The 2024 season marks Chinese F4’s 10th year in existence, and as in previous seasons, we can expect to see rising talents emerge from the series. With the opening race in Shanghai coming up this weekend alongside F1’s returning Chinese Grand Prix, here’s what you need to know about the 2024 Chinese F4 season.

By Kaylene Lau

With the return of the Chinese Grand Prix to the Formula 1 calendar, the opening round of the 2024 Chinese F4 season will take place during the same weekend as a support race.

Last season, Tiago Rodrigues claimed the championship title after a close battle with Liu Kaishun, with Jing Zefeng coming in 3rd.

In the 2024 season, the championship moved from the Mygale M14-F4 to its successor, the M21-F4. This car has been used by French F4 since 2022 and Indian F4 since its debut season in 2023, and it replaces the old Mygale car used since Chinese F4’s first season in 2015.

The new cars took to the track for the first time in the championship’s pre-season testing at the Ningbo International Circuit in March.

Most teams have yet to announce their full driver line-ups, and driver line-ups are likely to change as the championship progresses. A few drivers currently confirmed to be competing in the series have had prior experience racing in Chinese F4 or in other F4 series. There are set to be 14 teams and 27 drivers competing in the opening round in Shanghai this weekend, several of them likely for that round alone.

The calendar

The 2024 season will feature five rounds. In addition, an invitational round at the Macau Grand Prix in November is still to be confirmed. The Ningbo International Circuit and the Zhuhai International Circuit stay on the calendar from last season, whilst the Shanghai International Circuit and the Chengdu International Circuit have been added to this year’s list of locations.

Round 1: Shanghai International Circuit (19–21 April)

Round 2: Chengdu Tianfu Circuit (24–26 May)

Round 3: Ningbo International Circuit (26–30 June)

Round 4: Shanghai International Circuit (13–15 September)

Round 5: Zhuhai International Circuit (18–20 October)

Invitational Round (TBC): Guia Circuit (14–17 November)

The format

There will be 18 races held during the course of this season. The first round will feature only two races, whilst every other round will have four.

Depending on the number of races for each round, the race schedule will be different. There are two practice sessions which are 25 minutes each. In the opening round in Shanghai, there is one qualifying session as only two races will be run. However, for the rest of the rounds, there will be two qualifying sessions. Qualifying sessions run for 25 minutes. Races are 30 minutes plus one lap.

For the opening round in Shanghai, as there are only two races, one race will take place on Saturday and the second on Sunday. For the rounds with four races, two will take place on Saturday and two will take place on Sunday.

As for how the grids are set, race one will be based on the results of the first qualifying session. For race two, the grid is drawn by reversing the top 10 on the grid based on the results of race one. The grid for race three is set based on the second qualifying session, and as it also is for race two, the grid for race four is set by reversing the top 10 finishers of race three.

Points are also awarded differently depending on the number of races held on each race weekend. Points go to the top 10 finishers following the FIA points format for the top 10 drivers, with no additional points given for pole position or fastest lap.

Where to watch

Chinese F4 races will be livestreamed on the series’ official Weibo account, which will be easier to access for viewers outside of China. Chinese F4 live streams are also available on Bilibili, Penguin Sport and Youku. Within China, you may be able to watch the series on CCTV-5, the China Central Television’s sport channel, though the opening round is not set to be broadcast.

Teams and drivers

AdamCar Motorsport

AdamCar Motorsport rejoins Chinese F4 in 2024 having previously competed in the series in 2022 as iDEAK Racing. In 2022, iDEAK placed eighth in the teams’ championship with 61 points.

The team has signed driver Xu Ziyang for the 2024 season. This marks the driver’s first time participating in Chinese F4, though Xu will be absent from the opening round.

Jing Zefeng (#56) will be racing for AdamCar in the opening round. Jing placed third in the championship standings last year, taking one win.

Black Blade Racing

Known as Smart Life Racing Team in previous seasons, the team has rebranded as Black Blade Racing for the 2024 Chinese F4 season. As Smart Life, the team won two drivers’ and one teams’ championships, most recently in 2022 with driver Gerrard Xie taking the championship title. The team’s previous successes in the series combined with their rebrand will surely make them a team to look out for on the track this season.

The runner-up of last season’s championship, Liu Kaishun (#72), returns to Chinese F4 in 2024. Liu had a thrilling title fight with Rodrigues, the winner of last season’s championship, racking up seven wins last season. Liu will be eager to take the championship title that he just missed out on last year.

