With three rounds to go and a long summer break looming, the Italian Formula 4 Championship lands at Imola for round 5 of a so far positive season for PREMA Racing. The team has taken a multitude of wins and podium finishes in all rounds so far and has its drivers and the series lead in all classes.
Sitting on top of the overall classification, Kean Nakamura-Berta has been impressive so far, winning seven races and maximising his score in the previous round at Mugello. The Japanese-Slovakian has a hefty lead, although he is far from unreachable. Sitting behind him, teammate Sebastian Wheldon has three wins to his credit. On a track that is so closely reminiscent of the toughest up-and-down venues of his native America, he is aiming to fight back to victory and head into the break on a high note.
The rookie championship leader is Salim Hanna, who also stands in a respectable sixth place overall. The Colombian rookie was extremely strong in the first part of the year with seven class wins to his name. However, teammate Zhenrui Chi has been catching up lately, and the Chinese driver made his breakthrough with an overall win in Monza and a P2 at Mugello. Ukrainian Oleksandr Bondarev is increasingly looking like a force to be reckoned with, as he made progress in qualifying and found consistency all around in the recent E4 Championship round at Circuit Paul Ricard.
Last but absolutely not least, PREMA is delighted to welcome back Andrea Dupé. The Frenchman had a tough first run with the team at Mugello, where a physical issue sidelined him after Race 1. The former PREMA karting driver has a learning weekend ahead of him, which will provide him with valuable opportunities.
ANGELO ROSIN - Team Founder
"Imola is a track where we always achieved good results and we hope to set the tone for a smooth final part of the year there with all our drivers. Competition in this part of the season has definitely increased. We must keep our focus and keep pushing to make further progress and gain momentum across the board. We look forward to seeing Andrea back and we hope to help him getting to pace quickly."