BRITISH F4 ROLLS INTO ROCKINGHAM AS CAROLINE LEADS
What can the Arden boys do to stop Jamie Caroline (#38) in his charge for the title? – Photo: Jakob Ebrey
Just nine races remain to decide the outcome of this year’s F4 British Championship certified by FIA – powered by Ford EcoBoost, and who will race away with the title of FIA British Formula 4 Champion.
The first three of those nine outings come this weekend at Rockingham Motor Speedway, where season-long championship leader Jamie Caroline will be battling to defend his 45.5 point lead from his chief rival, Oscar Piastri.
TRS Arden are flying high. They followed up their most successful meeting at Snetterton with a double front row lock out at Knockhill. Piastri took two wins and led home team-mates Alex Quinn and Ayrton Simmons to record a historic 1-2-3.
Caroline put on a fine display of damage limitation a fortnight ago. He returned from Scotland with his championship lead reduced by just one point, helped by taking his 10th win of the campaign.
The 18-year-old will be buoyed further by being granted BRDC Rising Star status earlier this week. Open by invitation only to drivers aged 24 and under seeking to make a career in motorsport, Caroline joins an illustrious club which has seen highly successful graduates, including triple Formula One World Champion Lewis Hamilton.
Carlin team-mate Logan Sargeant is marrying speed with consistency, racking up podium finishes in a similar fashion to a fellow Infinity Sports Management-backed star. A certain 2016 FIA British Formula 4 Champion, Max Fewtrell.
Linus Lundqvist had a disastrous time in Scotland, taking just 12 points from a possible 100. The Double R ace now has very little to lose and plenty to gain, while Karl Massaad returned to the podium for the first time since May.
Fortec Motorsports’ Oliver York scored a breakthrough maiden win, having already starred on numerous occasions this year, and team-mate Hampus Ericsson took two Ford F4 Challenge Cup wins and his first overall podium in Scotland.
GW Motorsport had a breakthrough of their own north of the border. Sam Smelt took his and the team’s first top 10 finish in only his third single-seater race.
Jamie Sharp (Sharp Motorsport) made a welcome return to the points, while Lucas Alecco Roy joined his Carlin team-mate Patrik Pasma in the top 10 during the Knockhill weekend.
Elsewhere, Manuel Sulaimán and JHR Developments cruelly saw a hard-earned points score slip through their fingers in the closing stages last time out.
TRS Arden’s Olli Caldwell will look to maintain his record of always finishing on the Challenge Cup podium, while Falcon Motorsport’s Lucca Allen will want to return to the rostrum after missing out at the last meeting.
Alex Battipaglia (Source: British F4)
