2018 Grand Finale at the Valley
| 2018 Grand Finale at the Valley | |
|---|---|
| |
| |
| Date | 8-9 December |
| Race of Champions | |
| Pole position | |
| Fastest lap | |
| Race winner | |
| FIA Formula 4 World Final | |
| Pole position | Template:USA Ed Howitzer |
| Fastest lap |  Massimo Torelli
|
| Race Winner | Luca Bandini
|
The 2018 Grand Finale at the Valley was a motorsport event featuring two non-championship finale events. The first saw a return to the circuit racing format for the well known Race of Champions event, whilst the weekend also saw the debut of the FIA Formula 4 World Final format. Practise and qualifying for both events were held on Saturday, while the feature races were on Sunday.
XXIX Race of Champions
25 participants were selected to compete in an event that would crown 2018's Champion of Champions. 20 of these were assigned by invites for placing as series champions, or championship podium finishers amongst the top series in the world. The remaining five slots, referred to as All Star Invites, are high-profile wildcards who did not earn an invitation based on the required criteria, but were voted in by fans for their popularity and ability.
Qualified participants
| Category | Series | Pos | No. | Driver |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| FIA | F1 | 1st | 5 |  Sebastian Vettel
|
| 2nd | 17 | Template:FRA Jules Bianchi | ||
| 3rd | 44 | Template:GBR Lewis Hamilton | ||
| 5th | 13 | Salvatore Miccoli
| ||
| PC | 2nd | 6 |  Asim Adhikari
| |
| 3rd | 23 |  Hagane Shizuka
| ||
| 5th | 8 | Template:USA Jordan McKenna | ||
| F2 | 1st | 12 | Marvin Kirchhöfer
| |
| AutoReject | ARWS | 1st | 26 | Template:GBR Terry Hawkin |
| 3rd | 90 | Template:FRA Phillippe Nicolas | ||
| 4th | 33 |  Bastiaan van Nieuwenhuijzen
| ||
| 5th | 98 | Template:GBR Mark Dagnall | ||
| AR 3.5 | 1st | 60 | Template:GBR Nathanael Cameron | |
| TC | IPC | 1st | 89 | Template:FRA Sylvain Fabron |
| 2nd | 18 | Template:USA Sandra Cessler | ||
| 4th | 99 |  Adolfo Moretti
| ||
| SEAT | 1st | 27 |  Manuarii Vahirua
| |
| FNippon | 2nd | 10 | Template:FRA Aimée Gauthier | |
| F5000 | 1st | 50 | Template:AUS Matt Grove | |
| GBRC | 1st | 7 |  Markus-Petteri Pykälistö
| |
All Star Wildcards
| Rank | No. | Driver | Notability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 3 | Template:AUS Daniel Ricciardo | 2015 Formula 1 World Drivers' Champion |
| 2 | 26 | Template:BEL Thomas De Bock | 2017 AutoReject World Series Drivers' Champion |
| 3 | 73 | Template:AUS Daniel Melrose | 2005, 2007, 2009 and 2010 Formula 1 World Drivers' Champion |
| 4 | 4 | Template:FRA Jérémy-Étienne Voeckler | 1988 Formula 1 World Drivers' Champion |
| 5 | 36 | André Lotterer
|
2011, 2012 and 2014 Le Mans 24 Hours winner |
Qualifying
Race
FIA Formula 4 World Final
| 2018 Formula 4 World Final | |
|---|---|
| |
| Date | 8 December |
| Venue | Grand Valley Speedway |
| Length | 20 laps (98.8km) |
| Prize | FIA Rising Star Award |
| Participants | 18 |
| Pole position | |
| Driver | Template:USA Ed Howitzer |
| Time | 2:09.869 |
| Fastest lap | |
| Driver | Massimo Torelli
|
| Time | 2:09.426 |
| Podium finishers | |
| First | Luca Bandini
|
| Second |  John-Paul Casciaro
|
| Third | Template:USA Ed Howitzer |
Six drivers from each of the three national F4 series from around the globe were invited to partake in an end-of-year battle royale, in which the winner would be handed the FIA Rising Star Award, as recognition of being the best driver in the lowest rung of single-seaters worldwide. The race was somewhat longer than a standard Formula 4 race at 100 kilometres, to reflect the finality of the event on the season's proceedings.
