Sztuka assumes Italian F4 points lead with sixth straight win

Photo: ACI Sport

US Racing’s Kacper Sztuka has returned to the top of the Italian Formula 4 standings after he took his sixth straight win in race three at Mugello.

It was a lights-to-flag win for the Pole, who finished 2.885 seconds ahead of Prema’s Ugo Ugochukwu. James Wharton was not too far behind in third in another of Prema’s cars, while Sztuka’s team-mate Akshay Bohra resisted late pressure from Prema’s Tuukka Taponen for fourth.

The race featured an extra formation lap due to AKM Motorsport’s Frederik Lund stopping on track during the first one, and on lap two there was plenty of drama as Ivan Domingues went off while fighting Van Amersfoort Racing team-mate Matheus Ferreira, Prema’s Niko Lacorte lost his front wing and BVM Racing’s Alfio Spina got beached in the gravel.

The safety car came out and Lacorte was able to pit for a new wing, with team-mate Alex Powell following him in and retiring.

On the next lap PHM Racing’s Nandhavud Bhirombhakdi ploughed into the back of US Racing’s Kabir Anurag and destroyed the front-left of his car, leading to him retiring in the gravel. Anurag got back to the pits but also retired.

The safety car stayed out until the end of lap four, and Sztuka repeated his trick from the earlier races of delaying his acceleration until the final moment. The top four broke away, before Taponen closed back in, and VAR’s Brando Badoer finished sixth.

Prema’s Arvid Lindblad was seventh until the final lap, when he dropped to 10th and therefore lost his points lead to Sztuka. US Racing’s Zachary David had been fighting with Lindblad and he finished seventh, while Prema’s Rashid Al Dhaheri threw away his chance of scoring by going off through the gravel mid-race.

Race result (15 laps)