2024 season guide – Feeder Series

The Euro 4 Championship returns for its sophomore season this weekend at Mugello following a 2023 edition in which Ugo Ugochukwu prevailed over Prema teammate James Wharton in the final race. Here’s everything you need to know about the 2024 season. 

By Francesca Brusa

Though Euro 4, Italian F4’s sister series, is only in its second season, its importance is already indisputable. Eleven of the 19 drivers who scored points in its close-fought 2023 season have stepped up to F3 or Formula Regional.

Most of the drivers taking part in the championship are already racing against one another in Italian F4, arguably the most competitive F4 series currently running. They are joined by a handful of additions from other championships.

The calendar

Despite being short, the Euro 4 calendar underwent significant changes in relation to last season’s. While Mugello will remain the opening round in 2024, the Red Bull Ring will replace the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya as the series’ only international event. In contrast to 2023, when the Montmeló circuit took the honour, the season finale this year will be held in Monza, on Italian soil.

• Round 1: Autodromo Internazionale del Mugello (24–25 August)
• Round 2: Red Bull Ring (14–15 September)
• Round 3: Autodromo Nazionale Monza (5–6 October)

The format

Similarly to last year, each race weekend of the 2024 Euro 4 season will feature two free practice sessions, lasting 40 minutes each; two qualifying sessions of 15 minutes each; and three races, each lasting 30 minutes plus one lap.

Qualifying one will set the starting grid of the first race, and the second qualifying session will shape the grid for race two. For the third race of each event, drivers’ starting spots will be determined by their second-best time registered during either of the qualifying sessions.

After each race, classifications will be drawn up for the drivers’, teams’ and rookie championship. The first-place finisher will be awarded 25 points, and the remainder of the top 10 will be given respectively 18, 15, 12, 10, 8, 6, 4, 2 and 1 points. No points are awarded for pole position or fastest lap.

Where to watch

Free practice and qualifying sessions are only accessible via live timing. The three races of the weekend, however, will be live-streamed on the Euro 4 YouTube and Facebook channels and the ACI Sport website. They will also be available to watch internationally on DAZN.

Teams and drivers

Prema Racing

Prema Racing enter the 2024 Euro 4 season as the reigning teams’ champion. In the series’ inaugural campaign, the Italian squad took the trophy by 150 points. Prema has kept its current Italian F4 line-up for Euro 4, which bodes well for a repeat title considering the team’s almost 200-point lead in Italian F4. 

Leading Prema’s charge in Italian F4 is returning driver Freddie Slater (#27), who is the clear title favourite in his main campaign. After making his debut during the 2023 Italian F4 season, the Briton took part in the final two rounds of the inaugural Euro 4 season and finished 10th overall, notching three points finishes and a pole position on debut. Since then, Slater prevailed in a three-way fight for the F4 UAE title and has a total of 11 Italian F4 wins and an advantage of 86 points over his nearest rival.

Another experienced driver with Euro 4 experience is Rashid Al Dhaheri (#14). The Emirati made his single-seater debut in 2023 in Italian F4 and competed in Euro 4 later that same year, finishing 10th and 12th respectively in the standings.

Tomass Štolcermanis (#33) will make his Euro 4 debut in 2024, just as he did in Italian F4. The Latvian driver currently sits second among the rookies and is ninth overall with 12 points finishes under his belt.

Another newcomer to watch is Jamaican-American driver Alex Powell (#80). After entering a few rounds last year, the Mercedes junior made his full-season debut in Italian F4 this year and is leading the rookie championship while ranking fifth in the overall standings. 

The 2024 Euro 4 campaign will also be the first for Alpine junior Kean Nakamura-Berta (#51). The 2021 OK junior karting world champion and 2022 FIA European karting champion participated in selected races of the 2023 Formula 4 SEA Championship, bagging one podium. The Japanese-Slovakian driver, who competes with a British licence currently sits sixth in the Italian F4 Championship with one race win and two podiums. 

Dion Gowda (#50) rounds out the Prema Racing line-up. The Indian driver graduated from karting in 2022 and spent his first year of single-seaters in F4 UAE and British F4. At present, Gowda is tenth in the Italian F4 standings with two podiums and nine points finishes.

US Racing

After a strong second-place finish in the 2023 Euro 4 campaign thanks to two race wins and seven podiums among its drivers, US Racing is ready to challenge its rivals in the sophomore season of the series. The Kerpen-based squad will compete with five of its six Italian F4 drivers, including two of the overall top five.

Indian-American driver Akshay Bohra (#31) is familiar with the series and the team, having finished third in the standings last year with four podiums and a race win. The series’ highest returning driver is also competing in Italian F4, in which he sits third at present with a win and six more podiums. 

Also returning to Euro 4 is Gianmarco Pradel (#12), who scored points on five occasions and finished 13th in the championship. The Australian driver is currently competing in Italian F4 with US Racing and is 12th in the standings with one podium and eight total points finishes. 

Over the winter, the German outfit welcomed reigning F4 SEA champion Jack Beeton (#45) for a partial Formula Winter Series campaign and full seasons in Italian F4 and Euro 4. The Gold Coast native endured a difficult rookie year at Van Amersfoort Racing, finishing in the points only three times collectively in Euro 4 and Italian F4. But this year Beeton sits fourth in Italian F4, with six second places and three more points finishes under his belt. 

US Racing will bring two rookies to the series in the form of Kabir Anurag (#19) and Maxim Rehm (#71). Both are competing in the 2024 Italian F4 season. Anurag has yet to score points, but Rehm is 14th in the standings and has finished in the top 10 three times, including once on the podium.

