And just like that, Zachary ‘Zach’ David is now back in Europe to continue his racing. The 15-year-old barely had a month to rest coming from his F4 UAE debut season before suiting up once again, this time in the 2023 Italian F4 Championship with his old team US Racing.
Owned by former Mercedes DTM Technical Director Gerhard Ungar and ex-Formula 1 driver Ralf Schumacher, this team gave Zach his big break in single seaters after graduating from karting. He had 3 outings with US Racing in 2022 where he scored a best 5th place finish at Lausitzring. With his strong results, it’s easy to understand why the young Filipino driver decided to return with the German team for the 2023 season.
The Italian F4 Championship is undoubtedly one of, if not the toughest junior single seater categories in Europe. There were 55 different drivers competing last year (including several Formula 1 junior drivers) with the average grid size regularly surpassing 30 entries. This season should be no different with a number of hard hitters already with confirmed race seats including McLaren junior Ugo Ugochukwu, Ferrari Driver Academy ace Tuukka Taponen, and son of ex-Formula 1 driver Luca, Brando Badoer.
2023 Italian F4 Championship Race Calendar
Round 1 | April 21-23 (Imola Circuit)
Round 2 | May 5-7 (Misano Circuit)
Round 3 | May 26-28 (Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps)
Round 4 | June 23-25 (Monza Circuit)
Round 5 | July 21-23 (Circuit Paul Ricard)
Round 6 | September 29-October 1 (Mugello Circuit)
Round 7 | October 13-15 (Vallelunga Circuit)
There are 7 events in the 2023 calendar with 3 races per weekend to sum up to 21 races in total. It will take Zach across the best tracks in Italy including Imola, Monza, and Mugello, as well as legendary circuits in Europe such as Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps.
But before the real season begins in April, Zach entered the final round of the Formula Winter Series to make sure he’s well up to speed. He joined US Racing’s lineup at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya in Spain where he won both races outright.
Zach David: “I can’t wait to race in Italian F4 with US Racing. I already feel comfortable 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 opportunity, my sponsors Ceramic Pro Philippines and Ceramic Pro Malta for their continuous support in my career. Not to forget my partners Stilo, Petron Corporation, and the Malta Motorsport Federation.”
Gerhard Ungar: “Zach is a talented, young race driver that showed his potential already last year. We will surely see some great races of Zach this year.”
Ralf Schumacher: “We are very happy that Zach will be part of US Racing again this year and the season now finally starts this weekend in Barcelona as part of the FWS season final.”
For more info and the latest updates, follow ZachdavidRacing on Facebook and @zachdavidracing on Instagram.
