Ivan Domingues signs with VAR for ‘23 Italian F4

Zeewolde, March 10, 2023 – Van Amersfoort Racing is pleased to announce the signing of rising star Ivan Domingues into their F4 squad. Starting his second campaign in the Italian F4 Championship, the young Portuguese will compete alongside Brando Badoer, Jack Beeton and Matheus Ferreira, all recently announced by the team.

Despite being only 16 years old, Domingues has already spent half his lifetime racing. He discovered karting at the early age of eight and has worked on improving his race craft ever since. It was in 2019 when his first competitive successes came through, racing in high level karting championships such as the SKUSA Super Nationals, the FIA European Championship, WSK Euro Series and the South Garda Winter Cup. Domingues kept on successfully competing in these prestigious race series which proved to be fundamental for his development as a racing driver.

The switch from karting to single seater racing was made in 2021, as Ivan tested a Formula 4 car in preparation of his ’22 F4 UAE campaign. The first rounds of the championship were dedicated to learning the car and getting familiar with race dynamics, but as the season progressed, Domingues ended up claiming multiple podium finishes in his maiden F4 season. In that same year, the young Portuguese racing driver went on to take the challenge of competing in the 2022 Italian F4 Championship, where he scored points on a regular basis.

Now, Domingues returns to the world’s most competitive F4 series, and he does so with the Dutch squad of Van Amersfoort Racing. With the first round taking place in April at the historical circuit of Imola, the Italian F4 Series will visit seven high-class circuits spread out over Italy, France and Belgium.

"We are very happy to welcome Ivan to the team" says Rob Niessink, CEO of Van Amersfoort Racing. "He is an eager, talented racer who clearly showed his determination last year. New to the series, he was able to put his foot down scoring both points and podium finishes in his maiden F4 championship. For sure his experience will help him this upcoming season. In addition to that, our team is fully dedicated to supporting him in reaching his full potential, both on- and off the track. We look very much forward to getting started soon with pre-season testing scheduled next week at Mugello!"

The 2023 edition of the Italian F4 Championship promises to bring a record number of drivers to the grid, making the series even more competitive than it already was in the past years.

"I am extremely excited to return to the series with Van Amersfoort Racing!" comments Domingues. He continues: "Last year was a great learning experience in which I was able to get to know both the car and tracks. I now know what to expect, which has helped me a lot in my preparations for the season. Over the winter period I spent time with the team and was able to get to know the crew I’ll be working with. Their level of dedication is impressive and I look forward to a good season together with them!"

Van Amersfoort Racing is a professional racing team based in the Netherlands. It was founded by Frits van Amersfoort in 1975. Since then, VAR has built a long tradition of supporting up-and-coming drivers on their way to higher levels. Drivers like Max and Jos Verstappen, Charles Leclerc, Mick Schumacher, Kevin Magnussen and Giedo van der Garde all raced for Frits van Amersfoort’s eponymous team in the early stages of their careers before making it into Formula 1.