Written by Lorenzo Baer, Edited by Vyas Ponnuri
Nordic 4 Championship
Known as the Danish F4 until 2023, the Nordic 4 Championship can be recognised as one of the most extreme motorsport championships on earth, contested across some of the northernmost circuits on the planet.
Obviously, the biggest change to the event this year was the transition from Danish F4 to the Nordic 4 Championship to the new identity. This change happened mainly due to two factors.
One factor involved clearly characterising the multinational nature of the tournament, which, since the 2018 edition, has included stages in neighbouring countries such as Sweden and Denmark.
The second factor is the organisers' choice to move away from the rigid FIA standards. This involved limiting models and chassis, seeking integration with neighbours Sweden, which since 2015 has staged the Formula Nordic championship, held at the same level as the Danish F4 series.
Because of this, the championship is an exception as it allows vehicles from Formula 4, Formula Ford and Formula Renault to enter the same race. Such diversity of chassis added an extra ‘spice’ to the rebranded 2024 Nordic 4 season.
The tournament's 2024 calendar featured seven weekends, with three races each weekend. Two stages of the Nordic 4 Championship would be contested in Sweden, in conjunction with Formula Nordic, with the destinations being Karlskoga Motorstadion and Falkenbergs Motorbana.
In Denmark, the series raced at Padborg Park and Jyllands-Ringen for two weekends at each venue, alongside Ring Djursland, which, at just 1.750 km long, was the shortest venue on the calendar. .
In the Formula 4 division of Nordic 4, two drivers were pitted as favourites:STEP Motorsport racer Mathias Bjerre Jakobsen, a 17-year old who had finished an excellent third in the Danish F4 in 2023.
The other favourite was Magnus Pedersen, participating as a privateer, runner-up to Jakobsen in 2023, losing the title by mere four points.
An uneven start from Jakobsen offered Pedersen the chance to win the title that had slipped through his fingers in 2023. However, a spectacular run from the STEP driver in the second half of the year saw him win eight of the final nine races of the season, and with it the Nordic F4 title.
The story would be the opposite for Magnus Pedersen: Having started strong with a series of consistent results in Padborg, the Swedish leg in Karlskoga and Djursland, Pedersen had to deal with the declining performance of his car, settling for third in the tournament's overall standings, and second in the F4 category.
In the Formula Ford division, Mads Hoe, from Mads Hoe Motorsport stamped his authority, easily snatching the title in the category of the tournament, and placing second in the general classification, ahead of Pedersen.
Mads Hoe, the 2021 Danish F4 winner, was one of the most experienced in the field, and despite being equipped with a car considered inferior to the F4s, he managed to collect surprising results throughout the season.
Hoe’s weekend in Djursland Ring was the highlight of the championship, as he swept the weekend by winning all three races, despite featuring more inferior machinery.
As of 2024, all drivers in Nordic 4's F4 division are equipped with the Mygale M14-F4 chassis, powered by 2.0-litre Renault F4R engines.
In the Formula Ford class, there was greater freedom of choice, with drivers free to use any regulated Formula Ford chassis. Regarding the F5 engines, the 1.8-litre "Zetec", 1.6-litre "Duratec" and 2-litre "Pinto" powerplants were used, adjusted to tune with the regulations of the series.
FIA F4 CEZ Championship
Certainly the most “internationalised” F4 tournament, the CEZ Championship is one of the great hidden gems around the world. Formed in 2022 by the Automobile Club of the Czech Republic and Křenek Motorsport, the tournament's main goal is to provide central Europe a reliable single-seater championship.
Therefore, the F4 CEZ presented a unique spectacle in 2024, being the only F4 championship in the world to be contested in four different countries: Hungary, Austria, Slovakia and the Czech Republic.
The circuits were just as diverse, too. The year's calendar started at Balaton Park Circuit, Hungary, before moving to the Red Bull Ring in Austria.
The third leg of the year was at the Slovakia Ring, followed by two consecutive Czech Republic rounds at the Most and Brno circuits. The year ended with the return to Austria, racing at the Salzburgring.
Unlike 2023, when each weekend consisted of two races, this number was increased to three races per weekend in 2024. This meant a total of 18 races were contested across the year, up from 12 in 2023.
Another new feature for 2024 was the division of the championship into three different classifications. In addition to the overall standings, the honours of the F4 Rookie Rocket and the F4 Woman Trophy would also be up for grabs.
Although there was no clear favorite before the start of the season, it was assumed that one of the Jenzer drivers would win the championship, the traditional Swiss team having lined up vehicles in junior formulae since the early 90s.
Jenzer registered seven drivers for the season, with two being full-time drivers: Austrian Oscar Wurz, and Czech racer Max Karhan.
Despite only having two wins (compared to his teammate's four), Wurz had an extremely solid year, finishing quite regularly in the top five.
