Freddie Slater sets the pace in the first free practice in Barcelona

The British driver from Prema Racing shows his speed from the very beginning of the penultimate round of the Italian F.4 Championship

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The 32 contenders of the sixth and penultimate round of the Italian F.4 Championship hit the track today at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya for the first time this weekend. Racing in Spain under sunny skies, without weather complications, this weekend marks Freddie Slater's first chance to secure the Italian title mathematically. The British driver, leader of the standings and a representative of Prema Racing, seems determined not to let the opportunity slip away and has already shown his speed, setting the fastest lap with a time of 1'41.983, being the only one on the track to go below the 1 minute and 42 seconds mark.

He was followed by Australian driver Gianmarco Pradel of US Racing, 0.269 seconds behind. Pradel had set the fastest lap multiple times in the first half of the session, but Slater surpassed him in the second half, improving his time further. In third place was Akshay Bohra, also from US Racing, with a gap of 0.439 seconds. Drivers from the German team led by Gerhard Ungar and Ralf Schumacher continued to hold strong, with German driver Maxim Rehm taking fourth place, 0.635 seconds behind, and Australian Jack Beeton in fifth with a 0.725-second gap.

Sixth place went to Anglo-Japanese driver Kean Nakamura-Berta, an Alpine Academy driver with Prema Racing, who was 0.732 seconds behind his teammate Freddie Slater. Prema Racing's Mercedes junior driver Alex Powell finished seventh, with a gap of 0.799 seconds. Only one-thousandth of a second behind him was Japanese driver Hiyu Yamakoshi from Van Amersfoort Racing, with a gap of 0.800 seconds from Slater. Tomass Stolcermanis finished with the ninth fastest lap of the morning, 0.900 seconds behind, followed by Swedish driver Gustav Jonsson, 0.974 seconds behind Slater, rounding out the top 10. 

A second chance to familiarize themselves with the Spanish track will come this evening, Friday, September 27th, crucial for finalizing the weekend setup. The second 40-minute free practice session will start at 17:21. Tomorrow, Saturday, September 28th, will see the qualifying sessions, from 9:00 to 9:15, then from 9:25 to 9:40, followed by Race 1, which will start at 12:40. Sunday, September 29th, will feature Race 2 at 11:10, with the final race of the sixth round of the season, Race 3, scheduled for 17:20.

 

All three weekend races, each 30 minutes + 1 lap, will be broadcast live on the YouTube and Facebook channels of the Italian F.4 Championship, on ACI Sport TV (channel 228 on Sky, channel 52 on Tivù Sat, and streaming on www.acisport.it), as well as on international platforms, including DAZN.