Italian F4 Championship
| Category | FIA Formula 4 |
|---|---|
| Country | Italy |
| Region | Europe |
| Inaugural season | 2014 |
| Constructors | Tatuus |
| Engine suppliers | Abarth |
| Tyre suppliers | Pirelli |
| Drivers' champion | Freddie Slater |
| Teams' champion | Prema Racing |
| Official website | Official website |
| Current season | |
Italian Formula 4 Championship is the first formula racing series regulated according to FIA Formula 4 regulations. The inaugural season was the 2014 Italian F4 Championship, effectively replacing the Formula Abarth.
The Italian F4 championship is regarded as amongst the most competitive of the national/regional F4 championships.[1] Lance Stroll, Lando Norris, Mick Schumacher, Jack Doohan, Zhou Guanyu, Oliver Bearman, and Andrea Kimi Antonelli have since driven in Formula One, and numerous Italian F4 drivers have had professional careers in other series.
History
Gerhard Berger and the FIA Singleseater Commission launched the FIA Formula 4 in March 2013.[2] The goal of the Formula 4 is to make the ladder to Formula 1 more transparent.
The Italian Formula 4 was the first FIA Formula 4 championship to be launched. The Italian championship was launched by the ACI-CSAI on December 12, 2013.[3]
WSK Promotions, well known for its kart races in the WSK Euro Series e.a., was contracted to promote the championship.[4]
Cars
Italian race car constructor Tatuus was contracted to design and build all the cars.[5] Tatuus had also built all the cars for the Formula Abarth. The chassis is a monocoque made of carbon fibre.
The engine is a 1400cc Fiat-FPT.[6] This is the same engine used in the Formula Abarth between 2010 and 2013. It is detuned to fit the FIA Formula 4 regulations to 160 hp (120 kW), down from the original 180 hp (130 kW).
Starting from 2022, Tatuus F4-T421 have been used instead of Tatuus F4-T014.
Costs
The original goal of Formula 4 was to keep total costs for competitors under 100,000€ (in 2014) per season, but as of 2024 typical costs in the Italian championship far exceed this figure. One 2022 estimate put the season cost of competition at "upwards of 250,000€", one of the most expensive F4 series globally.[7]
The costs of competition in feeder series are typically met by either competitors families or wealthy benefactors, without an immediate commercial return for any funds provided.[8]
Champions
Drivers
| Season | Driver | Team | Poles | Wins | Podiums | Fastest laps | Points | Clinched | Margin |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | Lance Stroll | Prema Powerteam | 5 | 7 | 13 | 11 | 331 | Race 15 of 21 | 94 |
| 2015 | Ralf Aron | Prema Powerteam | 7 | 9 | 13 | 6 | 331 | Race 18 of 21 | 108 |
| 2016 | Marcos Siebert | Jenzer Motorsport | 4 | 4 | 9 | 1 | 231 | Race 20 of 21 | 15 |
| 2017 | Marcus Armstrong | Prema Powerteam | 5 | 4 | 13 | 1 | 283 | Race 19 of 21 | 36 |
| 2018 | Enzo Fittipaldi | Prema Theodore Racing | 9 | 7 | 10 | 5 | 303 | Race 21 of 21 | 21 |
| 2019 | Dennis Hauger | Van Amersfoort Racing | 7 | 12 | 16 | 9 | 369 | Race 18 of 21 | 136 |
