11 May 2026 – The opening round of the Italian Formula 4 Championship took place this weekend at the Misano World Circuit Marco Simoncelli. Despite modest results overall, the pace shown in both qualifying and the races highlighted promising potential for the rest of the season.
Qualifying
In Group 1, Emily Cotty (#42) qualified 19th. In Group 2, Andy Consani (#30) and Kenzo Craigie (#34), respectively Vice-Champion and Rookie Champion in F4 Middle East this year, delivered strong performances by qualifying third and fourth respectively. Payton Westcott (#35) finished 16th in the session, while Tomika Gender (#33) qualified 23rd.
Race 1
The first race of the weekend took place late Saturday morning. Andy Consani was involved in an early collision and had to pit for a front wing change. Unfortunately, another incident shortly afterwards forced him to retire from the race.
British driver Kenzo Craigie was also forced to retire with five minutes remaining.
Emily Cotty crossed the finish line in 16th place, ahead of Payton Westcott in 18th. The pair finished first and second respectively in the female category.
Race 2
Kenzo Craigie endured a difficult start after stalling on the grid and dropping to the back of the field. He fought his way back through the pack to finish 13th overall and third in the rookie category.
Payton Westcott finished 16th overall and claimed victory in the female category. Emily Cotty took 22nd overall and second in class, while Tomika Gender crossed the line in 27th place.
Race 3
On Sunday morning, Andy Consani delivered an excellent third race. The French driver, who started from 10th on the grid following a penalty, worked his way through the field to take the chequered flag in fifth position.
Tomika Gender finished 26th.
Race 4
Andy Consani, Kenzo Craigie, Payton Westcott and Emily Cotty all qualified for the final race of the weekend on Sunday afternoon.
Consani secured another top-10 finish in seventh place, while Craigie once again finished 13th overall and second in the rookie category.
It was a more challenging race for Payton Westcott and Emily Cotty, who finished 21st and 23rd respectively. Nevertheless, Westcott took another win in the female category.
Weekend Summary
Despite some frustrating results, the opening round of the season highlighted the team’s strong pace. The performances shown in qualifying — particularly by Andy Consani and Kenzo Craigie — as well as several impressive recovery drives during the races, provide plenty of encouragement heading into the next rounds of the championship.
The weekend at Misano therefore provides a solid foundation to build on ahead of the next event.
The second round of the season will take place at Vallelunga on 22 May.
To watch the races again, click HERE.