FWS: Chiara Bättig and Ginevra Panzeri produce strong recovery drives at Circuit de Barcelona
- LIAM REDFORD
- 4 minutes ago
- 7 min read
Chiara Bättig and Ginevra Panzeri showcased their racecraft to recover from tough qualifying sessions in the Formula Winter Series finale at Circuit de Barcelona, where the Swiss racer secured a best result of 11th position in race two after starting from 22nd on the grid.
Chiara Bättig and Ginevra Panzeri showcased their racecraft to recover from tough qualifying sessions in the Formula Winter Series finale at Circuit de Barcelona. Swiss racer Bättig secured a best result of 11th position in race two after starting from 22nd on the grid. The Campos Racing driver ended her weekend with a further top-15 result as Bättig gained 24 positions across the trio of races, while claiming two female driver awards.
Italian racer Panzeri secured the female driver award in the first race of the weekend which was held in wet conditions. The AS Motorsport driver raced maturely throughout the event on her way to a best result of 18th. Panzeri consistently battled within the midfield in all three races as she continues to make progress in F4 level machinery.
The fifth and final event of the Formula Winter Series was held at Circuit de Barcelona with Bättig and Panzeri aiming to end on a high. For Swiss racer Bättig, it has been a hugely encouraging campaign with a runner-up result in the season opener at Estoril a particular highlight. The Campos Racing driver returned to the points last time out at Motorland Aragon where she consistently battled within the overall top-10.
Panzeri has continued to develop her racecraft with the AS Motorsport driver securing her first ever top-10 result in F4 level machinery during the first race of the season. A ninth-place result in changeable conditions in Portugal was a breakthrough finish and highlighted the potential of the Italian driver. A top-20 result at Circuit Ricardo Tormo, Valencia, marked another strong finish with Panzeri now looking to consistently challenge her more experienced midfield rivals.
On-track action began on Thursday with the first three test sessions at Circuit de Barcelona. Bättig’s fastest lap of a 1:43.766 came during the final test session of the day where the Swiss racer set the ninth quickest time overall. Panzeri enjoyed consistent running, building upon her experiences of the track from the E4 Championship at the end of 2025. Narrowly missing out on a top-20 position in each session, the AS Motorsport driver ended Thursday’s running with fastest lap of a 1:44.544.
Three further sessions were held on Friday with Panzeri immediately improving by two tenths of a second in session one to set the 18th quickest time overall. This remained her fastest lap during Friday’s trio of sessions with Ginevra securing one further top-20 result. Bättig completed a further 64 laps with her quickest time also coming in session one, placing the Swiss racer in tenth position.
After two days of dry running, wet conditions brought additional challenges for Bättig and Panzeri ahead of the first of two back-to-back qualifying sessions on Saturday morning. A quick red flag disrupted the first session before it was halted for a second time with less than three minutes left on the clock.
The session resumed which gave the drivers one final chance to improve on their lap times. It was a tough end to qualifying for both female drivers with Bättig setting the 23rd quickest time with Panzeri close behind in 25th spot. Taking their second fastest lap times into account, Bättig improved one place to 22nd with Panzeri dropping a spot to 26th overall.
The second qualifying session was held directly after with the drivers remaining on the wet tyres. Both drivers improved upon their times from the first session, however the conditions remained challenging for the female racers. Bättig ended the second session with the 26th fastest time on a 2:01.723 while Panzeri was one position behind in 27th with a quickest lap of a 2:02.498.
The first race of the weekend took place on Saturday afternoon with damp and greasy track conditions at Circuit de Barcelona. All drivers fitted the wet weather tyres with Bättig lining up from 23rd position with Panzeri a row behind in 25th spot. It was a clean getaway from the entire field and Panzeri was quickly moving forward as the AS Motorsport driver ended the first lap in 22nd position. Bättig dropped one spot to 24th on the first tour, before the safety car was deployed with Noah Killion beached in the gravel.
The race resumed on lap four and after Viktor Poulsen and Andre Rodriguez went off at turn one, both Bättig and Panzeri gained two positions. Georgiy Zasov was able to find his way past Panzeri on the same lap with the Italian driver now in 21st with Bättig close behind in 23rd. As the battle for the Female Trophy intensified, contact was made between the two drivers on lap six which delayed Panzeri while Bättig took a trip through the gravel.
Fortunately, both drivers were able to continue with Panzeri and Bättig now running in 24th and 25th positions respectively. On laps seven and eight, separate issues for Ludovico Busso and Vittorio Orisini promoted Panzeri and Bättig up two positions, before Teo Borenstein beached his car in the gravel.
With the Jenzer Motorsport machine requiring recovery by the marshals, the safety car was deployed for a second time with Panzeri up to 21st position just ahead of Bättig in 22nd spot. The Swiss racer was showing excellent speed in tricky conditions and despite her earlier setback, she was seventh fastest driver on track prior to the neutralisation.
