F4 World Cup – Qualifying: Wheldon on pole, Munoz and Caretti cause red flags

As expected for qualifying for this inaugural Formula 4 World Cup in Macau, the session was particularly chaotic. At the end, American Sebastian Wheldon, third in Italian F4 this year, inherited pole position under a red flag thanks to a benchmark time of 2:24.148. At that moment, Japan's Rintaro Sato crashed into the wall, causing the fourth interruption of the session with three minutes remaining and thus freezing the existing order. Behind the pole-sitter, Italian F4 champion Kean Nakamura-Berta and Italian Emanuele Olivieri completed the top three, but could just as easily have claimed pole position given their pace.

In contention for the top spots, the younger brother of the driver Formula 1 Oliver Bearman, Thomas Bearman, ultimately finished in a promising fourth place. Not far behind him, Frenchman Jules Roussel, the sole survivor of the French F4 team in this session, will start the qualifying race in ninth position. Adopting a patient warm-up strategy, the Frenchman held the fastest time in the first sector when a collision occurred during his flying lap with Tiago Rodrigues. Having briefly led the session, Rodrigues had secured the sixth fastest overall time, but was ultimately penalized after the incident.

Munoz, Caretti and Sato at fault

French F4 champion Alexandre Munoz did not have the qualifying session he had hoped for. Having held onto a top-10 position after the previous day's Free Practice session, the driver from Ariège was unfortunately the first to crash into the wall on the Macao street circuit. Starting 18th on the grid, the driver with five FFSA F4 victories this year will have to work hard to move up the order, as will his compatriot Rayan Caretti. Starting 15th on the grid, Caretti, who had a flawless weekend at Magny-Cours, also fell victim to the challenging Guia street circuit.

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Argentine driver Gino Trappa was also responsible for one of the session's interruptions, reminding everyone that this half-hour of qualifying was, for many, only their second time on a street circuit in their careers, following the previous day's practice sessions. Saturday's qualifying race will provide a clearer picture of each driver's opportunities. This event can be followed from 4:30 AM (French time).

Macau Grand Prix – F4 World Cup
The qualifying rankings