Wikipedia

2023 Macau Formula 4 Race

The 2023 Macau Formula 4 Race, formerly the 2023 Macau Asia Formula 4, was a Formula 4 (F4) motor race held on the Guia Circuit in Macau on 12 November 2023, as part of the 2023 Macau Grand Prix. It was the fourth F4 race in Macau, and it was an invitational, non-championship round of the 2023 Formula 4 South East Asia Championship. The event featured two races: a seven-lap qualifying race to determine the starting grid for the twelve-lap final race.

The race had 23 drivers and 11 teams. SJM Theodore Prema Racing's Arvid Lindblad, won the event from pole position after winning the qualification race earlier that day. Lindblad led every lap of the race, which was hampered by inclement weather in the morning and included repeated deployments of the safety car due to driver accidents. His teammate Charles Leong came in second, followed by Rashid Al Dhaheri in third.

Background and entry list

edit
 
Layout of the Guia Circuit

In early 2023, the Macau Grand Prix Organizing Committee and Shanghai-based motor racing championship promoter Top Speed began negotiations to include the Formula 4 (F4) junior single-seater car category in the 2023 Macau Grand Prix.[1][2] If a higher single-seater category was not included in the 2023 Grand Prix meeting, the winner of the season-ending F4 Chinese Championship race would be named the Macau Grand Prix winner.[3] It was held as part of the revived 2023 Formula 4 South East Asia Championship instead of the 2023 F4 Chinese Championship, which had been the case in the previous three editions of the event,[2][3] and was an invitational, non-championship round.[4][5] The event was held on the 24-turn clockwise 6.120 km (3.803 mi) Guia Circuit in the streets of the Chinese special administrative region of Macau on 12 November following a day of practice and qualifying.[3][4][6] It was the fourth consecutive year that Macau hosted an F4 race after the category was added to the event owing to COVID-19 regulations that prevented the Formula Three round from being held.[7][8]

Drivers invited to the race had to be at least 15 years old (with their birth date binding) and hold an International C or ASN national licence.[5][9] The race accepted entries between 21 August and 15 September, with a maximum of 28 allowed.[9] The entry list for 23 drivers and 11 teams was released on 25 October.[10] Each driver competed in a Tatuus F4-T421 Gen 2 car equipped with the updated Fiat Abarth F413T turbocharged engine and the Halo cockpit protection device.[2][5] Charles Leong, the two-time Macau Grand Prix winner, was among the drivers entered in the race.[8] Martinius Stenshorne, the 2023 Formula Regional European Championship runner-up, returned to F4 racing with the Pinnacle Motorsport/B-MAX Racing team.[11] There were three female drivers in the race: Bianca Bustamante, Miki Koyama and Vivian Siu. Budgetary constraints prevented Andy Chang, the 2022 Macau Grand Prix winner, from entering the event.[12]

Practice and qualifying

edit

Drivers had a single 45-minute practice session to test their cars and become acquainted with the Guia Circuit on the morning of 11 November.[6][13][14] SJM Theodore Prema Racing's Freddie Slater lapped fastest at 2:30.922 17 minutes into the session. Stenshorne, Leong, Arvid Lindblad, Jack Beeton, Raphaël Narac, Rashid Al Dhaheri, Kevin Xiao, Ethan Ho and Enzo Yeh followed in positions two to ten.[13] Thomas Leung crashed into the barrier, forcing practice to be halted after seven minutes so that his car could be recovered. Liu Kai Shun hit the wall at the Melco hairpin, breaking his front wing. Tiago Rodrigues hit him from behind, causing a three-car traffic jam that required a second stoppage before being cleared. Lindblad crashed at Lisboa Corner, prompting Hadrien David and Yeh to drive into the run-off area to avoid Lindblad's stalled car. Beeton had earlier struck the Fisherman's Bend corner wall, thus practice ended early with eight minutes left. The bottom of the barriers were severely damaged and required extensive repairs, while Beeton's car was tough to remove from the barrier before being loaded onto a flatbed truck.[13][15]

