dropping down the points places, and eventually finishing 9th, right behind her RP Motorsport team-mate Leonardo Lorandi - despite Lorandi qualifying outside the Top 10 altogether.

The best drive of the afternoon came from Luca Bandini. He could only muster a 9th place qualifying slot, but methodically picked his way past opponents once after the other, and took advantage of trouble for Gunter Masakan on the last lap to secure the final podium slot, just behind Paolo Leonetti. Similarly, Francesca Scaramanga did well to recover a single point from starting all the way back on Row 8 of the grid.

Reject of the Race was undoubtedly Ivan Shvetsov, who seemed to curl up into his shell and driver very cautiously. In theory a Top 5 grid spot would have put him a position to pick up a good result, but instead he was a sitting duck for the entire race, being passed with ease by all comers. He plummeted all the way down to 14th position, spending the last few laps keeping Travisanutto - a driver with a single point to Shvetsov's 42 - at bay.

[DemocalypseNow]

R4 // Autodromo Riccardo Paletti // Heat Draw

HEAT A

Francesca Scaramanga , Vito Lorusso , Asier Urbieta , Paolo Leonetti , Gunter Masakan , Ione Wilkerson , Ginevra Vantini , Pavel Bulantsev , Marina Ivanovic, Saara Seppänen , Leonardo Lorandi , Alexandr Smolyar , Samuel Monetta , Massimo Torelli , Ivan Shvetsov , Michelangela Dioli

Gentleman's Class: Jaropolk Petrovich , Christophe Hurni , Salvatore De Plano

HEAT B

Sabrina Mann , Josephine Leifeld , Matías Sena , Marco Scotti , Alexandra Marinescu , Lorenzo Travisanutto , Dennis Hauger , Lucas Legeret , Luca Bandini , Iva Jankovic , Magda Szervanszky , David Luis Chavarria , Alessandro Giardelli , Francesco De Crescenzo , Francesco Pepitto

Gentleman's Class: Francesco Dracone , Giuseppe Cipriani , Philippe Haezebrouck

With MASEN entering the field for Round 4, it will be harder than ever to progress to the final. For the second round in a row, title protagonists Szervanszky and Legeret find themselves in the same heat, while in the tight battle for Gentleman's Class honours, the two IBRs will finally face each other. Torelli and Leonetti will be looking for the leading duo's absence from Heat A as a chance to finally make some inroads in the title fight.

[DemocalypseNow]

R4 // Autodromo Riccardo Paletti // Heat A
Qualifying & Race Result | Championship Standings

Chaotic opener ends in Masakan victory

Varano marked the second half of the Italian F4 season starting, and with the pressure to deliver ramping up, it seemed to get to the heads of many drivers up and down the field.

Qualifying had Prema at panic stations. Ione Wilkerson experienced problems on her first run, and came into the pits for the mechanics to take a look. Drivetrain problems meant she failed to leave the garage for the rest of the session, and so she would start from a lowly 16th place, only ahead of the Gentleman's Class drivers.

The race started out calmly, with Ivan Shvetsov comfortably leading, and Vito Lorusso making a fantastic getaway to move from 9th to 6th on the opening lap. Series debutant Marina Ivanovic had no such luck though, dropping from 10th to 16th in the opening two laps.

Paolo Leonetti had cause for frustration on the third lap, as he dropped from 2nd to 5th, and not entirely of his own fault either. Leonardo Lorandi had squeezed past at 2a Esse for 2nd, and Torelli's attempt to follow through at J. Ickx was slap-dash. The MeMo driver was too late on the brakes and ran into Leonetti, depsite the latter leaving room to pass. He took the position nonetheless, and the push wide also allowed Gunter Masakan to take 4th.

A sign of things to come occured on the 9th tour of the circuit. Manuel Monetta braked far too late for Nuova Variante, barrelling into the rear of Asier Urbieta. The stricken Abiadura Euskara machine was left without a right-rear wheel, but instead of peeling off to the side of the track, parked his stricken car on the second apex of the chicane. This left newcomer Ivanovic with nowhere to go, ploughing into the stranded red machine. The MASEN car was damaged, yet was able to continue with a damaged sidepod. Both Monetta and Urbieta found themselves in the stewards' office at the end of the heat.

Lap 14 is when the red mist began to descend. At this point, Shvetsov had been backing people up for a number of laps, and had only just conceded the race lead to Leonetti, allowing much of the chasing pack to catch the leaders. The ensuing kerfuffle was messy, with cars three-abreast heading towards Parabolica. This allowed SMP's Alexandr Smolyar to leap from 7th to 4th in a single turn, but with Lorusso losing all the positions he had gained at the start.

At this point, the battle for victory was once more a three-way fight between Shvetsov, Leonetti and Gunter Masakan. Leonetti had the lead on Lap 17, but threw it away at Nuova Variante, outbraking himself and running through the gravel trap. This dropped him to third, but was clearly the fastest driver on track, and took little time to track the duo of Shvetsov and Masakan down. In his eagerness to make amends, he went off at the same turn again two laps later, but this time was able to defend his lead despite the error.

Masakan then capitalised on a Leonetti error to take the lead at Parabolica, and a lap later, a mistake from the Indonesian allowed the SMP and Leonetti cars to repass down the straight. This put Shvetsov to the lead, but only for a few seconds, as the Russian driver managed to duplicate Leonetti's earlier mistakes, albeit this time at 1a Esse instead of the first turn. His re-entry was clumsy, running into Masakan, but both were able to continue.

By now, Shvetsov was looking desperate, and on the penultimate lap, again locked up into the first turn, running into the back of Masakan, which in turn pushed Masakan into Leonetti. All three now had damage but continued to press on, but the chasing pack had caught them up.

On the final lap, with 8 cars line astern across the start/finish, Masakan pounced. He dived to the inside of Leonetti at Parabolica, for what would be the final lead change. Leonetti stayed on his gearbox but couldn't make a move at J. Ickx stick, and so the Lazarus driver took his first ever victory in Formula 4.

Ione Wilkerson had managed a staggering drive to move up from 16th to 4th over the course of the race, but tragically, she was shuffled down from 4th to 7th on the very last lap, putting a dampener on what otherwised looked a stellar drive.

In the first piece of good news all season for Vantini Racing, their mid-season replacement Ginevra Vantini - who at one point had dropped as low as 16th - methodically picked her way back up the field to finish 9th, giving the team their first points of the year, and a place in the Varano Finale. There was also last lap heroics from Francesca Scaramanga, swooping past both Pavel Bulantsev and Michelangela Dioli for the final point on the very last lap.

With the Top 3 in the Gentleman's Class all drawn into Heat B, it was Christophe Hurni's time to shine, taking his first class victory in a double delight for Team Lazarus. Jaropolk Petrovich once again came last, which will be especially heartbreaking for the Russian given his long stint leading the class, at one point as high as 12th overall.

