Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1494946
NEWS 5 maltatoday | WEDNESDAY • 15 MARCH 2023 KARL AZZOPARDI MALTA-BASED Filipino teen Zachary David is making waves in international motorsports racing as he is set to race in the 2023 F4 Championship with US Racing team. Owned by former Mercedes DTM Technical Director Gerhard Ungar and ex-Formula 1 driver Ralf Schumacher, the team gave David his big break in single-seat- ers after graduating from karting. He had three outings with US Racing in 2022 where he scored a best 5th place finish at Lausitz- ring. Last week, Zach David, success- fully placed first in both races in the Formula Winter Series (FWS) in Barcelona, Spain, representing Mal- ta and driving under a Malta Motor- sport Federation issued license with the US Racing team. In the first race, Zach David start- ed in P3, and immediately climbed to P2. There were two safety cars, and on the 2nd safety car restart, he passed around the outside to take the lead. Good tyre management and race pace helped David retain the lead until the end. In the second race David started on pole, and finished first after a red flag ended the race early. Zach David also managed to get the fastest lap. Zach David will be testing his car at Belgium's historic racetrack Spa, with his next race being at Imola for the first round of the F4 Italian Championship. The Italian F4 Championship is undoubtedly one of, if not the tough- est junior single seater categories in Europe. There were 55 different drivers competing last year (includ- ing several Formula 1 junior drivers) with the average grid size regularly surpassing 30 entries. "I can't wait to race in Italian F4 with US Racing. I already feel com- fortable and happy with the team as I raced with them last year. My goal this year is to do as well as I can, improve on my mistakes, and gain experience. I'm sure that if I do all these, results will follow. I would like thank US Racing for the opportuni- ty, my sponsors Ceramic Pro Phil- ippines and Ceramic Pro Malta for their continuous support in my ca- reer. Not to forget my partners Stilo, Petron Corporation, and the Malta Motorsport Federation," he told in- ternational press. Malta-based driver set to race in Formula 4 next month Zach David with his team principal Zach David (centre) celebrating his win in Barcelona last week