Later that afternoon, a half-hour qualifying session determined the qualification race's starting order based on each driver's quickest lap time. Drivers who did not lap within 110 percent of the fastest entrant did not qualify for the event.[6][9] The session's start was delayed by a quarter of an hour due to a slippery track in the last sector caused by an support race incident.[16] Lindblad claimed pole position for the qualification race with a lap time of 2:24.293 on his final lap. He was joined on the front row by Slater, whose fastest lap was 0.549 seconds slower, while David was third. Both Leong and Al Dhaheri took fourth and fifth late in the session. Beeton took sixth, Narac seventh, Rodrigues eighth, and Stenshorne ninth.[16][17] Ho completed the top ten qualifiers.[16] Bustamante in 11th set her quickest lap at the end of qualifying and was the fastest driver not to qualify in the top ten places.[18] Following her in the final places were Yeh, Liu Kai Shun, Koyama, Kai Daryanani, Xiao, Cheong, Chui Ka Kam, Ryuji "Dragon" Kumita, Marco Lau, Siu, Jaden Pariat and Leung.[16] The final five qualifiers were outside the 110% limit but were allowed to compete in the qualifying race.[19] Daryanani oversteered into the Lisboa corner wall, halting qualifying for five minutes after 12 minutes. Stenshorne broke his front-right wheel in an accident on the track's final sector, stopping qualifying for six minutes. With nine minutes remaining, Narac's front wing broke against the Solitude Esses turn barrier, and his car briefly rose while embedding itself into the wall. Qualifying was stopped for 13 minutes because recovery vehicles needed to return to their locations for future usage, extending the car's recovery time.[16][17]

Qualifying classification

edit
Pos. No. Driver Team Time Gap
1 23   Arvid Lindblad   SJM Theodore Prema Racing 2:24.293 —
2 27   Freddie Slater   SJM Theodore Prema Racing 2:24.842 +0.549
3 2   Hadrien David   R-ace GP 2:24.883 +0.590
4 11   Charles Leong   SJM Theodore Prema Racing 2:25.239 +0.946
5 14   Rashid Al Dhaheri   Prema Racing 2:25.983 +1.690
6 45   Jack Beeton   AGI Sport 2:26.573 +2.280
7 1   Raphaël Narac   R-ace GP 2:27.219 +2.926
8 7   Tiago Rodrigues   Asia Racing Team 2:27.530 +3.237
9 34   Martinius Stenshorne   Pinnacle Motorsport 2:27.738 +3.445
10 68   Ethan Ho   Team KRC 2:28.563 +4.270
11 19   Bianca Bustamante   BlackArts Racing 2:28.733 +4.440
12 77   Enzo Yeh   Asia Racing Team 2:29.319 +5.026
13 72   Liu Kai Shun   Pinnacle Motorsport 2:29.765 +5.472
14 8   Miki Koyama   Super License 2:30.150 +5.857
15 88   Kai Daryanani   Pinnacle Motorsport 2:30.184 +5.891
16 96   Kevin Xiao   Asia Racing Team 2:30.602 +6.309
17 4   Marcus Cheong   Asia Racing Team 2:33.814 +9.521
18 16   Chui Ka Kam   CHAMP Motorsport 2:38.325 +14.032
110% time: 2:38.722
19 30   "Dragon"   B-Max Racing Team 2:39.683 +15.390
20 53   Marco Lau   H-Star Racing 2:44.202 +19.909
21 28   Vivian Siu   CHAMP Motorsport 2:47.384 +23.091
22 5   Jaden Pariat   BlackArts Racing No Time —
23 22   Thomas Leung   H-Star Racing No Time —
Source:[20]

