Alex Ninovic takes lights-to-flag first British F4 win at Snetterton

Photo: Jakob Ebrey Photography

Alex Ninovic converted pole position into victory in the first British Formula 4 race of the weekend at Snetterton.

A late safety car period resulted in a last lap dash to the flag, but a strong restart secured Ninovic the win, his first in British F4.

Despite a poor start, it was a relatively simple race for the Rodin Motorsport driver. Fellow front row starter Jack Sherwood also struggled off the line, and Ninovic stayed ahead while James Higgins and Deagan Fairclough began to battle for second.

The top three separated out a little during the middle part of the nine-lap race, with Ninovic more than two seconds ahead of Higgins and Fairclough, who were more than four seconds clear of Sherwood.

That lead was turned into nothing when Mika Abrahams ran into trouble at Murrays midway through the race. The safety car was brought out to clear Abraham’s car, and the track did not go green again until there was just a minute left on the race clock.

Higgins tried to stay with Ninovic on the restart, but Ninovic managed it perfectly to keep his team-mate behind. He did not put a wheel wrong on the final lap and won by 1.6 seconds.

Fairclough and Sherwood were both much closer to Higgins, but neither of them found the opportunity to attempt an overtake and settled for third and fourth respectively.

Reza Seewooruthun climbed up to fifth before the mid-race safety car period, aided by Harrison ahead being brought into the pits by a black-and-orange flag. He held onto the position, ahead of Joel Bergstrom, Ella Lloyd and Yuanpu Cui.

The closest battle in the first half of the race was between Abbi Pulling and Martin Molnar at the tail end of the top 10. Pulling was forced to go on the defensive, but managed to keep Molnar behind at the chequered flag.

Race results (9 laps)