The penultimate race of the F4 CEZ season concluded with a dramatic outcome and a dominant winner. Michael Sauter led from start to finish, taking his first win of the year. Reno Francot brought his car home in second place, extending his championship lead over his Jenzer Motorsport teammate Ethan Ischer.
The drivers lined up on the grid was based on the results from the first race. Consequently, the front row belonged to Ethan Ischer and Michael Sauter, while Reno Francot and Thomas Gore started from the second row. Shimo Zhang and Max Karhan stood on the third row, with Oliver Michl and Miroslav Mikeš behind them. Roman Roubíček started from the fifth row.
As the red light turned off, Ischer stalled the engine, allowing Sauter to shoot into the lead, followed by Francot and Gore. However, Ischer quickly caught up with the field and began overtaking his opponents. After three laps, the safety car was deployed due to Oliver Michl going off the track. The order under the yellow flags was as follows: Sauter, Francot, Gore, Ischer, Zhang, Karhan, Mikeš, and Roubíček.
The safety car period helped Ischer in catching up with the front drivers. Nevertheless, Sauter performed exceptionally during the restart, maintaining the lead and setting the fastest laps of the race. Francot secured second place, pursued by Thomas Gore and Ischer. Karhan had a brilliant restart, overtaking Zhang to fifth place.
The remainder of the race revolved around two battles: one between Gore and Ischer for third place, and another between Karhan and Zhang for fifth place. The young drivers pushed to attack or defend their positions, sometimes resulting in wheel lock-up and white smoke in the first turn of the track. However, the defending drivers outperformed their opponents, so Gore and Karhan remained on their positions until the checkered flag.
Michael Sauter enjoyed the moments of his first win of the season, exhibiting flawless driving and securing the fastest lap of the race. Francot finished second, increasing his lead in the championship, while Gore celebrated his first podium finish in overall result. Ischer finished fourth, and Karhan achieved his best result of the season in fifth place. Zhang crossed the finish line in sixth, followed by Mikeš and Roubíček in seventh and eighth, respectively. Unfortunately, the local driver Michl had to spectate the rest of the race from the pitlane.
Reno Francot held the lead with 246 points, while Ethan Ischer trailed with 238 points. The 8-point difference means that if Ischer were to win, Francot would secure the title with a second-place finish in the last race. Ischer would become the champion if Francot finished third or worse.
Race 2 Results
F4 CEZ Standings
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