Maffi Racing has withdrawn from the remainder of the 2026 F4 Central European Zone Championship (CEZ) following a technical dispute during the penultimate round at Autodrom Brno, bringing an abrupt end to title contender David Walther’s campaign.
The Swiss team elected not to participate in Sunday’s Final Race and subsequently confirmed that it would not return for the season-ending Hungaroring round. Its decision followed a protest concerning the technical specification of rival cars, with Maffi questioning the absence of lambda sensors from the exhaust systems of some entries.
Walther, Igor Polak and Nikolaj Dyrved subsequently issued statements supporting the team’s decision and raising concerns over what they described as the sporting integrity and consistency of the championship.
The fallout extended further when 15-year-old Maffi Racing driver Cezary Bień announced the end of his racing career, saying the situation had contributed to his decision.
Meanwhile, a separate account from Polak’s manager, Jakub Foryś, published by Polish motorsport outlet KONTRA, made broader allegations concerning the championship’s officiating during the 2026 season.
Maffi Racing withdraws from Brno F4 CEZ finale
Maffi entered Brno as one of Jenzer Motorsport’s principal challengers in the championship. Walther was second in the Drivers’ Championship and only 14 points behind leader Elia Weiss.
The official F4 CEZ preview for the penultimate round listed Weiss on 229 points, Walther on 215, Teo Borenstein on 205 and Max Karhan on 184.
Walther remained in contention during the opening part of the weekend. In his subsequent account of events, the Dane said that after qualifying 10th he recovered to fifth in each of the first two races, leaving him eighth on the grid for the Final Race.
He did not take that start.
Maffi Racing instead packed up before the concluding contest, with Walther, Polak and Dyrved all absent from the Final Race. The decision was subsequently explained in a statement from Maffi Racing Team Principal Daniel Maffi, shared through the team’s social media.
Maffi said the team had raised concerns about aspects of the championship throughout the year and had reached its decision after discussions with its drivers and their families. He stressed that their welfare and the environment in which the young drivers were competing had been central to the decision.
He also confirmed that the decision went beyond Brno, with Maffi Racing withdrawing from the remainder of the 2026 campaign.
Official statement by Maffi Racing
“Maffi Racing confirms its decision to withdraw from the FIA F4 CEZ Championship with immediate effect.
“This decision has not been taken lightly.
“At Maffi Racing, our values are not simply words. Integrity, fairness, respect, transparency and the responsibility we carry towards our drivers and their families are fundamental to who we are as a team. We compete to win. We want victories, trophies and championships. But no trophy and no championship will ever stand higher than our integrity or the principles upon which this team was build.
“From the beginning of our participation in the championship, we have raised concerns regarding certain aspects of how the championship was being conducted. We made every effort to convey those concerns through the appropriate channels, professionally, constructively, and with respect.
“Our intention was never confrontation. On the contrary, we continued participating because we genuinely hoped that raising our concerns could contribute to positive change and improvement.
“Prior to the Brno event, these matters were discussed again, and we received reassurances that Brno would represents a turning point towards addressing the concerns we had raised. We therefore arrived in Brno willing to continue in good faith and hopeful that we would see the improvement that had been discussed.
“Regrettably, in our assessment, that expectation did not materialise.
“We have therefore reached a point where continuing our participation would no longer be consistent with our values or with what we believe to be in the best interests of our drivers, their families, our team and our partners.
“Our drivers and their families place enormous trust in Maffi Racing. They invest their time, ambitions, emotions, and significant resources into this sport. As a team, our responsibility extends beyond putting cars on a racetrack. When we believe that continuing a championship is no longer consistent with the standards and principles we expect for those who have placed that trust in us, we have a responsibility to act.
“This decision is particularly difficult because it comes while Maffi Racing and our drivers remain directly in contention for the championship. We are not walking away because there is nothing left to fight for. On the contrary, we are stepping away while there is still everything to fight for on track.
“That makes our position even clearer: we choose our values over trophies and our integrity over a championship.
“We wish to make equally clear that this decision reflects our own experience, perception and opinion. It is not intended as a accusation against any individual, official, organisation or competitor, and we fully respect that others may have a different experience or view.
“We are immensely proud of what our drivers and team achieved during our participation in the FIA F4 CEZ Championship. Those achievements belong to the people who worked, competed, and sacrificed for them, and nothing about this decision diminishes that pride.