Autodromo Riccardo Paletti | Italian Formula 4 | Heat A penalties

Having reviewed footage and spoken to the drivers in question, the following punishments have been given to the following competitors;

• Mediterranean Motorsport #15 (Massimo Torelli) has been given 3 penalty points for casuing an avoidable collision with Abarth Leonetti Racing Team #13 (Paolo Leonetti).
• Vantini Racing #33 (Manuel Monetta) has been given 5 penalty points for causing an avoidable collision with Abiadura Euskara #97 (Asier Urbieta), leading to the latter car's retirement from the race.
• Abiadura Euskara #97 (Asier Urbieta) has been given 5 penalty points for parking his car in a dangerous position on the track, leading to an avoidable collision with MASEN F4 Racing Team #32 (Marina Ivanovic).
• SMP Racing #27 (Ivan Shvetsov) has been given 10 penalty points for repeated avoidable collisions with Team Lazarus #38 (Gunter Masakan).

Drivers who accumulate 20 penalty points will serve a one weekend ban, which applies across all FIA Formula 4 series worldwide. Penalty points expire 12 months from the date of issue, and roll over into the next season if applicable.

[novitopoli]

I just want to apologize to the team and to Asier for what happened. I missed the braking point and deserved my penalty - I swear that won't happen anymore!

That was finally a good result - when everything goes well in qualifying I can give my best in the race too! I'm now looking forward to the final, the car feels good and I'm confident a top ten finish could be on the books.

[DemocalypseNow]

R4 // Autodromo Riccardo Paletti // Heat B
Qualifying & Race Result | Championship Standings

Legeret throws away title advantage as Bandini takes first career win

After the manic opening heat at Varano, the second race of the weekend had much to live up to. It still managed to deliver.

Once more, there was one car to suffer an issue in qualifying. Josephine Leifeld's car had a front-right issue, and despite heading out to set a time, mustered only an installation lap before spending the rest of the session in the garage, her team frantically trying to fix her car ready for the the race. They managed, but only just.

Once again the start was not particularly frought, though Lorenzo Travisanutto ran wide and dropped from 8th to 13th. Conversely, Alexandra Marinescu shot up 11th to 7th during the opening lap, thanks partly to Travisanutto's mistake.

The first sign of trouble happened on Lap 7. Much like Monetta on Urbieta earlier in the day, Phillippe Haezebrouck simply failed to slow down adequately for Nuova Variante, and in doing so ran into the back of series newcomer Matias Sena. His right rear gone, Sena crawled to the side of the road and retired on the spot. Haezebrouck somehow kept going, albeit not at any particularly rapid pace.

The game-changing event happened much later in the race, with only 3 laps to go. Lucas Legeret had finished in the Top 2 in every race so far this year, but found himself in an uncharacteristic slog for 4th place with Marco Scotti. As soon as he had repassed the Scuderia Guastalla driver, and also deposed of Prema's Dennis Hauger, he went for broke, and instead broke his car. He missed his braking point for Nuova Variante by a long way, went off into the gravel, and a jump over the very tall kerbing for the short circuit hairpin shattered his suspension and took the rear wheels off his wagon.

Legeret was out on the spot, but the damage wasn't fully done. This was in theory of benefit to Francesco De Crescenzo, who had just taken 11th place away from Giuseppe Cipriani. However, he found himself boxed in by Cipriani and Legeret's stranded car, and instead dropped to 15th.

Francesco Pepitto looked like he might have a shot at points, having qualified in 9th place. It was not to be though, as repeated mistakes ruined his day. Much like his team-mate Paolo Leonetti, Pepitto ran wide at the first turn early on, dropping from 9th to 13th. He did it again on Lap 15, this time at 1a Esse, and this time dropping him from 12th to last. Alessandro Giardelli imitated him a few laps later, running into Cipriani and going into a spin when trying to rejoin the track. He then rear-ended Pepitto when doing a spin-turn to get pointing the right way again, to the ire of both the Leonetti team, and the stewards.

In all the chaos, Luca Bandini managed a late push against Sabrina Mann, who had led much of the race since assuming 1st place from Dennis Hauger at the half-way point. Bandini was past with 3 to go, and defended for his life against the Brit. With no championship challenge to worry about, Mann went for broke, trying to pounce on a slight Bandini error and brave a move around the outside of the last corner. It backfired, and Szervanszky pulled ahead heading towards the line to snatch second away.

In an Italian F4 first, the winner of the Gentleman's Class also got on the scoreboard, and thus a place in the weekend Finale. Il Barone Rampante's Giuseppe Cipriani spent much of the race battling his own team-mate Francesco Dracone, and despite running off the road at 1a Esse with two laps to go, so to did nearest rival for a point Iva Jankovic, at the same corner, on the same lap, only seconds later.

Autodromo Riccardo Paletti | Italian Formula 4 | Heat B penalties

Having reviewed footage and spoken to the drivers in question, the following punishments have been given to the following competitors;

• Reims Development Automobile #77 (Phillippe Haezebrouck) has been given 5 penalty points for casuing an avoidable collision with MASEN F4 Racing Team #6 (Matias Sena), leading to the latter car's retirement from the race.
• Vincenzo Sospiri Euronova Racing #24 (Alessandro Giardelli) has been given 5 penalty points for rejoining the track in an unsafe manner, leading to collisions with both Il Barone Rampante #7 (Giuseppe Cipriani) and Abarth Leonetti Racing Team #59 (Francesco Pepitto).

Drivers who accumulate 20 penalty points will serve a one weekend ban, which applies across all FIA Formula 4 series worldwide. Penalty points expire 12 months from the date of issue, and roll over into the next season if applicable.

[Peteroli34]

Scuderia Acquarone will replace Alexandra Marinescu at the next round with Armando Mangini Armando Mangini. Because whta the series needs is more 70 year olds.

[DemocalypseNow]

R4 // Autodromo Riccardo Paletti // Finale
Qualifying & Race Result | Championship Standings

Bandini doubles up as Shvetsov & Hauger fall flat

With much of the metaphorical riff-raff cleared out of the field for the weekend finale, thing were a little bit calmer than in the arduous heat races, but there were still trials and tribulations aplenty during the course of the 25 laps.

It was a race of ups and downs for many, except for Ivan Shvetsov, for whom it was mostly just down. Much like at Vallelunga, he started from a decent grid position, but quickly capitulated his advantage, sinking 10 places down the order in the space of just two laps. Dennis Hauger similarly started far up the order, but his descent to the depths of the lower midfield was a more gradual one.

With the field bunched up for most of the race, position turnover was high, looking almost like a NASCAR drafting spree with the constant shuffling of the order.

Things really came to ahead in the closing stages of the race. After Gunter Masakan had found a way past early leader Massimo Torelli for 4th, his team-mate Sabrina Mann - who is only running a part-time campaign - moved aside soon after when team orders were deployed. After a few laps of working effectively as a rear-gunner, she then went back on the attack, and ran into Masakan trying to dive past at Nuova Variante. Tancredi Pagiaro was visibly furious on the pit wall.

For the majority of the second half of the race, Luca Bandini lead, but defended constantly against Paolo Leonetti. The fate of the race victory was decided with two laps left however, with Leonetti getting greedy and clipping a sausage kerb on the inside of 1a Esse. The lost momentum allowed Masakan to breeze past into 2nd with ease.

