Photo: F4 UAE
Gabriel Stilp deployed blistering pace to win a wet race two in round four of the Formula 4 United Arab Emirates season at the Yas Marina Circuit.
The Hitech GP driver started sixth on the grid and made progress in tricky conditions to claim his maiden win. His team-mate Reza Seewooruthun finished second and R-ace GP’s Enzo Yeh completed a top three of first-time podium visitors.
The race took place under wet conditions with lots of spray and low grip. As a result, the first four laps ran behind the safety car for drivers to get used to the conditions. The safety car was then not needed again despite the unusual situation.
When the track went green, Seewooruthun immediately pulled off a brilliant move on reversed-grid poleman Yeh to take the lead.
Further down the order, Stilp overtook Sainteloc Racing’s Matteo Quintarelli and R-ace’s Jules Caranta to go from sixth to fourth. He gained another place the following lap as he passed team-mate Seb Murray.
Mumbai Falcons’ Kean Nakamura Berta lost his braking point at turn nine as he closed in on Quintarelli and Caranta, running wide as a result. He would later retire after several on-track battles due to suffering a puncture on lap nine of 12. Meanwhile, Quintarelli took fourth place from Murray and Stilp chased down the top two.
With blistering pace, Stilp overtook Yeh and then Seewooruthun, committing to the inside at turn 16, and went on to open a gap of almost five seconds in the last five minutes of racing.
A hectic last lap resulted in Sainteloc’s Yevan David ran into the back of Mumbai Falcons’ Dion Gowda, who had been fighting Prema’s Doriane Pin for the last of the top ten spots. As a result, R-ace’s Enzo Deligny took the chequered flag in ninth ahead of Pin, with David and Gowda not making it to the end.
Title contenders Keanu Al Azhari (Yas Heat Academy) and Freddie Slater (Mumbai Falcons) went points-free again in 12th and 14th place after starting from the back of the grid because of their crash in race one.
Race results (12 laps)
| Pos | Driver | Team | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Gabriel Stilp | Hitech GP | 30m37.722s |
| 2 | Reza Seewooruthun | Hitech GP | +4.831s |
| 3 | Enzo Yeh | R-ace GP | +6.675s |
| 4 | Matteo Quintarelli | Sainteloc Racing | +7.691s |
| 5 | Seb Murray | Hitech GP | +10.474s |
| 6 | Rashid Al Dhaheri | Prema | +10.564s |
| 7 | Alex Powell | Mumbai Falcons | +14.911s |
| 8 | Jules Caranta | R-ace GP | +14.939s |
| 9 | Enzo Deligny | R-ace GP | +20.087s |
| 10 | Doriane Pin | Prema | +20.468s |
| 11 | Yuanpu Cui | Xcel Motorsport | +20.930s |
| 12 | Keanu Al Azhari | Yas Heat | +21.711s |
| 13 | Luka Sammalisto | R-ace GP | +25.207s |
| 14 | Freddie Slater | Mumbai Falcons | +25.960s |
| 15 | Raphael Narac | Sainteloc Racing | +27.627s |
| 16 | Tomass Stolcermanis | Prema | +28.614s |
| 17 | Hiyu Yamakoshi | Pinnacle Motorsport | +30.514s |
| 18 | Kamal Mrad | PHM Racing | +31.243s |
| 19 | Maximilian Popov | PHM Racing | +33.427s |
| 20 | Davide Larini | PHM Racing | +36.177s |
| 21 | Nicolas Stati | AGI Sport | +38.345s |
| 22 | Jack Beeton | AGI Sport | +39.953s |
| 23 | Deagen Fairclough | Hitech GP | +41.809s |
| 24 | Yuhao Fu | Pinnacle Motorsport | +53.756s |
| 25 | Kai Daryanani | Pinnacle Motorsport | +1m13.136s |
| 26 | Dion Gowda | Mumbai Falcons | +1 lap |
| 27 | Yevan David | Sainteloc Racing | +1 lap |
| 28 | Tiago Rodrigues | Xcel Motorsport | +2 laps |
| 29 | Everett Stack | PHM Racing | +2 laps |
| Ret | Kean Nakamura Berta | Mumbai Falcons | |
| Ret | Alvise Rodella | Xcel Motorsport | |
| Ret | Zack Scoular | Yas Heat | |
| Ret | Kaishun Liu | Xcel Motorsport | |
| Ret | Maxi Restrepo | Sainteloc Racing | |
|
Fastest lap: Al Azhari, 2m14.190s Championship standings |
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