Eligible participants
 Anglo-Irish F4
|
Italian F4
|
Template:USA North American F4 | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pos | No. | Driver | Pos | No. | Driver | Pos | No. | Driver |
| 1st | 2 | Template:GBR Sabrina Mann | 1st | 3 | Paolo Leonetti
|
2nd | 4 | Template:USA Ed Howitzer |
| 2nd | 5 | John-Paul Casciaro
|
2nd | 6 | Massimo Torelli
|
3rd | 7 |  Alejandro de la Vega
|
| 3rd | 8 |  Imani Burrell
|
3rd | 9 | Luca Bandini
|
4th | 10 |  Arienne Sorel
|
| 4th | 11 | Template:GBR Alex Smith | 4th | 12 |  Ivan Shvetsov
|
5th | 14 | Template:USA Joey Bennett |
| 5th | 15 |  Collin Daley, Jr
|
5th | 16 | Template:SUI Lucas Légeret | 6th | 17 | Template:USA Mike Jones |
| 6th | 18 | Template:GBR Will Tregurtha | 6th | 19 |  Magda Szervánszky
|
8th | 20 | Bill Jones
|
Qualifying
| Pos | No | Driver | Region | Time |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 4 | Template:USA Ed Howitzer | Template:USA North American F4 | 2:09.869 |
| 2 | 3 | Paolo Leonetti |
Italian F4 |
+0.010 |
| 3 | 9 | Luca Bandini |
Italian F4 |
+0.019 |
| 4 | 12 | Ivan Shvetsov |
Italian F4 |
+0.048 |
| 5 | 7 | Alejandro de la Vega |
Template:USA North American F4 | +0.097 |
| 6 | 2 | Template:GBR Sabrina Mann | Anglo-Irish F4 |
+0.145 |
| 7 | 8 | Imani Burrell |
Anglo-Irish F4 |
+0.154 |
| 8 | 18 | Template:GBR Will Tregurtha | Anglo-Irish F4 |
+0.317 |
| 9 | 6 | Massimo Torelli |
Italian F4 |
+0.339 |
| 10 | 5 | John-Paul Casciaro |
Anglo-Irish F4 |
+0.410 |
| 11 | 15 | Collin Daley, Jr |
Anglo-Irish F4 |
+0.593 |
| 12 | 10 | Arienne Sorel |
Template:USA North American F4 | +0.631 |
| 13 | 14 | Template:USA Joey Bennett | Template:USA North American F4 | +0.671 |
| 14 | 11 | Template:GBR Alex Smith | Anglo-Irish F4 |
+0.757 |
| 15 | 16 | Template:SUI Lucas Légeret | Italian F4 |
+0.834 |
| 16 | 19 | Magda Szervánszky |
Italian F4 |
+1.083 |
| 17 | 17 | Template:USA Mike Jones | Template:USA North American F4 | +1.174 |
| 18 | 20 | Bill Jones |
Template:USA North American F4 | +2.329 |
Race
Third placed qualifier Luca Bandini won the race, with an overtake on the last lap on Sabrina Mann, who shared the joint most laps led with third placed Ed Howitzer. John-Paul Casciaro was the other podium finisher, in 2nd position, whose performance was notable for having the equal most positions gained from their starting position, an honour shared with Alex Smith in 6th position. Conversely, the worst performer was Will Tregurtha, who dropped 7 places from his starting position.
While the Italian series took the crown thanks to the success of Bandini, it was the Anglo-Irish series with the best success rate overall, with half of the top 10 occupied by drivers from the region. Despite having something of a home advantage with Grand Valley Speedway's US location, only two competitors from the North American series - Ed Howitzer and Alejandro de la Vega placed in the Top 10.
| Pos | No | Driver | Region | Time |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 9 | Luca Bandini |
Italian F4 |
45:54.7065 |
| 2 | 5 | John-Paul Casciaro |
Anglo-Irish F4 |
+0.195 |
| 3 | 4 | Template:USA Ed Howitzer | Template:USA North American F4 | +0.336 |
| 4 | 2 | Template:GBR Sabrina Mann | Anglo-Irish F4 |
+1.872 |
| 5 | 3 | Paolo Leonetti |
Italian F4 |
+2.562 |
| 6 | 11 | Template:GBR Alex Smith | Anglo-Irish F4 |
+2.734 |
| 7 | 12 | Ivan Shvetsov |
Italian F4 |
+4.745 |
| 8 | 8 | Imani Burrell |
Anglo-Irish F4 |
+4.888 |
| 9 | 7 | Alejandro de la Vega |
Template:USA North American F4 | +5.028 |
| 10 | 15 | Collin Daley, Jr |
Anglo-Irish F4 |
+5.170 |
| 11 | 14 | Template:USA Joey Bennett | Template:USA North American F4 | +5.310 |
| 12 | 6 | Massimo Torelli |
Italian F4 |
+7.591 |
| 13 | 10 | Arienne Sorel |
Template:USA North American F4 | +8.181 |
| 14 | 16 | Template:SUI Lucas Légeret | Italian F4 |
+8.323 |
| 15 | 18 | Template:GBR Will Tregurtha | Anglo-Irish F4 |
+8.465 |
| 16 | 17 | Template:USA Mike Jones | Template:USA North American F4 | +8.881 |
| 17 | 19 | Magda Szervánszky |
Italian F4 |
+9.024 |
| 18 | 20 | Bill Jones |
Template:USA North American F4 | +9.166 |