Yani Stevenheydens had a perfect Qualifying session, setting the fastest time in the opening race of the FIA-certified 2024 French F4 Championship. In his second season with the FFSA Academy, the Belgian hopeful finished ahead of France’s Jules Caranta and Japan’s Taito Kato.
The 25 drivers taking part in the French F4 Championship with the FFSA Academy got down to business in Saturday afternoon’s Qualifying session. The weather conditions were mild and the track completely dry, allowing them to establish a long-awaited first hierarchy. The morning session, held on a damp track, had left many questions in the minds of the vast majority of the academicians.
Just 18 years old, Yani Stevenheydens had a broad smile on his face as he climbed out of his Mygale F4 to take note of the final rankings from the official Qualifying session. “I had a good feeling straight away and I knew I could push the car to its limits. I got the tyres up to temperature really well and was able to put in a series of fast, consistent laps. Even at the end of the session, I was still quicker than my rivals. This double pole is an ideal way to start the year,” commented the driver identified by the RACB at the end of 2022 as part of the Volant Road to F4 programme.
Like Yani, Jules Caranta opted for a strategy of isolation on the track so as not to be hindered by an opponent, and it paid off with the second fastest time. “During both Friday’s private practice and the morning free session, the track was never really dry and I wasn’t sure where I was going to be. As a result, being guaranteed a front row start in both Race 1 and Race 3 is obviously a great satisfaction for my first race with the FFSA Academy. The strategy I put in place for this session paid off.”
The third man in this session came straight from Japan and the Honda Racing School in Suzuka. Taito Kato was among the best right from the start. “During the session, I wasn’t particularly happy with the way my car handled, with some understeer, so the second part of the session didn’t allow me to improve. Despite everything, I’ll be starting 3rd in Race 1, which is pretty positive, but only 8th in Race 3.”
In fact, the classification of the second fastest laps placed German Montego Maassen in 3rd position ahead of Frenchman Jules Roussel, the two drivers having finished 5th and 4th respectively in the scratch classification for this Qualifying session. It was at the very end of the session that Karel Schulz managed to dip below the 1’27 mark and climb back up to 6th place, ahead of Thailand’s Rayan Caretti, Italy’s Leonardo Megna and Jason Leung. Finishing 10th, Luxembourg’s Chester Kieffer will have the honour of starting on pole in Race 2, which will be run on the principle of a reverse grid for the top 10 finishers in the session.