Qualifying race

edit

The qualifying race to set the main race's starting order began at 08:00 local time on 12 November and was scheduled to last eight laps.[6][9] Rain and winds hit Macau that morning,[21] causing standing water and a lack of grip on the wet circuit.[18][22] Race organisers permitted drivers to conduct additional sighter laps to assess the conditions.[23] Because of the weather and the large amount of spray, it was decided not to begin the race with a standing start but to hold the first two laps under safety car conditions,[21][22] which made judging braking and turning into corners difficult when the lap began and ended because water could accumulate from being drained from other parts of the track.[24] Liu spun into the pit lane straight barriers at the start of the second lap, causing damage to his front wing.[21][22] Liu stopped against the wall at Reservoir Bend,[22] extending the safety car period by one lap as it was tended to.[21] The safety car led the field through the pit lane at the conclusion of the second lap and was withdrawn at the end of the following lap, during which time some water was removed from the course and spray levels fell.[21]

At the start of lap four, Lindblad led Slater and David (who avoided an accident by regaining control of his car's loose rear at Fisherman's Bend turn and nearly losing third place to Leong) and drove away from the rest of the field.[19][21][22] Daryanani retired after hitting the R Bend turn barrier before crossing the start/finish line, triggering the safety car's second deployment. To enable the recovery of Daryanani's stranded car, each driver had to go through the pit lane again.[19][22] After Daryanani's car was removed from the track,[23] the race restarted on lap six with Lindblad again leading from Slater and David.[22] Lindblad pulled away from teammate Slater, while the other drivers chose alternative paths through the first sector to avoid spray.[21][23] On the same lap, under pressure from Leong, David made a driver error and crashed into the barrier at the exit of Dona Maria corner. Leong was promoted to third, and the safety car was deployed for the third and final time on lap seven.[19][22] During the safety car period, Stenshorne stopped on track at San Francisco Hill because of a mechanical issue and could not restart until the whole field had passed him.[21][22]

The race concluded under safety car conditions due to the time limit expiring, and Lindblad led every lap of the qualification race to secure victory, ensuring he would start the main race on pole position.[21][22][24] Slater came in second position, 0.758 seconds behind, and Leong finished third. Al Dhaheri, Beeto and Ho finished in positions four through six. On the final lap, Narac's front wing was damaged, and he was shown the black and orange flag. As a result, he was unable to enter the pit lane for repairs and finished in seventh.[21][22] The final classified finishers were Rodrigues, Bustamante and Yeh, Koyama, Xiao, Chui, Cheong, Leung, Dragon, Siu and Lau;[25] Siu and Lau received drive-through penalties, which were converted into 30-second time penalties and added to their final race times, dropping them to 17th and 18th place, respectively.[19]

Qualifying race classification

edit
Pos No. Driver Team Laps Time/Retired Grid
1 23   Arvid Lindblad   SJM Theodore Prema Racing 7 25:39.046 1
2 27   Freddie Slater   SJM Theodore Prema Racing 7 +0.758 2
3 11   Charles Leong   SJM Theodore Prema Racing 7 +1.628 4
4 14   Rashid Al Dhaheri   Prema Racing 7 +2.663 5
5 45   Jack Beeton   AGI Sport 7 +3.405 6
6 68   Ethan Ho   Team KRC 7 +5.913 10
7 1   Raphaël Narac   R-ace GP 7 +53.246 7
8 7   Tiago Rodrigues   Asia Racing Team 7 +53.699 8
9 19   Bianca Bustamante   BlackArts Racing 7 +54.869 11
10 77   Enzo Yeh   Asia Racing Team 7 +55.712 12
11 8   Miki Koyama   Super License 7 +56.977 14
12 96   Kevin Xiao   Asia Racing Team 7 +57.537 16
13 16   Chui Ka Kam   CHAMP Motorsport 7 +59.950 18
14 4   Marcus Cheong   Asia Racing Team 7 +1:01.616 17
15 22   Thomas Leung   H-Star Racing 7 +1:05.809 22
16 30   "Dragon"   B-Max Racing Team 7 +1:09.367 19
17 28   Vivian Siu   CHAMP Motorsport 7 +1:35.309 21
18 53   Marco Lau   H-Star Racing 7 +1:58.554 20
NC 34   Martinius Stenshorne   Pinnacle Motorsport 7 +1:42.043 9
Ret 2   Hadrien David   R-ace GP 5 Accident 3
Ret 88   Kai Daryanani   Pinnacle Motorsport 2 Accident 15
Ret 29   Liu Kaishun   Pinnacle Motorsport 1 Accident 13
Fastest lap: Arvid Lindblad, 2:40.400, 85.3 mph (137.3 km/h), on lap 6
Source:[25]

