In the penultimate round of the British F4 Championship, chaos unfolded across the grid at Silverstone as the season moves towards an action-packed end. The championship will go down to the wire at the iconic Brands Hatch in two weeks, and it’s all to play for.
Race 2 on Sunday brought a 14th different winner of the season, with Mercedes junior Ethan Jeff-Hall of Argenti Racing earning a hard-fought victory in the reverse grid sprint. Championship leader Fionn McLaughlin had a tumultuous day at the track that saw the Red Bull junior retire from Race 2 and just lose out on the win in Race 3 to Tommy Harfield of Chris Dittmann Racing.
Fionn McLaughlin retired in Race 2, but his closest championship contenders struggled to capitalise
McLaughlin made a strong start in Race 2 – a reverse grid sprint race; however, he faced trouble when he was caught up in contact at Maggotts corner. He pitted, initially managing to continue the race, but damage to his Hitech car forced an early retirement.
It was Adam Al Azhari of Rodin Motorsport that started on pole position, and the Emirati driver managed to hold onto the lead through the opening corners, as scrappy battles unfolded behind him.
Speaking exclusively to Fastest Pitstop, he said: “Not the race we want to start from pole, but yeah, great start again. I got a second gap and then just struggled with the grip to be honest. I think the pressures were a bit low but it was also really cold so I don’t blame the team or anything. I know my pace has been strong the whole weekend, so just looking forward to the [next] race start.”
August Raber of Argento Motorsport challenged Al Azhari for the lead, and Jeff-Hall took his chance, and the trio went three-wide down the Wellington Straight. Jeff-Hall was able to take the lead, cementing his first-ever F4 win daringly.
As well as the #BritishF4 Challenge Cup title, Ary Bansal also picked up the @pirellisport Hardest Charger award at Silverstone to cap off a super impressive weekend all round 👏
For his efforts, Ary earns a set of tyres for his team @FortecM for private testing 🛞 pic.twitter.com/pyIMG8xJAU
— Wera Tools British F4 (@BritishF4) September 22, 2025
Al Azhari also lost out to Ary Bansal of Fortec Motorsport, and Joseph Smith of Hitech finished sixth, his best result of the season so far, securing him the Rookie Cup win.
Martin Molnár, Championship rival to McLaughlin, failed to capitalise on the Irish driver’s retirement as a loose rear wing got stuck under his car at Luffield, sending him into the gravel and out of the top 10. He did manage to salvage some points despite finishing two laps down by claiming points for the Lotus Fastest Lap.
Race 3 brought safety car chaos, as Tommy Harfield became the driver to watch
McLaughlin launched well in Race 3, overtaking pole-sitter Molnár into Turn 1 to take the lead. Despite pulling away, a threat emerged behind him as Tommy Harfield of Chris Dittmann Racing set his sights on the lead. Getting past Jimmy Piszcyk, Harfield pulled alongside McLaughlin on the Wellington Straight before completing his move through Luffield to take the lead of the race.
Harfield held on to the lead through two safety car restarts, controlling the race down to the chequered flag. McLaughlin managed to hold onto second place despite pressures from Piszcyk behind him, ultimately extending his Championship lead despite losing out on the win. Molnár, having suffered a poor getaway from the line, recovered to fifth place after a tense battle with Henry Joslyn, who eventually retired from the race.
Bansal performed well throughout the race, finishing in fourth place and completing a clean sweep of Challenge Cup victories, wrapping up the Cup title fight. Also rounding out the top ten were Raber, McLaren junior Dries van Langendonck, Jeff-Hall, Campbell-Pilling, and Thomas Bearman.
Speaking to Fastest Pitstop before Race 3, Bearman expressed frustration with performance, despite a strong pace across the round. He managed to make up places in the final race of the weekend, starting from P12 and managing to crack into the top ten. Bearman, younger brother of F1 driver Oliver Bearman, managed to catch the F1 race in Baku between his own races.
Silverstone Sunday done and dusted – here’s your #BritishF4 Race 3 podiums 🏆
🥇 Harfield 🇬🇧
🥈 McLaughlin 🇮🇪
🥉 Piszcyk 🇦🇺Rookie Cup:
🥇 McLaughlin 🇮🇪
🥈 van Langendonck 🇧🇪
🥉 Bearman 🇬🇧 pic.twitter.com/u6CiIPdzsV— Wera Tools British F4 (@BritishF4) September 21, 2025
It is clear that there is a brotherly rivalry between the two siblings, and when asked if he wanted to challenge his older brother, the younger Bearman joked: “I saw my brother, what, 13th or 14th? It’s pretty decent. I mean, it’s a tough track, and I saw it was a pretty hectic race, so yeah. I don’t think I would have finished 13th, probably more like fifth.”
The British F4 drivers will now be looking ahead to Brands Hatch, where the Championship will wrap up. With McLaughlin having a solid 61.5 point lead over closest rivals Molnár and Piszcyk, the title fight will undoubtedly come to an entertaining end.
