Away from the limelight, little did we know that Sauber Karting Team driver Zach David was again testing Formula 4 machinery just weeks after his outing at Mugello. This time he joined the Italian F4 Championship’s pre-season test at the Red Bull Ring in Austria where he set the 8th quickest time amongst a field of 18 drivers.
The Filipino driver was re-united with AKM Motorsport and their Tatuus T-421 – now wrapped in proper Sauber livery. It was a 2-day test that consisted of 4 sessions, which Zach fully utilized to complete 190 laps behind the wheel. Not an easy feat for a 14-year-old. Even more so when you consider that he was sharing the track with much bigger names, yet was only 0.717 secs behind Mercedes-AMG Formula 1 junior driver Andrea Kimi Antonelli who topped the time sheets. Other notable drivers ahead of Zach where reigning F4UAE champion Charlie Wurz and Ferrari Driver Academy driver Rafael Camara.
What amazes us even more is the fact that this was Zach’s 3rd test session in a month. Somewhere in between Mugello and Red Bull Ring, he somehow managed to squeeze in another 2-day test at Spa Francorchamps in Belgium.
He was part of a massive 60-car entry list that was a mix of teams from both British F4 and Spanish F4. Zach made it around the historic 7.004 km circuit 98 times and ended up with the 26th fastest lap that was only 1.002 secs behind the pace setting Alex Dunne from US Racing.
“The pace was decent compared to the others,” he shared. “We were fast for how little days we did in the car compared to other drivers who have driven here since last year.”
Though still not eligible to race due to his age, the amount of testing Zach certainly does hint of a move up to Formula 4 next year.
