Photo: ACI Sport
Valentin Kluss will step up from Formula 4 to Formula Regional for this weekend’s European championship finale at Hockenheim.
The 16-year-old German will make his debut with Monolite Racing, and will become the fourth different driver this year to race in the team’s #21 car. Kirill Smal did five rounds, Hadrien David did two and then Nikita Bedrin was in the car last weekend. Although he finished ninth and fifth in the races at Zandvoort, the best results for the #21, he was ineligible for points. Kluss will also be competing as a guest driver so cannot score.
Across two years in F4, Kluss has picked up one podium which was claimed in ADAC F4 last year. He finished 11th in the standings in a part-time campaign in the German-based series, was 21st in Italian F4 (where he missed one round) and sixth in the single-event Motorsport Games F4 Cup.
He started 2023 in F4 United Arab Emirates with PHM Racing, and came 10th in the championship. Kluss stayed with the team for Italian F4 but after missing the last two rounds he ended up 15th in the standings with four sixth places being his best results.
Earlier this month he cameoed in Spanish F4 with MP Motorsport, and with two points-scoring results from his three races at Estoril is currently 15th in the standings with one round to go. Should he contest the final round, he could rise as high as the top 10 in the points table.