As the 2019 F4 British Championship certified by FIA – powered by Ford EcoBoost rolls in to Thruxton for the first of two visits this season, the championship picture is beginning to emerge.
Double R Racing are on immaculate form with Louis Foster leading the drivers table by 17 points from team-mate Sebastian Alvarez as they also hold a sizeable 81-point advantage at the top of the Teams Cup standings. Reema Juffali continues find speed at each round in her first year of competitive racing.
Foster has won three of the six rounds so far, and is looking to continue his good form this weekend.
“I have been delighted with my performance in Formula 4 so far and I’m excited to see if we can continue that at Thruxton.” the 15-year-old said. “It’s a track I know well and is a great track to drive at.
“We’ve seen how close it has been so far and the whole of this year’s grid is only separated by small margins, so it is game on!”
The Hampshire race track hosts two championship weekends for the first time in 12 years after Rockingham‘s closure at the end of 2018. The 2.4-mile circuit often serves up spectacular action in the F4 categories.
Elsewhere, Carlin‘s championship charge has been scuppered by nothing but sheer misfortune with both their drivers having been denied victory through no fault of their own. However, both Zane Maloney and Joe Turney are still delivering strong results as the team sit second in the Teams Cup table and the pair occupy the head of the Rookie Cup standings with just two points separating them.
Arden Motorsport‘s newest recruit, Alex Connor, slotted himself in to the F4 fold perfectly last time out at Donington as the 15-year-old netted top-five finishes in all three rounds on his single-seater debut. Bart Horsten sits fourth in the championship standings with two podiums to his name so far. Team-mate Tommy Foster‘s season may not have started as he’d hoped but sitting atop the testing timesheets at Thruxton last month will stoke the fire for a good weekend.
Josh Skelton endured a tricky season opener at Brands Hatch but the JHR Developments driver went some way to rectifying that at Donington with a podium finish. Both him and team-mate Carter Williams have the speed to succeed this weekend as they aim to hunt Arden down for third place in the Teams Cup, currently sitting two points adrift.
Luke Browning has had a tremendous start to his F4 campaign with Richardson Racing. The Cestrian driver has one win and two further podium finishes on the books, currently occupies third spot in the drivers standings and is the best-placed driver to challenge the Double R duo ahead of him.
Fortec Motorsport have been unlucky at stages this season with collisions and weather conditions hampering their efforts but Roberto Faria and Mario Martinez have both been sublime at making up ground in races. Their consistency is sure to be rewarded with luck on their side.
With variable weather conditions a vague possibility, the championship looks set to take another series of twists and turns as qualifying begins on Saturday morning at 10:55 local time.