| 2020 | Gabriele Minì | Prema Powerteam | 8 | 4 | 12 | 2 | 284 | Race 18 of 21 | 76 |
| 2021 | Oliver Bearman | Van Amersfoort Racing | 8 | 11 | 15 | 2 | 343 | Race 18 of 21 | 111 |
| 2022 | Andrea Kimi Antonelli | Prema Racing | 14 | 13 | 15 | 14 | 362 | Race 18 of 20 | 104 |
| 2023 | Kacper Sztuka | US Racing | 9 | 9 | 12 | 8 | 315 | Race 20 of 21 | 35 |
| 2024 | Freddie Slater | Prema Racing | 11 | 15 | 16 | 10 | 383 | Race 17 of 21 | 161 |
Teams
| Season | Team | Poles | Wins | Podiums | Fastest laps | Points | Clinched | Margin |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | Prema Powerteam | 13 | 13 | 11 | 31 | 303 | Race 15 of 21 | 58 |
| 2015 | Prema Powerteam | 9 | 12 | 22 | 7 | 339 | Race 19 of 21 | 35 |
| 2016 | Prema Powerteam | 7 | 9 | 21 | 9 | 439.5 | Race 19 of 21 | 43.5 |
| 2017 | Bhaitech | 9 | 8 | 17 | 6 | 565 | Race 18 of 21 | 89 |
| 2018 | Prema Theodore Racing | 13 | 12 | 28 | 8 | 667 | Race 19 of 21 | 187 |
| 2019 | Van Amersfoort Racing | 9 | 12 | 24 | 10 | 576 | Race 21 of 21 | 28 |
| 2020 | Prema Powerteam | 15 | 6 | 24 | 8 | 596 | Race 21 of 21 | 101 |
| 2021 | Van Amersfoort Racing | 11 | 13 | 23 | 4 | 585 | Race 18 of 21 | 102 |
| 2022 | Prema Racing | 19 | 16 | 38 | 19 | 800 | Race 18 of 21 | 289 |
| 2023 | Prema Racing | 10 | 12 | 40 | 9 | 791 | Race 17 of 21 | 245 |
| 2024 | Prema Racing | 12 | 16 | 30 | 12 | 763 | Race 17 of 21 | 221 |
Winter Trophy
| Season | Driver | Team | Poles | Wins (Trophy) | Podiums | Fastest laps | Points | Clinched | Margin |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | Ralf Aron | Prema Powerteam | 2 | 1 (2) | 2 | 1 | 38 | Race 1 of 2 | 0 |
Trophy
In the concurrent Italian F4 Trophy for drivers over the age of 18.
| Season | Driver | Team | Poles | Wins (Trophy) | Podiums | Fastest laps | Points | Clinched | Margin |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | Brandon Maïsano | Prema Powerteam | 8 | 6 (17) | 17 | 6 | 406 | Race 12 of 21 | 176 |
| 2015 | Kevin Kanayet | Malta Formula Racing | 0 | 9 (21) | 17 | 1 | 337 | Race 17 of 21 | 28 |
Woman Trophy
| Season | Driver | Team | Poles | Wins (Trophy) | Podiums | Fastest laps | Points | Clinched | Margin |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | Julia Pankiewicz | RB Racing | 0 | 11 | 17 | 0 | 343 | Race 17 of 21 | 112 |
| 2016 | Fabienne Wohlwend | Aragon Racing DR Formula |
0 | 18 | 18 | 0 | 400 | Race 11 of 21 | N/A |
| 2019 | Amna Al Qubaisi | Abu Dhabi Racing by Prema | 0 | 17 | 19 | 0 | 400 | Race 13 of 21 | 271 |
| 2020 | Hamda Al Qubaisi | Abu Dhabi Racing by Prema | 0 | 15 | 15 | 0 | 375 | Race 12 of 21 | N/A |
| 2021 | Maya Weug | Iron Lynx | 0 | 11 | 20 | 0 | 437 | Race 21 of 21 | 43 |
| 2022 | Maya Weug | Iron Lynx | 0 | 18 | 20 | 0 | 400 | Race 20 of 20 | 91 |
| 2023 | Tina Hausmann | AKM Motorsport | 0 | 7 | 15 | 0 | 310 | Race 20 of 20 | 9 |
Rookie Class
The result of the championship was decided by different standings. Wins and points of the rookie standings are present in brackets.
