Rafaela Ferreira scores another podium in F4 Brazil

Rafaela Ferreira climbed onto the podium for the fourth time in the 2024 season and consolidated her position in the fight for the top 3 in the F4 Brazil drivers' championship.

F4 Brazil completed the first half of the 2024 season with the round hosted at the Ayrton Senna Circuit, in Goiânia, and once again the young female racer Rafaela Ferreira climbed the podium during the weekend. She had already made history in the previous round by becoming the first woman to win a race in the series - in addition to having already recorded two second and one third place finishes throughout the year - and now she maintained her consistency, reaching the top 3 once again.

In the free practice sessions, both Rafaela Ferreira - competing for TMG Racing - and Cecília Rabelo - from Oakberry Bassani Racing - showed progress in their personal performances throughout the sessions, with particular emphasis on Rabelo, who recorded the second best lap in FP2. However, in qualifying for the starting grid for races 1 and 3, it would be Rafaela Ferreira to run at the front, finishing with a double P5 while Cecília Rabelo qualified in P11 for both races.

Race 1

Starting from fifth place on the grid, Rafaela Ferreira had a great chance of fighting for a notable result and this was confirmed in the first stages of the race. Straight from the beginning she put pressure on Lucca Zucchini who was in front of her, until on lap 2 she managed to overtake her opponent. While in eleventh position, Cecília Rabelo's car stopped on track when the race went green and she dropped to the back of the grid.

Still on the second lap, a contact between Rogério Grotta and Guilherme Favarete caused the safety car to be deployed, neutralizing the race for a few minutes. After the restart, Rabelo had the chance to recover and, having already gained two positions, she quickly overtook Feldmann Neto and entered the top 10.

"We are showing good consistency and we will continue until the end of the year." - Rafaela Ferreira

On lap 8, leader Arthur Pavie spun and the drivers behind him had to react quickly to avoid a collision. Thus, Álvaro Cho took the lead, followed by Matheus Comparatto and Rafaela Ferreira - who advanced to the top three. Cecília Rabelo also gained another position, moving up to P9.

Without further incidents until the end, Ferreira confirmed her podium streak by crossing the finish line in third place.

"Everyone was very close, I was already expecting a well-fought race. I started in fifth place, but I really wanted the podium, so our objective was achieved. But we have to keep fighting to always achieve solid results that guarantee us good points in the championship." - said Rafa Ferreira about the result of the first race of the weekend.

She also commented on the fact that she reached the podium in all of the 4 rounds held in the 2024 season: "We started the season on the "right foot", we had podiums in all the rounds so far, we are showing good consistency and we will continue until the end of the year."

Race 2

With the reverse grid format considering the result of the previous race, the second race held on Saturday had Rafaela Ferreira occupying the 6th position on the starting grid and Cecília Rabelo was in 10th place. And this time, Ferreira did not have an easy life.

Still in the first corner, during a battle for space with Lucca Zucchini, Ferreira was pushed onto the grass and, after the left rear tyre touched the grass and lost grip, she fell to the back of the field, forcing Rafaela to a recovery drive.

Zucchini was handed a drive-through for the incident with Ferreira - and once he served the penalty several drivers gained positions, among them Cecília Rabelo, who in her best moment in race 2 was up to seventh position. She was later overtaken by Arthur Pavie and then by Rafaela Ferreira at the start of lap 8.

While Ethan Nobels and Álvaro Cho fought for the win, Ferreira and Rabelo held their positions and took the checkered flag in P8 and P9 respectively. The brother of F1 Academy driver Aurélia Nobels got the better of Cho and secured the victory.

Race 3

The young drivers returned to the Ayrton Senna Circuit on Sunday morning for the last race of the weekend, with Rafaela Ferreira and Cecília Rabelo holding the same positions on the starting grid as in race 1 - P5 and P11. When the red lights went out, Ferreira put pressure on Ciro Sobral, momentarily moving up to fourth. But at the same time she had to defend herself from Rogério Grotta, and an aggressive pass on the kerb caused her car to lose control and Rafa Ferreira fell to sixth position.

From lap 3 onwards, Grotta, Ferreira and Lucca Zucchini fought an intense battle for P5. Rafaela Ferreira even managed to regain her initial position on the grid, but she was then overtaken by her opponents, dropping to P7 on lap 8.

However, she kept fighting until she managed to overtake Rogério Grotta for good and move up to 6th. On the last lap, she overtook Sobral and crossed the finish line in a very positive fifth place. Cecília Rabelo remained in 11th place from the start to the end of race 3 - won by Arthur Pavie.

In the drivers' standings, Matheus Comparatto remained at the top - with 175 points. Rafaela Ferreira scored important points and consolidated her position in the fight for the top 3. She now has 109 points collected - just 10 behind Ethan Nobels. Cecília Rabelo, who has twice reached the top 9, also scored good points and now has 28 to her name.

"I'm very happy with my results so far this season, the result of a lot of hard work and we will continue to fight to continue achieving results constantly, the focus is always on growing and improving", said Rafaela Ferreira about the fourth round of the 2024 F4 Brazil season.

Cecília Rabelo also shared her impressions about the weekend in Goiânia: "The practice sessions were very positive, I managed to improve a lot and get good results. However, I ended up leaving a lot to be desired in qualifying, not getting the results I could have delivered. Starting all the races behind, I didn't get good results, but I was able to learn a lot."

Now, there will be a long break until the next round, which will take place on October 8th. It will also be the first in the history of F4 Brazil to be held outside the country - in Buenos Aires, Argentina, where the two female drivers on the grid will have new opportunities to continue learning and record their names in the history of the Brazilian single-seater series.