It almost went pear-shaped for Masakan though on the final lap. Having caught Bandini, he had a run on the Italian driver heading towards 1a Esse. With Bandini covering the inside, Masakan jinked right and onto the grass, momentarily losing control and struggling to stop in time for the turn. He tagged Bandini, and both ran slightly off-line, but continued as they were.

One of the star performers of they day however was Ginevra Vantini. She started on the last row of the grid, but methodically picked her way through the field to finish in 9th, and score two precious points for her previously barren family team. With 4 points scored this weekend, the only two-car team left to get on the board this season are newcomers MASEN, whom had neither driver in the finale.

[TomWazzleshaw]

Melrose, Mann walk from Team Lazarus

Four Time F1 World Champion Daniel Melrose and his protege Sabrina Mann have walked out of the Team Lazarus operation. Mann's part-time Italian F4 campaign ended after an altercation with lead driver Gunter Masakan in the latest round at Autodromo Riccardo Paletti ended with the two nearly taking each other out. The stouch continued in pitlane after the race, with Melrose and Lazarus team principal Tancredi Pagiaro.

"We're not in the championship fight, and neither is Gunter, so there was no need for team orders.", lamented an irate Daniel Melrose. "If Gunter wanted to get ahead, he should have made the move on Sabrina. Now we're in this situation where she's been made the villain, and I can't stand for that. We have a British Formula 4 title to win as well, so the decision in light of what happened here today was obvious."

While Lazarus is yet to make an announcement as to who will replace the duo, rumours are emerging that veteran F1 driver Jack Christopherson may be drafted in at short notice as mentor for the upcoming test at Mugello.

[DemocalypseNow]

Christopherson joins Team Lazarus as racing consultant, brings protégé Burrell with him for Monaco

Only days after the announcement that Sabrina Mann, along with her mentor Daniel Melrose, would be parting ways with the Team Lazarus outfit in Italian F4, team principal Tancredi Pagiaro has already secured replacements for for the duo before the next mid-season test at Mugello.

Daniel Melrose, who had been mentoring both Mann and Gunter Masakan this year, has been replaced by fellow F1 veteran Jack Christopherson, who will be responsible for guiding their two remaining regular drivers, Masakan and Leonard Hoogenboom.

Hoogenboom however is not scheduled to return until the final round of the season, and so racing the #39 Lazarus will be Christopherson's young protégé Imani Burrell. A consistent frontrunner in Anglo-Italian F4, Burrell will be hoping to finally reach the top step of the podium in a Formula 4 series, having come close but not quite doing enough to do so in her regular seat for Christopherson Racing.

"The arrangement was very short notice, but when Tancredi asked me to consult for the team, I was happy to oblige," explained Christopherson. "We met earlier this year at Pergusa when I was a guest of Ferrari for the Grand Prix, and F4 was on the support ticket. As a team principal myself across in AI F4, I always like to keep an eye on the next generation of drivers, and Maskan caught my eye. I'm looking forward to coaching both him and Leonard at Mugello in a few week's time."

As for his young starlet Burrell, he appeared to have full confidence in her chances to succeed on the continent, despite not being able to try out the car - which uses a different car and engine from the Anglo-Irish series - before her Italian F4 debut.

"Imani is a talented and determined individual," he said. "It was a shame the rules means she can't test for Lazarus before Monaco, but I don't think it will set her back particularly. Her talent is clear to see, and so I think she'll be in the mix for a good result from the start."

[TomWazzleshaw]

Also, for anyone that's interested, Sabrina Mann is willing to do a one-off appearance at Monaco for anyone that isn't Team Lazarus

[novitopoli]

Also, for anyone that's interested, Sabrina Mann is willing to do a one-off appearance at Monaco for anyone that isn't Team Lazarus

We'd be eager to bench De Crescenzo for her.

[TomWazzleshaw]

Also, for anyone that's interested, Sabrina Mann is willing to do a one-off appearance at Monaco for anyone that isn't Team Lazarus

We'd be eager to bench De Crescenzo for her.

Deal. Bring on the alcohol and roid rage

[DemocalypseNow]

T2 // Autodromo Internazionale del Mugello // Mid-Season Test 2

Test Results

James James Davies - Prema Powerteam

Why do I even bother with these talentless hacks? An utter waste of space, the lot of them. What do I need to do for them to understand what I'm telling them, give them a demonstration of setup techniques using interpretative dance? Millenials are the worst.

Rosco Vantini - Vantini Racing

So they get rid of'a one family member for another, but they are all as'a stupid as each other eh? Who let Ginny out of'a de kitchen this time? And Manuel, okay, he is decent at making a pass, but only on'a women, not in a race!

Nathan Nurmester - Scuderia Del Prete

I feel today was a very productive exercise for all involved. Both Michelangela and Iva were attentive, listened well to feedback and quickly implemented any steps I recommended to take. I think with the changes that have been made to her preparation and driving, Ms Jankovic will finally manage to get on the scoreboard before the year is out, and I think Ms Dioli will see some improvement going into the end of the year as well.

Trulli GP - Jarno Trulli

The pressure is on now for Lucas, I sat him down and talked through some things with him after the Varano catastrophe. There is talent there, there is no doubt, but still today we worked together and found some improvements. Admittedly this meant Lorenzo didn't get quite as much attention as I'd have hoped, but needs must I guess, a championship is on the line.

Luca Badoer - Abarth Leonetti Racing Team

I think know there is not a lot left for me to talk about with Paolo. He is in a good place now, the remaining improvements can only come with self-improvement, with confidence and temperament, rather than anything technical I can teach.

However with Francesco, again we made some progress in his driving technique, and hopefully it's some little extra information that can get him in the points more often.

Mediterranean Motorsport - Pedro de la Rosa

I think now Massimo is stagnant, he has started to listen to what I have to say, and I saw him very clearly trying out things I mentioned out on the track, and some small changes to how he uses the telemetry to improve his car setup. A number of small but positive things, that might contribute to some better results to end the year - perhaps even a first win.

David Luis has been struggling, this is true, but he really is trying very hard indeed to improve. I feel we made a big step with him today, in no part thanks to his magnanimous approach. I don't think it's enough to suddenly make him a very competitive driver, but I think he can be aiming for points more regularly now.

RP Motorsport - Nino Barlini

I'm a little worried about Magda. She seemed a little tense and preoccupied, and didn't really seem to take onboard what I was saying. I tried to calm her down a bit, but to no avail - the title fight, and being unable to close completely on Legeret when there was an open goal has taken its toll, it would seem.

Leonardo on the other hand is acutely aware his performances recently have been sub-par, and was much more eager to listen this time. He's changed a couple of his bad habits now, I've finally talked him into looking at these areas and to improve.

Vincenzo Sospiri Euronova Racing - Vincenzo Sospiri

It's been hard to raise the spirits of the drivers. The mid-season has been poor for us, the guys don't really understand where they went wrong, and despite my attempts to pick them up and point them in the right direction, I could not seem to pick them up again.

