The opening 40-minute session took place on a damp track due to high humidity, with temperatures around 5°C. As the session went on, the asphalt gradually warmed up, with a slight temperature increase of about one degree.
A total of 33 drivers are taking part in the final round of the season. The title fight remains open among the top six in the overall standings: Kean Nakamura-Berta of Prema Racing, already crowned champion in the Italian F4 Championship, leads the group ahead of Gabriel Gomez of US Racing, Alex Powell of R-ace GP, Reno Francot of PHM Racing, and the Prema Racing duo Sebastian Wheldon and Salim Hanna.
On the legendary asphalt of the “Temple of Speed,” the fastest lap of the first session was set by Kabir Anurag, Alpine Academy driver with US Racing, who stopped the clock at 2:02.207. Alex Powell, Mercedes junior with R-ace GP, was second, 0.349 off the pace, followed by Reno Francot of PHM Racing in third at 0.403.
Andy Consani, another Mercedes junior from R-ace GP, took fourth place with a gap of 0.417. Dante Vinci of Van Amersfoort Racing was fifth, 0.682 behind, followed by Bader Al Sulaiti of Jenzer Motorsport in sixth at 1.
375.
Seventh place went to Sebastian Wheldon, Andretti junior with Prema Racing, 1.736 behind, ahead of Guy Albag of R-ace GP at 1.834. Completing the top ten were Elia Weiss of Jenzer Motorsport, 1.840 behind, and Oleksandr Savinkov of R-ace GP at 1.870.
With the eleventh fastest time overall, Payton Westcott emerged as the quickest among the contenders for the Female Trophy. The Californian driver for Van Amersfoort Racing currently sits third in the standings, behind championship leader Ginevra Panzeri of AKM Motorsport and Emily Cotty of R-ace GP.
Drivers will return to the track today, Friday, October 24, for the second free practice session from 11:15 to 11:55 A.M. In the afternoon, it will be time for qualifying, which will determine the starting grids for the three races: Q1 from 4:35 to 4:50 P.M., followed by Q2 from 5:00 to 5:15 P.M., after a short break in the pit lane.
The program will continue on Saturday, October 25, with Race 1 at 11:50 A.M., while on Sunday, October 26, Race 2 will start at 9:30 a.m. and the grand season finale at 3:50 P.M.
All races will last 30 minutes plus one lap and will be broadcast live in Italian on ACI Sport TV (Sky channel 228 and streaming on live.acisport.tv).
The English-language live coverage will be available on the official social media channels of the championship and through the international broadcasters of the E4 Championship network.