Federico Al Rifai

Federico Al Rifai
NationalityUnited Arab Emirates United Arab Emirates
Italy Italy
Born (2007-04-23) 23 April 2007 (age 17)
Italy
GT Cup Open Europe career
Debut season2024
Current teamGDL Racing
F4 Saudi Arabian Championship
Years active2024
TeamsAltawkilat Meritus.GP
Car number12
Starts16
Wins7
Podiums10
Poles5
Fastest laps5
Best finish1st in 2024
Previous series
2023
2023
2024		F4 Spanish Championship
Formula 4 UAE Championship
F4 Saudi Arabian Championship
Championship titles
2024F4 Saudi Arabian Championship

Federico Al Rifai (born 23 April 2007) is an Emirati-Italian racing driver who was born in Italy.[1][2] He is the 2024 Saudi Arabian F4 champion.[3] He most recently contested the 2024 GT Cup Open Europe, driving for GDL Racing.[4]

Career

Karting

Al Rifai spent most of his karting career moving from the UAE to Europe over the years. He made his European stage debut at the end of 2019, driving in the IAME International Final, in the X30 Mini category. He finished 30th in the finale.[5] Over that winter, Al Rifai won the IAME Series UAE in the same category.[6] He then had a quiet 2020, but at the beginning of 2021 he joined the X30 Junior class of IAME UAE, finishing third in the championship.[7] He then spent the rest of 2021 in international competition, with a best result of 5th at the end of the year in the Rotax Max Challenge Grand Finals at Sakhir.[8] Al Rifai then won IAME UAE in his final championship in the X30 Junior category at the beginning of 2022.[9] He then moved up to senior karting, driving in the Italian championship, before switching to cars at the end of the year.[10]

Formula 4

2023

In late 2022, Al Rifai was confirmed to be competing for Xcel Motorsport in the Formula 4 UAE Trophy Round. In his first two races in single-seaters, Al Rifai finished 6th and 5th place respectively.[11] After his strong performances in the Trophy Round, Al Rifai was announced to be driving for Xcel for the full 2023 Formula 4 UAE Championship.[12] He instantly impressed, scoring 43 points over the course of 15 races, and he managed to finish 12th in the championship standings with a best race result of 4th.[13] For the remainder of the season, Al Rifai would be competing in the 2023 F4 Spanish Championship with Rodin Carlin.[14] Unfortunately, Al Rifai had an underwhelming season, finishing 22nd in the standings with just three points to his name.[15]

2024

Al Rifai returned to the UAE F4 Trophy Round at the end of 2023. He finished second in both races, with a fastest lap to his name in race 1.[16] Al Rifai was then announced to be competing in the F4 Saudi Arabian Championship Trophy Round. He won one of the four races, finishing on the podium three times.[17] For his 2024 winter programme, Al Rifai would be joining the grid for the full 2024 F4 Saudi Arabian Championship. He had a breakthrough season, and after a season-long title fight with Serbian driver Andrej Petrović, Al Rifai came out on top with eight victories and twelve podiums, as he won the championship, finishing with 269.5 points.[18][19]

Sports car racing

In 2024, Al Rifai announced that he would be joining the 2024 GT Cup Open Europe, driving the #67 Porsche 992 run by GDL Racing alongside Matteo Luvisi in his first venture into the world of sports car racing.[20] He secured pole position in his first race in the championship at Algarve, and the pair took their first victory at the Hockenheimring. Al Rifai and Luvisi finished their rookie season in the championship an impressive second, securing a total of three wins and six podiums on the way.[21]

Karting record

Season Series Team (s) Position
2018-19 IAME Series UAE - X30 Cadet 4th
2019 British Kart Championship - Honda Cadet 56th
IAME International Final - X30 Mini 30th
2019-20 IAME Series UAE - X30 Mini 1st
2020 Rotax Max Challenge International Trophy - Rotax Junior KR Sport 19th
2020-21 IAME Series UAE - X30 Junior 3rd
2021 IAME Euro Series - X30 Junior KR Sport 25th
CIK-FIA Academy Trophy - Academy Salim Al Rifai 26th
Rotax Max Challenge Grand Finals - Rotax Junior Al Ain Raceway 5th
IAME Warriors Final - X30 Junior KR Sport 24th
2021-22 IAME Series UAE - X30 Junior 1st
2022 IAME Euro Series - X30 Senior KR Sport 118th
Italian ACI Championship - X30 Senior 75th
Sources:[2][22][23]

Racing record

Racing career summary

Season Series Team Races Wins Poles F/Laps Podiums Points Position
2022 Formula 4 UAE Championship - Trophy Round Xcel Motorsport 2 0 0 0 0 N/A NC
2023 Formula 4 UAE Championship Xcel Motorsport 15 0 0 0 0 43 12th
Formula 4 UAE Championship - Trophy Round 2 0 0 1 2 N/A NC
F4 Spanish Championship Rodin Carlin 21 0 0 0 0 3 22nd
F4 Saudi Arabian Championship - Trophy Event Altawkilat Meritus.GP 4 1 0 2 3 N/A NC
2024 F4 Saudi Arabian Championship Altawkilat Meritus.GP 16 7 5 5 10 226 1st
GT Cup Open Europe GDL Racing 12 3 4 1 6 59 2nd

