The first title showdown in AU4’s short history takes place this weekend at Sydney Motorsport Park, and Gen2 class points leader Isaac McNeill of Volante Rosso has a tough task ahead of him to fend off the hard-charging Noah Killion of AGI Sport. Feeder Series spoke to the Brisbane teenager ahead of the title showdown.

By Anabelle Bremner

Heading into AU4’s finale, the scoreboard isn’t quite as clear as it seems – and the decider is as much about calculators as it is chequered flags.

Outright, Isaac McNeill leads the standings with 236 points, four clear of rival Noah Killion. But once the rule dropping a driver’s three lowest finishes is applied, Killion sneaks ahead. With only 80 points still available, every lap of the final round is crucial. The pressure isn’t fazing McNeill. 

“We’re ready for the last round,” said a relaxed McNeill, who turns sixteen today. His confidence is warranted. Volante Rosso’s only driver has claimed five wins from 12 starts and has only once finished outside the podium.

But he isn’t the only one who has had a strong season – Killion managed victory in six races, putting him too within striking distance of this year’s title. 

Despite such a close fight for this year’s championship, McNeill remains measured ahead of the deciding round.

“I wouldn’t say we’re comfortable, because it’s super, super close,” he admitted. “I’ll really have to push as hard as I can in every race and just get as many points as we can throughout the weekend.”

After a subdued penultimate round with just one win and ground lost to Killion, McNeill is determined to respond when it matters most.

“We’ve got the car sorted,” he said. “Last round was a bit of a struggle for everyone, I think, because of the tyre change halfway through, but we’ve got it sorted. We’ve got a good team.”

McNeill is no stranger to victory. Last year, he became the first driver ever to clinch both the KA2 Junior and KA3 Junior Australian karting titles in the same season, while also cutting his teeth in cars through Australian Formula Open. The overlap of karting glory and car racing education meant he entered AU4 this year already armed with the fundamentals of circuit racing – a luxury rivals such as Killion and Tim Macrow Racing’s Harrison Duske didn’t have. 

“Getting used to the [AFO] car was hard, but once I got used to it, it just felt like another go-kart. It’s similar physically, but there’s a bit more to think about when you’re driving,” McNeill said. “AFO was a good series. That’s where I learned how to do proper race starts, safety car restarts. It was really good to learn the basics of what circuit racing is like in Australia.”

In AFO, McNeill was often in a league of his own – literally. Within the AFO4 category’s sparse grid of mostly Mygale chassis, he was racing the faster first-generation Tatuus F4 car, and he won all but one race he entered. On AU4’s fuller grid of second-generation Tatuus cars, McNeill naturally faces stiffer, quicker competition. Even though McNeill said the racing had been ‘really good all year’, stepping up from AFO to AU4 proved more challenging than anticipated.

“We hadn’t heard of any of the names in the series, so we were wondering where everyone was at. But at the first round, the racing was amazing,” McNeill said. “We expected a few good drivers, and there are a few pretty good drivers. We didn’t think it would be easy, but we definitely didn’t think it would be impossible to win.”

“The first couple of rounds were pretty hard,” McNeill admitted. “We just got the car a few days before the first round. We had no practice, and we’d done very little testing. Getting the setup right has been a struggle, especially since all the surfaces are different on each of these tracks. We’ve got [the car] pretty quick now, I think, and we’re excited to see what happens. I’ve had to change a few things throughout the year, but I’ve learned a lot and I’m sure I will keep learning.”

Luckily for McNeill, the challenge doesn’t faze him. After all, he’s previously had to juggle not just one but two title fights at once. 

“When I was in karting, I had a lot of pressure on me, doing two championships. So now, the pressure doesn’t really get to me much, which I think is a good thing.”

His cool, calm approach has allowed him to learn from – and revel in – such a close-fought season. Looking ahead, McNeill has one overarching goal: more speed.

“I just really want to get into a faster car,” he admitted. “We haven’t really made a proper decision [about next year] yet, but we’re looking to get overseas somewhere – whether it’s America in USF or Japan or even New Zealand – to get into something like the Formula 3–style cars. We’ll try our best, and hope for the best, and see what happens. The big dream is Formula 1, IndyCar, or even the World Endurance Championship would be great in the hypercars. So overseas really is the goal.”

For McNeill, the AU4 finale is a checkpoint on the road to faster machinery and international competition, not just a title decider. Every lap at Sydney Motorsport Park will matter, but the teenager isn’t letting the numbers get the better of him.

“Overall, it’s just been a pretty amazing year for me and the team, for everyone behind it,” he reflected. “We’re still hoping for the best this weekend. Obviously the win will be a huge achievement, but it is what it is.”

Header photo credit: Isaac McNeill Racing