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David Walther from the Maffi Racing team emerged victorious in the second race of the F4 Central European Zone at the Red Bull Ring. The action-packed event was red-flagged immediately after the start, and once the green flag waved again, the race featured intense battles and three-wide action.
Gino Trappa from Jenzer Motorsport and William Karlsson of Renauer Motorsport started from the front row. Behind them lined up David Walther and Jenzer Motorsport’s Max Karhan, while the third row featured Hady Mimassi for Renauer Motorsport alongside Mathilda Paatz from Mathilda Racing.
Simon Schranz stalled on the grid at the start. Nikolaj Dyrved, starting directly behind him, attempted to avoid the stationary car but lost control and collided with Michalina Sabaj. The safety car was deployed shortly afterward, but not before Karlsson managed to take the lead, with Trappa in second, Walther third, Paatz fourth, and Karhan fifth.
The race was soon red-flagged to clear the cars from the start/finish straight. After the restart, which began behind the safety car, the field was released for racing.
Trappa immediately launched an attack on Karlsson, but their battle opened the door for Walther to seize the lead in Turn 3, with Paatz moving into second. What followed was a fierce multi-car fight involving Karlsson, Paatz, Trappa, Karhan, and others, with positions changing constantly and three-wide action. This allowed Walther to pull away, while Karlsson also managed to build a gap to the battling pack behind him.
Later in the race, Herrera suffered a puncture and had to pit. With ten minutes remaining, the running order was: Walther leading, followed by Karlsson, Trappa, Mimassi, Paatz, Cortez, Karhan, Bocquet, Gorčica, and Lo Bue completing the top ten.
A piece of front wing lying on the racing line at Turn 8 brought out the safety car again with eight minutes to go.
The race resumed with five minutes remaining. Walther held onto the lead, Karlsson stayed second, and Mimassi climbed to third while Cortez and Trappa battled for fourth.
In the end, David Walther held firm to claim his first victory in the F4 CEZ series. William Karlsson of Renauer Motorsport finished second, with his teammate Hady Mimassi completing the podium. Jenzer Motorsport teammates Gino Trappa, Max Karhan, and Nicolas Cortez finished fourth through sixth respectively, as Cortez received a two-second penalty for exceeding track limits.
Mathilda Paatz secured seventh, followed by David Gorčica from Janík Motorsport in eighth. František Němec from F4 CEZ Academy powered by JMT Racing claimed his first points of the season in ninth, and the top ten was rounded out by Romuald Bocquet of Janík Motorsport.
