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Czech driver Max Karhan celebrated his first victory of the 2026 season in the third F4 Central European Zone race at Salzburgring. He took the lead at the end of the opening lap and never gave pole sitter David Walther a chance to fight back.

The grid for the Group A+C race featured David Walther and Max Karhan on the front row, with Teo Borenstein and Simon Rechenmacher lining up on the second row. Markas Silkunas and Ella Häkkinen occupied the third row, while Knud Eske Nielsen and Antonio Errigo started from the fourth. Georgiy Zasov and Mio Olert completed the top ten on the fifth row.

This time, however, the race began behind the safety car due to a slippery braking zone into Turn 1. Oil had been left on the circuit by a touring car in the previous race on the programme, prompting race control to take precautionary measures and schedule a rolling start after two laps behind the safety car.

David Walther led the field away ahead of Karhan, Borenstein, Rechenmacher and Silkunas as the drivers safely negotiated the opening chicane. Karhan wasted no time in making his move and overtook Walther on the back straight to take the lead of the race.

Borenstein attempted to follow suit on the next lap, but Walther successfully defended second place. In doing so, Borenstein lost third position to Rechenmacher. The order did not remain unchanged for long, however, as Borenstein soon reclaimed third place and resumed his pursuit of Walther. Behind them, Rechenmacher had Silkunas applying pressure, while Nielsen passed Häkkinen to move into sixth.

Borenstein was once again right on Walther’s rear wing, searching for an opportunity to make a move. Rechenmacher and Silkunas remained close behind, creating an intense four car battle for the podium positions.

With 12 minutes remaining, the safety car was deployed, wiping out Karhan’s advantage of more than three seconds. The field lined up behind the safety car in the order of Karhan, Walther, Borenstein, Rechenmacher, Silkunas, Nielsen, Häkkinen, Zasov, Rudokas and tenth Olert.

While track marshals cleared two front wings from the circuit, racing resumed with nine minutes to go.

Karhan controlled the restart perfectly, while Borenstein launched another attack on Walther. However, he nearly lost control of his car on the exit of the long right hander at the back of the circuit and dropped all the way to sixth place.

From there, Karhan remained firmly in control and led the field to the chequered flag to secure his first victory of the season. David Walther finished second after an excellent defensive drive, while Simon Rechenmacher completed the podium in third.

Markas Silkunas crossed the line fourth ahead of Knud Eske Nielsen in fifth. Teo Borenstein finished sixth, followed by Georgiy Zasov in seventh, Antonio Errigo in eighth and Ella Häkkinen in ninth. David Gorčica rounded out the top ten.

F4 CEZ – Group A C Race 3 Final Results

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