Casper Stevenson has been crowned victor of the inaugural F4 British Championship certified by FIA – powered by Ford EcoBoost Scholarship prize, after an assessment day at Silverstone.
The Ginetta Junior alumni was one of 12 drivers selected by the series’ six teams to attend the Scholarship Day last week.
Drivers were not only assessed on their on-track driving ability but also in their technical understanding and feedback as well as how they conduct themselves in the media spotlight.
Previous champions Max Fewtrell and Jamie Caroline, who claimed the 2016 and 2017 crowns respectively, were part of the driving assessment team alongside championship partners Neil Brown Engineering.
Stevenson, who spent the day with 2019 Teams Cup champions Double R Racing, takes home a £35,000 prize fund to put towards a British F4 campaign in 2020.
“I always think I never really win these things,” the 15-year-old said. “I’m going to go into Christmas very happy!
“My family really feels the financial pressures of this, and we could only do a limited programme. Now we can do a good amount of testing and really have no excuses.”
Stevenson faced stiff competition, with drivers including reigning Ginetta Junior champion James Hedley and Vice-Champion Zak O’Sullivan also taking part in the day.
Other racers included Christian Mansell as he eyes a late switch to Europe following the axing of the 2020 Australian Formula 4 Championship.
For drivers such as Arden’s Roman Bilinksi and Frederick Lubin, who are already signed with the team for 2020, the open-pitlane day was also a chance to get more mileage in before the start of 2020.
Speaking to The Checkered Flag at the event, Gerard Quinn, Senior Manager Ford Performance Europe, believes the day was a huge success.
“It wasn’t just about the ultimate winner,” Quinn said. “It was also about bringing talent to the track so we could understand what’s out there and who’s coming to us next season.
“All in all, it was a very good day and very enlightening for everyone involved.
“I’d like to offer a huge congratulations on behalf of everybody associated with British F4 to Casper for winning the scholarship prize, but also to the entire field that turned out at Silverstone to compete.”
The 2020 British F4 season is scheduled to get underway on 28th-29th March at Donington Park.