SMP Racing - Mikhail Aleshin

Last time I didn't get much time with Pavel, so I focused on him from the start today, and the improvement was there to see. His speed has always been there, he just didn't know how to unlock it, and be consistent with it. I noticed the mistakes he was making, explained to him what could be done differently, and he's flying now. With Alexandr I'm struggling to see where I can improve further, I think maybe he's just at his limit, and I think it's time for Ivan to consult a sports psychologist rather than a driver coach...

Jagonya Ayam Team Lazarus - Jack Christopherson

These guys aren't too bad at all! My yardstick is Imani Burrell, who I mentor back in the UK, and this Masakan lad's pretty close to her level of ability, I have to say. He seems to be learning quickly too. Given his stack of sponsorship to go with his ever expanding talent, he'll go far I think.

Also this Dutch kid, Hoogenboom, he's not got the natural speed of Masakan, but he still sat up, paid attention and took onboard some advice, and I could see some improvements in his technique over the course of the day.

Abiadura Euskara - Guillaume Gauthier

What? Test day? Does it pay money? I'm up to my f***ing eyeballs in creditor notes! ARWS is such a fickle business. Young drivers? Yeah, they're good kids, I'm sure they'll be fine...

*phone rings*

Who's calling? PwC? What do you mean we can't get a CVA? Full repayment of all creditors? Ehhhh, sorry, this isn't Mr Gauthier, you have the wrong number, bye!

*click*

Merde...

Scuderia Adriatica - Giovanni Roda

Really, what's even the point. Both these clowns don't deserve to go any further in racing than this. OK, maybe that's hard on Vito, he is fast, but clueless. He can drive okay but he doesn't understand the first think about setting up a car to match his style. If he goes fast, he does it by accident. And he doesn't pay attention to when I explain how to do it. And Francesco, madonna mia, he is an utter clown.

Scuderia Guastalla - Brucie Kibbutz

I think these kids have been skipping out on their bull shark injections. You can't become a true alpha unless you remember to roid properly, and neither of them have been keeping up over the mid-season. You can't be genetically superior unless you're willing to stick to the programme.

Kimi Räikkönen - MASEN F4 Racing Team

OK, I come, I talk some time to the driver, now give me paycheck so I can go home, kyllä?

[DemocalypseNow]

R5 // Circuit de Monaco // Heat Draw

HEAT A

Marco Scotti , Paolo Leonetti , Matías Sena , Imani Burrell , Marina Ivanovic , Lucas Legeret , Francesca Scaramanga , Josephine Leifeld , Michelangela Dioli , Saara Seppänen , Ivan Shvetsov , Asier Urbieta , Vito Lorusso , Alexandr Smolyar , Francesco Pepitto

Gentleman's Class: Christophe Hurni , Giuseppe Cipriani , Armando Mangini , Francesco Dracone

HEAT B

Leonardo Lorandi , Dennis Hauger , Iva Jankovic , Lorenzo Travisanutto , Ione Wilkerson , Ginevra Vantini , Luca Bandini , Samuel Monetta , David Luis Chavarria , Pavel Bulantsev , Magda Szervanszky , Gunter Masakan , Sabrina Mann , Massimo Torelli , Alessandro Giardelli

Gentleman's Class: Philippe Haezebrouck , Salvatore De Plano, Jaropolk Petrovich

A quick glance at the heat draws, and Lucas Legeret looks rather lucky indeed. Only Paolo Leonetti and Ivan Shvetsov look a threat to his chances of a heat victory, but over in Heat B, the field is crowded with the most talented driver in the field. Between Szervanszky, Bandini, Masakan, Torelli, Hauger, Mann and Lorandi, there will be a massive scrap for the race victory, with any of the seven capable of taking the spoils.

[DemocalypseNow]

R5 // Circuit de Monaco // Heat A
Qualifying & Race Result | Championship Standings

Shvetsov wins it, Legeret bins it as opening Monaco heat sees chaotic finish

For many drivers, this was the first time they had ever raced a single seater on a temporary street track, and lack of experience can often lead to mistakes. There were plenty in the opening heat, with some made by very notable drivers.

The start saw Paolo Leonetti dive past polesitter Michelangela Dioli for the lead at Ste Devote, and similarly Ivan Shvetsov slipped past Marco Scotti in the battle of the second row. Shvetsov and Dioli traded places twice in the following laps, but a Dioli dive for the lead saw Leonetti forced off-line for several corners, and dropping to fourth.

At this point, the race had already seen its first retirement. Josephine Leifeld attempted an ambitious lunge on Marco Scotti at La Rascasse at the end of the opening lap, but the room simply wasn't there, and so she spun out. Her attempt to get pointing the right way again was a disaster, reversing too quickly into the barrier and breaking her left-rear wheel and suspension. Her weekend was over before it had even really started.

The most dramatic moment related to the championship race was on the third lap, as Lucas Legeret, who had started down in 8th place, was looking to climb up the field and limit the damage from a poor qualifying. He attempted a move on Francesco Pepitto for 6th at Anthony Noghes, but it was a half-hearted dive to the inside that never saw him fully alongside Pepitto. The end result was a missing front wing, and having quickly lost 7th to Marina Ivanovic, he came into pit-lane for a new wing, opting to try and work his way back up the order to the points, rather than risk staying out too long trying to defend his points position and being unable to recover.

His choice was the wrong one. Of all the circuits in the world, one of the worst for picking your way through the pack is Monaco. He found himself squabbling over the final few places with the likes of Asier Urbieta, Christophe Hurni and Armando Mangini, unable to make any progress beyond 15th.

Speaking of Hurni, the Swiss gentleman racer ended his own race on lap 13, being too greedy entering Portier 2, and choosing his turn-in point too early. He ripped the front right wheel assembly off his chassis, running straight into the armco on the inside of the turn and having to park up on the entrance to the tunnel, with only 3 wheels left on his wagon.

There was a last chapter of madness to come, however, As Mangini, and also Imani Burrell - who had been running in the lower points - came into the pits to retire with an unknown mechanical issue, it became clear some drivers had burned through their fuel too aggressively, seemingly unfamiliar with the required driving style at a street circuit.

Francesca Scaramanga knew she would not make the end, and came in with two laps to go for a splash and dash. She had been running in 9th, and so while a finish off 11th is not a great net loss of position for having to stop, it will be a bitter ending nonetheless.

Vito Lorusso, Giuseppe Cipriani and Asier Urbieta though opted to try and go to the end. Their cars cought and spluttered, and so to reduce the distance to the line, they all cut through pit-lane to finish. While neither Cipriani or Urbieta were in a position to score points and make the cut for the round finale, it was an especially galling moment for Lorusso, who had been looking secure in 8th place after a combative performance.

This allowed two drivers who for the majority of the race looked nowhere near fast enough to get on the scoreboard into the weekend finale. Incredibly, eventual Gentleman's class winner Francesco Dracone took 3 points for 8th place, while Matias Sena, driving for his own team, got his first series points with 9th place.

It was a massive reversal of fortune for the mid-season entrants MASEN, as Sena's team-mate Marina Ivanovic turned in the drive of the race to secure 4th place. Having patiently waited to pounce, she went on the offensive with 3 laps to go, passing both Leonettis and SMP's Alexandr Smolyar.