This consistency allowed the younger son of former F1 driver Alexander Wurz to win his first international title, holding a comfortable advantage over his closest pursuers.
Due to this being Wurz's first full F4 tournament, the driver also took home the F4 Rookie Rocket trophy.
Karhan's interesting performances in the second half of the season were an encouraging sign. However, these results were not enough to guarantee the driver second in the general classification.
This honour went to Kirill Kutskov, the Russian racing driver with a neutral license,who had only raced karts before. Four wins in the last four races of the year propelled the 15-year-old to second in the overall standings – marking him as one to watch in the coming years.
In the women's classification, Michalina Sabaj from AS Motorsport, finished 5th in the overall tournament standings, taking home the other trophy on offer.
Rounding out the top three of the women's standings were Kornelia Olkucka, Kutskov's teammate, and Michelle Jandová, who raced for SAPE Motorsport and F4 CEZ Academy Club throughout the season.
In the team classification, Jenzer Motorsport achieved a comfortable victory, more than 200 points ahead of second-placed Maffi.
As had happened in 2023, the 2024 F4 CEZ regulations again stipulated the standard chassis as the Tatuus F4-T421, equipped with 1.4-litre Abarth 414TF engines.
Euro 4 Championship
Despite being a ‘shootout’ championship, featuring just three weekends, Euro 4 is currently considered one of the most coveted F4 championships along the grassroots of motorsport racing
The tournament is run as a subdivision of the national Italian F4 championship, and so it is not surprising that it is sanctioned by ACI Sport and WSK Promotion, who also organise the Italian F4 championship. It’s also no surprise that the majority of Euro 4 events are also contested in Italy.
For 2024, the ‘national rounds’ were held in Mugello and Monza. To live up to the name Euro 4, the only international stage of the tournament took place at Red Bull Ring.
The Hungaroring was expected to join the calendar as the season opener – but this did not materialise due to a scheduling clash between the parties.
38 drivers from 19 nationalities started the races, almost all veterans of either the Italian F4 or other national championships in the category.
It was difficult to identify favourites for the season, due to the wide distribution of talent across the grid, but some drivers deserve special mentions.
For Prema, the most prominent names were Freddie Slater and Kean Nakamura-Berta, who were in the running for the title.
The former, who has proven himself to be one of the most promising names in British motorsport in recent years, came as the strongest to compete in Euro 4.
The Briton had come into the season in August on the back of a 2024 F4 UAE title, in addition to having achieved an incredible 11 victories in the Italian F4, in which he would be crowned champion.
Another interesting PREMA driver was in the spotlight: Japanese-Slovak driver Kean Nakamura-Berta.
Despite having competed in sporadic single-seater events in 2023, the former European Kart champion had an excellent result in the F4 UAE championship, placing second in the standings, just behind Slater in his first full championship.
However, it wasn't just PREMA who were favourites. US Racing’s Akshay Bohra wanted to win his first international title, having finished third in the 2023 Euro 4 season.
Bohra’s teammate Jack Beeton too emerged a favourite for the title. Although the Australian driver hadn’t fared well across European F4 championships in 2023, he had been crowned the F4 SEA champion in the off season.
Van Amersfoort Racing also lined up an interesting promise from the East: Japanese racer Hiyu Yamakoshi. After an inconsistent 2023, Yamakoshi had started the 2024 Italian F4 championship well, taking two victories in the Imola leg of the tournament.
To complete the list, Jenzer Motorsport also had a name to keep an eye on: Swiss Ethan Ischer, veteran of the Italian, Spanish and German F4 championships. The Swiss was also the 2023 F4 CEZ champion.
Of these, Bohra and Slater emerged as the two protagonists of the Euro 4 season. The two slugged it out for the top honours in the series, swapping for the lead of the standings as the season went on.
Bohra set the bar with two victories in the opening stage of the tournament, in Mugello. Slater, on the other hand, finished a best of second in the weekend’s second race.
At the next weekend in the Red Bull Ring, Slater took the opportunity to get even, with two wins and a third pushing the Brit to the lead of the tournament. Meanwhile, Bohra had to settle for two fourth places across the weekend. .
Everything was open for the last race of the year, in Monza. And Bohra fared best, with his two second places enough to clinch the 2024 Euro 4 title.
Slater finished second in the standings, having achieved a best of fifth at the deciding weekend in Monza.
Nakamura-Berta rounded out the top three of the general standings, having achieved two third places and a Monza win across the season
In the overall teams standings, Prema Racing fared better, due to the good results of its two main drivers. The Italian team finished first with 273 points, 29 ahead of second-placed US Racing.
The standard chassis for the tournament was the Tatuus F4-T42, equipped with 1.4-litre Autotecnica 414TF engines.
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