First victory at Monza, a good sign for the future

Charles Milesi did not take long to show what he was capable of. At the second meeting of the French F4 Championship at Monza, he showed remarkable speed and confidence, which was rewarded by his first single-seater victory in Race 3. However, it had not started well in the first race.

“I was quite satisfied with the testing and Qualifying, and I was starting from the front row in Race 1,” said the driver from Dijon. “But a competitor hit me on the first lap and I had to give up. It was all the more disappointing because I found myself last for the start of Race 2. I remained focused and I was able to gain eight places despite the intervention of the Safety Car. Fortunately, everything went smoothly in the last race. I took a good lead on the first lap, which allowed me to resist the return of Victor Martins, when I encountered braking problems. So it was an overall positive weekend, although I’m not a fan of the Monza circuit in F4. Well looked after by Antonio, my fitness coach, I am looking forward to the next races!“

To prepare for the Monza event, the drivers of the French F4 Championship were given a long test session on Thursday 27th April during which Charles was already the fastest. He then confirmed in the top four in free practice before posting the 2nd fastest time, as well as taking 2nd place in the second fastest time, therefore ensuring he would start from the front row in Races 1 and 3.

He could not take advantage of this in the first race as a rival tapped his rear wheel at the chicane under braking and Charles had to retire. In addition to the disappointment of not scoring points when he would have been able to finish in a very good position, this incident left him on the last row of the starting grid of Race 2. Thanks to rock-solid morale, Charles went on the attack when the lights went out, was already in the top 10 on the second lap and had returned to 6th position when the Safety Car entered the track. He finally finished 8th with a gain of eight places.

Race 3 gave him the opportunity to showcase his full potential. Charles took the lead immediately after an excellent start and took a lead of more than a second and a half ahead of his rivals by posting the fastest time of the moment. He then fought to maintain a good rhythm despite the handicap of an offset braking distribution. Victor Martins caught up with him under slipstream, but Charles did not give up and his opponent made a mistake trying to pass him.

A first victory remains an important event in the career of a young driver and the fact of having obtained it in a spectacular way in his second competition reinforces Charles’ already solid mindset. He is already looking forward to a more winding circuit on 20th and 21st May at Pau.

Anthony Beltoise, Charles’s sporting sponsor for several years, is delighted with the rapid evolution of his protegee in single-seaters: “It impresses me for his debut in cars. It is often said that it takes a year to learn and a year to win, and Charles did not need this deadline to win. The standard of French F4 is very high with very fast second year drivers and a recent World Champion in Karting, Victor Martins, as a benchmark. The victory at Monza is all the more rewarding for Charles. He now has a very strong mind and I am very proud to see him succeed so quickly.“

Monza 29th April to 1st May 2017, 2nd of the seven events of the French F4 Championship

Qualifying: 2nd fastest time and 2nd fastest 2nd time
Race 1: 16th (Retirement on Lap 1)
Race 2: 8th
Race 3: 1st

Provisional classification of the 2017 French F4 Championship after Nogaro (1/7): 4th with 61 points