Round 1 of the championship got underway in Misano where the team’s star driver line-up shone throughout the weekend’s three races with two podium finishes and two rookie victories.

Estonian racer Juri Vips proved highly competitive with a third-place finish in Race 1. He narrowly missed out on a second podium finishing fourth in Race 2 before contact with another car in Race 3 ended his chances of fighting for victory. Ferrari Driver Academy member Marcus Armstrong put in a strong performance on his series debut. The rookie F4 driver from New Zealand finished fifth in Race 1 before claiming second place and a maiden podium finish in Race 2. Like Vips, he suffered contact in Race 3 which eliminated his chances of a second podium.

Fellow Ferrari Driver Academy racer Enzo Fittipaldi enjoyed a spectacular debut F4 weekend. The Brazilian, grandson of 2-time F1 World Champion Emerson Fittipaldi, took home two rookie wins as well as a stunning top-5 overall result in Race 3. American Juan Manuel Correa had a tough start to 2017 with a retirement in Race 1 due to contact with another car. The 2016 F4 race-winner rebounded with a strong top-10 finish in Race 2 before having to pit for a new wing in Race 3, finishing in P20.

Marcus Armstrong
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“Not the way I intended to start my Italian championship, but with one podium I am still quite happy. We had an incident in the last race which has made us all displeased but we have set a good grounding for the rest of the series”.