Alex Sawer moved to within touching distance of the 2025 F4 South East Asia Championship title after a decisive victory in the opening race of round four at Sepang International Circuit.
Despite qualifying fifth in the morning session, the Vietnamese driver delivered a controlled and ultimately clinical performance to secure his eighth win of the season from nine starts. The result places him on the verge of becoming Vietnam’s first FIA single seater champion.
Qualifying had produced a surprise at the front, with Pinnacle Motorsport’s Niccolo Maccagnani claiming pole position on his series debut. Inigo Anton lined up alongside him, while Evans GP newcomer Kyuho Lee outpaced both Sawer and team-mate Seth Gilmore, who started fourth as he looked to keep the title fight alive.
At the start, Maccagnani retained the lead, while Sawer quickly began his recovery. He dispatched Gilmore on the opening lap before moving past Lee to establish himself inside the top three. Over the following laps, his focus turned to Anton, who appeared to struggle with balance and rear grip. Sawer executed a clean move into Turn One to take second place and immediately set off in pursuit of the leader, who had built a gap of over two seconds.
Further back, the midfield provided sustained action. Thomas Yu Lee and Rishon Rajeev went wheel to wheel on multiple occasions, while Wang Zhongwei found himself under constant pressure from Ben Nguyen. Imran Putera impressed on debut and ran strongly in the rookie battle, while Singapore’s Kareen Kaur made a solid first appearance in a Tatuus F4 car.
Once clear of Anton, Sawer delivered a sequence of qualifying style laps to close down Maccagnani. With two minutes remaining he arrived on the Italian’s gearbox and applied sustained pressure. Maccagnani defended assertively, but a mistake into Turn One on the final lap opened the door. Sawer capitalised immediately, sweeping into the lead and controlling the final sector to secure victory, having led only the final lap.
Maccagnani held on to second, claiming the rookie win on debut, while Lee completed the podium after Anton faded in the closing stages. Gilmore finished fifth, losing significant ground in the championship battle and leaving Sawer requiring only a modest points haul across the remaining two races to seal the crown.
Rajeev secured sixth ahead of Masters class winner Thomas Yu Lee. Putera, Wang and Nguyen completed the points positions. Joshua Berry’s weekend was compromised before the start due to a technical issue that forced him to begin from the pitlane, while Worapong Aiemwichan was the final classified finisher.
With two races remaining and Sawer confirmed to start from pole position for race three, the championship picture is clear. A measured approach on Sunday would be sufficient to confirm the title, placing the Vietnamese driver on the verge of a landmark achievement in Southeast Asian single seater racing.