“Sometimes standing by your principles means being prepared to walk away from something you have worked extremely hard for – even when you still have the opportunity to win it.
“For Maffi Racing, integrity will always be worth more than a trophy.
“Our focus now turns to our drivers, our team and the future.”
Technical protest at centre of Brno F4 CEZ dispute
The immediate disagreement centred on the exhaust configuration of rival cars during the Brno weekend.
According to accounts subsequently provided by representatives of Maffi Racing, the team raised concerns that some rival cars were competing without lambda, or oxygen, sensors fitted to their exhaust systems.
Maffi’s position was that the relevant homologation documentation required the component to be present. The team therefore lodged a protest questioning whether cars without the sensor complied with the homologated specification. The protest did not result in the rival cars being removed from the results.
Instead, attention subsequently turned to Walther’s own car, with his exhaust subjected to additional scrutiny. Walther later said that the component was confirmed to be original and compliant. The handling of that sequence became central to Maffi Racing’s criticism of the weekend. The team and its drivers framed the issue not simply as a disagreement over a technical component, but as a question of whether the regulations were being applied consistently.
Those claims remain the position of Maffi Racing and its representatives. No finding establishing deliberate wrongdoing or favouritism by F4 CEZ officials or a rival team has been published.
Walther gives his account of the Brno dispute
Walther subsequently offered his own account of the weekend. The Dane had arguably the most to lose from Maffi’s decision from a sporting perspective. He arrived at Brno only 14 points behind Weiss and therefore remained in a genuine fight for the Drivers’ Championship.
Walther said the team had identified what it considered a serious technical non-conformity during Race 2 and submitted a formal protest with supporting documentation. He also confirmed that his own exhaust was examined as events unfolded and said it was subsequently found to be compliant.
Despite remaining in championship contention, Walther supported the decision to withdraw rather than contest the Final Race or continue into the Hungaroring finale.
David Walther’s statement
“This weekend in Brno, we experienced a situation that went far beyond normal racing incidents.
Coming into the second-last round, I was P2 in the championship and fighting for the title. After qualifying P10, we fought our way to P5 in both of the first two races, earning P8 for the final.
During Race 2, our team identified a serious technical non-conformity concerning cars from another team. We submitted a formal protest with supporting documentation. However, we were extremely disappointed with how the matter was handled, while attention was instead turned towards my car. My exhaust was later confirmed to be original and compliant.
For us, this became about fairness, equal treatment and the integrity of the championship.
Despite having a genuine chance to fight for the title, we made the difficult decision not to start the final and to step away from the championship.
This is not because we are afraid to race. We came to Brno to fight and to win.
But we will never compromise our integrity just to finish a championship.
We have documented what happened and submitted the relevant information to the appropriate authorities.
I have given everything to this championship. I have fought for every position, every point and every opportunity.
We came here to race. We came here to win. But we will never accept winning at the cost of fairness.
This is bigger than racing. 🏁”
Polak backs Maffi and Walther after Brno withdrawal
Polak was even more explicit in his criticism. The Polish driver supported both Walther and Maffi Racing and alleged that rival cars had competed without lambda sensors, arguing that this prevented what he considered meaningful checks of engine compliance. Polak also claimed that the situation at Brno was not an isolated concern from his perspective, but rather the culmination of issues he believed he had witnessed throughout the season.
His comments represent his own account and allegations regarding the championship and should be understood as such.
Polak nevertheless made clear that the dispute had changed his future plans. While his immediate focus will return to Italian F4 with Maffi Racing at Misano, he ruled out F4 CEZ as part of his 2027 programme.
Igor Polak’s statement
“What happened this weekend in Brno went far beyond the boundaries of fair racing competition.
I get into the cockpit with one goal: to leave my heart on the track, fight for every single inch of tarmac, and win through pure racing. Formula 4 was created so that young drivers could compete in identical machinery, where the only things that matter are skill, courage, and hard work with your engineer.
This weekend in Brno showed that the rules simply do not apply to everyone equally. Rival cars were running without lambda sensors in their exhausts, making any genuine engine compliance checks impossible. Anyone watching the races in Brno saw just how easily one team’s cars pulled away from the rest of the grid. When Maffi Racing filed a protest, the Czech stewards dismissed it, turning their attention toward David Walther’s fully compliant car instead just to divert focus from the real issue.
