Seb Morris made an impressive start to the new BRDC Formula 4 Championship, taking three podiums and the championship lead from the opening rounds at Silverstone.
17-year-old Morris, who had been disappointed with the pace of his Hillspeed machine in pre-season testing, turned his fortunes around with a third placed finish in race one, before finishing second in the next two races.
“It’s been a great weekend, especially after being a second and a half off the pace on Friday”, said Morris, who was presented with his trophies by BRDC president Derek Warwick and Formula 1‘s Mark Webber at rounds two and three respectively. “It was a mountain to climb but we did it, we’ve got three podiums from the first weekend and scored big points which is great. We’re the only ones to have been on the podium in every race and that sort of consistency is what you need to challenge for a championship.
“We missed out on a win, which is a shame, but from the positions we started in, seventh, sixth and then third, I’m really happy with the results we’ve taken away and it’s fantastic to end the first F4 weekend leading the championship.”
Morris started round one from seventh on the grid, but managed to move into the top five by the end of the first lap. Despite the top three pulling out a substantial lead, an incident involving the top two drivers promoted Morris to third, a position he would hold until the chequered flag.
Race two’s grid was decided on a top-eight reversal, meaning Morris started round two from sixth on the grid. A stunning start from the Welsh driver saw him in second place on the first lap of the race, piling on the pressure for the lead.
It was at Village on the third lap that Morris made his move and took the lead, holding the position until lap nine, where he was edged back into second position.
“I drove the best I could in race two but there were several factors which didn’t enable me to win it”, explained Morris. “There was a big headwind down Hangar Straight so every lap I was creating a huge hole in the air for Jack [Barlow] to catch back up. The tyres went off near the end but the main thing was my mirrors dropped down, so I couldn’t defend like I wanted as I wasn’t sure where he was.”
Starting from third in race three, Morris took second in the run to Maggots, setting for second place and the championship lead, as race leader Jake Dalton consolidated the win on fresher tyres.
