"Every race is a valuable lesson" - Kornelia Olkucka made her Formula Winter Series debut in Portimão and despite some setbacks, she moved forward in all races, continuing her learning process in F4.
Polish racer Kornelia Olkucka began her second season in F4 racing by making her debut in the Formula Winter Series at Portimão, Portugal. Despite some setbacks, she moved forward in all races, gaining 15 places over the weekend.
Olkucka, who transitioned from karting to single-seaters in 2024, had previously competed in the F4 Central European Zone with Swiss team Maffi Racing. In her rookie campaign, she scored points on nine occasions, with a sixth-place finish at Brno as her best result.
Throughout the season, she adapted well to the car despite limited prior testing, making significant progress across the five rounds she entered. Looking to build on this foundation, Olkucka renewed her contract with Maffi Racing for a dual campaign in 2025—starting with the Formula Winter Series as preparation for her debut in the highly competitive Italian F4 Championship.
The Gedlich-promoted Formula Winter Series kicked off its third season with a 30-car grid, reflecting its continuous growth and making it an ideal opportunity for Olkucka to gain experience in a competitive environment.
One of the standout aspects of the 2025 season is the significant female presence—one-third of the grid consists of female drivers. The Portimão season opener featured the highest number of women on a mixed-gender F4 grid, with nine female participants.
Leading up to the race weekend, drivers had six testing sessions to familiarize themselves with the track. It was Olkucka’s first time at the Algarve circuit, and having been out of single-seaters for several months, she also had to regain her rhythm.
"After three months away from racing, I finally returned for the first round of the season", Olkucka said. "It was also my first time on this track in a Formula 4 car—although I had been here in 2021, back then, I was racing in karting, which is a completely different experience."
Nevertheless she made significant progress on Thursday and Friday, steadily improving her lap times in each session. By the final session before qualifying on Saturday, she had set a personal best of 1:47.685.
In the first 15-minute Q1 session on Saturday morning, Olkucka initially ran in the 1:51s before improving to a 1:50.3. A strong final run saw her find nearly two more seconds, setting a 1:48.848 and securing P29 on the grid.
In Q2, with fresh tyres, Olkucka immediately ran in the 1:49s and aimed for further improvement. She broke the 1:49 barrier on her final attempt, once again qualifying in P29.
RACE 1
A few hours later, the first race of the Formula Winter Series season got underway; Olkucka lined up in P29 alongside fellow female racer Aiva Anagnostiadis, aiming to move forward.
Gabriel Gomez started from pole alongside Edu Robinson in dry and sunny conditions.
Robinson took the lead after passing both US Racing cars, while midfield battles saw several drivers forced to take the escape road at Turn 1.
Olkucka navigated the opening lap cleanly and held position despite the chaotic start. She was passed by Maksimilian Popov on Lap 2 but settled into her rhythm in a tightly packed group of battling cars.
She then overtook Anagnostiadis on Lap 3 and maintained strong pace, running in the 1:49.5s. As Kabir Anurag and Joanne Ciconte fell back, Olkucka moved up to P26.
A collision between Enea Frey and Thomas Bearman brought out the Safety Car on Lap 12, neutralizing the race while the stranded #20 Jenzer car was recovered.
At the restart, Leo Robinson held onto the lead, fending off challenges from Gomez and Luka Sammalisto. Olkucka restarted in P23 and gained another position when Schranz was forced to pit.
She battled hard on the final lap, gaining a place on Dante Vinci but losing spots to Anagnostiadis and Ciconte, eventually crossing the line in P24. After post-race penalties, however, she was promoted to P23—in an encouraging first race where she gained six positions from her starting place.
Gabriel Gomez ultimately claimed victory after a thrilling duel with Robinson, winning by less than three-tenths of a second. Robinson finished second, while Sammalisto dropped down due to a track limits penalty.
RACE 2
Later in the afternoon, the grid lined up for Race 2. Olkucka started from P30 and aimed for another comeback. With Kirill Kutskov and Kabir Anurag unable to make it to the grid, all drivers effectively gained two positions before the lights went out.
Leo Robinson made the best launch but ran deep into Turn 1, allowing Gomez to reclaim the lead. Olkucka had a strong start, gaining four places to move into P26 by the end of the first lap.
On Lap 2, a crash involving Rafaela Ferreira and Mathilda Paatz triggered a Safety Car period. Olkucka kept out of trouble and climbed to P24 as the field was neutralized.
At the Lap 6 restart, Gomez led while Popov, Rehm, and McLaughlin battled for the final podium spot. Another incident involving Aleksander Ruta and Andrea Dupe at Turn 4 brought out the Safety Car again.
Despite losing a place to the recovering Kutskov, who had started from the pitlane, Olkucka gained positions on Vinci, Zhuravskiy, and Borenstein, moving up to P21. She trailed Payton Westcott closely in P21, showing strong pace in the early stages.
On the Lap 10 restart, Olkucka had made it into the top-20 but was then overtaken by Dupe and Vinci, dropping to P22. She continued to battle in the midfield but struggled slightly in the closing laps, ultimately finishing P23. However, post-race penalties promoted her to P22, marking another solid race with consistent improvement.
RACE 3
Sunday morning’s final race of the weekend took place under mixed weather conditions, with some teams gambling on slick tyres. Olkucka started from P28.
Due to a technical issue, only three starting lights illuminated before going out, leading to a chaotic launch where some drivers stalled. Those on wet tyres had the advantage, with Robinson initially taking the lead as several midfield cars spun.
The race was quickly red-flagged due to the start light issue, and all drivers returned to the pits. Most opted to stay on wets before the race resumed behind the Safety Car.
Robinson led at the restart, with several drivers running deep into Turn 1. McLaughlin emerged in P1 after a three-wide battle for the lead.
In the tricky conditions, several drivers struggled—Kostic and Popov dropped back, while Andrea Dupe spun. Olkucka kept it clean and climbed to P24.
She then lost some time on Lap 4 and fell into a battle with Anagnostiadis, who was catching up. As the track dried, drivers on slicks gained a significant pace advantage.
Initially passed by Anagnostiadis for P25, Olkucka fought back, setting her personal best lap of 2:08.5 on Lap 12. She caught and repassed Anagnostiadis on Lap 13, showing strong pace by almost a couple of seconds per lap over the cars directly ahead.
However, an unfortunate spin on the penultimate lap saw her lose ground, ultimately finishing in P27. Despite the setback, it was still a valuable learning experience in challenging conditions, which also gave her the chance to continue working closely with the team.
"This weekend was also a new chapter with Maffi Racing, as I had a new engineer and mechanics", she commented. "We quickly found a great connection, and I’m really happy with how well we work together. This gives me a lot of motivation for the upcoming rounds, and I’m looking forward to continuing our collaboration."
"I gave it my all, but things didn’t go exactly as I had hoped. That’s motorsport—full of challenges and unpredictability."
"Every race is a valuable lesson, and I’m already preparing for the next round in Valencia, ready to push even harder!"
Although it was a challenging weekend, Olkucka gained important experience and collected valuable mileage. She will now focus on the positives as she prepares for the second round at Valencia’s Ricardo Tormo Circuit on February 13-16.