Jamaican Alex Powell again experienced highs and lows in Round 4 of the F4 UAE championship with surprising wet weather in the Abu Dhabi desert playing a major role.
In qualifying, a setup issue resulted in less than expected pace, however Alex managed to qualify 6th for Race 1 and 5th for Race 3.
Race 1 began with drama as the top two drivers in the championship took each other out of the race, opening an opportunity for drivers in the top six to close on their lead. Powell made the best of it, finishing 4th in a very competitive race, eventually upgraded to an official 3rd place after a false-start penalty was applied to the race winner.
Rainfall overnight soaked the track, completely changing conditions for the reverse-grid Race 2 and continued rainfall resulted in officials opting to start the race behind the Pace Car for safety reasons. Once the race began Powell drove sensibly in the treacherous conditions, improving his 10th place start to a 7th place finish for valuable points.
Race 3 had diabolical conditions before the start, described by F4 commentator Jake Sanson as “too wet for slicks but too dry for wets’ “, with the field opting to start the race on slick tyres. A cautious start in P5 resulted in Powell dropping to 6th, however at the end of the first lap the Safety car was deployed as rainfall on one section of the track caused a few drivers to spin and damage their vehicles. The race was red flagged almost immediately, with all cars returning to pit lane. During the break some drivers, including Powell, opted to change tyres to wets, however once the race restarted it was obviously the wrong decision and Powell plummeted down the order, eventually finishing the race in 23rd position.
Powell’s next race is February 16 to 18 as the final Round 5 of the F4 UAE championship returns to the Dubai Autodrome.
JMMC congratulates Alex for his podium finish.
