In Imola this weekend, Maya Weug continued to make significant progress, just missing out on qualifying in the top ten for race 1 and then being hit by another car when running eighth in race 3.
The fourth round of the Italian Formula 4 championship, held at Imola confirmed that Maya Weug’s learning curve is moving steadily upwards. In first qualifying, she was eleventh overall, just 53 thousandths off P10 and in Race 3, she was lying eighth overall when blamelessly rammed by another car. Maya stalled at the start of race 1, which undid the good work of qualifying, but there were clear signs of progress which is encouraging as the series heads for the halfway mark.
Race-1. Qualifying was promising, with Maya eleventh fastest and third best rookie. It was an important sign of progress over the first three rounds of the season in the Italian series. Unfortunately, her engine stalled at the start of the race and this small error had a major impact on Weug’s race, as she had dropped to last before climbing back up to 22nd with a decisive drive up the order, running at top 10 pace.
Race-2. In the second race, Maya started from 16th on the grid, following a problem in qualifying with the brake system which meant she was unable to do as well as in the first qualifying. The order did not change much in the midfield and even the arrival of the Safety Car failed to produce any changes to the order, which stayed more or less the same to the chequered flag, which Maya took in 14th place.
Race-3. The final race of the weekend was very disappointing for Weug. After a good start, maintaining her 11th place on the grid, Maya moved up to eighth before being hit at the entry to the Alta da Bence Valint chicane. She got going again in last place, and tried to fight back, also dealing with a 10 second penalty following a collision with another car, to eventually finish 20th.
Break. After Imola, it is now time for the usual summer break for the Italian Formula 4 championship, which returns at Spielberg from 10 to 12 September.