Fu Yuhao (#99) joins Black Blade for the opening round. Fu will also be racing in British F4 this season with Virtuosi Racing, and he previously competed in the 2024 season of F4 UAE.

Also with Black Blade but under the Black Blade GP banner is Liu Ruiqi (#66) makes his return to Chinese F4 in the opening round. Liu took seven podiums last season, three of which were wins, and finished fourth in the championship standings. He is also set to compete in FRECA this year with Trident.

Zhang Jun (#25) will be racing for Black Blade in the opening round of Chinese F4, his debut in the series.

Champ Motorsport

Champ Motorsport driver Tiago Rodrigues won the drivers’ championship last season. The team will be eager to repeat that success this year.

In hopes of doing so, Champ has signed Macanese driver Marcus Cheong as one of its drivers for this season. Cheong has experience driving in Chinese F4, participating in the first and third rounds for Blackjack Racing last season. Cheong’s highest finish in Chinese F4 last season was fifth, a result he earned in two races at the Pingtan Ruyi Lake International Circuit. Cheong will not compete in the opening round.

Making his Chinese F4 debut, Wang Yi (#68) joins Champ Motorsport for the 2024 season. Wang previously competed in the China GT Championship in 2022, winning races one and two in Ningbo.

Tsang Wai Yip (#2) joins Champ Motorsport for the 2024 season, competing in the masters category. Tsang has been racing formula cars since 2019 and was the runner-up for the masters’ championship last season. Tsang will compete under the Chinese name of Champ, Kai Fei Motorsports.

Chung Wing Yeung Kenny (#7) joins Champ Motorsport for the 2024 season, also competing under the team’s name of Kai Fei. Chung has experience racing touring and GT cars, and he will be competing in the masters category.

Luo Yi Feng (#33) debuts with Champ to participate in the masters class of Chinese F4. Luo will be competing as a driver for the Champ Pro Racing team.

Also joining Champ for the 2024 season is Albert Cheung (#3), who makes his return to the masters class of Chinese F4. Cheung participated in the Ningbo round last season, with his highest finish being ninth in races two and four. Like Luo, Cheung will be competing as a part of Champ Pro.

Blackjack Racing

Blackjack Racing returns for 2024 in collaboration with Asia Racing Team (ART), which has been present in Chinese F4 since the series’ inaugural season. In the opening round, the team races as PingTan RaXing Team by Blackjack.

Having finished ninth in the championship last year with Geeke Team, Jiang Fukang (#22) will switch to Blackjack Racing for the 2024 season. Racing only in the opening round at Zhuhai last season, Jiang scored 64 points and won the fourth race at Zhuhai. He has seen success in other F4 series: he competed in the opening round of F4 South East Asian last fall, earning second- and third-place finishes in Zhuzhou.

Vietnamese driver Alex Sawer (#12) joins Blackjack Racing to compete in the season opener in Shanghai as well. Sawer placed fifth in the inaugural Indian F4 championship, securing six podium finishes, one of them a win, during his first year racing in F4. In addition, Sawer will be competing in FRECA this year for KIC Motorsport. As the first Vietnamese driver to win an FIA-sanctioned event, Sawer will be looking to continue his successful momentum in his Chinese F4 debut.

Also joining Blackjack Racing’s 2024 lineup is Li Sicheng (#27), who will be racing in the opening round in Shanghai. As the runner-up of the 2021 Chinese F4 Championship and third-place finisher at the 2021 Macau Grand Prix, the 28-year-old has extensive experience racing in F4 cars. He makes his return to racing in the season opener after a year out of competition. Li will compete under the team name of PingTan RaXing Team by ART in the opening round.

KRC Team

Having previously competed in Chinese F4 in collaboration with iDEAK Racing, KRC Team makes its debut as an independent team in 2024.

The team has signed driver Jia Zhanbin (#30) to race for the team this season. Jia started his racing career in the United States, competing in karting in the US Pro Karting series. He has previous experience in F4 cars on the F4 US package, most recently at the season finale at the Circuit of The Americas.

Venom Motorsport

Venom Motorsport joins the grid for the 2024 season, and the newly established team has set its goals high and aims to win the championship.

Shang Zongyi will be competing for Venom Motorsport this year. Shang is highly experienced when it comes to racing in this series, having raced in the championship’s inaugural season and placed third in the standings in 2019. Shang is racing for the first time since 2022, when he competed in the final race at Pingtan in Chinese F4. Shang will not be racing in the opening round at Shanghai.

