The Italian F.4 Championship Powered by Abarth will open the 2021 season of single-seaters powered by the Scorpion brand, with the 1400-cc 414TF engine. A 160-hp T-Jet, it is an engine that for many years has served as a benchmark in motorsport. On May 16th, on the Paul Ricard circuit in France, the curtain will rise on the 8th season of the Italian series. A starting grid of 35 cars confirms the value of a project desired 8 years ago by the FIA, immediately welcomed by the ACI Sport Italian federation, and paired with Tatuus, Abarth and Pirelli, all of whom created a product entirely “Made in Italy”, for export all over the world. A product that continues with sails unfurled in Germany, where – following a few changes to the schedule – the ADAC F.4 Championship Powered by Abarth will kick off one month after the Italian season, on June 13th on the Red Bull Ring in Austria. The German series will also see a starting grid of the highest level, with 14 drivers already confirmed and many teams that will attempt to take advantage of a schedule where the two series will run in tandem as a one-off. As such, the teams will be able to deploy their single-seaters in both the ADAC and ACI Sport series.
A full-timer in the Italian series and expected to feature in some stages of the German competition will be Sebastian Montoya (Prema Powerteam), the son of former F1 driver Juan Pablo. As in some events in 2020, the starting lines will also include Lorenzo Patrese (AKM Motorsport), also a natural heir, ready to follow in the footsteps of his father Riccardo. Conversely, the women’s challenge will be between Hamda Al Qubaisi (Prema Powerteam) in her second full season in Italian F.4 and Maya Weug (Iron Lynx), the first woman to emerge from the Ferrari Driver Academy after her success in the FIA “Girls on Track – Rising Stars” program. But there will definitely be no lack of surprises with many rookies in both the German and Italian series, ready to play their cards up against the most experienced young people, who are already on their second season in a single-seater.
After its debut on May 16th at Le Castellet, the schedule of the Italian F.4 Championship Powered by Abarth will then go to Misano on June 6th. One week later, the German series also starts with its first race on the Red Bull Ring. There will be a clash on June 27th at both Vallelunga and Oschersleben, dividing the young Formula 4 drivers. The season will continue with the Dutch away fixture in the German series, on July 11th at Zandvoort. The Italian series will then travel to Imola on July 25th, to precede the summer break. In August comes the turn of Nürburgring for the ADAC F.4 Championship Powered by Abarth. September and October will see as many as 6 events before the Grand Final. The Italian series will end the season with stages on the Red Bull Ring (September 12th), Mugello (October 10th), and Monza (October 30th); while the German series will take to the track at Hockenheim (September 19th), Sachsenring (October 3rd), and Hockenheim again on October 24th.