Final race

edit

The 12-lap final race began 29 minutes after its planned start time of 15:40 local time on 12 November.[6][9][26] The grid was dry prior to the race due to improved weather conditions, albeit some dust patches were set on the circuit to dry spilled oil.[26][27] Lindblad held off a challenge from teammate Slater to sneak around on the outside into the braking zone for Lisboa corner, causing his teammate to turn in later than usual despite locking his tyres and weaving left and right to try to get the latter out of his slipstream.[19][26] Behind them, Koyama lost control of her car into Lisboa corner.[27] She spun against the outside tyre barrier, causing her vehicle's rear to bounce back onto the track and obstruct the outside line. Bustamante was sighted and hit Koyama's rear before Xiao lightly struck her.[18][19][26] Cheong and David were forced to halt because their pathways were obstructed,[22] and the safety car was called in to help officials clear the collision scene.[28]

At the lap three restart, Slater pushed Lindblad for the race lead until a suspected electronic control unit problem in his car in the centre of the Solitude Esses caused him to fall to the back of the field.[19][22][28] This promoted Leong to second, Al Dhaheri to third and Beeton to fourth.[22] Stenshorne had advanced from 19th to seventh place after passing Rodrigues on the fourth lap when the safety car was deployed for the second time when Lau crashed at Paiol corner and spilled oil on the track.[22][26] Due to the oil on the circuit, the safety car was deployed for three laps before the race resumed on lap eight.[19] Lindblad again maintained his lead and was briefly challenged by Leong in second before being pressured by Al Dhaheri in third due to a lack of pace, allowing Lindblad to move away to 2.7 seconds by the end of lap nine.[26][28][29] David had overtaken Daryanani and Chui to move into tenth.[19]

Leung collided with Liu on the way to Lisboa Corner, driving the latter into the outside wall.[19][26] Instead of deploying a safety car for the accident,[26] yellow flags were waved at Lisboa corner, stopping drivers from overtaking.[22][29] Stenshorne collided into the Fisherman's Bend turn barrier, removing his front wing on the straight and promoting everyone behind him up a position.[19][26] On lap ten, Xiao collided with the wall at Dona Maria corner, resulting in the safety car's third and final deployment.[28] Lindblad won the race under safety car conditions, having led every lap of the weekend.[26][30] Leong finished 0.274 seconds behind in second and Al Dhaheri was third.[26] Beeton finished fourth, ahead of Ho, Rodrigues, David, Yeh, Slater and Daryanani.[22] The final finishers were Chui, Cheong, Dragon and Siu;[26] Narac retired from eighth on lap ten due to car damage.[19][26]

Final race classification

edit
Pos No. Driver Team Laps Time/Retired Grid
1 23   Arvid Lindblad   SJM Theodore Prema Racing 12 37:28.517 1
2 11   Charles Leong   SJM Theodore Prema Racing 12 +0.274 3
3 14   Rashid Al Dhaheri   Prema Racing 12 +0.992 4
4 45   Jack Beeton   AGI Sport 12 +1.177 5
5 68   Ethan Ho   Team KRC 12 +2.666 6
6 7   Tiago Rodrigues   Asia Racing Team 12 +3.560 8
7 2   Hadrien David   R-ace GP 12 +3.807 20
8 77   Enzo Yeh   Asia Racing Team 12 +4.236 10
9 27   Freddie Slater   SJM Theodore Prema Racing 12 +4.527 2
10 88   Kai Daryanani   Pinnacle Motorsport 12 +5.812 21
11 16   Chui Ka Kam   CHAMP Motorsport 12 +6.571 13
12 4   Marcus Cheong   Asia Racing Team 12 +7.334 14
13 30   "Dragon"   B-Max Racing Team 12 +29.607 16
14 28   Vivian Siu   CHAMP Motorsport 12 +2:02.952 17
Ret 1   Raphaël Narac   R-ace GP 10 Accident 7
Ret 96   Kevin Xiao   Asia Racing Team 9 Accident 12
Ret 34   Martinius Stenshorne   Pinnacle Motorsport 8 Accident 19
Ret 72   Liu Kai Shun   Pinnacle Motorsport 7 Accident 22
Ret 22   Thomas Leung   H-Star Racing 7 Accident 15
Ret 53   Marco Lau   H-Star Racing 3 Accident 18
Ret 19   Bianca Bustamante   BlackArts Racing 0 Accident 9
Ret 8   Miki Koyama   Super License 0 Accident 11
Fastest lap: Arvid Lindblad, 2:24.791, 94.5 mph (152.1 km/h), on lap 10
Source:[31]

