A fortunate drive from Marcos Siebert allowed the Argentine to claim victory in the final Italian F4 qualifying race at Adria, after a crash between the leaders saw former championship leader Raul Guzman forced into retirement.
Guzman had started on pole, but a poor start from the Mexican saw him drop to third as he watched rookie Simone Cunati race off into the distance. Determined not to let the Italian get away, Guzman dove up the inside of Siebert, seizing second from the Argentine after five laps.
Behind the top three, Ye Yifei was unable to replicate his speed from yesterday, as he held up the chasing rookies of Richard Verschoor and Ian Geoffrey Rodriguez. Luckily for the Chinese driver, he was given some breathing space as the safety car was deployed.
With 15 minutes still remaining on the clock the race was neutralised with Federico Iribarne and Giacomo Bianchi coming to blows. The incident left Fabienne Wohlwend nowhere to go as she beached herself off the track with Bianchi being forced to pit.
While the safety car had only held the drivers up for a lap, it was enough for Cunati to have lost all of the lead he’d built up. Guzman was determined to reclaim the lead, as the top two broke away from the pack.
The two were warned about track limits as the battle for the lead intensified. Eventually, Guzman tried to take the position around the outside of turn three with the two coming together. The Mexican was forced to retire as Cunati lost time, dropping to second overall, allowing Siebert to inherit the lead.
After being under investigation for track limits earlier on, Valentin Hasse-Clot’s day went from bad to worse after he was given a drive-through penalty. But despite constant warnings the Frenchman continued, eventually being black flagged before the finish.
Marino Sato was on the move as the race drew to a close. After a few laps being stuck behind Rodriguez, the Japanese driver finally made his way past, taking fifth in the dying laps. With Siebert unable to break away, it became a train for the top four places, but Cunati was not close enough to make a move accepting second.
Siebert took the flag to regain the championship momentum and set up an interesting final. Cunati and Ye rounded out the mornings podium, giving them promising grid positions for the final race. Behind them, Verschoor and the ever impressive Sato rounded out the top five, allowing Rodriguez to claim sixth.