Complete Formula 4 UAE Championship results

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)

Year Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 Pos Points
2023 Xcel Motorsport DUB1
1
37 		DUB1
2
11 		DUB1
3
Ret 		KMT1
1
32 		KMT1
2
10 		KMT1
3
5 		KMT2
1
16 		KMT2
2
11 		KMT2
3
4 		DUB2
1
13 		DUB2
2
4 		DUB2
3
17 		YMC
1
6 		YMC
2
13 		YMC
3
20 		12th 43

Complete F4 Spanish Championship results

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)

Year Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 DC Points
2023 Rodin Carlin SPA
1
23 		SPA
2
9 		SPA
3
9 		ARA
1
28 		ARA
2
11 		ARA
3
23 		NAV
1
21 		NAV
2
21 		NAV
3
18 		JER
1
18 		JER
2
18 		JER
3
16 		EST
1
13 		EST
2
12 		EST
3
11 		CRT
1
27 		CRT
2
14 		CRT
3
14 		CAT
1
30 		CAT
2
20 		CAT
3
Ret 		22nd 3

Complete F4 Saudi Arabian Championship results

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in italics indicate fastest lap)

Year Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 DC Points
2024 Altawkilat Meritus.GP KMT1
1
11 		KMT1
2
1 		KMT1
3
5 		KMT1
4
1 		LSL
1
1 		LSL
2
4 		LSL
3
9 		LSL
4
1 		JED1
1
3 		JED1
2
WD 		JED1
3
5 		JED2
1
3 		JED2
2
1 		JED2
3
1 		JED3
1
1 		JED3
2
4 		JED3
3
2 		1st 226

References

  1. ^ "Federico Al Rifai Advanced stats | Motorsport Stats". motorsportstats.com. Retrieved 2024-04-24.
  2. ^ a b "Driver: Federico Al Rifai | Driver Database". www.driverdb.com. Retrieved 2024-04-24.
  3. ^ Wood, Ida (2024-04-07). "Federico Al Rifai clinches Saudi Arabian F4 title with a race to spare". Formula Scout. Retrieved 2024-04-24.
  4. ^ "Solieri and Al Rifai-Luvisi: experience and youth for GDL Racing". www.gtcupopen.net. 26 February 2024. Retrieved 26 February 2024.
  5. ^ "IAME International Final". Kartcom. 2019-10-19. Retrieved 2024-04-27.
  6. ^ "2019 / 20 Results - IAME UAE". iame.ae. Retrieved 2024-04-27.
  7. ^ "2020 / 21 Results - IAME UAE". iame.ae. Retrieved 2024-04-27.
  8. ^ "Rotax Challenge Grand Finals". Kartcom. 2021-12-18. Retrieved 2024-04-27.
  9. ^ "2021 / 22 Results - IAME UAE". iame.ae. Retrieved 2024-04-27.
  10. ^ "Italian ACI Karting Championship". Kartcom. 2022-07-24. Retrieved 2024-04-27.
  11. ^ Wood, Ida (2022-11-20). "Carlin's Louis Sharp wins the F4 support races at the Abu Dhabi GP". Formula Scout. Retrieved 2024-04-25.
  12. ^ Wood, Ida (2022-12-29). "Red Bull's Lindblad leads cluster of new entries for F4 UAE". Formula Scout. Retrieved 2024-04-25.
  13. ^ "Championships | Driver Database". www.driverdb.com. Retrieved 2024-04-25.
  14. ^ "Spanish F4 | RODIN Motorsport". www.rodinmotorsport.com. Retrieved 2024-04-25.
  15. ^ "Championships | Driver Database". www.driverdb.com. Retrieved 2024-04-25.
  16. ^ Wood, Ida (2023-11-26). "Al Azhari wins both races in the Abu Dhabi GP-supporting F4 UAE Trophy". Formula Scout. Retrieved 2024-04-25.
  17. ^ Wood, Ida (2023-12-16). "Saudi Arabian F4 launched with non-championship round in Bahrain". Formula Scout. Retrieved 2024-04-25.
  18. ^ Wood, Ida (2024-04-07). "Federico Al Rifai clinches Saudi Arabian F4 title with a race to spare". Formula Scout. Retrieved 2024-04-25.
  19. ^ "Championships | Driver Database". www.driverdb.com. Retrieved 2024-04-25.
  20. ^ "The GT Cup Europe on the path on further grow as the 2024 season kicks off at the Algarve". Endurance Info. Retrieved 2024-07-07.
  21. ^ "cup_gen_R12_FIN" (PDF). gtcupopen.net.
  22. ^ "Results Archive - IAME UAE". www.iame.ae. Retrieved 2024-04-27.
  23. ^ "Al Rifai Federico". Kartcom. Retrieved 2024-04-27.