Photo: Jakob Ebrey Photography
Tommy Harfield earned his second British Formula 4 victory in race three at Silverstone as Fionn McLaughlin extended his lead at the top of the championship standings.
Chris Dittmann Racing driver Harfield snatched the lead from McLaughlin with a move down the inside of the Red Bull-backed Hitech GP driver at Brooklands mid-way through the final race of the weekend.
McLaughlin tried to fight back, and kept on Harfield’s tail with a late safety car, but Harfield was able to break away in the closing stages of the race. He finished 1.538 seconds clear with the fastest lap of the race.
At the start, McLaughlin had taken the race lead off the line after a poor getaway for Martin Molnar dropped the polesitter down the order.
James Pisczyk initially took second, but Harfield soon found a way past him. Harfield had closed onto McLaughlin’s tail when the first safety car of the race was called to clear the stranded Cole Hewetson.
Racing resumed with 11 minutes on the clock and Harfield wasted little time, making his move down the inside of McLaughlin to take the race lead moments shortly after.
Moments later, Alba Larsen spun while battling in the midfield, damaging her left-rear tyre and coming to a stop at the side of the track. A second safety car was needed to clear the incident.
Only four minutes remained when racing resumed, and McLaughlin couldn’t stay with Harfield on the restart. Piszcyk took third ahead of Ary Bansal, who wrapped up the Challenge Cup for drivers contesting up to seven of the season’s 10 rounds.
Bansal and Molnar spent the opening laps battling for position. At one point the pair were side by side with several corners as Bansal battled to keep ahead of the polesitter. He managed to keep Molnar at bay, but remained under pressure through the second half of the race.
Just behind the battling drivers, Dries Van Langendonck was waiting to take any opportunity that was presented. He couldn’t find a way past the duo and had to settle for sixth, ahead of August Raber, Ethan Jeff-Hall and Rowan Campbell-Pilling. Thomas Bearman climbed up from 15th on the grid to finish 10th.
McLaughlin leaves the penultimate weekend of the championship 61.5 points ahead of Piszcyk and Molnar, who are equal on points. There are just 80 points remaining, meaning Harfield is no longer in mathematical contention for the title.
Race results (23 laps)
| Pos | Driver | Team | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Tommy Harfield | Chris Dittmann Racing | 25m23.011s |
| 2 | Fionn McLaughlin | Hitech GP | +1.538s |
| 3 | James Piszcyk | Rodin Motorsport | +2.239s |
| 4 | Ary Bansal | Fortec Motorsports | +2.408s |
| 5 | Martin Molnar | Virtuosi Racing | +28.52s |
| 6 | Dries Van Langendonck | Rodin Motorsport | +3.205s |
| 7 | August Raber | Argenti Motorsport | +3.683s |
| 8 | Ethan Jeff-Hall | Argenti Motorsport | +4.380s |
| 9 | Rowan Campbell-Pilling | JHR Developments | +5.554s |
| 10 | Thomas Bearman | Hitech GP | +6.881s |
| 11 | Adam Al Azhari | Rodin Motorsport | +7.238s |
| 12 | Chase Fernandez | Xcel Motorsport | +7.749s |
| 13 | Joseph Smith | Hitech GP | +8.529s |
| 14 | Ella Lloyd | Rodin Motorsport | +8.858s |
| 15 | Theo Palmer | Xcel Motorsport | +9.062s |
| 16 | Oleksandr Savinkov | Virtuosi Racing | +9.360s |
| 17 | Haarni Sadiq | JHR Developments | +9.714s |
| 18 | Xavier Avramides | Hitech GP | +9.979s |
| 19 | Henry Joslyn | Fortec Motorsports | +9.986s |
| 20 | Fu Yuhao | Xcel Motorsport | +10.701s |
| 21 | Tom Ingram Hill | Fortec Motorsports | +10.995s |
| 22 | Henry Mercier | Argenti Motorsport | +12.432s |
| 23 | Arjen Kraling | Argenti Motorsport | +12.449s |
| 24 | Charlie Edge | Chris Dittmann Racing | +1 lap |
| Ret | Alba Larsen | Chris Dittmann Racing | |
| Ret | Cole Hewetson | Xcel Motorsport | |
| Fastest lap: Harfield, 54.824s
Championship standings |
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