E4: Paatz enjoys promising series debut, Panzeri takes first Female Trophy win
- MARCO ALBERTINI
- Sep 16
- 4 min read
In the second round of the E4 season at Mugello, Mathilda Paatz enjoyed a strong debut for her family-owned team by being the highest-finishing female twice during the weekend, whereas AKM Motorsport's Ginevra Panzeri took her maiden Female Trophy win in race one.
In her maiden weekend in the E4 Championship, Mathilda Paatz with her family-owned team supported by AS Motorsport was the highest-finishing female in both races she completed, as she took a best result of 20th throughout the weekend.
Returning to the field, AKM's Ginevra Panzeri took her maiden female trophy win in race one, ahead of F1 Academy regular Aurelia Nobels. Italian F4 rookies Emily Cotty and Payton Westcott also had promising outings of their own, being on Paatz' pace all-weekend and standing on the class podium twice during the weekend.
Race 1
While Kean Nakamura-Berta and Alex Powell shared the front row, Paatz was the highest-starting female in 24th, followed by Cotty 25th, Westcott in 27th, and then Panzeri and Nobels in 32nd and 34th, respectively.
At the start, Nakamura-Berta and Powell kept the lead while Teo Schropp spun on the exit of Turn 3 following contact with Guy Albag. The Argentine spun in front of the oncoming pack, but was able to get back going without being hit by anyone. However, Paatz had taken to the grass to avoid Schropp and spun as a result, collecting Cotty and taking both out of the race. Westcott also spun while taking avoiding action and retired on the spot.
Eleven minutes later the race resumed with Nakamura-Berta holding the lead as Dante Vinci was passed by Maksimilian Popov and fell to fourth. The running order remained the same until five minutes remaining, when Andrija Kostic and Kabir Anurag collided at Turn 5 while battling for P12, sending the Singaporean to P21 after he took a trip through the gravel.
One lap later, Zhenrui Chi and Reno Francot collided at Arrabbiata 1 and retired from the race. Despite both cars stranded on the gravel, the race continued as only local yellow flags were displayed, and during the final laps Salim Hanna overtook Vinci to take fourth.
Up at the front, Nakamura-Berta won ahead of Powell and Popov, whilst Ginevra Panzeri gained 11 positions to take P21 and her first female trophy win. Aurelia Nobels also gained 11 positions to take P23 as the only other female to finish the race.
Race 2
In race two, Nakamura-Berta was again on pole with Powell alongside him on the front row, while Payton Westcott was the highest-starting female in 27th, followed by Cotty in 29th, Panzeri in 30th, Nobels in 31st and Paatz in 34th, after she was handed a six-place grid penalty following the opening lap crash in race one.
Nakamura-Berta kept the lead through the opening stages, as behind him on lap two, Kostic braked late while trying to take seventh away from Popov and went wide at Turn 1, and dropped a few places, as did Sebastian Wheldon, who went wide with the Serbian at the same time.
The race then settled down until, with 11 minutes left on the clock, Hanna overtook Gabriel Gomez to take fourth away and soon went on his quest to take third away from Francot. However, the Dutchman held the Colombian off in the final stages to keep third.
At the front, Nakamura-Berta won on-track but was given a post-race penalty for exceeding track limits and dropped to second, thereby giving Powell the win, as Francot closed out the podium.
Paatz superbly gained eight positions to take 26th and the female trophy win, while Cotty and Westcott joined her on the female podium in 27th and 28th, respectively. Nobels ended the race in 33rd, ahead of Panzeri, who had a trip through the gravel in the closing stages.
Race 3
In the final race of the weekend Powell and Nakamura-Berta once again shared the front row, while Westcott was the highest-starting female in 25th, while Paatz was 28th, Nobels 30th, Cotty 31st and Panzeri 32nd.
The first few laps were spent behind the safety car, and just when the race was about to start seven minutes later, Westcott and Guy Albag collided before reaching the final corner, putting the American out of the race with rear wing damage.
Despite this, the race went underway with Powell holding off Nakamura-Berta in the opening stages to defend his lead, whilst Gomez made an aggressive move on Vinci to take sixth just behind them. A lap later, Van Amersfoort teammates Popov and Vinci collided at Turn 1 and both lost a position to Andrea Dupe, who went up to seventh.
The Prema driver however, collided with Kostic less than ten minutes later, bringing an end to his race and forcing the safety car to be deployed.
Five minutes later, the race restarted with Powell going wide trying to defend his lead from Nakamura-Berta, allowing Wheldon to pass both to take the lead with a handful of laps remaining. On the same lap, Francot got past Nakamura-Berta to take third before Arrabbiata 1.
Wheldon held the lead until the end of the race to take the win, ahead of Powell and Francot. Paatz ended her maiden E4 weekend in 20th and again as the highest-finishing female, ahead of Nobels in 23rd and Cotty in 25th, who edged out Panzeri for the final step on the Female Trophy podium.