Swedish driver Oscar Pedersen (#26) makes his Chinese F4 debut in 2024. Pedersen previously participated in Formula Nordic, placing second in the standings. Chinese F4 will be a new challenge for Pedersen as he races in Asia for the first time.

Sixteen-year-old Wang Yuzhe (#15) joins Venom for his Chinese F4 debut. This is Wang’s first time in a formula car, with his first full season in karts being last year.

Also joining Venom Motorsport in 2024 is Yang Peng (#24). Yang previously raced in rounds four and five of Chinese F4 last season, with his best finish being third in the second race at Zhuhai.

Happiness Racing

The 2024 season not only serves as Happiness Racing’s Chinese F4 debut but also marks the team’s debut in formula racing in general. Happiness Racing will be participating in the masters category of the championship.

Zhu Zhenyu (#77) is set to make his single-seater debut with Happiness Racing. Having formerly competed in rallying, touring car racing and GT racing, Zhu has racing experience that spans over 10 years, but Chinese F4 will prove to be a new challenge for him.

Pointer Racing

With a best finish of fifth in the teams’ championship overall in 2020, Pointer Racing will be looking to fight for some more points this season and climb up the standings.

Joining Pointer in the opening round is driver Mi Qi (#89). This is Mi’s Chinese F4 debut.

Wu Chenjie (#55) joins Pointer for the opening round in Shanghai. Wu participated in the last round at Ningbo last season, scoring points in three out of four races. Wu’s best finish in Ningbo was seventh in races two and three.

Geeke Team

Last season, Geeke’s Jiang achieved a terrific first-place finish in the fourth race in the opening round. The team expressed confidence in their goal of being able to challenge for the top step of the podium again in 2024.

Competing for Geeke, driver Fei Jun (#86) returns to Chinese F4. Fei previously participated in the championship last season, placing 14nth in the standings after racing in two rounds. Fei’s best finish last season was third in the fourth race at Zhuhai. Fei will be competing in the masters class of the championship.

Shi Wei (#18) also joins Geeke for the 2024 season. Shi also raced in Chinese F4 last season, placing 20th in the standings overall. Her best finishes last season were two consecutive sixth-place finishes in races three and four in Ningbo.

Henmax Motorsport

A team with strong representation in the masters category, Henmax Motorsport will be eager to replicate previous seasons’ successes and challenge for the masters’ championship title.

Hon Ying Fu (#61) returns to Chinese F4 with Henmax in 2024, competing in the masters category. Hon raced in Chinese F4 last season, with his best finish being ninth in the second race at Zhuhai.

Wong Wai Fu (#48) joins Henmax Motorsport for the 2024 season to compete in the masters category. Wong last raced in Chinese F4 in 2021, placing 12th in the standings. Wong makes his return to racing in the opening round at Shanghai.

T-1 Racing

Having previously participated in rounds one and two of 2023 in collaboration with Henmax, T-1 Racing makes their individual Chinese F4 debut in 2024. The team expressed a desire to gain experience while delivering steady results.

Wong Yiu Ming (#9) returns to Chinese F4 with T-1, competing in the masters class. He has previously raced in Chinese F4, winning two masters class races in each of the Zhuhai rounds last year. Wong’s extensive experience in Chinese F4 will be beneficial to T-1 as a newer team in the championship.

Hugo So (#6), entered as Su Wen Hao, makes his Chinese F4 debut this season. So previously participated in the 2023 Formula Open Challenge with T-1.

Wolf.51GT3.COM (Wolf Racing)

Wolf Racing, which traces its lineage to 1970s Formula 1 constructor Wolf Racing, joins the Chinese F4 championship for the first time, in collaboration with 51GT3.COM, a race car retailer and motorsport database .

Li Jia (#20) will be racing for the team in the opening round of Chinese F4. Li has experience in endurance racing, competing at the Sepang 12 Hours in 2023. Li’s participation in the opening round marks his debut in Chinese F4.

Editor’s note, 19 April 2024, 19:20 CEST: This article was updated to clarify the identities and histories of the teams associated with Blackjack Racing.

Editor’s note, 21 April 2024, 4:44 CEST: This article was updated to clarify that Shi Wei is not competing in the masters class this year.

Editor’s note, 23 April 2024, 7:30 CEST: A paragraph mentioning double points in the opening round was removed after the points standings after round one showed that regular points had been awarded. In previous years, two-race rounds awarded double points.

Header photo credit: Chinese F4 via Champ Motorsport