Macau Grand Prix: Slater Leads, New F4 World Cup Begins

The 72nd Macau Grand Prix is underway, with Freddie Slater securing the provisional pole position for the FIA FR World Cup’s Qualification Race on Saturday.

While Slater’s off to a strong start in his bid for Macau grand Prix victory, 19 young drivers are also making history with the inaugural FIA F4 World Cup. The first track action for this entry-level category is now complete.

This addition to the Macau Grand Prix schedule marks the beginning of the FIA’s global growth pathway. It’s a fantastic opportunity for the next generation of single-seater drivers to learn the challenging 6.120-kilometre guia Circuit early in their careers. It also gives them a chance to experience Macau’s street track before perhaps moving up to the FIA FR World Cup in future seasons.

Briton Kean Nakamura-Berta was fastest in Free Practice 1, though the session was interrupted by three red flags. The first came when British F4 champion Fionn McLaughlin had to stop near Lisboa corner early in the 40-minute session. Crashes involving Alexandre Munoz,the 2024 French F4 title winner,and Chinese F4 driver Yuzhe Wang also caused red-flag stoppages. Italy’s Emanuele Olivieri and Argentina’s Gino Trappa, the 2024 F4 CEZ champion, rounded out the top three. The FIA F4 drivers will return to the track for Free Practice 2 at 09:15 local time on Friday.

Laurens Vanthor set a best lap of 2m16.451s to top the FIA GT World Cup first practice. though,he then crashed exiting the Mandarin kink – typically taken at over 270kph – causing a red flag. Vanthor wasn’t hurt, but his Tempo by Absolute Racing Porsche 911 GT3 R (992) sustained damage.