Kacper Sztuka's Road to glory: The journey of the newly crowned Italian F4 Champion
- Diana Badea
- Oct 30, 2023
- 3 min read
Poland's emerging talent, Kacper Sztuka managed to clinch the title few weekends ago in Vallelunga, but let's explore Kacper's remarkable season and gain deeper insights on his journey in motorsport so far.
He made history for Poland, becoming the first driver from Poland to achieve a title in F4. With ambition and patience, Kacper aspires to follow the steps of Robert Kubica and become Poland's next Formula 1 driver.
His karting career
At the young age of 4, he started his journey in karting, inspired by his father, and cherished his love and passion for motorsport ever since those early days.
His single-seater debut
In 2019, when he was just 13 years old, he had his first official Formula 4 test. However, he was unable to participate in the Championship due to not being 15, so he made the choice to keep himself busy with karting until he was finally of age and able to compete in the championship.
Kacper made his official debut in single seater racing with AS Motorsport for the 2021 Italian F4 season. He became the youngest Polish driver ever to participate in F4, and moreover he wrapped up his season by securing the 8th position in the Rookie Standings.
In his second year in the Championship, he signed for the US Racing team and quickly found the rhythm with the car. Over the course of the season he secured two race victories and achieved 4 podium finishes. These results had been followed by a series of misfortunes that forced him to retire 6 times during the season. In the final standings he came 6th after a bitter-sweet season.
Additionally, he made two guest appearances in the ADAC F4 season and managed to add another two podiums to his tally.
Before the Italian F4 season commenced, Kacper participated in the Formula Winter Series, where he went on to clinch the title.
For the 2023 season, he decided to extend his contract with US Racing.
Kacper's 2023 campaign
Kacper kicked off the season with a win in the first race, but a string of misfortunes led to his retirement in two of the following races. Therefore, he had to settle for a small number of points. After an unfortunate start to the season, the Polish driver was able to turn his luck around and gradually built momentum allowing him to climb to the top of the Championship standings. This put him in contention for the title, alongside the Prema drivers.
The second part of his campaign was characterized by absolute dominance, as he went on to win most of the remaining races in Le Castellet, Mugello and Vallelunga. While Sztuka's 2023 campaign most definitely had its ups and downs, it has undeniably been successful and highly rewarding too.
Starting 9 times from pole position and accumulating a total of 315 points in the Championship, Kacper definitely showcased his true potential and impressive abilities on track.
In the last two races of the season, he left no room for competition, revealing his ambition, determination and complete dominance.
Besides the Italian F4 Championship, Kacper participated in the Euro 4 Championship, where he was in contention for the title but decided not to participate in the last round in Barcelona because of the FIA F3 post season tests, resulting in Ugochukwu's title victory.
Certainly, Kacper will have a lot to prove in the other single-seater categories and is undeniably one of the rising talents to keep an eye on for the future.
While there may be uncertainties, one thing is clear: he will do whatever it takes to pursue his dream and reach the Pinacle of Motorsport, Formula 1.
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