The 2025 F4 South East Asia Championship remains mathematically alive following a dramatic Sunday at Sepang International Circuit, where Seth Gilmore secured a crucial victory before Alex Sawer responded with his ninth win in eleven starts to keep firm control of the standings.
Race two, run under a reverse grid format, immediately delivered action. Gilmore made a decisive launch to clear polesitter Rishon Rajeev, while Sawer started sixth and was forced into recovery mode. The Evans GP driver worked methodically through the field, first clearing Niccolo Maccagnani and then Kyuho Lee, both of whom defended robustly.
Rajeev proved equally combative, engaging Sawer in a prolonged battle that ultimately ended in contact. Both drivers lost ground in the incident, and Sawer was later handed a five second time penalty for his role. Despite that setback, he continued to attack, executing further overtakes to climb back into contention on the road.
Gilmore, meanwhile, controlled the race from the front to secure his second win of the campaign, reinforcing his title aspirations. Once penalties were applied, Sawer dropped behind Lee and Maccagnani but remained ahead of Rajeev and Anton. Wang Zhongwei kept his race clean to secure seventh, while Ben Nguyen recovered to eighth ahead of Imran Putera. Kareen Kaur, Worapong Aiemwichan and Joshua Berry completed the points finishers after Berry was forced to pit to replace a damaged front wing following contact.
Thomas Yu Lee endured a difficult outing. A start infringement resulted in a drive through penalty, followed by repeated demarcation line violations that ultimately led to exclusion. The American described the sequence as lessons learned.
Race three presented a further test for Sawer. Starting from pole, he made a slow getaway that allowed Maccagnani to seize the lead. What followed was one of the most compelling duels of the season, with the Pinnacle Motorsport rookie defending assertively before Sawer applied sustained pressure and eventually reclaimed the position. Once clear, Sawer extended a margin that ensured a controlled run to victory.
Behind them, Kyuho Lee secured his third podium of the year ahead of his return to Spain. Gilmore finished fourth after being unable to clear Thomas Yu Lee at the start, keeping the championship fight alive heading into the final round.
Further back, Nguyen resisted pressure from Putera, while Wang prevailed in his battle with Lee and closed in on the BlackArts Racing drivers late in the race. Kareen Kaur and Joshua Berry added further points, with Worapong Aiemwichan completing the classified finishers.
Although the title remains open on paper, the equation is straightforward. When the championship returns to Sepang in a fortnight, Sawer needs only a marginal points advantage across the weekend to secure the 2025 crown.
