Italian Formula 4 Championship – PREMA delivers two wins in Paul Ricard weekend
PREMA Racing posted two wins at Circuit Paul Ricard as the Italian Formula 4 Championship got past its halfway mark at the French venue. With changing weather conditions from extreme heat to rain, the team celebrated a repeat winner and a brand-new one.
Starting from the fourth spot in Race 2, Freddie Slater managed to get into the lead and claimed his 11th win of the year in spectacular fashion. Coming from a tough qualifying 1 session, conditioned by a puncture, Slater could not start Race 1 due to a technical issue. In Race 3, the British sensation took rain tires in a split pack between wet and slick runners, and eventually fell back outside the top 20 with a drying track.
Slicks paid off and Kean Nakamura-Berta was the big winner in that gamble. The Japanese-Slovakian started from the fifth row but, as soon as the track began to dry, he stormed by the drivers on wet tyres. The Alpine Academy racer eventually got the pass for the lead to take his first overall win in the series.
Tomass Stolcermanis used the same strategy to achieve his maiden overall podium, rebounding from contact in Race 2 and from a challenging early part of the weekend. Dion Gowda, Rashid Al Dhaheri, and Alex Powell posted points finishes too. The Indian brought home P8 and P7, while the Jamaican-American, coming from P4 and P9 in the first two races, lost out to rain tyres in Race 3. The same happened to Emirati Al Dhaheri, who wrapped up the weekend with P7 and P6.
The PREMA Racing Formula 4 operation will be back at the end of August for the opening round of the 2024 Euro4 Championship.
#14 RASHID AL DHAHERI
“An up and down weekend where the weather was quite a big factor from FP. We maximized well what we could do in qualy, but in the races, there were some tough situations, especially in the last one where there were some difficult moments and decisions we had to make, which we were unable to do really well. We should learn quite a bit for the future and we know what to do if that situation comes back again.”
#27 FREDDIE SLATER
“A difficult weekend, we didn’t maximize it due to too many issues. We never had problems with pace, which was quite strong, so we are ready to bounce back for the next one. A massive thanks to PREMA for giving me a fast car. I guess it’s just motorsport at the end of the day, but I thank them still.”
#33 TOMASS STOLCERMANIS
“The weekend was very tough. Qualifying was not bad but before it, we struggled a lot to make a good lap. We also struggled a lot in the opening laps of Race 1 and 2 and even had a DNF in the second race. For Race 3, we got it right on the tyres, and I’m very happy for a definitely unexpected podium, as on the first lap, it was still wet, and the wet tyres were quicker. I’m definitely happy for how it ended up.”
#50 DION GOWDA
“We were really struggling in Free Practice, and then in Qualifying we just didn’t execute what we were capable of. In the races, it was a bit of damage limitation. We managed to score points in Race 1, doing the best we could. In Race 2, we had a set of tyres to try and save some for Race 3, and then, in Race 3 we made the wise decision to go on slick tyres. We were leading that strategy, but unfortunately, we got contact in lap 1 which meant we dropped all the way down to last. Still, we managed to fire our way up to P7. Tough one, because we had the pace and the right strategy to fight for the win.”
#51 KEAN NAKAMURA-BERTA
“It was a mega way to finish the weekend with a win in Race 3. On Saturday we had a pretty good qualifying in P6, not amazing but we were there. Qualifying 2 was a bit of a mess, we experienced traffic and mistakes from my side, which cost me a better starting position today. In Race 1 I took the points of a solid P6, as it was hard to overtake, so I kept it there. In Race 2 we made up a few positions, but on this type of track, it’s not easy to pass. In Race 3 we went with the gamble as there was a 50/50 chance for wets or slicks to work. I had a similar scenario before, and in my mind, I knew that slicks were the best choice. Starting in P9 we had to risk something to have a great reward. In the end, it paid off for us with the last-lap move to take P1.”
#80 ALEX POWELL
“It was a weekend with a lot of potential but we really never executed it much. There are definitely things to learn from, and lots of positives to take. We got a good bounce back in terms of pace from Mugello, but we need things to start going our way now. Coming towards the halfway point of the season, it’s where we need to start performing. We really need to use the summer break to reset and get going again. Everything is there to achieve good results, we just need to put it all together.”
