Aiva Anagnostiadis had a challenging but valuable debut in the Formula Winter Series at Portimão, making steady progress and securing a top-20 finish in Race 1 despite setbacks, as she now prepares for the Spanish F4 Winter Series at Jerez.
Aiva Anagnostiadis faced a challenging first weekend in the Formula Winter Series at Portimão, where she endured some unlucky races but still secured a top-20 finish in the season opener.
Anagnostiadis, 17, completed her first racing weekend in Europe after making her single-seater debut in the 2024 Indian F4 Championship. The Australian previously competed in karting both nationally and internationally, making significant progress between 2018 and 2024.
Last year, she embarked on an F4 testing program, which eventually led to her racing debut in India with the Goa Aces JA Racing team: she immediately impressed with a top-ten finish on debut, securing seventh and ninth place at Madras, before continuing her streak of top-ten results at the Chennai Street Circuit.
Aiva made steady progress throughout the season, battling at the front by the third round and scoring her first top-five finish at Madras. She ended the season on a high at Kari Motor Speedway with two sixth-place finishes. With 47 points, she concluded her first F4 championship in tenth place overall, demonstrating promising pace and determination in wheel-to-wheel battles.
Signing with Cram Motorsport for her first European campaigns, Anagnostiadis is set to compete in both the Formula Winter Series and the Spanish F4 Winter Series with the Italian team.
The Gedlich-promoted Formula Winter Series kicked off its third season at Portimão, Portugal, featuring a 30-car field. A major highlight of the 2025 season is the significant female presence, with one-third of the grid consisting of female drivers: the Portimão season opener set a record for the highest number of women on a mixed-gender F4 grid, with nine female racers.
Drivers had six free practice sessions on Thursday and Friday to familiarize themselves with the track. Anagnostiadis consistently improved her lap times, eventually setting a personal best of 1:47.923 in the final session before Saturday morning’s qualifying.
In the first 15-minute qualifying session, Aiva started with 1:50 laps before improving to a 1:49.112, placing her P30 for the opening race. In Q2, she continued to find pace, shaving off another tenth with a 1:49.063, again securing P30.
Race 1
A few hours later, the first race of the Formula Winter Series got underway, with Gabriel Gomez starting from pole alongside Edu Robinson, in sunny and dry conditions.
Anagnostiadis made an excellent start, charging from last to P25 in the opening laps. However, she soon found herself battling with Kornelia Olkucka, who managed to pass her again on lap 3. Aiva settled into her rhythm, improving her pace with each lap. By lap 10, she was running in the 1:49.1s, and on lap 11, she dipped under the 1:49 barrier for her personal best.
A safety car was deployed on lap 12 following an incident involving Enea Frey and Thomas Bearman, neutralizing the race. When the safety car returned to the pits, there was just one lap of racing left.
At the restart, Leo Robinson held onto the lead under pressure from Gomez and Luka Sammalisto. Anagnostiadis restarted in P24 and gained another position when Schranz had to pit. She fought hard in the final lap, making up a few more positions, and crossed the finish line in P22. After post-race penalties, she was promoted to P20, gaining ten places from her starting position in a strong opening race.
Race 2
For the second race in the afternoon, Aiva lined up P28 and aimed for another charge through the field. With Kirill Kutskov and Kabir Anurag unable to make the grid due to issues, most drivers gained two places before the lights went out.
Unfortunately, Anagnostiadis stalled at the start and had to rejoin the race one lap down.
A safety car was deployed on lap 2 after a collision between Rafaela Ferreira and Mathilda Paatz. While this helped Aiva close the gap to the pack, she remained a lap behind.
Racing resumed on lap 6, with Gomez maintaining the lead while Popov, Rehm, and McLaughlin battled for the podium. Another incident involving Aleksander Ruta and Andrea Dupe brought out the safety car again.
When the race restarted on lap 10, Aiva was running in P25 and used the remaining laps as an opportunity to gain experience. She set her personal best time of 1:48.944 on the final lap and finished P25, later promoted to P24 after penalties. Despite her unfortunate start, she still showed promising pace.
Race 3
The final race on Sunday morning took place in mixed weather conditions, with some drivers gambling on slick tyres while most opted for wets. Aiva started from P30.
A technical issue with the starting lights caused only three lights to turn on before the race began, leading to confusion on the grid. While some drivers were slow off the line, Leo Robinson took the lead, and several drivers on slicks struggled for grip, spinning in the midfield.
The race was however soon red-flagged due to the starting light malfunction, and all cars returned to the pits. After the restart, most drivers remained on wet tyres as the race resumed behind the safety car.
When racing resumed, McLaughlin took the lead in challenging conditions. Several drivers, including Andrija Kostić, Maksimilian Popov, and Andrea Dupe, encountered trouble in the tricky grip conditions. Anagnostiadis survived those hectic stages and avoided incidents, moving up to P28.
She continued to gain positions and chased Olkucka, consistently improving her lap times. She set a personal best of 2:10 as the track began to dry, but the drivers on slick tyres were now significantly faster.
Aiva managed to pass Olkucka for P25 but later had to defend against the Polish driver again. The two traded positions on lap 13, with Anagnostiadis ultimately emerging ahead. She finished P27, later promoted to P26 after penalties.
Despite a challenging first weekend, Aiva Anagnostiadis gained valuable track time in a highly competitive field. The Australian now looks ahead to her next challenge, as she prepares to race in the Spanish F4 Winter Series at Jerez, Spain, in just a few days.
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