Photos: Jakob Ebrey Photography
British F4 reached 250 races last weekend. Here’s a look back at the landmark races in the series’ history
Race 1. Lando Norris Carlin Brands Hatch (Indy), 2015
Lando Norris claimed victory on his single-seater debut in the first race of what was then known as MSA Formula.
After qualifying second, the World Karting champion and Ginetta Junior graduate claimed the lead off the start.
Poleman Dan Baybutt slipped back to fourth on lap one, with Matheus Leist up into second and Dan Ticktum third.
The race was neutralised by a safety car after incidents in the first few tours, with Jack Barlow retiring to the pits and Louise Richardson and Gustavo Myasava also out.
After the restart, Leist put the pressure on Norris and closed to within two tenths of a second across the line at one stage, but the Carlin prospect responded well and quickly opened up a one-second advantage to make sure of his victory.
Meanwhile, Brazilian Formula 3 B-class runner-up Leist fell back into the clutches of car racing debutant Ticktum, and the Fortec Motorsports driver was able to depose his Double R Racing counterpart from second place at Druids on the penultimate lap.
Ex-BRDC Formula 4 racer Sennan Fielding came through to fourth after starting ninth, resisting late attention from Ricky Collard. Sixth was Rafael Martins ahead of Baybutt.
World Junior Karting champion Enaam Ahmed was up into fifth by lap two but was shuffled back to ninth by the finish.
Race 25. Lando Norris Carlin Silverstone (National), 2015
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Race 50. Luis Leeds Arden Knockhill, 2016
Race 100. Dennis Hauger Arden Oulton Park, 2018
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Race 150. Zane Maloney Carlin Brands Hatch (GP), 2019
Maloney won the 2019 title with victory in the final race of the season.
His only title rival, Sebastian Alvarez, retired with a mechanical issue midway through the race. Alvarez, who had been running at the back end of the top 10, pulled to the side of the track with the rear of his Double R-run car on fire.
As Maloney came into the finale five points behind, he still needed to finish seventh or higher in order to take the title. He stormed through into second off the line, behind Double R’s Louis Foster.
Foster put up a strong fight, but Maloney was able to find a way past near the mid-point of the race. Foster then ran wide through the gravel, giving Maloney some breathing room, but Alvarez’s retirement led to a safety car period and reduced the leader’s gap to nothing.
Luke Browning was promoted to second after Foster’s excursion. He tried to stick with Maloney on the restart but couldn’t stay close enough to make a move and settled for second.
Carter Williams pulled into the pits as the field formed up ahead of the green flag lap, switching from wet tyres to slicks. As the only driver on slicks on a drying track, Williams flew up through the order. He had moved up into the top 10 by the time the safety car came into the pits, and spent the second half of the race picking off driver after driver.
Williams was looking for a way past Alex Connor for the final podium position on the final lap of the race, but a wide moment sent the JHR Developments driver into a spin and he dropped down the order. Connor therefore finished third.
Race 175. Alex Connor Arden Brands Hatch (Indy), 2020
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Race 200. Joseph Loake JHR Developments Silverstone (National), 2021
Joseph Loake won a race of attrition at Silverstone as four of the top five in the points standings retired.
Only 11 drivers in the 17-car field finished the final race of the weekend at Silverstone after a series of accidents. Among those forced to retire was points leader Matias Zagazeta and his closest rival Matthew Rees.
Loake managed to avoid the drama for his third of the season, just ahead of Marcos Flack.
The drama started on lap one. Zagazeta, Rees and McKenzy Cresswell were battling for the lead when Aiden Neate tried to join the fight. Neate ran over Cresswell’s tyre, damaging his own car and forcing Cresswell to come into the pits, though the JHR driver returned to track a few laps down. James Hedley also came into the pits to retire at this point.
Zagazeta and Rees both fell back as they avoided the accident, promoting Flack and Loake to the front. Loake wasted no time picking off Flack for the lead. The pair split from the rest of the group and were extending a gap when the safety car was brought out for another incident.
Joel Granfors was trying to find a way past Rees in the battle for third when he mounted the JHR driver’s car. Granfors was left stranded in the gravel while Rees limped back to the pits.
On the restart, Loake had the edge over Flack, who came under pressure from Kai Askey behind. There was a third major incident further back as David Morales tagged Zagazeta, causing suspension damage for Zagazeta and taking him out of the race, but the incident was cleared without the need of the safety car.
Flack held off Askey and closed back onto the tail of Loake in the race’s closing stages. The pair ran nose-to-tail but Flack didn’t attempt a risky move and settled for second.
Race 250. James Higgins Fortec Motorsports Oulton Park, 2023
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British F4’s all-time winners list
11 wins – Jamie Caroline, Alex Dunne
10 wins – Zane Maloney
9 wins – Luke Browning, Zak O’Sullivan
8 wins – Lando Norris, Sennan Fielding, Johnathan Hoggard, James Hedley
7 wins – Alex Quinn, Joseph Loake
6 wins – Ricky Collard, Oscar Piastri, Kiern Jewiss, Louis Foster, McKenzy Cresswell, Georgi Dimitrov
5 wins – Petru Florescu, Linus Lundqvist, Ayrton Simmons, Sebastian Alvarez
4 wins – Colton Herta, Zane Goddard, Dennis Hauger, Matthew Rees, Matias Zagazeta, Ollie Gray, Louis Sharp
3 wins – Dan Ticktum, Max Fewtrell, Luis Leeds, Devlin DeFrancesco, Jack Doohan, Carter Williams, Alex Connor
2 wins – Matheus Leist, Sandy Mitchell, James Pull, Logan Sargeant, Oliver York, Patrik Pasma, Seb Priaulx, Josh Skelton, Casper Stevenson, Ugo Ugochukwu, Aiden Neate, Dion Gowda, Kanato Le, James Higgins, Noah Lisle
1 win – Enaam Ahmed, Josh Smith, Rafael Martins, Paavo Tonteri, Bart Horsten, Tommy Foster, Christian Mansell, Joel Granfors, Tasanapol Inthraphuvasak, Zak Taylor, Dougie Bolger, Eduardo Coseteng, Daniel Guinchard, Oliver Stewart, Michael Shin, William Macintyre, Aqil Alibahi, James Pizsyck, Sonny Smith