The PREMA Racing Italian Formula 4 Championship programme is set to kick back into motion this weekend with its six-driver lineup competing in the 2024 series opener at Misano World Circuit. The Italian venue, sitting in the popular Rimini Riviera, gave PREMA its first win almost 40 years ago and is now opening the main F4 season.
Returning to the championship for his second season with PREMA, Rashid Al Dhaheri will drive the #14 again for 2024. The 16-year-old Emirati had a positive winter with wins in F4 SEA and UAE. Competing with the #27 car, Formula 4 UAE Champion Freddie Slater will start his first full-time season in the Italian series after making a brilliant debut last year. The 15-year-old Brit looks to become a leading contender and continue an impressive form.
Tomass Štolcermanis will drive the #33 car. Coming from karting, the 16-year-old Latvian proved competitive during the winter as he looks forward to his first full-time campaign in F4. On the #50 car, 16-year-old Indian Dion Gowda is aiming to build on a successful 2023 debut in British F4 and make even more progress on Italian soil.
Kean Nakamura-Berta will be driving the #51 car. A 16-year-old Japanese-Slovakian, the Alpine Academy driver fought for the overall F4 UAE title, missing out on it by a thin margin in his first full outing in single-seaters. Jamaican-American Alex Powell will also make his full-time debut after running selected races last year. The 16-year-old Mercedes-AMG F1 Team Junior also made his breakthrough to victory in F4 UAE and is set to challenge for more campaigning the #80 car.
Weather is expected to be good for racing at the flat 4.226-kilometer venue. As it hosted preseason testing for all competitors, Misano is expected to offer a tight, and the emphasis will be on making even the smallest difference.
Angelo Rosin – Team Manager
“We are ready for another exciting season. As we saw throughout the winter, we have six very competitive and highly-skilled drivers and we cannot wait to start working with them in the Italian F4 Championship. It is always a high-level and challenging series, and it can definitely help the drivers a lot as they develop their careers. We are determined to support all of them to the best of our ability and see what we will be capable of achieving together.”