Photo: Jakob Ebrey Photography
The British Formula 4 championship will race overseas for the first time next year with a round at Dutch Grand Prix venue Zandvoort.
In 2024 there will be 30 races over 10 rounds, the usual format, and eight of those rounds will support the British Touring Car Championship as has been the case since British F4 was launched in 2015.
Unsurprisingly one of the two exceptions will be the Zandvoort event, which takes place on July 13/14 in support of fellow British single-seater series GB3 which raced at Zandvoort for the first time this year.
The other round taking place away from the BTCC paddock is the trip to Silverstone on June 15/16 as it takes place on the track’s full Grand Prix layout which is not used by the BTCC.
A provisional calendar for 2024 was issued back in May, which did not feature the June round at Silverstone or Zandvoort, instead having races scheduled at Croft and Oulton Park. Those two rounds have been dropped for the Formula 1 tracks.
The 2024 season begins on Donington Park’s National layout on April 27/28, then teams visit Brands Hatch two weeks later to race on its Indy layout. Round three is at Snetterton on May 25/26, and round four is at Thruxton on June 8/9.
After the two visits to F1 tracks, British F4 reunites with the BTCC to race at Scottish circuit Knockhill on August 10/11 and earn its British championship status by racing in two consistuent nations of Great Britain.
Two weeks later is a second trip to Donington Park, this time to race on the Grand Prix layout, then on September 21/22 Silverstone’s National layout is raced on. Brands Hatch hosts the season finale on October 5/6, and its full Grand Prix layout will be used.
“I am very proud that we continue to innovate with the British F4 championship. The addition to the calendar of the F1 track at Zandvoort, on top of our existing Silverstone F1 track weekend, perfectly complements our eight weekends as part of the BTCC rounds,” said Motorsport UK’s CEO Hugh Chambers.
“We have placed great emphasis on listening to the market, and working with the British F4 teams to refine our offering and I am certain that the shape of our 2024 calendar will prove an attractive proposition to domestic and overseas drivers alike.”