| Season | Driver | Team | Poles | Wins (rookie) | Podiums | Fastest laps | Points (rookie) | Clinched | Margin |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | Jüri Vips | Prema Powerteam | 2 | 1 (8) | 7 | 3 | 140 (247.5) | Race 20 of 21 | 40 |
| 2017 | Leonardo Lorandi | Bhaitech | 0 | 1 (19) | 2 | 4 | 185 (400) | Race 16 of 21 | 107 |
| 2018 | Petr Ptáček | Bhaitech | 0 | 0 (11) | 6 | 3 | 182 (365) | Race 18 of 21 | 22 |
| 2019 | Paul Aron | Prema Powerteam | 1 | 2 (9) | 8 | 0 | 226 (348) | Race 18 of 21 | 87 |
| 2020 | Gabriele Minì | Prema Powerteam | 8 | 4 (6) | 12 | 2 | 284 (318) | Race 19 of 21 | 67 |
| 2021 | Nikita Bedrin | Van Amersfoort Racing | 0 | 1 (6) | 4 | 0 | 103 (240) | Race 21 of 21 | 1 |
| 2022 | Andrea Kimi Antonelli | Prema Racing | 14 | 13 (14) | 15 | 14 | 362 (378) | Race 18 of 20 | 97 |
| 2023 | Arvid Lindblad | Prema Racing | 4 | 6 (8) | 10 | 3 | 263.5 (322.5) | Race 18 of 20 | 15.5 |
| 2024 | Alex Powell | Prema Racing | 1 | 0 (10) | 6 | 0 | 176 (343) | Race 21 of 21 | 15 |
Drivers graduated to Formula One
- Bold denotes an active Formula One driver.
- Gold background denotes Italian F4 champion.
| Driver | Italian F4 | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Seasons | Races | Wins | Podiums | |
| Lance Stroll | 2014 | 18 | 7 | 13 |
| Lando Norris | 2015 | 9 | 0 | 1 |
| Zhou Guanyu | 2015 | 21 | 3 | 9 |
| Mick Schumacher | 2016 | 18 | 5 | 10 |
| Jack Doohan | 2018 | 6 | 0 | 0 |
| Gabriel Bortoleto | 2020 | 20 | 1 | 5 |
| Oliver Bearman | 2020-2021 | 29 | 7 | 14 |
| Andrea Kimi Antonelli | 2021-2022 | 29 | 13 | 18 |
Circuits
- Bold denotes a circuit will be used in the 2025 season.
| Number | Circuits | Rounds | Years |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Imola Circuit | 15[a] | 2014–present |
| 2 | Mugello Circuit | 12[b] | 2014–present |
| 3 | Vallelunga Circuit | 11 | 2014–present |
| Monza Circuit | 11 | 2014–present | |
| 5 | Misano World Circuit Marco Simoncelli | 10[c] | 2015–present |
| 6 | Adria International Raceway | 5 | 2014–2018 |
| 7 | Red Bull Ring | 4 | 2019–2022 |
| Circuit Paul Ricard | 4 | 2018, 2021, 2023–2024 | |
| 9 | Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps | 2 | 2022–2023 |
| 10 | Autodromo dell'Umbria | 1 | 2014 |
| Hungaroring | 1 | 2019 | |
| Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya | 1 | 2024 |
Notes
References
- ^ Series, Feeder (2023-02-25). "From F4 to F1: The feeder series ladder explained". Feeder Series. Retrieved 2024-12-02.
- ^ "FIA reveals Formula 4 plan". Autosport. Retrieved 13 January 2014.
- ^ "The Italian Formula 4 Championship at the starting blocks". ACI-CSAI. Retrieved 13 January 2014.
- ^ "WSK to promote the Italian F4 Championship". Italian Formula 4 Championship. Retrieved 13 January 2014.
- ^ "Formula 4 to feature a Tatuus chassis". Italian Formula 4 Championship. Retrieved 13 January 2014.
- ^ "Formula 4 powered by Abarth". Italian Formula 4 Championship. Retrieved 13 January 2014.
- ^ Gascoigne, Roger (2022-01-07). "The new F4 series aiming to boost single-seater racing in central Europe". Formula Scout. Retrieved 2024-12-02.
- ^ Series, Feeder (2022-03-15). "Scholarship solution for broken feeder series ladder? Prema and Trident bosses answer". Feeder Series. Retrieved 2024-12-11.