Daizun Download: FREC Monza - Round 4
2026 FIA Formula Regional European Championship Race Report - Monza, Round 4
Credit: © Dutch Photo Agency
Qualifying 1
The start of the weekend started strong. I qualified in 7th position, with Alex Ninovic just behind in 9th and Gabrielle Gomez down in 31st. The pace and grid slot gave us a really promising platform heading into Race 1, and I was looking forward to putting it to good use.
Credit: © Dutch Photo Agency
Race 1
An intense and chaotic opener. A massive collision at the first corner triggered an early safety car, and unfortunately I was caught up in it. After turning into the corner, Giaccardi entered into the corner and made contact with 4 cars, both myself and my teammate took heavy contact from both the side and the rear, which ended our race there and then. It was a frustrating way to end what had looked like a promising start, especially knowing how common first-lap chaos is at Monza, but not expecting to be the one collected by it. Kean Nakamura-Berta delivered a controlled drive from pole to take the win and move into the championship lead, with Emanuele Olivieri and Salim Hanna completing the podium.
Credit: © Dutch Photo Agency
Race 2
A much-needed bounce back. It was another chaotic, action-packed race with multiple safety car interventions, and I found myself in the thick of the midfield battles throughout. There were a few moments where I ran wide in the slipstream fights and through the Roggia Chicane, but I kept my composure and stayed in the fight. Rising through to second place early on in the race, sadly ending up with contact pushing me wide. Managing the race carefully through the restarts paid off, and I crossed the line 10th.
Rashid Al Dhaheri timed his "push-to-pass" perfectly to come through from 8th on the grid and take the win, with Sebastian Wheldon and Salim Hanna rounding out the podium.
I’d like to say a massive thank you to all of the Rodin Motorsport team this weekend, they worked into the early hours of the morning to ensure all three cars were ready to race. Despite extensive damage in Race 1, I didn’t miss any track time and it’s all credit to their hard work.
Credit: © Dutch Photo Agency
Qualifying 2
A tougher session than I'd have liked, I finished 12th in my qualifying group, a result I was disappointed with given where we know our pace can be.
Credit: © Dutch Photo Agency
Race 3
A solid recovery drive given the grid slot. I made a good start and worked my way forward before an early safety car bunched the field back up, running 18th at the restart. I made up two positions on the first lap back at racing speed to move into 16th, and another safety car followed when championship leader Nakamura Berta found the gravel with two minutes on the clock. By the halfway point I'd moved up to 14th and was in a tight side-by-side battle with Rashid Al Dhaheri. Damage to my front spoiler saw me enter the pits for a replacement, resulting in me running in last place.
The race remained congested through the closing stages but a few well timed overtakes resulted in an overall final position of P17. Not the finish we were chasing after a tough weekend of incidents, but plenty to work with heading into the next round.