Despite all of the late-race madness, it was not enough for Legeret to sneak into the points paying places, as not only was Scaramanga's splash and dash a quicker stop than his own earlier, but Saara Seppanen in the final points place was the last driver not to run into any issues during the course of the race. 10 drivers kept their noses clean, and so 10 progressed to the final.

[DemocalypseNow]

R5 // Circuit de Monaco // Heat B
Qualifying & Race Result | Championship Standings

Hauger on top as Szervanszky loses her cool

With Lucas Legeret already confirmed as missing the Monaco finale, Magda Szervanszky was faced with an open goal to aim at. All was looking rosy after securing pole position for the second heat. It all fell apart in the most acrimonious of circumstances.

Immediately off the start, Massimo Torelli, who started alongside her on the front row, dived down the inside to take the lead at Ste Devote, and Gunter Masakan took 3rd from Dennis Hauger in the same manner. Szervanszky then capitulated her second place to Masakan on the following lap at Portier 2, getting a tankslapper out of the corner, allowing Masakan to breeze past heading through the tunnel.

Luca Bandini, who had come off the back of two wins in a row at Varano, had a disastrous qualifying session, placing way down in 11th, and instead of moving his way up the pack, went backwards instead, falling behind David Luis Chavarria and Ginevra Vantini. At one point he even found himself being overtaken by an opportunistic Phillippe Haezebrouck, the Gentleman's Class race leader. He remained stuck behind Vantini for almost ten laps.

The first half of the race was mostly serene and stable after the opening exchanges, but one battle became more and more intense as the race wore on. Alessandro Giardelli and Pavel Bulantsev were squabbling over 8th place for many laps, frequently swapping places with moves all over the circuit.

The red mist descended though after Bulantsev squeezed past Giardelli at Mirebeau, with the latter seeming to be quite aggrieved by the late dive which had almost put him in the outside barrier. The following lap saw him rather forcefully barge past Bulantsev at Massanet, banging wheels and forcing Bulantsev to lightly graze the armco on the outside of the turn.

This pushed Bulantsev off a cliff mentally, and at the first opportunity he saw, dived from a long way back at Portier 2. The gap was simply never there, and as Giardelli took the turn normally, Bulantsev was squeezed to the inside, and ripped off the front right assembly from his chassis with the inner armco. He only made his situation worse by continuing on for several hundred metres, eventually parking in the tunnel, an incident the stewards are sure to look upon unfavourably.

It was around this point that the world started to collapse in on Szervanszky. Torelli had found himself shuffled the back of the lead back, and fighting with Szervanszky over fourth. In the course of their duel, Szervanszky picked up minor damage to her car, but enough to risk receiving a black and orange flag. Her RP Motorsport team, fearing the wrath of the stewards, brought her in to remove the flailing pieces of bodywork, and she resumed in last place, albeit coming out of pit-lane right on the tail of the pack, so not completely out of contention to make the lower points places.

When Ione Wilkerson was forced to make an unscheduled stop late in the race due to debris affecting her car's cooling, Szervanszky was suddenly within reach of making the Top 10, and a critical place in the weekend finale. The only problem was, having quickly dispatched of the backmarkers, she was stuck in 12th, behind her RP Motorsport team-mate Leonardo Lorandi. If there were team orders issued, then Lorandi did not adhere to them. He was focused on trying to find a way past Lorenzo Travisanutto to take the last points position himself, and was holding up his team-mate badly as a result.

This left Szervanszky visibly frustrated, and on the final lap, she had run out of patience. She attempted a banzai move on both Lorandi and Travisanutto in one swoop at the Nouvelle Chicane, but all this achieved was spinning out Lorandi instead. In the latter's desperation to get pointing the right way again, he floored the throttle, but did not manage to rotate the car, instead going nose first into the barriers and ending his race. It was an acrimonious end to an embarrassing race for RP Motorsport.

Having taken the lead just after the half-way point, Hauger had successfully kept Torelli, Masakan and Sabrina Mann at arms length to take his first victory of the season. With both Legeret and Szervanszky missing from the weekend finale, and Bandini only scraping and 8th place finish and 3 points for his total, Hauger and Torelli now have an excellent chance to catapult themselves right back into title contention.

Circuit de Monaco | Italian Formula 4 | Heat B penalties

Having reviewed footage and spoken to the drivers in question, the following punishments have been given to the following competitors;

• SMP Racing #47 (Pavel Bulantsev) has been given 3 penalty points for parking his car in a dangerous position on the track.
• RP Motorsport #21 (Magda Szervanszky) has been given 3 penalty points for causing an avoidable collision with RP Motorsport #22 (Leonardo Lorandi).

Drivers who accumulate 20 penalty points will serve a one weekend ban, which applies across all FIA Formula 4 series worldwide. Penalty points expire 12 months from the date of issue, and roll over into the next season if applicable.

[Ataxia]

As I reported at the time, Magda seemed a little off in the last test, and something clearly is on her mind at the moment. I think maybe she's worrying about next season, she wants to go to F3 but she's getting a bit worried about the lack of contract talks. I told her not to worry, and that sometimes the best way to go about getting contracts is to forget about it and just do your best driving on the track. She has phenomenal talent, but worrying about things won't get results.

[DemocalypseNow]

R5 // Circuit de Monaco // Finale
Qualifying & Race Result | Championship Standings

Scotti leads Guastalla 1-2 in bizarre Monaco finale

The Monaco finale was already lining up to be an unusual one, with two notable absences in the form of Lucas Legeret and Magda Szervanszky. This was a day for the championship dark horses to drag themselves into contention just in time for the title decider at Imola later this month.

Paolo Leonetti had secured two potentially crucial points for pole position, but was beaten to Ste Devote off the line by Luca Bandini. The latter's team-mate Marco Scotti initially dropped to 4th by a fast-starting Ivan Shvetsov, but quickly recovered. Massimo Torelli, another of the contenders for the title, had suffered a poor qualifying and lined up 12th, and had dropped to 13th at the start.

In the opening laps, Torelli was able to pick off rivals one by one and breach the lower points places, while Lorenzo Travisanutto got involved in a fair amount of argy-bargy and plummeted from 10th to 17th. Scotti meanwhile had given his team a massive confidence boost by taking 2nd away from Paolo Leonetti, leaving Bandini as the championship leader elect and with a rear gunner to protect his position.

The first transgression of the day came from Mediterranean Motorsport's David Luis Chavarria. The Spaniard was engaged in an intense battle for the final point with Alessandro Giardelli, Gunter Masakan and Michelangela Dioli, and attempted to pass the latter two at the Nouvelle Chicane. Giardelli had wedged open a gap by slipping down the inside of Masakan, but Chavarria braked far too late and ran into both Giardelli and Masakan in his ham-fisted attempt to take two places at once. The stewards were so incensed at his brazen attempt at overtaking that they called him in to serve a stop-go penalty.

