Rafaela Ferreira back on the podium in Formula 4 Brazil

Rafaela Ferreira secured a second place finish in the F4 Brazil Race 2 at Goiânia, claiming her eighth podium of the season after a solid race from the front row of the grid which saw the newly-signed F1 Academy driver retaining fourth in the championship.

Photo credits: Rafa Catelan

Formula 4 Brazil completed the penultimate round of the 2024 season at the Ayrton Senna Circuit, in Goiânia, where Rafaela Ferreira once again achieved positive results after the challenges faced in the previous round in Interlagos.

The newly-signed F1 Academy driver’s solid performance in Race 2 took her back to the podium – for the eighth time this year. She had already shown a good performance in the two free practice sessions held on Friday, November 22, recording a double P4.

Oakberry Bassani F4 driver Cecília Rabelo also enjoyed a good weekend, highlighted by a seventh place in FP1. Qualifying for races 1 and 3 had a very great balance between the best lap times recorded, with a gap of just 0.4s separating the pole-winner of both races - Matheus Comparatto - and Rabelo, who took double P11. Ferreira was seventh fastest on the starting grid for race 1 and third for Sunday's race.

Before returning to compete in F4 Brazil, Rafaela Ferreira had last week a valuable experience for her future steps in her motorsport career. The driver who will represent VCARB in the all-female Formula 1 support series from 2025 began her preparation with training carried out in partnership with Campos Racing, at the Algarve Circuit, in Portugal. In addition to time on the track, the activities included simulator training and physical tests.

Race 1

In the first contest of the weekend, Cecília Rabelo made a good start, gaining a position and breaking into the top ten in the opening stages. A little further ahead, Rafaela Ferreira overtook Filippo Fiorentino at the beginning of lap 5, moving up to P6. At the top, Álvaro Cho had taken the lead, while pole-sitter Comparatto had dropped to fourth.

Shortly after, Celo Hanh lost control of his car and crashed into the guardrail. The safety car was deployed and the race was neutralized for 4 minutes. After the restart, despite her efforts, Rafaela Ferreira ended up being overtaken by Fiorentino, returning to seventh place. Cecília Rabelo was pressured by Pepê Souza and Feldman Neto, but resisted well, securing 10th place.

Cho held P1 until the end, confirming the victory, followed by the Argentine Gino Trappa. Comparatto overtook Ethan Nobels - Rafa Ferreira's main competitor in the fight for third place in the championship - and secured a place on the podium.

The result of race 1 defined the starting grid for the next race and gave Ferreira a great chance of fighting for a victory or at least a place on the podium.

Race 2

The drivers returned to the Ayrton Senna Circuit a few hours later with Rafaela Ferreira starting on the front row. When the lights went out, she had little chance of attacking pole-sitter Lucca Zucchini, as she had to defend herself from overtaking attempts by Filippo Fiorentino and Arthur Pavie, who were close behind.

Cecília Rabelo started in 10th position and moved up to 9th after overtaking Ciro Sobral. Several drivers went off the track a few times during the race, but none of the incidents required the safety car to be deployed. In addition, Pepê Souza had to serve a drive-through penalty for jumping the start - making the gap between Rabelo and the drivers behind her even wider, as she held a safe margin.

Despite the limited chance of trying to overtake Zucchini, Rafa Ferreira did a very solid defense job, as well as fighting to close the gap to her opponent - which gave her the best lap of the race.

The second place achieved brought Ferreira to the podium for the eighth time in the 2024 season, extending the streak of historic feats achieved by the young 19-year-old. Rabelo again resisted confidently Rogério Grotta's attempts to overtake and crossed the finish line in ninth.

Race 3

On Sunday morning the last race of the weekend was held in Goiânia, and this time the drivers found the track a little damp, due to the rain that had fallen on the circuit the night before. Starting from P3, Rafaela Ferreira had a great chance of fighting for another podium and Cecília Rabelo - who would start in 11th, was promoted to 10th, as Pepê Souza had received a penalty after qualifying session on Friday.

Photo credits: Beto Correa

However, when the race started, the grip conditions caused some difficulties, causing Ferreira to drop to P6 and Rabelo to also lose 3 positions. The two female drivers then had some recovery to do, but it wasn't all easy.

On lap 2, Rafaela Ferreira came under pressure from Ethan Nobels and Rogério Grotta, who were trying to move up the order. Nobels found a way past and then Ciro Sobral also joined the battle with the TMG Racing driver.

Ferreira managed to defend herself well initially, but at the end of the main straight she was overtaken by both opponents, dropping to ninth. But Rafaela didn't give up and continued to push determined to recover the lost positions. She did so by first by overtaking Sobral and then trying to close the gap to Grotta, who was ahead of her in seventh.

Things started to change just under 10 minutes before the end of the race, when in a duel at the back of the grid, Feldmann Neto and Pepê Souza collided. Cecília Rabelo, who was right behind, managed to avoid them and moved up to P12. With the safety car deployed, the scenario in the fight for positions would improve for the two female racers.

After the restart, both drivers remained in the same positions initially, but on the second lap under the green flag, Rabelo overtook Lucca Zuchinni, moving up to 11th. On the final lap, Ethan Nobels, Gino Trappa, Rogério Grotta and Filippo Fiorentino made a few attempts to overtake and lost momentum. Rafaela Ferreira positioned herself well between them and gained two positions, crossing the finish line in fifth place. Cecília Rabelo also picked up one position and secured a place in the top 10.

"It was a great weekend, with a lot of learning and evolution. We had a lot of potential and speed." - said Rabelo about the weekend in Goiânia.

Photo credits: Rafa Catelan

Rafaela Ferreira also celebrated the results obtained: "I leave this weekend very satisfied with the pace we maintained every day! A hard-fought P3 in qualifying and another podium in the season."

"I know we had the pace to fight for another victory, and it is with this determination that we will go to the final round in Interlagos, in December!" - she added.

With the victory in race 3, Matheus Comparatto regained the championship lead, with 266 points - but closely followed by Álvaro Cho, who is 11 points behind. Rafaela Ferreira remains in fourth place in the drivers' standings - with 188 points, but she has reduced the distance to Ethan Nobels, who sits third, with 210 points. Cecília Rabelo remains in 13th, with 40 points collected - 31 points from the top 10.

F4 Brasil will once again return to Interlagos between December 13th and 15th, where in addition to the 3 races scheduled for the Super Final, race 2 of round 6 will also be held - which had been postponed due to the heavy rains that marked the end week in which the Brazilian single-seater series shared the track with the São Paulo Formula 1 GP.

With only one round left until the end of the season, the two female drivers on the grid still have a chance of gaining positions in the standings - particularly Ferreira, who still has a great chance of finishing among the top 3 drivers in Formula 4 Brazil in 2024.