Asia Racing Team drivers swapped podium positions and collected silverware at the Tianjin V1 International Circuit at the second event of the 2026 F4 Chinese Championship season.
For the second round of the season, the F4 Chinese Championship visited the circuit situated between the major cities of Tianjin and Beijing. For all three Asia Racing Team drivers — Timur Shagaliev, Zhuyuan Chen and Josh Feng Jia Xi — it was their first time at this venue, bringing with it all the challenges that entails.
Following private testing on Thursday, Friday’s track action was seriously disrupted by rain. The qualifying format had been revised to a single 40-minute session, replacing the previous two-session format. The fastest lap time set during the session determined the starting grid for Race 1, whilst the second-best lap time determined the grid for Race 2.
Timur Shagaliev was the man to beat, posting the outright fastest lap time in the session by over two tenths of a second, whilst also securing the second-best time. Single-seater debutant Josh Feng continued to impress, securing fourth on the grid for Race 1, though he could not match that pace for his second-best lap, leaving him seventh on the Race 2 grid. Zhuyuan Chen qualified fifth and sixth, placing himself on the third row of the grid for both races.
In the opening race of the Tianjin weekend, Josh made a tremendous start, climbing from fourth to second on the opening lap. He kept his rivals at bay whilst applying pressure on his teammate and race leader Timur Shagaliev, and on lap seven he made his move — overtaking his teammate and beginning to build an advantage that ultimately delivered his first ever victory in single-seater racing.
With strong pace and consistency, Zhuyuan Chen — who had started from sixth — was very much on the move. On lap 13, he overtook a struggling Timur Shagaliev to run in second, his best result to date. Shagaliev completed a remarkable 1-2-3 for Asia Racing Team, securing his podium position whilst holding off the pressure from the chasing pack behind him.
Race 2 on Saturday afternoon was no less eventful. Timur Shagaliev started from pole position, briefly lost the lead, and fought his way back to the front. However, the effort required to defend took a heavy toll on his tyres, and he struggled in the second half of the race, eventually surrendering the lead following the Safety Car period with ten minutes remaining.
Zhuyuan Chen endured a challenging 30-minute race. Whilst fighting for a top-three position, the Chinese driver sustained front wing damage. Running without front downforce, he did everything in his power to bring the car home in fifth, though a five-second post-race penalty dropped him to eighth.
Josh Feng was unable to repeat his morning’s result and was forced to retire following an incident whilst attempting an overtake for sixth place — a collision that also triggered the Safety Car period.
Sunday morning produced another impressive performance from the Asia Racing Team RFN and Blackjack Racing RFN drivers, with the squad finishing the first encounter of the day in second, third and fourth overall. Unfortunately, Josh Feng was penalised for track limits, promoting his teammate Zhuyuan Chen to third, whilst Timur Shagaliev secured a valuable second place finish.
In the final race of the weekend, which concluded under the Safety Car, Timur Shagaliev delivered another strong drive, advancing from tenth on the grid to claim a second consecutive second-place finish. Zhuyuan Chen also made excellent progress from the fifth row, whilst Josh Feng rounded out the race in fifth.
Commenting on the weekend, Team Manager Rodolfo Avila said: “It was a very intense weekend in Tianjin, which ended with a strong 1-2-3 finish and a valuable haul of points and silverware for the team. From a team perspective, there is a lot to be satisfied with in terms of execution and overall progress across the weekend. That said, we must keep the bigger picture in mind; we have three rookie drivers, all of whom were facing this circuit for the first time, and they handled the challenge well under difficult and unfamiliar conditions. Overall, it was a solid team performance and an important step in their development.”
The F4 Chinese Championship returns to action at the Ningbo Speedpark International Circuit from 26 to 28 June, the home of Blackjack Racing.
