As the 2019 F4 British Championship certified by FIA – powered by Ford EcoBoost enters its final round before the summer break, the title battle is the closest it’s been all season long.
Following a truly dominant weekend at Croft, where he took double pole position and took victory in both races, Carlin‘s Zane Maloney enters the Oulton Park weekend with a slim, five-point lead atop the drivers standings.
Chasing him down is erstwhile leader Louis Foster who, despite two podium finishes last time out, was unable to match Maloney’s pace. Foster’s Double R Racing team-mate Sebastian Alvarez now sits 33 points off the championship summit after his dismal weekend in Yorkshire ended in the gravel trap whilst the third Double R machine of Reema Juffali was unable to make the start of the race.
Whilst some drivers’ seasons may be hitting turbulence, others are continuing to find their groove; Arden‘s Bart Horsten has latched onto the tail-end of the top three thanks to a sterling run of podium finishes. The Arden team as a whole are making steady progress as their other young drivers, Tommy Foster and Alex Connor, made the most of the disrupted Croft weekend to bag points finishes in both races.
For JHR Developments, they left Croft ruing what might have been; a DNF for Josh Skelton in race two meant he dropped points whilst Carter Williams narrowly missed out on the points-paying positions in race one.
However, this weekend sees a new face join the team. Alex Walker will make his British F4 debut at Oulton Park this weekend after securing a deal with JHR which will see him compete in the remainder of the season with the exception of Knockhill.
The 15-year-old tested with the team over the winter and was a finalist in the Ginetta Junior scholarship in 2018.
For Luke Browning, this weekend sees him on home territory as the Cestrian aims to propel himself back into the title hunt with another victory for Richardson Racing; a weekend of low-scoring points-finishes has seen him slip in the championship battle.
The Fortec duo of Roberto Faria and Mariano Martinez are renowned for their overtaking skills, something they’ll hope to put to good use as they’re locked in a tight battle with Wiliams and the Ardens.
Qualifying will get underway at 9:05 on Saturday morning with race one that afternoon at 14:20 and race two later on at 17:45. Race three will take place on Sunday at 14:05.
