Photo: Luca Bassani
After a prolific maiden season which marked the return of a national championship for winged open-wheel cars, Brazilian F4 is back at the famed Interlagos track this weekend for its season two opener
It is true that the grid has decreased from 16 to 12 cars for 2023, but there are a handful of positive pieces of news to be celebrated for Brazilian Formula 4 after its stellar first season.
Shell has joined as a championship sponsor, while Banco BRB remains the title sponsor for a second season. South Korean brand Hankook is the series’ new tyre provider, despite the supply anxieties of its recent factory fire, following a similar move made by Stock Car Brasil.
The calendar still has six rounds consisting of three races each, racing at Interlagos, Autodromo Velo Citta, Goiania and for the first time in Brasilia, after the long-awaited renovation of the circuit known over the years as Autodromo Nelson Piquet which was originally set to appear on the 2022 schedule.
For sure the most anticipated round will be the penultimate one at Interlagos on November 3-5. That places it on the support bill of Formula 1’s Brazilian Grand Prix, which will motivate drivers to show their best and team owners to attract additional drivers – both Brazilians and internationa talents – for the weekend who are willing to showcase their skills before such an important audience.
Instead of four teams preparing four cars each, which was how the 2022 grid was made up, this season will have three teams running four cars each. TMG Racing and Cavaleiro Racing are back, while Bassani Racing inherits the cars of Full Time Sports, winner of both titles last year, as its chief engineer Eduardo Bassani now heads his own organidation. KTF Sports is the other team that is now absent from the grid, with its four cars sat in their garage this year.
Six out of the 12 drivers taking part will be going into their second season of Brazilian F4:
Brazilian F4 returnees
| 2022 pos. | Driver | Team | 2022 results |
|---|---|---|---|
| 3rd | Vinicius Tessaro | Cavaleiro Sports | 7 podiums |
| 6th | Luan Lopes | TMG Racing | 4 podiums, 2 FL |
| 10th | Nelson Neto | Bassani Racing | |
| 12th | Alvaro Cho | TMG Racing | 2 podiums, 1 FL |
| 13th | Lucca Zucchini | Cavaleiro Sports | |
| 14th | Joao Tesser | TMG Racing |
Among the rookies there are two female drivers, intending to replicate FIA Girls on Track Rising Stars programme winner Aurelia Nobels who raced in Brazilian F4 last year: Cecilia Rabelo and Rafaela Ferreira.
“We are happy with our first season and willing for more this year,” says Gastao Fraguas Filho, Brazilian F4’s championship manager and also the 1995 Formula A karting world champion.
“Seven drivers of our maiden year are now racing in Europe and the United States. Brazil has not exported as many formula drivers in a single season over a decade. We have all the ingredients to repeat it this year and also attract competitors from other countries, particularly to the F1 round support race.”
2023 Brazilian F4 calendar
1 Interlagos: April 22/23
2 Interlagos: July 7-9
3 Autodromo Velo Citta: August 4-6
4 Goiania: August 25-27
5 Interlagos: November 3-5 [F1 support]
6 Brasilia: November 24-26