F4 CEZ: Female drivers secure personal best at Most, as Hakkinen secure back to back top-5 finishes, Danielsson claims first top ten
- RACERS
- 1 day ago
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The female entries enjoyed one of their strongest weekends in F4 CEZ at Most, with Ella Hakkinen and Alexia Danielsson both recording season-best finishes, Mathilda Paatz adding two more top-ten results to her consistent campaign, Michalina Sabaj securing Female Trophy honours in the final, while Ivonn Simeonova made an encouraging Formula 4 debut despite a challenging round.
The female entries enjoyed one of their strongest collective weekends of the 2026 F4 Central European Zone at Autodrom Most, with Ella Hakkinen and Alexia Danielsson both recording career-best finishes, Mathilda Paatz adding two more top-ten results to her consistent campaign, Michalina Sabaj securing another points-worthy weekend and Female Trophy honours in the final, while Ivonn Simeonova made an encouraging Formula 4 debut despite a challenging round.
The F4 CEZ Championship returned to the Czech Republic for the fourth round of the season at Autodrom Most, with another impressive female representation on the grid.
The weekend marked an important milestone for Austrian driver Ivonn Simeonova, who made her long-awaited Formula 4 debut. A member of the More than Equal driver development programme, Simeonova had spent the past months testing Formula 4 machinery with the organization before finally making her competitive debut.
Fellow More than Equal athlete Alexia Danielsson also continued her rookie campaign. The Swedish driver entered Most having already scored four points finishes, with a season-best result of 13th.
McLaren Development Driver Ella Hakkinen arrived as one of the revelations of the season. In her maiden Formula 4 campaign, she had already secured five top-ten finishes and scored points in all but one race, having immediately impressed with a top-ten on her championship debut.
Mathilda Paatz remained the highest-placed female driver in the championship standings entering the weekend. Balancing her F4 CEZ campaign with her rookie F1 Academy season—where she recently celebrated her maiden victory with Aston Martin—the German had twice finished inside the top five, including a season-best fourth place, while continuing to represent her family-run Mathilda Racing team.
Michalina Sabaj, now in her third season in the championship, arrived encouraged by three points-scoring finishes during the year, including a personal-best 12th place at the previous Slovakiaring round.
With the series' new format, drivers were split into qualifying groups and three qualifying races before the top finishers progressed into the fourth and final contest of the weekend, following a format similar to Italian Formula 4.
The opening qualifying session immediately showcased the potential of some of the female drivers. Paatz was immediately among the frontrunners, posting a 1:33.9 to briefly climb to second before eventually securing an excellent fifth position.
Danielsson also enjoyed one of her strongest qualifying performances to date, recording a 1:34.167 to finish ninth and comfortably inside the top ten. Sabaj followed in 13th with a 1:34.7.
The second qualifying session featured Hakkinen and debutant Simeonova. Hakkinen immediately set a 1:33.520, good enough for fifth place.
Simeonova made an positive first impression in Formula 4 machinery, immediately running inside the top ten with a 1:34.174. Although she found a few more tenths later in the session, she could not improve her final position, slipping just outside the top ten in 11th in her very first Formula 4 qualifying session.
Saturday morning's opening race for Groups A and B was held in extremely challenging wet conditions.
Heavy rain and standing water forced race control to begin proceedings behind the Safety Car, with Paatz lining up seventh and Sabaj 20th.
After several formation laps, the Safety Car finally peeled into the pits with around twenty minutes remaining. Paatz made a clean getaway, comfortably retaining seventh while shadowing Pio Coppola ahead.
Further back, Sabaj immediately began making progress, overtaking Kepak for 19th before passing Lo Bue for 18th on lap six. The two traded positions over the following lap as they enjoyed one of the closest battles in the midfield.
As the race settled, Paatz ran comfortably in seventh. Her lap times steadily improved despite the challenging weather, first recording a 1:53.2 before lowering it to a 1:52.8, gradually reducing the gap to Coppola while simultaneously extending her advantage over Nilsson behind.
Sabaj meanwhile continued battling throughout the midfield, overtaking Bulbarelle to climb into 20th. Rain intensified during the closing stages and Nemec eventually slid into the gravel, but the race remained uninterrupted.
Paatz completed a composed drive to secure seventh place in difficult conditions—an especially fitting result on the day of her 18th birthday.
Sabaj crossed the line in 21st after losing ground to Benet Gaspar during the closing laps but was later promoted to 19th following post-race penalties.
The second race, featuring Groups B and C, took place on a dry circuit after the weather improved.
Ella Hakkinen started 6th, Alexia Danielsson 12th, Ivonn Simeonova 14th and Michalina Sabaj 17th.
The opening metres immediately produced drama: several cars moved before the lights went out, but Hakkinen made an outstanding getaway to climb into fourth place. Danielsson also enjoyed a sensational launch, jumping into sixth, while Sabaj gained two positions to fifteenth.