References

edit
  1. ^ Simmons, Marcus (9 March 2023). "F3 could headline Macau 'junior single-seater festival'". Autosport. Archived from the original on 16 February 2024. Retrieved 16 February 2024.
  2. ^ a b c Marques, Renato (30 August 2023). "F4 SEA to replace F4 Chinese Championship in this year's GP". Macau Daily Times. Archived from the original on 8 January 2024. Retrieved 16 February 2024.
  3. ^ a b c Wood, Ida (25 February 2023). "The 2023 Macau GP is being planned to take place over two weekends". Formula Scout. Retrieved 16 February 2024.
  4. ^ a b "Macau Grand Prix invitational highlight of revitalized F4 South East Asia Championship". Formula 4 South East Asia Championship. 21 August 2023. Archived from the original on 4 November 2023. Retrieved 16 February 2024.
  5. ^ a b c "Formula 4 Driver Guide 2023 – Macau GP Support Race" (PDF). Eurasia Motorsport. July 2023. pp. 2, 4–7, 9. Archived (PDF) from the original on 26 October 2023. Retrieved 16 February 2024.
  6. ^ a b c d e "70th Macau Grand Prix – Official Programme" (PDF). Macau Grand Prix Organizing Committee. November 2023. pp. 09, 15–16. Archived (PDF) from the original on 27 January 2024. Retrieved 16 February 2024.
  7. ^ "F4's retention in GP programme gains support". Macau Business. MNA International. 12 November 2023. Archived from the original on 16 February 2024. Retrieved 16 February 2024.
  8. ^ a b Marques, Renato (10 November 2023). "Added excitement anticipated for this year's F4 race". Macau Daily Times. Archived from the original on 16 February 2024. Retrieved 16 February 2024.
  9. ^ a b c d e "70th Macau Grand Prix - 11th-12 November 2023 - Macau Formula 4 Race - Sporting Regulations" (PDF). Automobile General Association Macao-China. 12 October 2023. pp. 3, 5–6, 23, 32–33. Archived (PDF) from the original on 12 February 2024. Retrieved 16 February 2024.
  10. ^ Wood, Ida (25 October 2023). "Prema to go up against top Asian teams in F4 SEA's Macau races". Paddock Scout. Archived from the original on 29 November 2023. Retrieved 16 February 2024.
  11. ^ Wood, Ida (7 November 2023). "FREC runner-up Martinius Stenshorne to enter Macau's F4 races". Formula Scout. Archived from the original on 4 December 2023. Retrieved 16 February 2024.
  12. ^ "70º Grande Prémio | Corrida de Macau de Fórmula 4: A prata da casa" [70th Grand Prix | Macau Formula 4 Race: The silver of the house]. Hoje Macau (in Portuguese). 10 November 2023. Archived from the original on 16 February 2024. Retrieved 16 February 2024.
  13. ^ a b c Wood, Ida (11 November 2023). "Slater fastest, Lindblad crashes in F4 SEA practice on streets of Macau". Formula Scout. Archived from the original on 16 February 2024. Retrieved 16 February 2024.
  14. ^ Dias, Erico (12 November 2023). "Here are the highlights from day one of the 2023 Macau Grand Prix". Macao News. Archived from the original on 17 February 2024. Retrieved 17 February 2024.
  15. ^ "Macau Grand Prix Gets Underway with Free Practice". Macau Grand Prix Organizing Committee. 11 November 2023. Archived from the original on 16 February 2024. Retrieved 16 February 2024.
  16. ^ a b c d e Wood, Ida (11 November 2023). "Red Bull junior Lindblad claims F4 pole in chaotic Macau qualifying". Formula Scout. Archived from the original on 17 February 2024. Retrieved 16 February 2024.
