Italian F4: Maya breaks the ice

This weekend, the 16 year old Dutch girl has made her single-seater debut, taking part in the opening round of the Italian Formula 4 championship, held at France’s Paul Ricard circuit. She demonstrated a sensible approach and made progress over the course of the event.

This was an unforgettable experience for Maya Weug, the first woman to join the Ferrari Driver Academy, as the 16 year old Dutch girl made her single-seater debut at France’s Paul Ricard circuit. She took part in the three races of the opening round of the Italian Formula 4 Championship Certified by FIA. Maya demonstrated a sensible approach and improved gradually, finishing the third race in 15th place overall out of a field of 37, as well as making it to the podium for rookie drivers.

Race-1. Maya recorded the 26th and 19th best times in qualifying round the Le Castellet track, and secured 17th place, with the second best time that set the grid, for Race 3. She lined up for the opening race on the 13th row of the grid. Track conditions were tricky because of light rain falling before the start and the race began with a rolling start after a few laps following the Safety Car. She moved up a few place to take the chequered flag in 19th spot, fifth best rookie.

Race-2. In the second race, Weug started from the tenth row and was up to 17th by the end of the second lap. On the following lap there was chaos and confusion in the mid-field and although Maya emerged unscathed, she lost nine places. In a race featuring two Safety Car periods, at the wheel of the 83 car entered by Iron Lynx-Iron Dames, she managed to finish 17th, again fifth best rookie.

Race-3. In the third and final race at Paul Ricard, Maya lined up on the eighth row of the grid. This race also saw a few appearances from the Safety Car and Weug managed all the restarts well, to finish 15th and second best rookie. It was an encouraging end to Maya’s debut weekend, as she made no mistakes throughout qualifying and the races.

Good starting point. “I think Maya started off with the right attitude,” commented Marco Matassa, head of the FDA. “On a weekend when everything was new for her, she didn’t make any mistakes, a very encouraging sign of progress made. We will now work together from this starting point and I think she should be pleased with what she achieved in her first weekend of racing single-seaters.”

Next round. The Italian Formula 4 championship will be back on track for Round 2, from 4 to 6 June at the Misano Adriatico circuit.