After a delayed start, Indian F4 is finally kicking off this weekend in Chennai. The championship welcomes eleven drivers for its opening season, all racing with the same team, as MP Motorsport is running all the cars. Who will come out on top for this first Indian F4 campaign? Here is our guide to the 2023 Indian F4 season.

By Perceval Wolff

For the first time in India’s history, an FIA-certified feeder series will fully take place in the country. Some years ago, the MRF Challenge took place, as a winter series rival to New Zealand’s Toyota Racing Series, crowning drivers like Pietro Fittipaldi, Felipe Drugovich, and Jamie Chadwick.

Team and cars

Unlike most other national F4 series, Indian F4 has chosen the Mygale M21-F4, powered by an Alpine engine, the same combination used in French F4 since 2022. Also like French F4, the championship will be centrally-run, with all cars prepared by F2, F3 and F4 race-winning team MP Motorsport.

The calendar

All rounds will be held alongside the Indian Racing League.

Round 1 – Madras International Circuit (4-5 November)

Round 2 – Madras International Circuit (30 November-1 December)

Round 3 – Madras International Circuit (2-3 December)

Round 4 – Chennai Formula Racing Circuit (9 December)

Round 5 – Chennai Formula Racing Circuit (10 December)

The weekend format and broadcasting

The weekend’s format is set to have three races per weekend, as well as two qualifying sessions. The first qualifying session will set the grid for race one and the second qualifying session will set the grid for race three. Championship promoters have confirmed to Feeder Series that race two’s grid will be set by using race one’s results and reversing the top six.

Championship promoters have also confirmed that all races will be broadcasted on YouTube, most likely on the Indian Racing League channel.

The drivers

Eleven drivers are joining Indian F4 for its opening season, with several of them having already won races earlier this year in Europe. Eight of Italian F4 and third of Euro 4 with one maiden win at the final round in Barcelona, Akshay Bohra is regarded as the title favourite. The 16-year-old Indian-American driver has shown a steady progression throughout his first full year in single-seaters. The little brother of FRECA driver Nikhil Bohra would be keen to finish the season with a title, especially on home soil.

Dion Gowda is another driver who has fought for a title in Europe, eventually finishing fourth in British F4 with three race wins for Rodin Carlin. The 15-year-old from Bangalore will turn 16 at the end of the month and will surely be fighting at the front in India. However, he will miss the opening round and join the series from the second round onwards.

Cooper Webster comes from a different background, as the 20-year-old Australian first met success in sim-racing with Oracle Red Bull Racing Esports, clinching a win in the Le Mans Virtual Series in 2022. Webster had a smooth transition to IRL racing with a third place at the S5000 Australian Drivers’ Championship last year, before finishing as runner-up in GB4 this year with five race wins.

16-year-old Rohaan Madesh is one of India’s brightest karting talents. The 2022 Senior National champion, has impressed many at the FEED Racing competition in France this summer, by being the second fastest driver of his group, only being beaten by eventual future winner Augustin Bernier. However, Madesh was unable to attend the quarter-finals because of university exams. Close to CIK-FIA president Akbar Ebrahim, his family is building the first international karting circuit in India.

19-year-old Shahan Ali Moshin has won multiple titles on the national karting scene since his teenage years. He has also collected several wins in single-seaters in India, particularly  in the MRF Challenge 1600 and the Indian Racing League.

Rishab Jain is a 22-year-old Singaporean driver who raced in Italian F4 for six rounds in 2022 for BWR Motorsport. Jain studies full-time at the National University of Singapore Business School alongside his passion for racing.

Alex Sawer is a 15-year-old Vietnamese driver who will be making his single-seater debut after racing in Europe for the first time this year in the OK karting category. 

Nooris Gafoor was this year’s Singaporean ROK karting champion and Asian runner-up.

Having just turned 15 last week, Arjun Chheda from Pune will be the youngest driver in the field. He was previously chosen by the Ferrari Driver Academy for the Asia Pacific and Oceania selections. 

15-year-old Australian Jack Taylor will also make his single-seater debut, after being one of the drivers assessed by the Ferrari Driver Academy at the same Asia Pacific and Oceania selections. 

24-year-old Salva Marjan will be the only female driver of the series. The girl from Kozhikode started her racing career in 2017 and has mainly raced in Formula LGB cars in India with some machinery derived from Formula Ford. She is willing to participate in F4 UAE next season.

Where to watch?

All races are due to be broadcast on YouTube.

Header photo credit: Indian Racing League