Photo: SMP Karting
Artem Severiukhin leads Russia’s revived SMP Formula 4 championship after the first two rounds.
Originally run from 2015 to 2019, with its 2017 and ’18 seasons recognised as the FIA-certified F4 North European Zone championship, SMP F4 was brought back by ex-Formula 1 drivers Vitaly Petrov and Sergey Sirotkin last November as a centrally-run one-off event in Sochi.
After several heat races, 10 drivers contested a 24-lap final. Yaroslav Shevyrtalov won by 14.68 seconds over Egor Nosov.
For the 2025 season, drivers would represent different teams and they got to know their respective crews during pre-season testing at Autodrom Moscow in early May.
There was then pre-event testing at Moscow Raceway on May 13/14, where a 1m37.162s put Egor Stepanov-Kim on top. The opening round took place at the track on May 16-18, and Shevyrtalov pipped Platon Kostin to pole by 0.139s in the first qualifying session. Severiukhin was 0.509s off the pace in third, then 0.072s split the next four drivers.
Shevyrtalov was incredibly slow off the line in race one, falling down the order, and Kostin took a lead he would not give up. Kirill Kutskov and Severiukhin slotted in behind, and Vladimir Verkholantsev got onto their tail on lap six.
Ivan Ovsienko was attacking Ivan Pigaev behind them, and took fifth as lap eight began. They quickly joined the battle ahead, and Kostin and Kutskov stretched away as a pack formed.
Verkholantsev pressured Severiukhin through lap eight, and got a move done down the back straight on lap 10. Severiukhin then lost out to Ovsienko too by going off at the last corner.
Front wing damage soon removed Verkholantsev from the seven-car train, as he slowed then pitted. Severiukhin got back past Ovsienko and his defences actually enabled Mikhail Yushenkov to steal fourth at turn one on lap 13. He then eyed up Severiukhin, but ran off at the final corner on lap 14 and Ovsienko was back through.
Ovsienko got alongside Severiukhin down the back straight on lap 15, and the latter had a big lock-up that sent him and Ovsienko off and promoted Yushenkov to third entering the pit straight.
A technical issue then ended Severiukhin’s race, and Ovsienko had to overtake Shevyrtalov to get back into fourth. The battles continued into the last lap, and Shevyrtalov held off Mikhail Kaurov in a photo finish. But Kaurov ended up finishing fourth, as Kostin was disqualified for not providing an adequate fuel sample are winning with 8.102s in hand over Kutskov and Shevyrtalov was demoted a place post-race.
Kostin was fastest in Q2, denying Shevyrtalov race two pole by 0.022s. Severiukhin and Nosov were 0.106s and 0.142s off pole, Stepanov-Kim was fifth and Kutskov was 0.742s behind in eighth.
Pre-race rain meant tyre choices were made late for race two, and Shevyrtalov took the lead into the first corner. But Nosov was soon ahead, and engaged in battle with Severiukhin. Kostin lost ground and later came to a stop on track.
Severiukhin took the lead on lap two, and pulled away in the race’s second half when Shevyrtalov began defending second from Nosov. On lap 16, Shevyrtalov ran over the turn one kerbs and lost a place, then went behind Kutskov a lap later. Gaps opened up thereon.
Ovsienko started on pole for race three, ahead of Verkholantsev, Shevyrtalov and Kutskov. Severiukhin jumped the start from sixth, and got into third on lap one one while Ovsienko sank after being late to leave the line.
Verkholantsev led Kutskov through lap one, then had Severiukhin behind him by lap two. He defended well, but Severiukhin went around the outside of him at the final corner on lap four and then pulled away up front.
Kutskov soon cleared Verkholantsev, and was distanced by the leader but inherited victory as Severiukhin had a 30s penalty for jumping the start. Nosov and Kostin had a race-long feud for what would be third, with Nosov prevailing by 0.218s.
Round two took place at Igora Drive on June 14/15, and Shevyrtalov was fastest in Q1 by 0.411s. Severiukhin was second, and Vladislav Ryabov was 0.898s behind in third. Kutskov was a second off the pace in fourth, just ahead of Nosov and Stepanov-Kim who set identical personal best laptimes.
Aside from a lap one collision between Gerasim Skulanov and Stepanov-Kim, race one was quiet. Severiukhin dived past Shevyrtalov at turn one but ran too deep and returned to second place. He pressured Shevyrtalov again on lap seven, then on lap 14 tried the outside at turn one. After going off, he rejoined alongside and took the lead into turn two.
Kutskov finished 15s behind, with a 2.5s gap to Anatoly Khavalkin after Skulanov slowed on the final lap. However when the two ahead were disqualified due to a lack of fuel, Skulanov was promoted to third.
Severiukhin dominated Q2, setting a 1m54.264s to take race two pole by 0.402s. Stepanov-Kim beat Shevyrtalov to second by 0.066s, with Ryabov and Nosov completing the top five.
The top three finished where they started in race two. Ryabov locked up at turn one on lap two but did pass Shevyrtalov seconds later, only to be back behind two laps later and lose out to Kutskov as well.