Three more drivers ran into problems over the following couple of laps, as the very noticeable damage to the sidepods of Travisanutto and Dennis Hauger saw them both pit to try and address the quickly emerging cooling issues they both had. Iva Jankovic, who was having by far her best weekend in Italian F4 to date, was forced to pit and head straight for the garage from a solid 7th place, a disappointing end to an otherwise bright weekend for the young Serb.

At this point, the race went from zero to sixty in an instant. Massimo Torelli had by now worked his way up to 6th, and could see time was running out to take advantage of the no-score from his two primary title rivals. He muscled his way past Sabrina Mann effectively at Mirabeau, but a few corners later, was far too optimistic in his attempt to dispossess Leonetti of his 4th place, and sheared a wheel off at Portier 2. Unable to come to terms with what he had just done, Torelli kept his foot to the floor, but the car cried for mercy, and ground to a halt at the apex of the tunnel. A memo requesting his attendance with the stewards after the race was quick to follow.

Just ahead, Bandini was not making his team-mate's bodyguard job an easy one. When Bandini spun his wheels exiting Ste Devote, Scotti was effectively given three choices - drive around and take the lead, slam on the anchors and risk a pile-up, or run straight into the back of his team-mate. He of course chose the first, but demonstrated his professionalism and teamwork by allowing Bandini back to the lead on the same lap at Tabac, the soonest moment in which Shvetsov was not right on the duo's tail.

That looked to be the end of the contest, but the last two laps had more surprises to throw at the audience. Bandini visibly slowed exiting the tunnel, and so Scotti again had to drive around his team-mate and assume the race lead. Bandini appeared to have mismanaged his fuel consumption, as he backed straight into the chasing pack - still led by Shvetsov - and held them at bay for the final lap of the race. Giardelli, who had been running in 7th, dared not try and crawl to the end, and came in for a splash and dash instead. Saara Seppanen and Matias Sena were caught short, cutting through pit-lane on the last lap to make the flag on fumes.

With Bandini's fate unclear until the last metre of the race had elapsed, Scotti was clear to press ahead and take the race win, a deserved one considering his pace throughout the event and his consummate professionalism. The rest of his team - and especially Bandini - were still left kicking themselves despite the 1-2 finish, having lost the opportunity to take the championship lead away from Legeret. The Swiss driver still leads the championship heading into the season closing round at Imola - albeit only on countback - despite having failed to score in the last two events.

Circuit de Monaco | Italian Formula 4 | Finale penalties

Having reviewed footage and spoken to the drivers in question, the following punishments have been given to the following competitors;

• Mediterranean Motorsport #26 (David Luis Chavarria) has been given 3 penalty points for causing an avoidable collision with Vincenzo Sospiri Euronova Racing #24 (Alessandro Giardelli) and Jagonya Ayam Team Lazarus #38 (Gunter Masakan).
• Mediterranean Motorsport #15 (Massimo Torelli) has been given 3 penalty points for parking his car in a dangerous position on the track.

Drivers who accumulate 20 penalty points will serve a one weekend ban, which applies across all FIA Formula 4 series worldwide. Penalty points expire 12 months from the date of issue, and roll over into the next season if applicable.

[DemocalypseNow]

I want to get the season out of the way as quickly as possible, so we're having the last round begin on Friday. That means you have 36 hours to get in any driver changes for the last round should you wish to make any.

It shall be assumed that De Crescenzo will resume in the #94 Adriatica, as Mann is otherwise engaged with AI F4 on the finale date. Though, novitopoli, if you're truly angry at him and want to make him pay, you can simply opt to not run the #94 at all at the last round, if only to make a point.

[DemocalypseNow]

R6 // Autodromo Enzo e Dino Ferrari // Heat Draw

HEAT A

Ginevra Vantini , Marina Ivanovic , Francesca Scaramanga , Pavel Bulantsev , Lorenzo Travisanutto , Massimo Torelli , Leonardo Lorandi , David Luis Chavarria , Francesco De Crescenzo , Matías Sena , Luca Bandini , Magda Szervanszky , Josephine Leifeld , Dennis Hauger , Manuel Monetta

Gentleman's Class: Philippe Haezebrouck , Giuseppe Cipriani , Christophe Hurni , Armando Mangini

HEAT B

Marco Scotti , Paolo Leonetti , Lucas Legeret , Leonard Hoogenboom , Saara Seppänen , Gunter Masakan , Alessandro Giardelli , Michelangela Dioli , Asier Urbieta , Ione Wilkerson , Ivan Shvetsov , Iva Jankovic , Alexandr Smolyar , Francesco Pepitto , Vito Lorusso

Gentleman's Class: Jaropolk Petrovich , Salvatore De Plano, Francesco Dracone

As luck would have it, four apiece of the remaining title contenders dubbed the "Super 8" have been drawn in each heat. Lucas Legeret and Luca Bandini, tied on 86 points, won't get a chance to take points off each other until the final - assuming of course both even get there. Guastalla though have an ace in the hole, with Marco Scotti in the same heat as Legeret, who based on his form at Monaco, could take points away form the Trulli driver. Ivan Shvetsov meanwhile has double the help, with Alex Smolyar in his own heat, and Pavel Bulantsev in the other.

In the Gentleman's Class title run, it's Giuseppe Cipriani's to lose. It's him versus his team-mate Francesco Dracone for the cup, but having been drawn into separate heats, all Cipriani needs to do is make sure he beats Phillippe Haezebrouck for Heat A victory to clinch the crown. Dracone will need the Frenchman's help to usurp his team-mate, even if he wins Heat B.

[DemocalypseNow]

R6 // Autodromo Enzo e Dino Ferrari // Heat A
Qualifying & Race Result

Lorandi wins tense Imola opener

In the previous two rounds, the pressure caused by the business end of the season caused many drivers to buckle and snap. This time, the atmosphere was tense, but not in the same sense as before. Everyone was on edge, yet visibly holding back as a consequence.

RP Motorsport had bounced back from their disastrous showing at Monaco with a 1-2 result in qualifying, with title protagonist Magda Szervanszky taking the two crucial bonus points. This is as good as it got for the Hungarian driver though, as over the next 12 laps, her title aspirations would slowly unravel.

RP team-mate Leonardo Lorandi had already gotten in the way of her title hopes once, in the Monaco heats, and he started to interfere once again early on in this race. Not content to play the submissive team-mate, he instead barged his way past Szervanszky, which in turn allowed Massimo Torelli an easy way past into second. Dennis Hauger was next up to take advantage of Szervanszky's misfortunes, and by this time she was overcompensating for her loss of position. She went too deep into Rivazza and suffered from a trip through the gravel trap, allowing Leifeld to easily take 4th place away form her. The die had been cast.

Conversely, Giuseppe Cipriani was making a point of winning the Gentleman's Class trophy in style. He had rocketed from 16th to 11th on the opening lap, and continued to pick drivers off in the early laps, eventually settling into a surprising eight position. Soon enough, his upward trajectory would reach Szervanszky's downward trajectory.

Szervanszky found herself completely devoid of pace by the halfway mark, with Bandini overtaking for 5th with such ease that the Hungarian effectively looked stationary. Depsite having been several seconds up the road, it took only half a lap for Pavel Bulantsev in the SMP to rock up behind her. Ivan Shvetsov's cavalry had arrived, and was about to make her life hell.

