Pinnacle Motorsport is adding another driver to its lineup in the FIA Formula 4 UAE Championship powered by Abarth as the 2022 season reaches its halfway point. Come the third event this weekend, Jef Machiels will be joined by Robert De Haan on the grid to complete the Motorsport Ireland-licensed team’s 2 car entry.
Jef Machiels was already a confirmed driver earlier in the year. He takes over from fellow Belgian driver Jules Castro who drove in the first 2 events for the team.
Robert De Haan will join Machiels at Pinnacle Motorsport as both drivers make their F4 UAE debut this February 5-6 at the Dubai Autodrome. The Dutchman is another accomplished karter who is taking his first steps into single-seaters. He won the Rotax Max Challenge Grand Finals back in 2018, finished 2nd in the IAME International Finals in 2019, and claimed the German Junior Kart Championship in the same year. The 15-year-old then moved up into cars where he won the 2021 Ginetta Junior Scholarship and came 4th in the championship with 3 wins. However, this will not be his first competitive outing in single-seaters as he raced in the Italian F4 Championship’s season finale last year at Monza.
Both Machiels and De Haan will be racing with Pinnacle Motorsport in the last 3 events of the 2022 F4 UAE season. There are still 2 consecutive rounds to be staged at the Dubai Autodrome before the season ender at Yas Marina on the 17th to 20th of February.
John O’Hara, Team Director: “Robert will be a great addition to Pinnacle Motorsport’s lineup in F4 UAE. He already has a long list of accomplishments at his young age and we hope to add to his list over the next 3 weekends.”
Accompanying Pinnacle Motorsport on their F4 UAE Championship Certified by FIA campaign is Motorsport Ireland.
Governed by the Emirates Motorsport Orgainzation (EMSO), F4 UAE is the only FIA-sanctioned open-wheeler category in the Middle East. Utilizing the new second-generation Tatuus chassis with Abarth Turbo engine, the open-wheeler category offers young racing drivers around the world the opportunity to take the first step from karting into the world of single-seater racing.
