PREMA, Antonelli take Italian F4 title with triple Mugello win
PREMA Racing capped its phenomenal 2022 Formula 4 season at Mugello, home of the 2022 Italian Formula 4 Championship finale. Having secured the team title in the previous round at Monza, the Italian team celebrated Andrea Kimi Antonelli, who posted an incredible triple win and mathematically clinched the title in Race 1.
The Italian was outstanding: after securing a double pole in qualifying, but even improved in the race, leading all the laps to take three wins. His total for the Italian season was a record 13 wins, and he also brought home the rookie title. One week ago at Nürburgring, he had secured the German F4 title.
Rafael Camâra finished third in points with two poles and two overall wins to his credit. The Brazilian racer was in line for a possible fight for the win in race 3, when he started from the pole but was crashed out of contention in the first corner. Camara also got another podium, his tenth of the year, with P3 in race 2.
However, it was Race 3 was the one that brought PREMA the most silverware and a hat-trick to finish off the season in style. American Ugo Ugochukwu won a race-long battle with teammate Charlie Wurz to take P2, while the Austrian confirmed his brilliant pace with third after scoring points in Race 1 and two. Wurz finished fourth in the championship ahead of James Wharton. The Australian didn't have a lucky weekend, but made a great rebound on the two races on Sunday, especially in Race 3 where he moved from P14 to fifth place.
Danish racer Conrad Laursen had a tough weekend, with DNFs in Race 1 and Race 3, while a difficult qualifying run jeopardized his efforts which resulted in P22 in Race 2.
#3 - Ugo Ugochukwu
The final part of the season with the team was pretty positive, and I've been really enjoying it. Straight away from joining the team, I found myself really well and they made me very comfortable. I feel I've been improving race by race. Here at Mugello we made some good steps throughout the weekend, and I got another podium on my second weekend in the Italian Championship. I want to thank PREMA for making me feel welcome. I feel like I've gained a lot of experience, and I'm looking forward to what is coming next.
#7 - Charlie Wurz
We had a good weekend with positive results and secured P4 in the championship. I think we can be happy with that. I wish we had a better start to the season because in the last two races, when we adjusted the setup, we found a lot more pace and we got a win, a pole position, and many podiums. I'm still really happy, and a big thank you goes to the team, they have been so strong all year in the UAE, the Italian and the German championships. My teammates were strong as well, so it was great to compare and race with them. The whole team is so motivated, and I'm incredibly thankful to have raced with them this year.
#12 - Andrea Kimi Antonelli
"I'm extremely delighted even though honestly I still haven't fully realised the fact that I won the title! It has been a great and intense season. It didn't start perfectly, but we worked really hard and managed to recover. Winning the championship with such a great weekend is even more rewarding. Without PREMA, Mercedes, my sponsors, my family, and ACI Sport, I wouldn't be here, so I really want to thank them. They supported me in the past, and they keep supporting me."
13 - James Wharton
"I think there have been some ups and downs this year, I had a couple of rookie wins, and a couple of podiums as well. Overall, it has been a good season, maybe not exactly what I wanted, with some bad results and unlucky situations I was involved in. I'm happy, but I want more, and I'm looking forward to the next opportunities out there."
#20 - Conrad Laursen
"Overall, the pace has been a bit up and down this season which was the main issue. However, we had a lot of good races throughout the year, but the results didn't come. Luck sometimes was not on our side, but it was the pace that hasn't been there all the time. I think we found it in the end, but by then it was a bit too late. It was not the best season, but I learned a lot from it to move forward in my career."
#88 - Rafael Camara
"Honestly, I wasn't expecting to adapt so fast at the beginning of the season in UAE, and that gave me good confidence for the Italian championship. In the beginning, it was only my first year, and I didn't have all the experience, but in the end, I think we did some great races and I learned a lot. I enjoyed working with my engineer, as we had a great relationship, and I think we definitely did a good job."