Van Amersfoort Racing

In the 2023 Euro 4 season, Van Amersfoort Racing’s drivers brought home two podiums and 12 top-10 finishes for a total of 125.5 points. In 2024, VAR will bring its entire Italian F4 line-up, who have helped the Dutch squad to a comfortable third in the teams’ points in the main series so far.

The main driver to watch is Hiyu Yamakoshi (#6), the first Japanese driver in Italian F4 since Marino Sato in 2016. Yamakoshi sits second in the standings behind Slater and has achieved two wins, five total podiums and 13 total points finishes this season alone.

Another stableman of the Zeewolde-based squad Gustav Jonsson (#36). The Swede, currently seventh in Italian F4, has scored points in almost every race of the campaign, even bagging third- and second-place finishes in each of the last two rounds. 

Joining them is rookie Andrija Kostić (#8), who obtained numerous wins in karting in his native Serbia. Kostić has a best race finish of 14th. 

Rounding out the Dutch team’s line-up will be Alvise Rodella (#55) and Lin Hodenius (#88). Currently in his second season in F4 but his first in Euro 4, Italian driver Rodella is yet to score points. Dutchman Hodenius who entered the Euro 4 finale last year, is 21st in Italian F4 with four points to his name, all scored last time out at Paul Ricard. 

R-ace GP

In the inaugural Euro 4 season, R-ace GP participated exclusively in the first round of the series with two drivers. Still, the French team brought home a point thanks to Raphaël Narac and finished fifth in the standings, tied with AKM Motorsport. 

The La Rochelle–based squad will kick off the 2024 Euro 4 campaign with rookie Enzo Yeh (#77). The Chinese driver, racing under an Italian licence, is currently 19th in Italian F4 with six points to his name. 

Yeh is R-ace’s only entry as Italian F4 teammate Luka Sammalisto continues to recover from an injury sustained last month.

AKM Motorsport

With a single point to its name in the 2023 Euro 4 season, AKM Motorsport ranked fifth in the final standings, tied with R-ace GP. For the 2024 campaign, the Sammarinese team will run three series rookies, two of whom are already competing in Italian F4.

The one to watch in particular is Mattia Marchiante (#7), who will make his single-seater debut this weekend. He is also taking part in the Italian Sport Prototypes Championship and took victory outright at Mugello in July, putting him third in the points. 

Joining up with him will be Emanuele Olivieri (#73) and Oleksandr Savinkov (#52), both Euro 4 rookies. In Italian F4, Italian driver Olivieri has four points finishes to his name, including an impressive sixth-place result in the series’ most recent race. Ukraine’s Savinkov is yet to score points. 

PHM AIX Racing

Despite taking part in Euro 4 last year, PHM Racing scored no points. This year, the German outfit will field a brand new line-up for the series, featuring three of the five drivers who are already competing for the team in Italian F4.

Maksimilian Popov (#3) will be a Euro 4 rookie, but he is no stranger to F4 after his F4 UAE and Italian F4 campaigns this year. In karting, the Russian driver finished third in the OK Junior class of the Champions of the Future series in 2021. Popov took his first single-seater points at the last Italian F4 race and is currently sixth in the series’ rookie standings. 

Everett Stack (#9) is the only driver with single-seater experience at a level above F4. The American raced in F4 US and Formula Regional Americas last year, spending two weekends behind the wheel of the Ligier JS F3 car. Having moved over to the European scene, Stack is taking part in Italian F4 this year and has one point to his name.

Davide Larini (#16) will return to Euro 4 in 2024 after having taken part in its inaugural campaign. The Italian, the son of former F1 driver Nicola Larini, scored no points and finished the season with a best result of 16th place. Larini is currently competing in Italian F4, in which he sits 20th with two race finishes in the top 10.

For the Mugello round, Kamal Mrad of Australia will be replaced by rookie Gabriel Gomez (#78). While Mrad had already participated in a round of the 2023 Euro 4 season and is currently racing in Italian F4, Gomez is new to the series. The 2023 European karting OK class runner-up has triumphed in several karting competitions in South America and Europe and currently races in Spanish F4 with TC Racing. 

Cram Motorsport

In the 2023 Euro 4 season, Cram Motorsport only participated in one round and did not score any points. The Italian team have returned for a new campaign in 2024 and will once again line up with Kai Daryanani (#35).

The Indian racer kept himself busy in 2023, competing in British F4, F4 UAE, GB4, Spanish F4 and F4 SEA last year as well as the Macau F4 invitational. He is currently taking part in Italian F4 with Cram Motorsport and sits 27th overall, though he has missed three rounds. 

Real Racing

After making its debut in Italian F4 earlier this year, Real Racing will also join the grid for Euro 4’s sophomore season. Representing the Romanian outfit will be Luca Viisoreanu (#11) and Andrei Duna (#95), both Romanians themselves. While Viisoreanu had the better start to life in Italian F4, Duna has more experience, taking several points finishes in French F4 last year.

Jenzer Motorsport

The newest name on the Euro 4 grid is also one of its biggest. Jenzer Motorsport, a stalwart of the F3 grid and a regular in Italian F4, is set to join the Euro 4 Championship, underlining the championship’s growth in stature on the feeder series ladder.

The Helvetian team’s two cars will have Ethan Ischer (#21) and Enea Frey (#22) behind their wheels. Both racers are currently competing in Italian F4, with three and two points finishes respectively. While it is Frey’s first year in single-seaters, Ischer has already participated in several formula racing series, notably being crowned champion of F4 CEZ in 2023. 

Header photo credit: Massimo Bettiol