The fight for sixth was tense, and Pigaev, Kostin and Nosov began lap 12 three-wide before colliding and causing race-ending red flags. Kostin was sixth by 0.032s, before a three-second penalty demoted him to ninth.
Nosov and Ryabov shared the front row for the reversed-grid race three, and Kutskov overtook both on lap one. It was initially Nosov who pressured Kutskov, forcing him into a turn one lock-up on lap four. But Severiukhin and Shevyrtalov then passed Nosov later around the lap.
Severiukhin got on Kutskov’s tail on lap 10 and attempting a diving move at turn one. A lap later he tried the outside and there was almost contact, and on lap 13 he dived down the inside again but Kutskov ran off and stayed ahead.
He returned to the outside line on lap 14, and they almost clashed, then a huge lunge into the final corner on lap 15 meant Severiukhin began the final lap centimetres ahead.
They went side-by-side through the first three corners before Kutskov established himself ahead. But a one-second penalty was issued for not giving Severiukhin enough racing room, handing his rival victory by 0.745s.
Shevyrtalov got a 0.5s penalty for the same offence against Nosov, which handed the latter third place.
Results round-up
Sochi [2024 SMP F4 Cup]
Final (24 laps)
1 Yaroslav Shevyrtalov 26m42.146s
2 Egor Nosov +14.680s
3 Vladimir Verkholantsev +16.010s
4 Andrey Dubynin +16.405s
5 Egor Stepanov-Kim +16.964s
6 Maxim Turiev +21.495s
7 Platon Kostin +23.405s
8 Ivan Pigaev +29.217s
9 Konstantin Sugrobov +33.279s
10 Andrey Sizov +1 lap
Fastest lap: Shevyrtalov, 1m03.681s
Moscow Raceway
Race 1 (19 laps)
1 Kirill Kutskov Prima Racing 31m04.741s
2 Mikhail Yushenkov NI Racing +25.106s
3 Ivan Ovsienko Prima Racing +28.777s
4 Mikhail Kaurov TMS Racing +30.712s
5 Shevyrtalov Lada Sport +30.496s
6 Pigaev ITeCo Racing +33.202s
7 Marco Markozov SMP Racing +34.951s
8 Stepan Antonov Texol Racing +38.209s
9 Matvey Sonkin TMS Racing +43.299s
10 Stepanov-Kim SPM Racing +41.589s
Pole: Shevyrtalov, 1m36.923s
FL: Kutskov, 1m37.525s
Race 2 (19 laps)
1 Artem Severiukhin Lada Sport 31m05.517s
2 Nosov SMP Racing +5.935s
3 Kutskov +7.620s
4 Shevyrtalov +11.619s
5 Verkholantsev SMP Racing +12.592s
6 Ovsienko +15.113s
7 Pigaev +16.489s
8 Stepanov-Kim +18.378s
9 Antonov +24.902s
10 Sonkin +25.664s
P: Kostin, 1m36.830s
FL: Severiukhin, 1m37.218s
Race 3 (19 laps)
1 Kutskov 31m03.944s
2 Shevyrtalov +7.578s
3 Nosov +8.873s
4 Kostin NI Racing +9.091s
5 Ovsienko +14.302s
6 Verkholantsev +17.052s
7 Pigaev +18.366s
8 Stepanov-Kim +25.232s
9 Severiukhin +25.282s
10 Sonkin +27.962s
FL: Severiukhin, 1m37.253s
Igora Drive
Race 1 (16 laps)
1 Severiukhin 30m38.227s
2 Shevyrtalov +0.526s
3 Gerasim Skulanov Texol Racing +21.727s
4 Verkholantsev +22.438s
5 Pigaev +23.203s
6 Kostin +24.123s
7 Nosov +30.792s
8 Vladislav Ryabov Texol Racing +34.010s
9 Yushenkov +36.515s
10 Kaurov +38.842s
P: Shevyrtalov, 1m53.513s
FL: Kostin, 1m54.165s
Race 2 (11 laps)
1 Severiukhin 21m11.193s
2 Stepaniv-Kim +4.303s
3 Shevyrtalov +4.679s
4 Kutskov +8.390s
5 Ryabov +10.694s
6 Nosov +15.112s
7 Pigaev +15.175s
8 Verkholantsev +17.820s
9 Kostin +18.080s
10 Kaurov +18.781s
P: Severiukhin, 1m54.264s
FL: Severiukhin, 1m54.840s
Race 3 (16 laps)
1 Severiukhin 30m52.735s
2 Kutskov +0.745s
3 Nosov +1.088s
4 Shevyrtalov +1.294s
5 Stepanov-Kim +1.753s
6 Kostin +11.120s
7 Anatoly Khavalkin Prima Racing +11.750s
8 Verkholantsev +14.881s
9 Kaurov +15.230s
10 Pigaev +15.982s
FL: Shevyrtalov, 1m54.796s
Championship standings
1 Severiukhin 133 2 Shevyrtalov 122 3 Kutskov 103 4 Nosov 81 5 Stepanov-Kim 63 6 Kostin 55 7 Verkholantsev 54 8 Pigaev 54 9 Yushenkov 41 10 Ovsienko 37