Abu Dhabi

F4 Middle East Championship

The inaugural season commenced in Yas Marina circuit, on 18 January, featuring strong performances from top seeded and upcoming Asian drivers:

1. Kean Nakamura-Berta

Kean Nakamura-Berta delivered a stellar performance, clinching three consecutive P2 finishes. He charged from P9 in Race 2’s reverse grid to the podium very narrowly missed victory in Race 3, finishing just 0.071 seconds behind the winner.

2. Chi Zhenrui

Chi Zhenrui had a solid weekend with P5 and P7 finishes in Races 1 and 3, though he fell just outside the points in P13 during Race 2.

3. Tiago Rodrigues 

The Macanese driver had a consistent but slightly off-the-pace weekend, finishing P12, P16, and P14 across the three races.

4. Arjun Chheda 

Arjun Chheda, India’s representative with prior F4 experience in France and India, started strong with a P13 finish, but his weekend unraveled with P26 and a DNF in the subsequent races.

5. Yuta Suzuki 

Yuta Suzuki of Pinnacle Motorsport, transitioning from karting to cars, showed promise, finishing P15, P12, and P17 in his debut outing.

His teammate, Kyuho Lee from Korea, also a karting graduate, ended the weekend with finishes of P19, P19, and a solid P9.

6. Wang Yuzhe

Wang Yuzhe, the most experienced driver at Pinnacle Motorsport, faced a challenging weekend, finishing P22, P22, and P20 in the three races.

7. Fu Yuhao

Xcel Motorsport’s Fu Yuhao, the sole Asian driver for the team, had mixed fortunes. After an unfortunate DNF in Race 1, he bounced back with P11 and P15 finishes in the remaining races.