Photo: Jakob Ebrey Photography
Adam Al Azhari won British Formula 4’s first race at Snetterton after a front wing problem for poleman Fionn McLaughlin put him out of contention.
McLauglin was comfortably ahead of everyone else when the problem struck and he suddenly slowed. After making it to the pits due to his wobbling wing, he was able to rejoin the race at the back of the field and he finished 18th.
Al Azhari made a strong start to jump from fifth to second on lap one, ahead of Fortec Motorsports’ Henry Joslyn.
McLaughlin immediately built a gap up front, and there was little that Rodin Motorsport driver Al Azhari could do to close it until the leader struck trouble.
Joslyn tried to stay in touch with Al Azhari, but was never close enough to put pressure on him and finished 1.896 seconds behind.
McLaughlin was not the only driver to pit with front wing problems. Hitech GP team-mate Xavier Avramides was shown the black-and-orange flag shortly before McLaughlin’s own incident, forcing him to pit, and on the same lap Argenti Motorsport’s Henry Mercier and Xcel Motorsport’s Yuhao Fu headed in.
Earlier on, Rodin’s points leader James Piszcyk had ended his race in the pits and as a result the title race closed up.
One of the closest battles on track was for third, with Rowan Campbell-Pilling leading Argenti’s Ethan Jeff-Hall and JHR Developments team-mate Joel Bergstrom. Jeff-Hall fought to find a way past Campbell-Pilling, but was unsuccessful. However, a five-second penalty for a start infringement then dropped Campbell-Pilling to eighth.
Bergstrom took fourth, 0.738s behind Jeff-Hall and ahead of Piszcyk’s title rival Martin Molnar, who held off Theo Palmer for sixth. With Argenti’s August Raber scoring six points in seventh place, it means the top four in the standings are now covered by six points.
Completing the top 10 in the race was Hitech’s Thomas Bearman, who climbed through the order from a low grid spot.
Race results (11 laps)
| Pos | Driver | Team | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Adam Al Azhari | Rodin Motorsport | 20m24.462s |
| 2 | Henry Joslyn | Fortec Motorsports | +1.896s |
| 3 | Ethan Jeff-Hall | Argenti Motorsport | +7.928s |
| 4 | Joel Bergstrom | JHR Developments | +8.666s |
| 5 | Martin Molnar | Virtuosi Racing | +10.070s |
| 6 | Theo Palmer | Xcel Motorsport | +10.590s |
| 7 | August Raber | Argenti Motorsport | +11.870s |
| 8 | Rowan Campbell-Pilling | JHR Developments | +12.311s |
| 9 | Chase Fernandez | Xcel Motorsport | +16.085s |
| 10 | Thomas Bearman | Hitech GP | +16.613s |
| 11 | Chloe Chong | Rodin Motorsport | +24.487s |
| 12 | Tommy Harfield | Chris Dittmann Racing | +27.986s |
| 13 | Esmee Kosterman | JHR Developments | +29.940s |
| 14 | Cole Hewetson | Xcel Motorsport | +30.240s |
| 15 | Ella Lloyd | Rodin Motorsport | +33.822s |
| 16 | Alba Hurup Larsen | Chris Dittmann Racing | +35.490s |
| 17 | Charlie Edge | Chris Dittmann Racing | +38.249s |
| 18 | Fionn McLaughlin | Hitech GP | +51.886s |
| 19 | Xavier Avramides | Hitech GP | +55.763s |
| 20 | Henry Mercier | Argenti Motorsport | +1m32.424s |
| Ret | Yuhao Fu | Xcel Motorsport | |
| Ret | James Piszcyk | Rodin Motorsport | |
| Ret | Leo Robinson | Hitech GP | |
| Fastest lap: Al Azhari, 1m49.643s
Championship standings |
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