Formula 4 – Camara and Wharton on the Spielberg podium

In what was a very competitive and intense weekend at the Red Bull Ring, Rafael Camara and James Wharton both made it to the podium and Maya Weug got a top ten finish.

The Italian Formula 4 championship was back in action after the summer break at the Spielberg circuit. No fewer than forty cars were entered, which meant the organisers had to split the drivers into three groups after qualifying before taking part in three races with a mix from the various groups, ending up with a 36 car final race.

Plenty of points. Rafael Camara, James Wharton and Maya Weug were first, fourth and fifth respectively in the second qualifying, which was an encouraging start to the weekend. In the first race, Camara started from pole and led for the opening laps. However, he did not get the best of restarts after a Safety Car period and in an ensuing duel, he collided with another car and broke his front wing, finishing up outside the points. Wharton however had an excellent race, having challenged for the lead for a while and coming home in second place. It was a significant result for the 16 year old Australian.

All 3 in the final. The second event was run in the wet and Camara did well to finish second in a race that was pretty linear. Wharton picked up points for sixth. In Race 3, Maya Weug showed that she is making continuous progress by coming home eighth. The Ferrari Driver Academy trio all made it through to the final in which Wharton took the chequered flag in fourth place, very close to the podium finishers. Weug only just missed out on a top ten finish in 11th place, while Camara was 13th. 

Assessment.  “Overall, it was a good weekend,” commented Wharton. “I got on the podium in Race 1 and finished in the points in the other two races which is encouraging for the next round at Monza.” Camara had a tougher time of it: “I had a difficult weekend, no so much in terms of performance but for other reasons which impacted my points tally for this round.” At the end of the Spielberg round, Camara is second in the standings on 201 points, while Wharton consolidated fourth place, moving up to 150 points. Weug also moved up and is now 14th on 34 points.