E4: Ginevra Panzeri secures season's best and first points, Vicky Farfus makes F4 debut in Monza with points, while Westcott shines in qualifying
Ginevra Panzeri secured the E4 Championship Female Trophy title at Monza after a strong weekend that included her best result of the season in the series, while rookie Vicky Farfus made an immediate impression on her single-seater debut, collecting her first championship points and her maiden Female Trophy award.
Ginevra Panzeri secured the E4 Championship Female Trophy title at Monza after a strong weekend that included her best result of the season in the series, while rookie Vicky Farfus made an immediate impression on her single-seater debut, collecting her first championship points and her maiden Female Trophy award.
Payton Westcott also showed impressive qualifying pace, securing ninth on the grid for the second race, but a collision prevented her from capitalising on the opportunity. Across the three races at the Temple of Speed, all three drivers faced the challenges of Monza's tight chicanes and repeated safety car interruptions, with each one of them securing at the top of the female classification once over the weekend.
Panzeri returned to the E4 Championship for the season finale in the #35 PA Racing car after competing across several programmes throughout the year, including the Formula Winter Series, Italian F4, F4 CEZ and French F4. Her results had become progressively more encouraging, and she had also shown promise during F1 Academy rookie testing.
Westcott joined the E4 Championship for the first time at Monza; a F1 Academy regular and race winner representing Mercedes, the American also contested a dual campaign in Italian F4. For Farfus, meanwhile, the weekend marked a significant milestone: her first appearance in single-seaters after a promising first season in the Ginetta Junior Championship.
The Brazilian driver had made substantial progress since stepping up from karting, scoring points consistently and improving her results throughout the Ginetta Junior season. She secured her first top-15 finish at Zandvoort, followed by P11 at Snetterton and her first top-ten result at Donington Park. Alongside that development, Farfus completed a solid programme of F4 testing and recently topped the timesheets at the F1 Academy Rookie Test, adding further interest to her debut in the category.
The three female drivers lined up for the E4 Championship finale, with wet conditions greeting the field for Friday's opening practice session. Panzeri was the best-placed of the trio, setting a 2:06.194 to finish 27th overall, just ahead of Westcott and Farfus, who were separated by less than a tenth of a second. Conditions improved for the second session, in which Westcott recorded a 1:53.176 to finish 29th, narrowly ahead of Farfus, who posted a 1:53.190 in 30th. Panzeri ended the session 36th.
The first qualifying segment saw Farfus make encouraging progress as she adapted to the F4 machinery. Starting with a 1:55.3, she improved lap after lap and eventually set a 1:53.533, moving into the top 20 before the session developed further. Westcott also set a competitive time of 1:53.4, while Panzeri initially recorded a 1:55.6. Despite improving her sectors during her final attempts, Farfus could not better her benchmark and ended Q1 23rd, less than a tenth ahead of Westcott. Panzeri qualified 36th with a 1:55.097.
Westcott subsequently delivered her strongest qualifying performance of the year in Q2. She immediately moved towards the front of the order with a 1:52.8, climbing as high as sixth overall before continuing to improve. Her final effort of 1:52.515 briefly placed her fourth as the chequered flag fell, and she ultimately secured ninth once the remaining times were accounted for. It was an outstanding result and her best qualifying performance of the year, giving her a promising starting position for Sunday's second race.
Farfus also improved in the second segment, setting a 1:53.104 to finish 26th, while Panzeri recorded a 1:53.796 to take 34th.
Saturday afternoon's opening race began under cloudy skies, with the usual first-chicane congestion immediately causing trouble. Several cars were turned around, while Toniolo and Ruykov were forced out of contention. Farfus negotiated the opening corners cleanly and emerged in 26th, while Panzeri moved up to 32nd. Westcott was less fortunate, losing positions in the melee and dropping to 33rd, although she was able to continue.
The safety car was deployed to allow the track to be cleared, and further cars made pit stops to repair damage. Farfus initially moved up three places, with Panzeri in 26th and Westcott 27th, before the order settled ahead of the restart. Bearman then retired with a mechanical problem while the field was still behind the safety car. When racing resumed on lap four, Farfus was 22nd, Panzeri 24th and Westcott 25th.
As the field accelerated towards Parabolica, the familiar Monza battle for the slipstream created a long queue on the back straight. Farfus made an impressive restart, gaining several positions, but her progress was soon interrupted when she made contact at the second chicane and lost her front wing. She was forced to pit for repairs, threatening to undo the gains made in the opening laps.
Further back, Westcott passed Panzeri to move into 19th, with the PA Racing driver dropping to 23rd. Another safety car period followed after further incidents, however, and the neutralisation helped Farfus avoid losing a lap after her pit stop, allowing the rookie to rejoin the fight.