He ducked left and right, with feigns at Tamburello, Tosa and Acque Minerali. The hammer blow came at Rivazza however, as Szervanszky again skated off the road at Rivazza while under heavy pressure from the Russian driver. This also let Cipriani past at Rivazza 2, dropping her to 8th place.

At the two-thirds points, tyres were starting to fall off the cliff for certain drivers. Ginevra Vantini, who looked set for yet another ninth place finish, was suddenly swallowed up by the lower midfield pack, freefalling down to 18th by race's end. Cipriani had also used up what quality rubber was on his tyres, and Szervanszky took advantage to retake 7th, and she set off after Bulantsev to retake 6th.

As Luca Bandini managed to take 4th away from Leifeld on the last lap at Tamburello, for two points that may be crucial come the season finale, Szervanszky was on maximum attack to catch Bulantsev. She was far too enthusiastic yet again at Rivazza, flying off the circuit and into the gravel trap. Luckily for her, Cipriani had saved her dying title hopes from being completely extinguished. His tyres worn out, he turned his Tatuus-Abarth into the widest F4 car ever seen, deflecting attack after attack in an attempt to cling on to a point, and ensure his Gentleman's Class title would be secured.

This meant only Francesca Scaramanga was close enough to capitalise on Szervanszky's mistake, and so the RP Motorsport driver crossed the line in eight, adding three points to her two for pole. While it puts a severe dent in her title aspirations, it's not necessarily over just yet.

Cipriani was successful in defending his 10th place, and so secured the Gentleman's Class championship, leaving his team-mate Francesco Dracone no opportunity to steal it away from him in Heat B. With four wins and two 2nd places in his six races, the KISS fanatic certainly earned his first career title.

Super 8 Update: Hauger eliminated, Szervanszky in trouble, Masakan needs a miracle

With Heat A complete, part of the championship picture has been painted, and it sees us wave goodbye to one of the eight drivers who were mathematically in contention for the title heading into Imola.

Despite a good result in Heat A from Prema Powerteam driver Dennis Haguer, his third place was not enough to keep him in contention for the title. He was one of the two long-shot outsiders for the title, ideally needing a perfect weekend along with needing issues to befall most of his rivals, and so it is little surprise to see him officially out of the running before the Finale.

Magda Szervanszky meanwhile is severely on the back foot after a dismal showing in the heats. Having picked up only 5 points, she is still only 5th in the title race, 10 points behind Luca Bandini. Crucially, she is also 2 points being Lucas Legeret and level with Paolo Leonetti, both of whom have a race in hand, being drawn to Heat B. It will take a very specific set of circumstances to pull off a shock title win.

Lastly, like Hauger, Gunter Masakan was always a long-shot for the title, and Heat A has made his objectives very clear. Simply to catch up with current championship leader Luca Bandini, he needs to score pole and victory in both Heat B and the Finale - a feat no driver as achieved this year - whilst also hoping for a Bandini no-score and poor performances from the likes of Legeret, Torelli and Leonetti.

Championship Standings after Imola Heat A
Italics denote a driver who has a race in hand due to being drawn into Heat B

Luca Bandini (Scuderia Guastalla) - 94pts
Massimo Torelli (Mediterranean Motorsport) - 88pts
Lucas Legeret (Trulli GP) - 86pts
Paolo Leonetti (Leonetti Racing Team) - 84pts
Magda Szervanszky (RP Motorsport) - 84pts
Ivan Shvetsov (SMP Racing) - 80pts
Dennis Hauger (Prema Powerteam) - 76pts
Gunter Masakan (Team Lazarus) - 61pts

[DemocalypseNow]

R6 // Autodromo Enzo e Dino Ferrari // Heat B
Qualifying & Race Result

Leonetti seizes initiative with brilliant victory as Legeret crumbles

After qualifying for Heat B, a very different picture was appearing from that which the race itself decided to paint. Ivan Shvetsov narrowly secured pole, along with its two bonus points, marginally ahead of long time championship leader Lucas Legeret. Masakan ensured his extremely slim hopes of the title were negated by only managing third - he needed the bonus points for pole to stay in the race - and Paolo Leonetti would start dwon in sixth.

Things went pear-shaped in a hurry for Legeret. A poor start off the line saw him passed by Masakan, and then dropping behind both Alessandro Giardelli and Vito Lorusso during the course of the lap. After the opening lap, he had dropped from 2nd to 5th.

The Swiss driver then entered a skirmish with Micheangela Dioli and Leonetti, but this quickly became academic when the duel between Shvetsov and Masakan became so intense they back themselves into the chasing pack. Fighting tooth and nail for the lead, they lost so much momentum exiting Variante Alta side-by-side that the combination of Giardelli and Dioli simply ran through the grass to drive around the quarrelling pair to take first and second places.

Instead of benefiting from the ensuing chaos though, Legeret continued to struggle and make minor errors, this time making a mess of his exit from Acque Minerali to allow Ione Wilkerson and Leonard Hoogenboom through. Half a lap later, Vito Lorusso conifrmed that the Trulli GP driver was in a crisis situation by passing him for 8th place. The championship was quickly slipping away.

His desperation was evident, as straight after conceding 8th, he was straight back on the attack against Lorusso, only to fluff his overtake attempt exiting Rivazza, allowing Francesco Pepitto to cruise by and demote him to 10th place.

Having used the earlier confusion to vault himself into third place, Leonetti sensed an opportunity. He dispatched of Masakan with a switchback move exiting Rivazza for 2nd, and quickly set about Ivan Shvetov for the lead. A confident pass heading into Villeneuve sealed the deal, and Leonetti never looked back.

With only a lap to go, Legeret had recovered to retake 8th from Pepitto and Hoogenboom, but his desperation to make up places in a blitz, he got greedy over the Alta kerbs, scrubbing off a load of speed, and dropping behind Hoogenboom once more.

The race victory gives Paolo Leonetti one hand on the Italian F4 trophy, but second place Shvetsov still has the potential to disrupt his ambitions, as does Luca Bandini. Legeret though could only muster 9th in the end, a mere two points suddenly turning him from title favourite to also-ran.

Super 8 Update: Leonetti in the box seat, Legeret blows it

Heat B has now made it clear which drivers have a realistic shot at the Italian F4 title, and which are praying for a magic set of circumstances to have their title dreams materialise.

One driver who really should have been in control of their fate, but now needs to win and then cross their fingers is Lucas Legeret. At the half-way point the Swiss pilot had a comfortable championship race, but no-scores at Varano and Monaco, combined with only two points from the Imola heats suddenly leaves him 11 points off the pace with only 17 to play for. Massimo Torelli is in exactly the same situation going into the Finale, but has been playing catch-up all season long, so at least has a good excuse for his predicament.

The man on the top of the pile is now Paolo Leonetti. He has improved considerably as the season has gone on, and despite not scoring a podium until his debut pole and victory in the Vallelunga heats, he also been the most consistent driver, as the only person to score in every race this year.