  17. ^ a b "Lindblad scores pole for first Macau Formula 4 Race". Macau Grand Prix Organizing Committee. 11 November 2023. Archived from the original on 17 February 2024. Retrieved 16 February 2024.
  18. ^ a b c Yu, Steven (17 November 2023). "Bianca Bustamente Faces Heartbreak at Macau After Strong Debut". C! Magazine. Archived from the original on 11 June 2024. Retrieved 11 June 2024.
  19. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m "近期比赛回顾：澳门F4林德布拉德获胜，梁瀚昭亚军；西班牙F4德利尼黑旗罚下，奈尔加冕" [Recent competition review: Macau F4 Lindblad won, Liang Hanzhao was runner-up; Spanish F4 Delini was sent off with a black flag, and Nair was crowned]. Bilibili (in Chinese). 12 November 2023. Archived from the original on 10 June 2024. Retrieved 10 June 2024.
  20. ^ "Macau Formula 4 Race - Qualifying - Official Classification" (PDF). Macau Grand Prix Organizing Committee. 11 November 2023. Archived (PDF) from the original on 4 December 2023. Retrieved 4 December 2023.
  21. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Wood, Ida (12 November 2023). "Arvid Lindblad wins wet and wild F4 SEA qualification race in Macau". Formula Scout. Archived from the original on 10 June 2024. Retrieved 10 June 2024.
  22. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q "Arvid Lindblad wins F4 South East Asia Invitational at Macau Grand Prix". Formula 4 South East Asia Championship. 12 November 2023. Archived from the original on 26 January 2024. Retrieved 10 June 2024.
  23. ^ a b c "Lindblad wins wet Formula 4 Qualifying Race in Macao". Macau Grand Prix Organizing Committee. 11 November 2023. Archived from the original on 9 May 2024. Retrieved 10 June 2024.
  24. ^ a b Wood, Ida (12 November 2023). "Lindblad: "Macau in the dry is difficult enough", and "bit sketchy" in wet". Formula Scout. Archived from the original on 10 June 2024. Retrieved 10 June 2024.
  25. ^ a b "Macau Formula 4 Race - Qualifying Race - Official Classification" (PDF). Macau Grand Prix Organizing Committee. 12 November 2023. Retrieved 4 December 2023.
  26. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Wood, Ida (11 November 2023). "Red Bull junior Arvid Lindblad takes another Macau win in F4 main race". Formula Scout. Retrieved 11 June 2024.
  27. ^ a b Dias, Erico (12 November 2023). "Here are the highlights from day two of the 2023 Macau Grand Prix". Macao News. Archived from the original on 11 June 2024. Retrieved 11 June 2024.
  28. ^ a b c d "Victory for Lindblad in Macau Formula 4 Race". Macau Grand Prix Organizing Committee. 11 November 2023. Archived from the original on 9 May 2024. Retrieved 11 June 2024.
  29. ^ a b Santos Filipe, João (13 November 2023). "70º Grande Prémio | Arvid Lindblad vence corrida de Fórmula 4". Hoje Macau (in Portuguese). Archived from the original on 11 June 2024. Retrieved 11 June 2024.
  30. ^ Wood, Ida (13 November 2023). "Macau F4 winner Lindblad "gutted" he can't join this weekend's F3 races". Formula Scout. Archived from the original on 29 November 2023. Retrieved 11 June 2024.
  31. ^ "Macau Formula 4 Race - Final Race - Official Classification" (PDF). Macau Grand Prix Organizing Committee. 12 November 2023. Archived (PDF) from the original on 5 December 2023. Retrieved 5 December 2023.
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=2023_Macau_Formula_4_Race&oldid=1243987801"