Two laps remained when the green flag was displayed and the battle for the Female Trophy remained close. While attempting a move on Panzeri, Bättig spun and the Campos Racing driver rejoined the race in 23rd position. This gave Panzeri some breathing space and the Italian racer was remaining consistent as she took the white flag in 20th position.
Debutant Timo Jungling overtook Panzeri on the final lap as she took the chequered flag in 21st position, later promoted to 19th following separate penalties issued to both Jungling and Thomas Bearman. Bättig crossed the line in 23rd spot and she also benefited from Bearman’s starting procedure penalty as the Swiss driver was classified in 22nd position in race one.
Race two at Circuit de Barcelona took place on Sunday morning with dry conditions now enabling all the drivers to fit the slick tyres. Courtesy of their second fastest times set in the first qualifying session, Bättig lined up from 22nd with Panzeri starting from 26th position on the grid. As the lights went out, Ary Bansal stalled in his US Racing machine and he was collected by Teo Borenstein. Fortunately, both drivers walked away from the incident unharmed with the safety car deployed to retrieve the stricken cars.
Both Bättig and Panzeri was able to benefit from this incident and coupled with strong opening laps, the two female drivers made significant progress. Under the safety car, Bättig ran in 16th position while Panzeri was up to 22nd. The race resumed on lap five and at the head of the field, Rodin Motorsport teammates Ethan Lennon and Alfie Slater made contact with both drivers beached in the gravel. This resulted in a second safety car period with Panzeri now inside the top-20, while Bättig climbed to 15th despite being overtaken by Noah Killion.
During the neutralisation period, Max Kammerlander pitted for a new front wing and therefore Bättig was now in 14th with Panzeri up seven places from her starting position in 19th spot. The restart took place on lap eight and Bättig was quickly on the move as she overtook Andre Rodriguez for 13th position. Although Panzeri lost out to both Platon Kostin and Alexander Chartier, the Italian racer was driving smartly and looking for opportunities to recover the positions.
On lap 10, Bättig was faster than the next seven drivers ahead as she continued her charge towards the top-10. The Campos Racing driver was showing improved pace in dry conditions after starting from 22nd on the grid. Panzeri was now also moving forward and after Oscar Repetto pitted with a loose rear wing, she was back inside the top-20.
On the penultimate lap of the race, contact between Killion and Timo Jungling allowed Bättig through into 11th position while Panzeri was up to 18th. A strong final lap saw both drivers maintain their positions with Bättig finishing one spot short of a points scoring finish in 11th, while Panzeri secured her second-best result of the campaign in 18th position.
The Formula Winter Series finale was held on Sunday afternoon with dry conditions remaining at Circuit de Barcelona. Grid positions were set by the results from the second qualifying session with Bättig starting from 26th position and Panzeri one spot behind in 27th. Both drivers made a good initial start, however their progress was halted as the safety car was deployed prior to the end of the opening lap. After contact between Andre Rodriguez and Pedro Lima, both cars were stuck in the gravel and required recovery.
Due to the position in which both cars were beached, the recovery was lengthy and therefore the race resumed at the halfway point of the thirty-minute race on lap six. Bättig was keen to move forward and she overtook Markas Silkunas on the restart, while Panzeri fell behind Georgiy Zasov. Just ahead of Bättig, Oscar Repetto was assigned a drive-through penalty after he delayed the initial start due to being out of position. As a result, Bättig passed the Cram Motorsport driver, however Silkunas fought back and Vittorio Orsini also made his way through.
As lap eight got underway, Bättig was in 20th position with Panzeri slowly moving her way forward in 25th. Despite the brief loss of momentum, Bättig’s speed was excellent and following a nice move, she overtook both Orsini and Alexander Chartier. Panzeri was also showcasing her racecraft as the AS Motorsport driver passed Erik Poulsen in his STEP Motorsport machine. After clearing Viktor Poulsen, Panzeri was now 23rd and targeting back-to-back top-20 results.
Bättig soon had a points scoring finish in her sights as she overtook both Leon Hedfors and Ludovico Busso, while teammate Timo Jungling pitted. Now inside the top-15, Bättig set a new personal best time of a 1:45.199 as she chased US Racing driver Noah Killion. Following a superb last lap manoeuvre, Bättig passed Killion to finish her Formula Winter Series campaign with a 14th place finish. It was a consistent run to the chequered flag for Panzeri who completed a productive weekend by crossing the line in 22nd position.
Both Bättig and Panzeri showcased their racecraft at Circuit de Barcelona as they battled back from challenging qualifying sessions. Panzeri secured a well-deserved female driver award in race one where she adapted well to difficult conditions, before Bättig displayed excellent speed in the two dry races.
Bättig will now be looking ahead to the opening round of the British F4 Championship at Donington Park on the weekend of April 18th/19th, while Panzeri aims to firm up her plans to remain competing in F4 level machinery.