He goes into the finale with a 5 point lead over Luca Bandini and Ivan Shvetsov. The former is another drive like Leonetti, who was slow to get on his feet, but has turned in markedly improved performances as the season has worn on. This includes being the only driver aside from Michelangela Dioli to win both a heat and a finale during a race weekend, pulling off the feat at Varano.

Shvetsov though may struggle, with his weekend finale form a sharp contrast to his results in the heats. On average, he has finished 5.6 positions lower in Finale races than Heats, and Vallelunga only finished 14th despite starting in the Top 5, so question marks remain about whether he can take the fight to his rivals in this race, especially when he is having to make up a deficit rather than defend a lead.

After Heat A, Magda Szeravanszky looked like she'd have a tough job of winning the title. With the results from Heat B now confirmed, it looks almost impossible for the Hungarian driver to win the title. She is 15 points behind Leonetti, but at least has the advantage of being ahead of Leonetti on countback if she wins the season finale. It will take more than just a Leonetti no-score to get here there though, as anything resembling a decent result for Shvetsov and Bandini would still leave her too far behind to win.

Championship Standings after Imola Heat B
Paolo Leonetti (Leonetti Racing Team) - 99pts
Luca Bandini (Scuderia Guastalla) - 94pts
Ivan Shvetsov (SMP Racing) - 94pts
Lucas Legeret (Trulli GP) - 88pts
Massimo Torelli (Mediterranean Motorsport) - 88pts
Magda Szervanszky (RP Motorsport) - 84pts
Dennis Hauger (Prema Powerteam) - 76pts
Gunter Masakan (Team Lazarus) - 71pts

[DemocalypseNow]

R6 // Autodromo Enzo e Dino Ferrari // Finale
Qualifying & Race Result | Championship Standings

Leonetti crowned Italian F4 champion despite Torelli pole-victory double

Paolo Leonetti went into this race knowing finishing in and around his title rivals, wherever that may be, would be enough to win him the title. In the end, his competitors did most of the work for him, tripping over one another, and leaving only polesitter Massimo Torelli to offer any resistance to the new title leader heading into the finale.

There were two crucial bonus points on offer for pole position, and while Shvetsov came close, in the end it went to Torelli. His nervousness off the line cost him however, with Masakan getting the jump on the Mediterranean Motorsport driver at Tamburello. Shvetsov meanwhile was mugged by everyone over the coure of the first lap, finding himself shuffled off the racing once early in the lap, which allowed no less than five of his competitors to take advantage, and drop the Russian to 8th.

Lucas Legeret meanwhile was having to resuscitate his rapidly fading title hopes from qualifying in a lowly eight place. A banzai start saw him gain three places, then another when passing Magda Szervanszky for 4th.

This put Szervanszky into the path of her RP Motorsport team-mate Leonardo Lorandi once more, and the simmering feud between the pair reached boiling point. Lorandi had no interest in supporting Szervanszky's extremely thin title chances, and went on the offensive, diving to the inside at Tosa. When Szervanszky resisted, the duo elected to try and run each other off the road up the hill towards Piratella, with Szervanszky ending up on the grass.

With the title battle in full swing, the midfielders who had nothing but honour to race for added a sour note to the proceedings. Michelangela Dioli, who had climbed five places in the opening three laps, was determined to improve further, and had latched on to Lorandi's tow exiting Rivazza. With Josephine Leifeld to her outside, Dioli instead ducked to the inside. This was a foolish move, as the room soon disappeared with the pit entry separator only metres down the road. She ran straight into the retaining wall, deflecting her car into the path of Dennis Hauger behind.

Hauger, with no time or room to react, ran straight into Dioli, ripping wheels off both his own and Dioli's cars, and leading to his retirement on the spot. Dioli however was not done with her poor decisions. She was crawling slowly along the pitwall, and instead of simply stopping where she was, elected to use the remaining momentum from the accident to turn left, at slow speed, across the face of oncoming traffic to the opposite side. Without quick reactions from the oncoming Vito Lorusso, Dioli may well have claimed another victim in an accident which was entirely of her own making.

It seemed what hope Torelli had of an upset were gone when both Leonetti and Legeret eased past him a few laps in, but this is as good as it would get for Legeret. The Trulli driver quickly fell behind Torelli again, and would not feature in the podium battle again for the rest of the afternoon.

Leonetti took advantage of a Masakan mistake to briefly take the lead, but was in no mood for a tough defence of his newly acquired race lead. With points in hand to his rivals, and a potential no score fatal to his championship hopes, he offered little resistance to Masakan and Torelli, both of whom were on maximum attack. With a comfortable gap to Legeret and the RPs fighting over 4th, he was happy to sit back and hold his third place, enough on paper to secure the title.

Shvetsov and Bandini, tied on points heading into the finale, had hoped to be fighting Leonetti for the title. Instead, they were in the lower points places, fighting each other and a host of other midfielders for 3rd in the championship. Shvetsov had started 3rd, while Bandini hadn't even qualified in the Top 10, so their convergence after Shvetsov's poor start was little surprise. Having dispatched Leifeld and Wilkerson - the latter of which Bandini took many laps to pass as well - he set about taking third overall away from the Guastalla driver, but Bandini had an answer for everything. The desperation and frustration setting in, Shvetsov found himself instead behind Leifeld by the race's end, consigning him to fourth in the championship.

Up front though, there was reason to celebrate for two drivers. Torelli had exerted pressure for long enough on Masakan to see the Indonesian buckle. A mistake at Alta allowed Torelli to fly past on the run down to Rivazza on the last lap, and while the door was potentially open for Leonetti to take advantage, he elected to be sensible and hold station. It was a long overdue first win for Massimo Torelli, and the first for his team in the series as well. The happiest man of all though crossed the line in third, 10 points enough for Paolo Leonetti to clinch the championship, with a maximums score of 17 giving Torelli 2nd overall, and only 4 off Leonetti.

Leonetti will go down as most certainly a deserving champion. He was the only driver who race in all six rounds of the championship to score points in every race. Despite a number of foreign drivers competing in the championship, Italians also locked out the Top 3 in the championship, showing that perhaps the country does still have a bright future in motorsport after all.

Autodromo Enzo e Dino Ferrari | Italian Formula 4 | Finale penalties

Having reviewed footage and spoken to the drivers in question, the following punishments have been given to the following competitors;

• RP Motorsport #21 (Magda Szervanszky) and RP Motorsport #22 (Leonardo Lorandi) have been given 10 penalty points each for causing repeated avoidable collisions with each other, including but not limited to unsportsmanlike conduct such as running each other off the road.
• Scuderia Del Prete #19 (Michelangela Dioli) has been given 20 penalty points for causing an avoidable collision with Prema Powerteam #28 (Dennis Hauger), and demonstrating extreme negligence in retiring her stricken car. As a result, she is suspended from all the first round of the 2019 season in all FIA sanctioned series.

Drivers who accumulate 20 penalty points will serve a one weekend ban, which applies across all FIA Formula 4 series worldwide. Penalty points expire 12 months from the date of issue, and roll over into the next season if applicable.