Nine Drivers Battle For F4 U.S. National Championship Title At USGP
Thirty-one F4 U.S. drivers will share the same track as their F1- racing idols, but each have a different goal for the two-race weekend culmination. Frederik Vesti of Billund, Denmark, tests where he belongs in his first ever F4 U.S race, while, nine drivers fight for position for a national championship.
Cape Motorsports pilot Kyle Kirkwood of Jupiter, Florida, clinched the 2017 F4 U.S. championship four rounds early, however, second and third-place are still in limbo. The standings are so close going into the final two rounds of the season, Raphael Forcier of Montreal, Jordan Sherratt of Durban, South Africa, Benjamin Pedersen of Copenhagen, Denmark, and Dakota Dickerson of San Diego are just points away from each other to claim second while wild-cards Braden Eves of Gahanna, Ohio, Skylar Robinson of Augusta, Georgia, Brendon Leitch of Invercargill, New Zealand, and Baltazar Leguizamon of Buenos Aires, Argentina, could, respectively, slide-in to steal third place.
Forcier is currently second in the season-long championship point standings leading over third-place Sherratt by 32 points, but after a scoreless race-weekend during his last COTA visit, Sherratt, Pederson and Dickerson closed in on the Indy Motorsport Group pilot’s cushioned lead. Forcier qualified for Saturday’s race 11th with all the competitors who are gunning for his National Championship Runner-Up title in front of him.
“We had some teachable moments yesterday, but I’m confident in my team and my overtaking abilities to move through the field on Saturday to claim a podium," Forcier said. “I have to focus on each race individually."
Vesti signed with Global Racing Group on Wednesday after testing with the team last week. The 15-year-old Dane joins the F4 U.S. field straight from completing his rookie German F4 season seventh overall with F1 driver Max Verstappen’s former team, Van Amersfoort Racing, and second-overall in the Danish F4 Championship. After finishing yesterday’s qualifying session just seven tenths of a second off of pole-sitter Kirkwood’s time, Vesti will definitely challenge the front-runners for position and potentially even snag valuable points from drivers who desperately need them to claim a national title.
“The level of competition in the United States is great and the field size is very comparable to the German F4," Vesti said. “It’s been a great experience to be here with F1 and I’m looking forward to representing my country on an international stage while improving my times each race."
F4 U.S. points are calculated based on FIA rules and regulations. The top-10 drivers in each race are awarded points as follows:
|
Place |
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
5 |
6 |
7 |
8 |
9 |
10 |
|
Points |
25 |
18 |
15 |
12 |
10 |
8 |
6 |
4 |
2 |
1 |
At the end of the season, the top-seven drivers are presented FIA Super License points to aid in their racing career advancement to Formula 1. The F4 U.S. Championship is the only junior racing series in the United States to offer its competitors Super License points.
The F4 U.S. field grids up on Saturday for its first of two races of the weekend with Kirkwood on pole. The season concludes Sunday morning. Results can be found at F4USChampionship.com.