Van Amersfoort Racing secures multiple podium finishes and valuable points in Barcelona
The penultimate round of the Italian F4 Championship took place at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya. It was a weekend filled with multiple podium finishes and valuable points as well as learning moments for the Van Amersfoort Racing team.
In the first race of the weekend, Hiyu Yamakoshi secured a third-place podium finish. He climbed up from 6th on the grid, showing an impressive overtake during a safety car restart. Gustav Jonsson initially placed 4th but dropped out of the points due to a 10-second time penalty for a jump start. Hudson Schwartz gained valuable experience in his Italian F4 debut, advancing 8 positions from 26th to 18th.
The second race saw another podium for Van Amersfoort Racing as Hiyu secured a second-place podium finish. Hiyu was able to hold off Akshay Bohra and kept consistent pace throughout the race. Gustav scored valuable points, finishing in 6th place and showing his racing skills. Andrija Kostic made remarkable progress, climbing 11 positions from 29th to finish 18th.
The final race of the weekend saw both Hiyu and Gustav score points finishes in 6th and 7th place, respectively. Lin Hodenius showed consistency by moving from 18th to 15th position while Hudson Schwartz continued to build on his experience in his European debut this weekend.
The weekend in Barcelona was filled with competitive racing and valuable lessons for Van Amersfoort Racing. Hiyu’s two podium finishes keep him in the top spots in the overall championship, and the team is now fully focused on preparing for the final round in Monza. With only one event left in the season, our drivers are determined to finish the season on a high.
Hiyu Yamakoshi: “This week, I had a good flow from Free Practice and was fast enough to win. Unfortunately, I didn't get a good result in Qualifying 1… But in Qualifying 2, I’ve got the second row - both best and second best times. This was a good way to finish the qualifying! In Race 1 and 2, I was able to get on the podium, which gave me a boost for the Championship. Race 3 was tough due to the difference in tyres between us and the others, but I think I had a good race. Overall, two podiums (P3 & P2) are very positive. I was very happy to finish in the top three! I'm fighting for the Championship at next week’s Euro 4 race weekend, so I'll make the most of the opportunity and try to become Champion! Huge thanks for team and my mechanics and engineer. I will try to get a best result much as I can!”
Lin Hodenius: “Really happy with the performance of myself and the car. Though I wasn’t able to use the grip that was there. No excuses. Monza is max attack!”
Hudson Schwartz: “I had a lot of fun this weekend! I knew this weekend would be about learning and I had to take it with an open mindset. There were so many new things I had never experienced, the main ones being standing starts and tyre management. This weekend was a lot of fun and I can’t wait for Monza!”
Andrija Kostic: “I was coming into the weekend very confidently. However, I struggled a bit in Free Practice. We managed to turn around the struggle in Qualifying 1, but the result wasn't what we expected. In the races, I managed to gain a lot of positions. Unfortunately, I had some unlucky moments with drivers that got penalties. We didn't unleash our full potential, but we're going to learn from the mistakes and take that experience to Monza where we hope for a very good weekend.”
Images: FotoSpeedy IT