Italian F4: Emma Felbermayr dominates Female Trophy in Imola, keeps class standings lead
Emma Felbermayr took three female trophy class victories across the Italian Formula 4 Imola weekend and kept the lead in the classification, while Ginevra Panzeri secured the award in Race 1.
Emma Felbermayr took three female trophy class victories across the Italian Formula 4 Imola weekend and kept the lead in the classification, while Ginevra Panzeri secured the award in Race 1.
Seven female drivers have entered at least one round of the 2026 Italian F4 season, with Felbermayr, Westcott and Ferreira combining their Italian F4 campaigns with their commitments in F1 Academy.
Emily Cotty had been contesting her second season in the championship with R-Ace GP, but brought her Italian F4 campaign to an early conclusion before the Imola round to focus on her preparations for 2027. Panzeri, meanwhile, is contesting her second year in Formula 4 and her first full-time campaign in the championship, while Rosanne den Drijver and Zoe Florescu Potolea also had made one-off appearances at Monza and Mugello respectively.
That left four female drivers on the Imola grid: Felbermayr returned with PHM Racing while continuing her F1 Academy title challenge, Westcott represented R-Ace GP after becoming the youngest race winner in F1 Academy history last time out in Zandvoort, Panzeri returned with PA Racing and Ferreira continued her campaign with Cram Motorsport.
With the enormous Italian F4 field once again divided into groups during practice, Westcott immediately showed strong pace, setting a 1:47.589 in her session to finish ahead of Felbermayr and Ferreira, who recorded 1:48.330 and 1:48.426 respectively. Panzeri improved considerably between her practice sessions, dropping from 1:50.003 in the opening running to a 1:48.382 in FP2. Westcott made it to the top ten of her group with a 1:46.849 in FP2, while Felbermayr set a 1:47.277 and Ferreira a 1:48.235.
Qualifying remained challenging in the highly competitive field. Panzeri, who has also been selected for the F1 Academy Rookie Test in Navarra, qualified 24th with a 1:48.095. Westcott was again the quickest of the female drivers, posting a 1:47.229 to place 16th in her session, while Felbermayr qualified 20th and Ferreira 21st.
Race 1 brought together Groups B and C, with Westcott starting 19th, Ferreira 27th and Panzeri 31st. A car stalled on the grid as the lights went out, but the field managed to avoid the stranded car and negotiate the opening corner without incidents. Westcott gained one position immediately, while Ferreira was less fortunate, making contact with Fogaca and dropping towards the back of the field.
Panzeri avoided the early incidents and quickly moved to 29th before gaining another position, while Ferreira began working her way back through the field, passing Nicolas Cortes and Oscar Repetto. Westcott, meanwhile, was making strong progress and had moved to 16th by lap four before engaging in a close fight with Levi Arn and then Dean Pedersen. The American eventually moved ahead of Pedersen for 15th, although the two continued to exchange positions.
Panzeri was also making steady progress, passing Kraling for 27th, while Ferreira was beginning to find her rhythm with laps in the 1:48s and closing on the cars ahead. The two eventually found themselves running together in 26th and 27th, with Ferreira continuing to pressure the cars ahead.
Westcott remained around 15th as the race progressed, while Panzeri climbed to 25th and Ferreira to 26th. With Bernoldi pitting with an issue, both Panzeri and Ferreira gained another position. On the final lap, Westcott had moved to 14th, Panzeri to 24th and Ferreira to 25th before the chequered flag fell on a race that had remained green from start to finish.
Westcott initially finished 14th and was close enough to Pedersen to claim 13th, securing the Female Trophy victory on track. However, a post-race 25-second penalty dropped her to 18th. Ferreira was also handed a 25-second penalty and dropped to 25th, meaning Panzeri was promoted to the Female Trophy victory in Race 1 and 17th overall.
Race 2 brought Felbermayr into the action alongside Westcott and Panzeri, with the Austrian starting 24th, Westcott 25th and Panzeri 30th. Felbermayr immediately settled into a close midfield battle, pressuring Kraling while Westcott followed closely behind and waited for an opportunity. Felbermayr then moved past Hattemer, with Westcott following through, before the PHM Racing driver overtook David Walther to move into 21st.
Westcott remained in the same group and began hunting down Walther, while Felbermayr turned her attention to Andre Rodriguez. Panzeri, meanwhile, was fighting to defend her position against Repetto, with the pair running side by side on lap four.
As the race progressed, further incidents in the field allowed Felbermayr and Westcott to move forward. When Tamas Gender went off into the gravel, Felbermayr was promoted to 20th and Westcott to 22nd. Panzeri continued to fight back as well, passing Rubino again after the latter ran through the gravel.
Felbermayr made another move on the final lap to get ahead of Bernoldi for 19th and closed right onto Rodriguez, finishing just two-tenths behind him. Her top-20 finish was enough to secure the Female Trophy victory, although she was subsequently promoted from 19th to 18th after the post-race classification. Westcott finished 21st, while Panzeri crossed the line 28th.
Race 3 saw Felbermayr and Ferreira represent the female drivers, starting from 27th and 28th respectively. Both lost a position at the start but remained with the midfield group, with Felbermayr quickly recovering ground by passing Tamas Gender and then Hattemer to move into 24th. She subsequently overtook Kuklane for 23rd while coming under pressure from the cars behind.
Ferreira was also engaged in several close battles, running side by side with Iacopo Martinese on the main straight before reclaiming 28th after Rubino ran through the gravel. Fogaca subsequently moved back ahead, dropping Ferreira to 29th, but the Cram Motorsport driver responded by overtaking Fogaca again and opening a safe margin.
Felbermayr found herself at the head of a five-car train, attempting to close the approximately four-second gap to Orsini while also having to defend from Hattemer. She was eventually passed by Hattemer on lap eight but remained within striking distance.
With two minutes remaining, Tamas Gender went off at Rivazza and triggered the first Safety Car period of the weekend. The race was set for a one-lap shootout, but further trouble for Fogaca behind the Safety Car meant the race ultimately finished under caution. Felbermayr took 23rd, while Ferreira finished 26th.
The final race of the weekend featured Felbermayr, Westcott and Panzeri, with the trio starting 33rd, 32nd and 31st respectively after securing enough points within the top 36 required to make the grid. A huge opening-lap crash at Tamburello immediately triggered a Safety Car, but all three female drivers successfully navigated the chaos, with Westcott leading Felbermayr in 21st and Panzeri following in 23rd.
The restart produced much cleaner racing, and Westcott immediately moved into the top 20. Felbermayr remained close behind, setting up a direct fight between the two for the Female Trophy. Panzeri lost some positions through the second chicane, but continued.
Felbermayr eventually made her move on Westcott on lap six, overtaking the R-Ace GP driver for 18th and taking the lead of the female classification. Westcott then ran deep into Tamburello and went through the gravel, dropping back to 22nd, while Panzeri was running 28th.
Another Safety Car was required after James Anagnostiadis spun at Tosa and hit the barriers, leaving only a brief opportunity for green-flag racing before the chequered flag. Felbermayr remained firmly in the midfield and eventually crossed the line 19th, securing her third Female Trophy victory of the weekend. Westcott recovered one position on the final lap to finish 21st, while Panzeri completed the race in 28th.
The result gave Felbermayr maximum points in the Female classification from the three races she contested at Imola and moved her to the top of the standings with 320 points. Westcott remained close behind on 294, while Panzeri held third with 220 points.
The Italian Formula 4 Championship will now head to Misano for the sixth round of the 2026 season, scheduled for September 18-20.