With five minutes remaining, racing resumed for a final sprint to the finish. The leading cars ran through the first-chicane escape road as the field compressed, while Westcott remained in the midfield battle. At Ascari, the American spun and was fortunate to avoid being collected by the approaching pack, dropping to 27th. Farfus, meanwhile, avoided the incident and began climbing the order again, reaching 25th as she recovered from her earlier setback.
Panzeri made the most of the late-race chaos, moving up to 20th and taking control of the Female Trophy battle with two minutes remaining. Another incident at Ascari, which left Bernoldi in the gravel, brought the race to an end behind the safety car. Panzeri crossed the line 17th overall, securing the Female Trophy victory, and was subsequently promoted to 12th following post-race penalties. It was her best result of the E4 season and, crucially, secured her first championship points.
Farfus also completed an impressive recovery drive to finish 20th before penalties promoted her to 17th. Westcott remained 20th despite her late spin, leaving her to look for a stronger result in Sunday's races.
Westcott returned to the grid on Sunday morning with an excellent opportunity to fight near the front, starting eighth after her qualifying performance. Farfus lined up 28th, while Panzeri was again set to start from 34th.
Westcott made a clean launch but was squeezed towards the inside escape road at the first chicane. She continued without major consequences, only to run through the escape road again at La Roggia as the field compressed through the sequence of corners. Despite the difficult opening, she completed the first lap in seventh. Farfus had a more challenging start and dropped to 29th, while Panzeri moved up to 33rd.
Westcott lost several positions after running deep into the first chicane again on lap two, falling to 14th. The safety car was then deployed following an incident that left Vittorio Orsini in the gravel. Racing resumed on lap three, but Westcott's hopes of converting her strong starting position into a major result were soon dashed. At the second chicane, a car spun directly in front of her and slid across the track, collecting the American and forcing her out of the battle.
As the field was neutralised once more, Farfus had climbed to 25th and Panzeri was 26th, bringing the two drivers together in the fight for the Female Trophy. The next restart came with around ten minutes remaining, and both began making progress through the order. Their battle was interrupted again when a multi-car accident at Lesmo 1 took out Hattemer and Borenstein, prompting a third safety car period.
With only two minutes left on the clock when racing resumed, both drivers had little time to make their final moves. Panzeri lost a couple of positions but negotiated the first chicane safely, while Farfus made a clean restart and climbed to 18th. Another collision at the second chicane then brought the race to a neutralised finish. Craige was hit from behind and pushed into the rear of race leader Augusto Toniolo, with Zasov also caught up in the incident, and the race ended behind the safety car.
Farfus crossed the line 17th and was subsequently promoted to 13th, securing her first E4 Championship points and her first Female Trophy award. The four points she collected were a notable reward for a rookie weekend in which she had already demonstrated good speed. Panzeri finished 23rd on the road and was promoted to 21st after the post-race changes, leaving her unable to repeat her victory from Saturday but still well placed in the Female Trophy standings.
The final race of the Monza weekend saw Westcott start 17th, Farfus 23rd and Panzeri 32nd. The opening corner was cleaner than in the previous races, although further trouble developed at La Roggia, where several cars ran through the gravel and others suffered front-wing damage. Farfus was caught up in the melee, losing positions and damaging her front wing, which forced her to pit. She rejoined 33rd, around 50 seconds behind the main pack, and would need a safety car to have any realistic chance of recovering that deficit.
Westcott made a cleaner start and initially moved to 20th, while Panzeri gained places to reach 29th. Westcott subsequently slipped to 22nd and then 25th as the midfield battle intensified. A further collision involving the American and two other cars at the first chicane left her down to 24th, although she was able to continue. Panzeri was 29th and Farfus 32nd, with Westcott still ahead in the Female Trophy fight.
By lap six, Westcott and Panzeri were running 26th and 27th respectively, close together in the battle for the female class. Farfus, meanwhile, was forced to pit again as further issues compromised her race and eventually retired. Panzeri continued to fight back, passing Pedersen to move up to 27th, while Westcott began to find her rhythm and recovered to 25th after overtaking Pasquinetti.
The safety car was deployed with six minutes remaining to deal with oil on the circuit, giving the field another chance to regroup before the final restart. Westcott had climbed to 22nd by then, having made up several positions during the second half of the race. When racing resumed with two minutes on the clock, the field negotiated the first chicane without major incident, but the closing laps remained intense as Westcott continued to defend and fight through the midfield.
The American held on to cross the line 22nd overall, securing her Female Trophy victory of the Monza weekend. Panzeri finished 26th and was promoted to 24th after the race.
The Monza finale brought the E4 Championship's three triple-header weekends to a close, with Panzeri crowned Female Trophy champion after a season of steady progress across the category. She finished the standings with 168 points, comfortably ahead of Ella Häkkinen and Farfus, who both ended the season on 56 points. Westcott, who also contested only the Monza weekend, collected 52 points.