Simeonova's first-ever Formula 4 race unfortunately unravelled almost immediately. Contact left her with front wing damage and as she attempted to reach the pit lane she was struck again at pit entry, spinning before finally making it back to the pits for repairs.
With Jorge Luis Bruno stranded off the circuit, the Safety Car was deployed, allowing Simeonova to catch the field despite dropping to 24th.
At the front, Hakkinen held fourth while Danielsson continued an outstanding run in sixth. The race was then red flagged before eventually resuming behind the Safety Car.
Once green flag racing resumed with 12 minutes remaining, Pio Coppola overtook Hakkinen for fourth, leaving the Finn/Czech fifth with Danielsson still running strongly in sixth. Sabaj continued her own recovery by overtaking both Poulsen and Pisarik to reach 14th.
Simeonova resumed in 25th, gaining valuable experience with every lap of only her first Formula 4 race.
Another Safety Car then followed after Antonio Errigo crashed with seven minutes remaining.
The race ended prematurely after another heavy accident involving Borenstein brought out the red flags.
Hakkinen remained fifth while Danielsson comfortably held sixth, only a few seconds behind. Both results represented personal bests—Hakkinen securing her maiden top-five finish and Danielsson comfortably recording both her best career result and first top-ten finish.
Sabaj crossed the line in 13th, while Simeonova completed her Formula 4 debut in 22nd after passing Roubicek during the closing laps.
Sunday morning's third race featured Groups A and C on a fully dry circuit. Hakkinen lined up 6th, Paatz 7th, Danielsson 12th and Simeonova 14th.
Danielsson's race was however compromised before it even began as she stalled on the grid.
At Turn 1, Hakkinen successfully defended sixth from Paatz, who immediately began applying pressure to the McLaren junior. Further back, Simeonova initially lost one position to Lipovics before gradually slipping to 17th and later 19th as the Formula 4 newcomer continued gaining valuable race experience.
Danielsson eventually got away and immediately began an impressive recovery from the back of the field, overtaking Cezary before passing Noelken. Jorge Luis Bruno then suffered a heavy accident, prompting a Safety Car.
At the neutralisation, Hakkinen continued holding off Paatz for sixth while Simeonova ran 20th and Danielsson 22nd after Pisarik also pitted with damage.
The incident ultimately required a red flag to recover Bruno's car.
Following another Safety Car restart with 6 minutes remaining, Danielsson immediately resumed her recovery, overtaking Simeonova before Polak became stranded in the gravel.
Another Safety Car was required, followed by a second red flag that ultimately ended the race early.
A jump-start penalty for Simon Rechenmacher promoted Hakkinen into fifth, giving the McLaren junior back-to-back top-five finishes. Paatz completed another strong run in sixth.
Danielsson initially crossed the line nineteenth but was later demoted to P21, while Simeonova inherited 19th position following the post-race penalties.
The weekend concluded with the Final, featuring the top 32 qualifiers. Ella Hakkinen lined up sixth, Paatz eighth, Danielsson in P15 and Sabaj in P23, while Simeonova narrowly missed qualification.
Unfortunately, the race was soon over for most of the female drivers.
Charging into Turn 1, Danielsson locked up under braking and went too deep into the corner, colliding heavily with both Paatz and Hakkinen. The incident eliminated five cars instantly and brought out the red flag, ending the races of three of the female drivers before the opening lap had been completed.
Following an extended clean-up operation, Sabaj became the only remaining female competitor.
The race resumed behind the Safety Car before green flag racing finally resumed with 23 minutes remaining.
Michalina Sabaj immediately climbed to 19th before entering a spirited battle with Polak, who later reclaimed the position. Lapping consistently in the 1:34s, Sabaj showed encouraging pace and began closing on several rivals ahead.
Another interruption followed when Bulbarelle became stranded in the gravel, requiring yet another Safety Car. Sabaj briefly lost one place to Errigo before retaining P20 as the field was neutralised once again.
A second red flag followed before another Safety Car restart set up a final six-minute sprint.
Sabaj overtook Andreas Lo Bue immediately after the restart and remained involved in a tightly packed battle with Errigo and Lipovics. Although she was eventually shuffled back behind Rudokas, she continued fighting until the chequered flag despite another late incident involving Benet Gaspar.
After an exceptionally disrupted final race, Sabaj finished P20 and emerged as the highest-classified female driver, thus securing Female Trophy honours.
Despite the dramatic conclusion, the fourth round represented one of the strongest weekends of the season for the championship's female competitors. Hakkinen continued her outstanding rookie campaign with consecutive top-five finishes, Danielsson celebrated her career-best result with a maiden top-6 finish.
Paatz added two more top-ten finishes to strengthen her championship position, Sabaj consistently battled through the midfield before claiming the Female Trophy in the Final, and Simeonova completed a promising Formula 4 debut that provided valuable experience despite the inevitable challenges.
The F4 Central European Zone Championship now remains in Czechia for the fifth round of the season at Brno, scheduled for 11-13 September.