Photo: F4 CEZ
The Formula 4 Central European Zone championship has issued a revised calendar for its second season, which includes a first visit to the Salzburgring.
The Austrian circuit, set among the lakes east of Salzburg, last hosted contemporary junior single-seaters in 2006 with rounds of the Formula Renault 2.0 Northern Europe Cup and German Formula 3. It will stage F4 CEZ’s 2024 season finale on September 21/22.
European Formula 2 raced at the Salzburgring from 1972 to 1976, with race winners including Jacques Laffite, Jean-Pierre Jabouille and Mike Hailwood. More recently, it has staged rounds of the Austrian F3 Cup but been better known for touring car and historic racing.
F4 CEZ’s organizer Josef Krenek told Formula Scout the circuit “is ideally situated for the majority of our teams and good single-seaters haven’t raced there for a long time”.
“A change in the circuit’s schedule meant that the new date fitted perfectly into our plans. We regard it as the start of a long-term co-operation and therefore it is realistic that the Salzburgring will remain on the calendar for future seasons,” he added.
Unfortunately, F4 CEZ has had to drop plans to start 2024 at Oschersleben after failing to reach agreement with the DMSB, Germany’s motorsport federation, for the series to run a round outside of its FIA-designated regional zone.
F4 CEZ will also now make a return to Balaton Park. The new track hosted 2023’s title-deciding final round, and will be used for the 2024 season opener on April 27/28. It is substituting for the Hungaroring as venue of F4 CEZ’s Hungarian round as the Formula 1 track near Budapest is undergoing reconstruction work ahead of next year’s grand prix, and, explains Krenek, “according to current information will not be ready to stage events until early June”.
The schedule between the first and last rounds remains unchanged with trips to the Red Bull Ring (May 18/19) and Slovakiaring (June 8/9), followed by two Czech rounds at Autodrom Most (August 3/4) and Brno (September 7/8).
A further change for 2024 means that there will be three races at each round, with the exception of the Red Bull Ring.
The grid is set to grow, with additional entries expected from Sape Motorsport, Gender Racing Team and JMT Racing, as well as the return to competition of Renauer Motorsport. Jenzer Motorsport is likely to return to defend the two titles it won this year.
Fellow Swiss team Maffi Racing will enter Swiss-Panamanian 16-year-old Nathanael Berreby, who after spending 2023 testing will also race in Formula Winter Series and Italian F4. Gabriel Holguin, a 17-year-old Venezuelan, who did one Italian F4 round this year alongside a lengthy testing programme, will do the full 2024 Italian F4 season with Maffi.
“We had been looking closely at F4 CEZ and have received positive feedback from teams who have already raced in 2023. The choice of circuits for the 2024 season is also exciting. So, in view of the fact that we are aiming to expand our presence onto other regions, it is a logical step for us to join the CEZ championship,“ explained Daniel Maffi, team co-founder.