British F4 gets British GP support slot, Campbell-Pilling tops test

Photo: Jakob Ebrey Photography

British Formula 4 has announced it will run two non-championship races at the British Grand Prix, marking its first ever appearance on Formula 1’s support bill.

It will be one of three trips to Silverstone this year for the paddock, and the second using the track’s full Grand Prix layout raced on earlier this month.

For the F1-supporting July 4-6 weekend, races will last 25 mintes-plus-one lap. This is five minutes longer than championship contests.

Only teams already competing in British F4 will be eligible to enter, but there is the possibility of new drivers joining the grid should currently occupied seats be vacated.

“To have the opportunity to compete on the support bill of F1 at the British GP is something that we’ve been working towards for a long time, so we are delighted to have been able to now make it happen,”said British F4’s championship manager Eve Lake-Grange.

“The level of interest that we’ve had for this non-championship event has been incredible so far and we’re shaping up to confirm a bumper, ultra-competitive grid.”

The British GP will be the first event to feature F1, Formula 2, Formula 3 and F4 races since the 2024 Spanish Grand Prix.

British F4 made its announcement while testing at Knockhill, where it will race on in August.

Virtuosi Racing’s Martin Molnar was fastest in session one on Tuesday morning, which was red flagged four times.

Xcel Motorsport’s James Higgins and Yuhao Fu led the way at first, with Higgins first to set a sub-50s lap and then to break into 48s territory. After 20 minutes his 48.962s effort stood as the time to beat, and shortly before the half-hour mark Argenti Motorsport’s August Raber toppled him with a 48.855s.

A few minutes later JHR Developments’ Rowan Campbell-Pilling edged ahead by 0.022 seconds, and Higgins responded with a 48.736s that made him fastest by 0.097s.

A red flag period interrupted proceedings, and after that Molnar posted a 48.599s that went unbeaten. Higgins and Campbell-Pilling got within 0.022s and 0.034s of him, and 0.93s covered the top 16.

There were five red flag stoppages in session two. Argenti’s Henry Mercier was first to the top, then team-mate Ethan Jeff-Hall, but it was Higgins who was ahead when red flags waved for the first time. Molnar moved ahead just before the second stoppage, then 50 minutes later Hitech GP’s Fionn McLaughlin edged ahead by 0.032s.

Higgins later returned to the top, and with a flurry of improvements lowered the pace to 48.338s before red flags returned. He was fastest by 0.215s over Molnar, and Raber was a further 0.023s back.

Wednesday’s running (which Higgins was absent from) was also interruption-heavy, and Jeff-Hall set a new benchmark in the morning. He ended the session fourth though, 0.085s off the top, as Campbell-Pilling lowered the pace further to 48.23s. Raber and Xcel’s Theo Palmer trailed by 0.014s and 0.016s.

The afternoon featured more running, and Campbell-Pilling improved by 0.014s at the top. Molnar was second in the session, 0.095s behind, and half a second covered the top 12.

Reporting by Steve Whitfield and Ida Wood

Test results