Photo: KSP Reportages
French Formula 4 frontrunner Chester Kieffer will make a cameo in British F4 at Zandvoort this weekend.
The Luxmebourger has signed with Xcel Motorsport, an Emerati team he already has some experience with since he made his single-seater debut at the start of this year with its affiliate squad X GP in a round of the F4 United Arab Emirates championship at Dubai Autodrome.
He took a best finish of 15th from that event, while he is yet to finish a race outside of the top 10 in the first three rounds of the French F4 season. Kieffer finished 10th and fifth in the two races at Nogaro that kicked off the campaign, then at Ledenon he followed up a victory from pole position with a seventh place and a second.
At Spa-Francorchamps he picked up a second win, and finishing fifth and fourth in the next two races put him fourth in the standings and 32 points off the championship lead.
“It’s the race week again, but this time slightly different!” said Kieffer. “Very excited to drive against new competitors in a new car, and looking forward to the challenge!”
The inclusion of the Dutch Grand Prix venue in the British F4 calendar has attracted many drivers from other series, with F1 Academy racers Bianca Bustamante (Hitech GP), Jessica Edgar (Chris Dittmann Racing) and Aurelia Nobels (Argenti Motorsport) all joining the grid ahead of racing there on Formula 1’s support bill, and Mexican talent Ernesto Rivera (Hitech) too.
Rivera has been driving for Campos Racing so far this year, coming 15th in Formula Winter Series with one podium and sitting third in Spanish F4 after the first three rounds with a win, a second place and four other top-five finishes.
He is replacing Mika Abrahams in Hitech’s line-up, with no explanation given as to why the South African has withdrawn from the event. Abrahams took a win the opening round, but has only been on the podium twice since and is seventh in the standings at the season’s halfway point.
Ferrari junior Nobels came 16th in a part-time Brazilian F4 campaign in 2022, was 26th in Italian F4 last year and is currently 15th in F1 Academy.