The fourth edition of the E4 Championship officially got underway at Vallelunga, with the opening Free Practice session held this morning at the Autodromo Piero Taruffi. Setting the pace on his home circuit was Ferrari Driver Academy member Niccolò Maccagnani, representing Prema Racing, who topped the timesheets with a 1'34.748.
Second fastest was R-ace GP's Kenzo Craigie, a member of the Mercedes Junior Team, who finished 0.189 seconds behind. Third place went to Williams Racing Driver Academy talent Oleksandr Bondarev, just 0.207 adrift of the benchmark.
Finnish driver Luka Sammalisto (US Racing) claimed fourth place, 0.262 off the pace, continuing the strong form he has shown in the opening rounds of the Italian F4 Championship earlier this season.
His teammate Edward Robinson followed in fifth, 0.291 behind, while Spain's Christian Costoya, representing Prema Racing and the McLaren Driver Development Programme, completed the top six at 0.296.
Seventh fastest was Frenchman Andy Consani, another Mercedes Junior Team driver racing for R-ace GP, 0.330 off the fastest lap. Behind him, US Racing teammates Ludovico Busso of Italy and India's Ary Bansal recorded identical best lap times, both finishing 0.363 seconds behind Maccagnani. Rounding out the top ten was Prema Racing's British driver Roman Kamyab, 0.438 off the pace.
The weekend schedule continues later today, Friday 3 July, with a second 40-minute Free Practice session scheduled to begin at 13:50.
Qualifying will take place on Saturday 4 July, with the first session running from 09:40 to 10:00, followed by the second session from 10:10 to 10:30.
Under the E4 Championship qualifying format, all drivers will take part in both sessions. The results of the first session will determine the starting grid for Race 1, the second session will set the grid for Race 2, while the Race 3 grid will be formed using each driver's second-best lap recorded across the two qualifying sessions.
Race 1 will start on Saturday 4 July at 14:40, while Race 2 and Race 3 will be held on Sunday 5 July at 10:00 and 17:00, respectively.
All races will be broadcast live on the championship's social media channels, on ACI Sport TV, and through the international television network that carries both the Italian F4 Championship and the E4 Championship worldwide.