F. Regional: Leclerc and Petecof racing at scenic Mugello

The European Formula Regional championship reaches its halfway point this weekend. The fourth of eight rounds on the calendar takes place at the Mugello circuit and the Ferrari Driver Academy (FDA) drivers, Gianluca Petecof and Arthur Leclerc go into the weekend in Tuscany in first and second places respectively in the championship.

Gianluca. Petecof has been on great form in the early rounds. The 18 year old Brazilian took pole five times in row, with four wins to his name, including in both races at the last round in Spielberg. Out of nine races, Petecof has also been runner-up four times and fourth once, thanks to his speed and consistency. Gianluca will be reacquainting himself with a track that is special to him, having taken his first Formula 4 victory here in 2018 in what was a great debut season.

Arthur. Gianluca can boast 184 points thanks to his excellent start, but Leclerc is not far off, just 22 points behind. The 19 year old Monegasque driver paid the price for failing to score in the opening round but since then, he has always finished on the podium, with three wins, four second places and one third. Leclerc has also gone well in qualifying, with four pole positions to date. This will be Arthur’s first time racing at Mugello, although he did take part in a recent test session here.

Programme. The duel between Petecof and Leclerc should be one of the highlights of the weekend, which gets underway with qualifying at 10.15 on Saturday. Race 1 is at 14.30, while the two other races are on Sunday at 10.45 and 15.40.