Lining up for the penultimate round of the Italian Formula 4 Championship at Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, 16-year-old British racer Freddie Slater posted two race wins and clinched the 2024 Driver Championship with four races to spare. At the same time, PREMA Racing secured the Team Championship for the eighth time since the inception of the series in 2014.

Slater took the lead at the start of Race 1 at the Spanish venue when a competitor stalled on the grid. He then cruised to victory from pole in Race 2 to finally seal the deal. Slater is the seventh PREMA driver to win the Italian Formula 4 Championship.

In an eventful weekend, Kean Nakamura-Berta posted a fourth place and a podium finish with P3 in Race 3, taking the rookie win in Race 2 and 3. Teammate Alex Powell grabbed a triple points finish and a rookie win in Race 1, to keep the class title in play heading into the Monza finale.

Tomass Stolcermanis gained confidence throughout the weekend and made good improvements with a top-5 in Race 3. Rashid Al Dhaheri and Dion Gowda were also able to deliver points finishes, with the Emirati being under the weather throughout the weekend but still proving competitive.

Joining from the PREMA Racing karting team, Oleksandr Bondarev made his first starts in single-seaters, focusing on learning and improving his racecraft in the challenging championship. He will be back for the series finale in late October at Monza.

14 RASHID AL DHAHERI

“Tough weekend overall, I think this wasn’t what we were expecting. In terms of results, I think we came this weekend not 100% on my side. We tried to do our best to maximize what we were able to get out of myself and the car. We’ll definitely come back stronger for Monza to get back to the positions where I think we should be finishing.”

Qualifying 1: P15
Qualifying 2: P13
Starting position Race 1: P15
Starting position Race 2: P13
Starting position Race 3: P15
Fastest lap: 1:42.203
Fastest lap: 1:41.350
Race 1: P11
Race 2: P9
Race 3: P14

17 OLEKSANDR BONDAREV

“It was my first race in cars, and it was quite difficult as I had to learn a lot of things that I didn’t have in karting. The one-lap pace compromised me quite a bit in qualifying, as it’s so difficult to overtake especially here. Overall, I have been improving over the three races, and we had a very positive Race 3. The pace improved massively, and I drove better, which is very important for a rookie. My next race will be Italian F4 in Monza. That will be for sure exciting with a lot of overtakes. We will work from here to see what we can do in Monza.”

Qualifying 1: P22
Qualifying 2: P25
Starting position Race 1: P22
Starting position Race 2: P24
Starting position Race 3: P21
Fastest lap: 1:42.625
Fastest lap: 1:42.048
Race 1: P19
Race 2: P25
Race 3: P18

27 FREDDIE SLATER

“Mega weekend here in Barcelona. We managed to wrap up the championship with one round to go, but I couldn’t have done it without PREMA. The team gave me great people to work with and made my life easier. I thank the whole team, Angelo, Rene, my engineer and mechanics, ADD Management, Craig Boyd, and my family for supporting me, my dad was here in Barcelona as well. Hopefully, we can get Euro 4 wrapped up as well next week!”

Qualifying 1: P2
Qualifying 2: P1
Starting position Race 1: P2
Starting position Race 2: P1
Starting position Race 3: P1
Fastest lap: 1:41.538
Fastest lap: 1:40.800
Race 1: P1
Race 2: P1
Race 3: P4

33 TOMASS STOLCERMANIS

“We didn’t start the weekend as we finished in Spielberg, just struggled a bit with the braking. We finished P12 and P14 in qualifying, which made it really difficult for the races. We were unlucky with a collision in Race 1, and there was nothing I could do there. Still, we were up four positions at that point. Race 2 was quite OK, and we were quick with fresh tyres, ending up in P8. I had really good speed again in Race 3, as driving improved as well, so we managed to gain positions to the top-5. It was a positive ending, I need to keep improving for the next races.”

Qualifying 1: P10
Qualifying 2: P6
Starting position Race 1: P10
Starting position Race 2: P6
Starting position Race 3: P13
Fastest lap: 1:42.182
Fastest lap: 1:42.286
Race 1: P16
Race 2: P8
Race 3: P5

50 DION GOWDA

“Tough qualifying here in Barcelona, and that meant we were in the back for the races, but we made progress in all races again and managed to get points. That’s a positive but hopefully, we’ll find a bit more pace in Monza, and qualify a bit further towards the front for all three races. That way, we can end the season strong.”

Qualifying 1: P10
Qualifying 2: P19
Starting position Race 1: P10
Starting position Race 2: P19
Starting position Race 3: P16
Fastest lap: 1:41.910
Fastest lap: 1:41.633
Race 1: P8
Race 2: P17
Race 3: P16

51 KEAN NAKAMURA-BERTA

“Overall it was a pretty solid weekend, I learned a lot. Race 1 was difficult for me. I made two crucial errors, which possibly cost us a podium finish. Then into Race 2, I had a solid P4 finish, just one place off the podium, and then another solid run in Race 3, where I finished P3. It was chaotic but also fun. We just keep working, and hopefully, we can climb a few more positions in Monza.”

Qualifying 1: P5
Qualifying 2: P4
Starting position Race 1: P5
Starting position Race 2: P4
Starting position Race 3: P5
Fastest lap: 1:41.736
Fastest lap: 1:40.857
Race 1: P12
Race 2: P4
Race 3: P3

80 ALEX POWELL

“Overall it was a tough weekend but with some strong races, which is very positive. We were able to recover many of the places we compromised in qualifying, where the pace was not optimal, but I feel we made up for that in the races. That’s a really big step compared to where we were early on in the year. We still have a couple of rounds to go in the Italian and Euro 4 series in Monza, and it’s going to be very exciting and very close as well. With the high-speed nature of the track, it will be a fun event there. We need to keep working and improving, and I’m sure it will be showing in Monza.”

Qualifying 1: P9
Qualifying 2: P1
Starting position Race 1: P9
Starting position Race 2: P11
Starting position Race 3: P13
Fastest lap: 1:41.918
Fastest lap: 1:41.276
Race 1: P5
Race 2: P13
Race 3: P8

Source | Photo: PREMA Racing