Goa Aces JA Racing’s Sambudla wins twice in Round 3 to build a 21-point lead, while 15-year-old Aaron Mehta becomes the championship’s youngest race winner.
Luviwe Sambudla of Goa Aces JA Racing took the lead in the F4 Indian Championship standings after securing two victories and a third-place finish in Round 3 at the Madras International Circuit in Chennai. The October 22-23 weekend also saw 15-year-old Aaron Mehta of Kolkata Royal Tigers make history by becoming the youngest race winner in the championship.
Part of the Indian Racing Festival 2026, the Chennai round featured three races contested in challenging wet-weather conditions. Sambudla turned a five-point deficit into a 21-point championship advantage, moving to 138 points, while Kichcha’s Kings Bengaluru driver Aris Kyriakou remained second with 117 points.
Sambudla Dominates Opening Two Races
Sambudla began the weekend with a victory in the opening race despite starting sixth on the grid. As rain made conditions difficult, he worked his way past Mehta before taking advantage of a loss of rear grip from Kyriakou on lap nine to move into the lead.
Sambudla eventually won by 9.606 seconds and recorded the fastest lap in 1:48.647. Speed Demons Delhi’s Ntiyiso Mabunda finished second after recovering from 10th on the grid, while Sambudla’s teammate Aryan Narola secured third. Mehta finished fourth, with Kyriakou in fifth.
The result gave Sambudla a 10-point championship lead and set the tone for the remainder of the weekend.
The Goa Aces JA Racing driver continued his winning run in Race 2, once again starting sixth under the reverse-grid format. He completed the 13-lap race in 33:22.590, finishing 1.211 seconds ahead of Mabunda. Sambudla also set the fastest lap in 1:50.071.
Mabunda secured his second consecutive runner-up finish, while Kyriakou recovered from his difficult opening race to take third. Narola finished fourth, followed by Krishay Gutte of Speed Demons Delhi, the highest-placed Indian driver in the race. Mehta finished sixth.
Sambudla’s second win extended his advantage over Kyriakou to 14 points heading into the final race.
Aaron Mehta Makes Championship History
The weekend’s defining moment came in Race 3, when Mehta converted pole position into his maiden championship victory. The 15-year-old held his nerve through a race interrupted by a red flag and safety car intervention before resisting a late challenge from Mabunda.
Slippery conditions led to several incidents, including Kyriakou running off the circuit and becoming stranded in a deep puddle. Swarnav Das of Kolkata Royal Tigers also went off track, prompting officials to stop the race to recover the cars. The field subsequently resumed behind the safety car.
After the restart, Mehta gradually built a lead of around 1.5 seconds over Sambudla. However, a later safety car period following the retirement of Hyderabad Blackbirds’ Bhuvan Bonu erased that advantage.
Mabunda closed in during the closing stages and mounted a final-lap challenge, but Mehta defended his position to win by just 0.546 seconds. Mabunda finished second for the third consecutive time in Chennai, while Sambudla took third to complete his double-win weekend.
Das recovered to fourth, ahead of Godspeed Kochi’s Mahlori Mabunda. Kyriakou finished sixth after recovering from 16th, while Narola took eighth and recorded the fastest lap in 1:39.676.
Championship Battle Intensifies
Sambudla leaves Chennai with 138 points and a 21-point advantage over Kyriakou. Mabunda’s three consecutive second-place finishes underlined his consistency, while Mehta’s breakthrough victory provided one of the weekend’s biggest talking points.
With the championship set to continue into its next round, Sambudla holds the momentum in the title fight, while Kyriakou faces the challenge of closing the gap. Mehta, meanwhile, has established himself as a notable emerging contender after his historic win for Kolkata Royal Tigers.
