Macintyre wins twice red-flagged Knockhill British F4 race

Photo: Jakob Ebrey Photography

Will Macintyre took his second victory of the 2023 British Formula 4 championship in shortened race at Knockhill. 

The race ended under red flags when James Higgins and Patrick Heuzenroeder beached themselves in the gravel at Clark Curve. With only two minutes left on the clock, the race wasn’t resumed. 

It was a lights to flag victory for Macintyre, but not one that came without a fight. Louis Sharp stayed close to him throughout the race, and had attempted a move moments before the red flag was thrown. However, the Rodin Carlin driver remained second and Hitech GP’s Macintyre extended his lead at the front of the championship order. 

The top two had pulled away in the first half of the race while Aqil Alibhai defended third from Jack Sherwood. Just before the halfway point, the rain started to fall and a number of drivers slipped wide on the wet circuit.  

Sharp was one of those to slip and run wide, though he managed to remain second. The gap to Macintyre had grown to around two seconds, though. This was then immediately nullified when Isaac Barashi and Griffin Peebles ran off at the same corner and became beached. 

The safety car was brought out before the red flag was thrown so the cars could be cleared.  

Racing resumed with 10 minutes on the clock and the battle for third resumed straight away. Sherwood spent a number of laps trying to find a way past Alibhai, allowing Macintyre and Sharp to escape up the road again. 

Sharp kept the pressure on Macintyre through the second half of the race and attempted a move past the race leader at Clark late on. He carried too much speed into the corner and went through the gravel, but managed to avoid the barrier.  

The gap to the P3 battle meant he remained second but he now had a considerable gap to Macintyre. Before he could consider closing that gap, the red flag was thrown for a second time, this time for Higgins and Heuzenroeder, and the race ended. 

Sherwood managed to take third after a move up the inside of Alibhai, while the Virtuosi driver came fourth. 

Dion Gowda had started the race third and got a good start, but ran wide on the opening lap and was pulled into a battle with Noah Lisle for sixth. He was seventh, behind Lisle, when the first red flag came out, then a mistake in the second half of the race dropped him out of the top 10. 

Lisle came home fifth, having passed Gustav Jonsson late on. 

Deagan Fairclough climbed up from 16th on the grid to take seventh, ahead of Gabriel Stilp, Higgins and Heuzenroeder. 

Race results (16 laps)