This weekend the team was in Monza for the penultimate round of the Italian F4 Championship. Mixed conditions throughout the week-end made it a real challenge for our engineers, having to find competitive wet and dry set-ups.

With over 40 cars on track, qualifying was complicated. It was a constant battle against traffic and with 4 red flags, putting in a good lap was a real challenge. Elia #48 qualified P35 in Q1 & Q2 with Francisco #54 not far behind, qualifying P38 & 39.

That afternoon, the start of Race 1 one was given. Having 44 cars entering in turn 1 meant that a yellow flag was shown almost immediately because of several contacts in Monza’s renowned ‘prima variante’ & Francisco #54 was forced to box to change his front wing. Thanks to a great pit stop from the mechanics and followed by a clean drive from both #48 & #54, both drivers managed to cross the line having gained a noteworthy 15 & 18 positions respectively.

The next morning, the team arrived on track under heavy rain showers. Unsurprisingly, an incident in the formation lap meant that the second race was suspended and postponed to the afternoon when the asphalt had dried up.

Despite the dry conditions, it wasn’t any less chaotic with two safety cars and a red-flag finish. Nonetheless, both drivers crossed the line and with a few cunning overtakes Elia #48 was able to gain 17 positions with Francisco #54 by his side gaining 12.

On the whole, a really positive week-end for the team. We are slowly but surely reaching a competitive race pace and now need to keep working on qualifying pace.
Heads down for final push to the last round of the Championship in Mugello in two weeks!

The Maffi Racing Team
#drivenbyracing