For me as a driver, this wasn’t a shock, it was simply the culmination of what I have witnessed from inside the cockpit all season long.
I stand 100% behind @davidwaltherofficial and @maffiracing. I back every single word David said. What they did by walking away from a title fight took immense courage. This is truly bigger than racing.
I am not afraid of hard racing. I came to F4 to race, to win, and to develop. But I will never accept winning or losing at the expense of basic sporting fairness. I represent people who believe in me, and I will not allow us to be treated this way.
I am putting this behind me. Next week, I put my helmet back on in Misano for the next round of the Italian F4 Championship. I will be racing where the bar is set highest in Europe, and where the only thing that decides the outcome is the truth on the track.
We will announce our 2027 plans soon – and there is no longer any place for F4 CEZ in them.
I came here to race. I came here to win. But never at the cost of fair play. 🏁”
Dyrved also withdraws from F4 CEZ
Dyrved separately confirmed that his involvement in the championship was ending with immediate effect.
Unlike Walther and Polak, the Danish driver did not focus his statement on the specifics of the lambda-sensor dispute. Instead, he referred more broadly to what he described as repeated concerns surrounding sporting integrity, consistency and fairness during the season.
Dyrved said those concerns had been raised through what he regarded as the appropriate channels but that he and his team had reached the point where they no longer had sufficient confidence in the sporting process to continue.
He also stressed that his decision was not directed at the other drivers, mechanics, engineers or teams competing in F4 CEZ.
Nikolaj Dyrved’s statement
“After careful consideration, I have made the difficult decision, together with my team, to withdraw from the F4 CEZ Championship with immediate effect.
This is not a decision we have taken lightly.
Throughout the season, we have repeatedly raised concerns regarding the sporting integrity, consistency and fairness of the championship. We have always tried to address these concerns through the proper channels and in a professional manner, because I strongly believe that every driver and every team deserves to compete in an environment where the regulations are applied consistently and where sporting decisions can be trusted.
Unfortunately, we have reached a point where we no longer feel that we can continue competing in the championship while maintaining confidence in the sporting process.
Motorsport means an incredible amount to me. I have spent most of my life working towards opportunities like this, and walking away from a championship is therefore extremely difficult. However, there are principles that are more important than simply remaining on the grid.
I want to thank my entire team for standing behind me, for their enormous amount of work throughout the season, and for making this decision together. I am also grateful to my supporters, family and everyone who has followed and supported us.
I have a huge amount of respect for the drivers, mechanics, engineers and teams competing in F4 CEZ. This decision is not directed towards them.
Our focus now turns towards the future and the next chapter of my racing career.
Thank you to everyone who continues to support us.”
Walther’s car also subjected to further technical verification
One of the central points of dispute concerned what happened after Maffi lodged its protest.
According to the account provided by Foryś to KONTRA, officials subsequently requested additional verification of the exhaust fitted to Walther’s Maffi Racing Tatuus. Walther independently referred to that scrutiny in his own statement, saying his exhaust was eventually confirmed to be original and compliant.
Foryś characterised the sequence as evidence of a double standard and linked it directly to Daniel Maffi’s eventual decision to withdraw the team from the Final Race. The disagreement therefore expanded beyond the initial question of whether a particular exhaust component complied with the regulations.
From Maffi’s perspective, the dispute increasingly concerned the way the regulations were being interpreted and applied between different competitors. A further Instagram post shared during the Brno fallout expanded on the events as the dispute developed, while another later statement was published on Instagram.
Foryś criticises handling of Maffi protest
Foryś, who manages Polak, went considerably further than Maffi Racing’s official statement in comments published by KONTRA.
“Today’s events at the Brno Circuit were the final straw,” he said as part of a broader criticism of the championship.
He argued that a lambda sensor is an important component for monitoring the air-fuel mixture and engine operation and claimed Maffi had relied on the car’s homologation documentation when presenting its protest.
According to Foryś’s account, the protest was dismissed because Maffi had not sufficiently demonstrated that the homologation required the sensor to be installed. He strongly criticised that interpretation and alleged that the championship had applied its technical and sporting rules inconsistently. No corresponding public response addressing those specific allegations from the rival team concerned or from the F4 CEZ Championship was available at the time of writing.
