Jamaican Alex Powell claimed the first win of his Formula 4 career at Round 3 of the F4 UAE Championship at the Dubai Autodrome this past weekend.
Powell had to overcome mechanical issues in practice and a disastrous first qualifying session. His father John reported that after problems in official practice “On Friday night they totally rebuilt the car, (then) in the first qualifying session Alex couldn’t get full gas (throttle), so he pulled in to repair that. When he went back on track to put in a fast lap there was an incident and they red flagged the qualifying session.” Subsequently, Alex was credited with last in Q1 qualifying.
In a remarkable Race 1 drive, Powell started in P32 then carved his way through the field to finish P10 and earned a P3 starting position for Race 2’s reverse grid. His quick reflexes were needed to avoid a stalled car at the start of Race 2; a few corners later in a breathtaking manoeuvre Powell passed two cars simultaneously to take P1 on the first lap and a sensible drive held his lead to the finish.
After the race, F4 commentator Jake Sanson described Powell’s achievement. “Alex Powell has done a terrific job. The boy from Miami with Jamaican roots has done an exceptional job here in Dubai, having to go from barely any qualifying laps at all, to charge his way through from 32nd on the grid in Race 1 to 10th, turn that to 3rd on the grid then to come through for the victory. Alex Powell, a first time winner in F4 UAE, excellent job, the Jamaican Sensation!”
Powell’s next race is February 9 to 11 as Round 4 of the F4 UAE championship returns to the Yas Marina Circuit.
JMMC congratulates Alex for his first F4 race win.
