Powell wins again as Nakamura grows Italian F4 points lead

Photo: ACI Sport

R-ace GP’s Alex Powell won Italian Formula 4’s third race at Mugello, as Prema’s Kean Nakamura Berta added to his points lead.

Powell started from pole and after breaking the tow to those behind he pulled away to win by 5.2 seconds.

Nakamura swept to the inside at the start but lost second place to PHM Racing’s Reno Francot, while Sebastian Wheldon passed US Racing’s Gabriel Gomez and then attacked Nakamura exiting turn one.

Powell had to weave down the pit straight on lap two, and had a gap of around 0.6s to Francot until lap 10 when he began to escape Francot.

Gomez moved back ahead of Wheldon as lap four began, while his Prema team-mates Salim Hanna Hernandez and Newman Chi went side-by-side for ninth place.

Between them was another Prema driver, Sacha Bondarev, who was trying to pass US’s Luka Sammalisto but went too deep and lost out to Van Amersfoort Racing’s Maximilian Popov through turns three and four.

They were attacking Wheldon by the end of lap seven, and when he ran wide exiting the final corner it allowed them to get alongside him. Sammalisto went to the outside, Popov went to the inside and both cleared him at turn one, then at the next corner Popov had the outside line and swept around Sammalisto for fifth.

Bondarev, Hanna and Chi were next to reach Wheldon, with VAR’s Alexander Ruta behind that trio after a failed move on Hanna meant he lost out to Chi.

On lap nine, Bondarev went around the outside of Wheldon at turn one but spun at turn two. Chi slipstreamed past Wheldon on lap 10, then Hanna did the same a lap later.

Ruta was alongside Wheldon as lap 12 began, and two positions were lost at turn one as Ruta went by on the outside and VAR’s Dante Vinci snuck past on the inside.

Wheldon eventually finished 14th, and after Nakamura held off a late challenge from Gomez for third it meant his gap to Wheldon at the top of the standings grew to 59 points.

Race results (17 laps)