‼️ TEAM IGORA POLAKA JASNO O AFERZE W BRNIE: TO EFEKT CAŁEGO SEZONU PODWÓJNYCH STANDARDÓW, POPIERAMY DECYZJĘ MAFFI RACING
— KONTRA (@kontra_moto) September 13, 2026
W rozmowie z KONTRĄ Jakub Foryś – menedżer Igora Polaka – zdradza szczegóły i wyjaśnia, że sytuacja w Brnie nie była jednorazową pomyłką sędziów.
🗣️: „Już w… pic.twitter.com/1Zb2Swvhv5
Foryś revisits controversial Most red flag
Foryś’s criticism was not confined to Brno. Speaking through KONTRA, Polak’s manager also revisited the previous round at Autodrom Most and argued that Maffi had already been dissatisfied with decisions made earlier in the championship.
One example concerned the Final Race at the 2026 F4 CEZ round at Autodrom Most. During that race, Borenstein lost positions following a restart before a red flag was displayed shortly afterwards. With the classification taken from an earlier completed lap, the Jenzer Motorsport driver was restored to second place.
Foryś alleged that the timing of the red flag had unfairly benefited Borenstein. He said Maffi Racing did not receive an explanation it considered satisfactory and presented the incident as part of a broader pattern which contributed to the team’s eventual loss of confidence in the championship.
That interpretation remains an allegation made by Maffi Racing’s representatives rather than an established finding against the championship or its officials.
Polak rules out F4 CEZ return for 2027
The consequences of the dispute extend beyond the remainder of the current season. Polak has competed for Maffi Racing in both F4 CEZ and Italian F4 during 2026, having joined the organisation’s development programme before making his Formula 4 debut.
His statement makes clear that the F4 CEZ championship is no longer being considered for his 2027 programme. Instead, Polak will return to Italian F4 competition at Misano, with further details of his 2027 plans expected to be announced later.
That position reflects a broader theme across the statements issued by Maffi’s drivers: the team’s decision was not presented as merely withdrawing from a single race, but as a wider loss of confidence in continuing its involvement in the series.
Cezary Bień announces retirement after Brno weekend
The most striking individual consequence of the weekend came from Bień, who announced after the events at Brno that he was ending his professional racing career.
The 15-year-old had only begun racing Formula 4 machinery competitively this year after taking an unusual route into professional motorsport through sim racing. He joined Maffi Racing’s development structure before stepping into F4 CEZ once he reached the minimum racing age. Only days before the Brno event, Bień had spoken positively about returning to competition and said he hoped to use the penultimate round to build consistent pace and fight for points.
His position changed dramatically following Sunday’s events.
Bień used Instagram to announce his decision to stop racing and explicitly said the situation surrounding the championship had contributed to that choice. It brings a sudden end to a short real-world racing career which began with the ambition of demonstrating that sim racing could provide an alternative route into single-seater competition.
Statement from Cezary Bień
“I, together with the whole Maffi Racing team, made the difficult decision to withdraw from the F4 CEZ Championship, thus ending my professional racing career.
“Throughout this season, we became increasingly concerned about the fairness, sporting integrity and consistency of the series. We tried addressing these issues through the proper channels, unfortunately without any effect. As an athlete, fairness and equal chances for all competitors are among my highest priorities in professional sport.
“On a personal level, this situation also contributed to my decision to retire from racing. A massive thank you to everyone who helped me along the way (separate post coming on that).
“I have huge respect for all the teams, drivers, mechanics and engineers of F4 CEZ, and this decision isn’t directed towards any of them.
“Thank you to everyone who has supported us on this journey.”
Maffi withdrawal ends Walther’s F4 CEZ title challenge
The dispute has had an immediate effect on what had been a closely contested championship battle. Weiss arrived at Brno just 14 points ahead of Walther, with Borenstein 24 points behind the leader and Karhan a further 21 points back. Walther was therefore one of the principal championship contenders heading into the penultimate round.
His absence from the Final Race allowed his Jenzer rivals to make substantial gains. With Maffi now confirming that it will not contest the remaining round, Walther’s championship bid is effectively over before the Hungaroring finale. That is particularly significant because the withdrawal did not come after Walther had fallen out of contention. As both the driver and team emphasised in their statements, Maffi walked away while a championship remained available to fight for.
It is that context which the team has repeatedly cited when presenting the withdrawal as a matter of principle rather than sporting necessity.
