Photo: Red Bull
Hitech GP has announced that Red Bull junior Chiara Battig will be part of its British Formula 4 line-up next year.
The 15-year-old Swiss is already racing for the team in Saudi Arabian F4, where Hitech operates all of the cars. The 10-race championship is Battig’s first in single-seaters, and she sits 12th in the standings with a best finish of seventh place.
Her first mileage in an F4 car came in the Red Bull Driver Search at Estoril in August, which led to her being signed as one of the brand’s junior drivers.
“I’m thrilled to join Hitech for 2026. Karting has given me a great foundation and with the benefit of the Saudi Arabian F4 championship experience, I feel ready to take the next step,” said Battig.
“British F4 is the right place for that and I’m looking forward to the competition and iconic British tracks, and of course Silverstone. I’m excited to get started and fight for strong results.”
Battig was in the Alpine F1 team’s female-focused Rac(H)er programme in 2023, but departed it for 2024. Although she won a third successive Swiss championship on OK Junior karts, she lacked results abroad until joining Formula 2 racer Victor Martins and his brother Nicolas’s Victory Lane team for the step up to senior karting.
In the opening round of this year’s CIK-FIA European championship for OK karts she looked like a victory contender for most of the weekend and finished the final in fifth, but scored no points in the subsequent three rounds and dropped down to 15th in the standings.
She was also 29th in Champions of the Future, 46th in WSK’s Super Master Series and on OK-N karts is currently second in the CotF Academy Program.
“Chiara brings an impressive track record in karting and the Saudi Arabian F4 championship, and we’re excited to see what she can do in her first season,” said Hitech’s British F4 team manager Dominic Stott.
“The transition to single-seaters is a big step, but she has already shown that she’s ready for it. We’re looking forward to seeing her build momentum throughout the season.”