The first round of the 2024 Euro 4 season unfolded with a fight for dominance already taking form at the top, and all signs point to a championship full of twists and turns despite being only three events long. Feeder Series sums up the main storylines from Mugello.

By Francesca Brusa

Akshay Bohra’s (almost) perfect weekend

On Friday and Saturday, Akshay Bohra was undoubtedly the driver to beat. After putting the fastest laps on the board in both practices and taking all three pole positions available for the weekend, the Indian-American driver went on to win the first of the three races.

Bohra’s daydream, however, was soon to be over. As a consequence of a poor opening sector in race two, the US Racing driver lost the lead to Van Amersfoort Racing’s Hiyu Yamakoshi and slipped down the order during the race to come home in eighth, worth just four points.

Bohra did not lose hope, though, and still managed to take victory in the last race of the weekend, leading a US Racing 1-2 with teammate Jack Beeton. 

Bohra was already one of the title favourites on the eve of the event considering he placed third in the series last year. Even in his current Italian F4 campaign, he is still in the mathematical fight for the crown despite series leader Freddie Slater’s dominance, with seven podiums and a race win putting the US Racing driver third in the standings.

Another factor that could have contributed to Bohra’s success is his experience of the circuit. Just over a month ago, the Indian-American took over Mugello for the fourth round of his main campaign and was met with one of his most successful weekends, bringing home two podiums. 

Yamakoshi’s statement: A nine-second gap

Anyone who thought the championship was decided after one race was disproven. When Bohra lost the advantage exiting the first corner of race two, Yamakoshi did not need to be told twice to take the lead.

Not only did the Japanese driver keep his rivals at bay, but he also managed to build a nine-second gap between himself and the rest of the grid by the end of the race. By doing so, Yamakoshi made a statement: he has a fast car, talent and nothing to lose. He can fight for the title, and he will.

This beatdown helped the Van Amersfoort driver snatch first position in the standings. A poorly played second qualifying session, however, meant his second fastest lap was only good enough for 20th. Though Yamakoshi made his way up to 11th during the race, he still faced a non-score and lost the lead of the championship.

A peculiar absence from the title fight

Some of the dynamics that defined the first round of the 2024 Euro 4 campaign could have been expected. Yet something else happened few could have predicted: Slater, who has won 11 of 15 races in Italian F4 this year, never led a lap.

Despite finishing second in race two after starting fourth, Slater was still 9.464 seconds behind Yamakoshi and barely ahead of Gustav Jonsson in another Van Amersfoort car. He qualified sixth and came home fifth in race one, while in race three he dropped to 10th, just a few tenths ahead of Yamakoshi, from his best starting position of third. 

Slater was arguably outshone by some of his teammates too. Alpine junior Kean Nakamura-Berta, also a rookie, took the chequered flag before the Briton in two out of the three races. The Italian F4 championship leader needs to regain his form, because his main competition is stealing the spotlight.

A handful of pleasant surprises

While some drivers failed to meet expectations, others exceeded them. That was the case for Jonsson, who showcased great consistency to lockdown two third-place finishes in the first two races. High-speed contact with teammate Lin Hodenius in race three, which the Swede started from 24th, forced him to retire. Still, his jump in performance showed the progress he made since taking his first top-three finish of his Italian F4 campaign at Mugello last month.

Another honourable mention goes to US Racing’s Beeton. The Australian retired early on in race one while running seventh, but he put a fourth- and a second-place finish on the board in the last two races. A month ago, when he raced on the very same circuit with Italian F4, he brought home two silver medals.

The most unexpected surprise of the weekend, however, came in race three, which Jenzer Motorsport’s Ethan Ischer finished third. It was the first time since 2020 that Jenzer Motorsport scored a podium in an ACI–run F4 series. What makes this achievement by Swiss driver Ischer even more impressive is that this year marks Jenzer’s Euro 4 debut.

Euro 4’s second round takes place at the Red Bull Ring from 13–15 September.

Header photo credit: Alex Galli