Tatuus iMagazine

22 Interview - Raffaele Giammaria A quality academy Behind the scenes of the Italian F4 Championship, the ACI Sport instructors work with the drivers to help them grow their skills in a highly‐regarded developmental program T he Scuola Federale Aci Sport program is one of the characterizing features of the Italian F4 Championship, as well as one of the most highly‐regarded (and envied) around Europe. A team of professional instructors, all former racecar drivers, follow the championship in each round and meet with the drivers on each day of racing, analyzing videos, data, and mistakes, and showing the onboard video of the pole lap. The academy is led by Raffaele Giammaria, an accomplished racer both in single‐seaters (he has two International Formula 3000 Championship podiums to his name at Monte Carlo and Barcelona) and GT racing, having raced in almost every series including the 24 Hours of Le Mans and Daytona, and won the Italian GT Championship in 2014. The 44‐year‐old sat down with us for a chat about what Scuola Federale does on race weekends. "We have been carrying out this program since 2005 in Formula Azzurra. Then, over time, things evolved. With Formula Abarth, the scope widened to include a track walk, meetings with the drivers at the end of the session, and even a car driven by one of our instructors on‐track in practice to keep an eye on the behavioral aspect and provide drivers with driving and set‐up indications. Since 2014, with the debut Formula 4, we further improved every aspect, including the right to acquire the data and video from the driver who sets the pole and to show it to other drivers. That was much‐appreciated addition. On the other hand, we no longer drive on track alongside the competitors." by Massimo Costa