SMP Racing junior driver Michael Belov finished the 2019 season of the Italian Formula 4 Championship in fourth place among 42 drivers.
In the final two races, which took place on October 18-20 at the Monza racetrack in Italy, the Russian twice stood on the second step of the podium.Michael earned the silver medal in both the Saturday and Sunday races, which took place in wet conditions. Belov fought a lot with his rivals and was able to gain several positions and made it to the podium.
The Russian finished his debut season in a strong junior formula series in fourth place, scoring 179 points. Over the past seven rounds, Michael went up to the podium seven times: five times he finished in second and twice in third place.
“Both Sunday races were wet,” SMP Racing driver Michael Belov said. “In the morning race, the start was given right away and it turned out very good for me: I was able to immediately gain one position and be closer to the leaders. During the next three laps, I overtook two more rivals and moved up to second place. After that, it was important to build a gap away from my pursuers and keep it to the finish line, which I managed to do.
The third race of the weekend started behind the safety car, as there was a lot of water on the track. After the restart, I fought for third place, but because of poor visibility during braking, I did not notice my rival’s car in front in time and hit his left rear wheel. We made contact and, unfortunately, I retired.
“In general, it turned out to be a very strong weekend with a good pace in both dry and rain conditions. I am pleased with two second places that consolidated my fourth position in the overall championship standings. I would like to say thank you to the SMP Racing team and coaches and the BhaiTech Racing team for this weekend and the whole season.”