It was a busy start to the British F4 weekend at Silverstone, as drivers battled mixed conditions in the fight for pole and victory in Race 1. In the end, it was Fionn McLaughlin of Hitech Racing who came out on top, taking the first win of the weekend and stretching his championship lead even further.
Across the grid, the action was relentless with hard-fought battles for position, penalties shaping the order, and retirements shaking up the ninth round of the championship at the iconic British circuit.
Despite strong performance from McLaughlin, it was Martin Molnar and Tommy Harfield sharing Pole positions
Martin Molnár of Virtuosi Racing and Tommy Harfield of Chris Dittmann Racing emerged as the stars of the session. Molnár topped the overall timesheets with a commanding lap, while Harfield snatched pole position for Race 1 thanks to his rapid second-fastest effort in a closely fought battle.
The session was briefly halted by a red flag before any laps were completed, following an incident involving Oleksandr Savinkov. Once running resumed with 22 minutes on the clock, the field enjoyed a clean run to the chequered flag.
This #BritishF4 title battle 😮💨👌
McLaughlin gets another win, but it’s his closest competition Molnár who will start tomorrow’s feature race on pole.
Read all about today’s action:
— Wera Tools British F4 (@BritishF4) September 20, 2025
McLaughlin set the early benchmark, but provisional pole swapped hands several times as the session unfolded. Jimmy Piszyck and McLaren junior Dries van Langendonck both lit up the timesheets, leaving McLaughlin to settle for third on the grid heading into Race 1.
Amidst scrappy battles throughout the field, Race 1 belonged to Fionn McLaughlin
Fionn McLaughlin delivered a commanding drive in Race 1, surging from third on the grid to seize the lead at the start. From there, the Hitech driver controlled the pace, fending off relentless pressure from pole-sitter Tommy Harfield. Despite closing the gap in the final stages, Harfield couldn’t find a way past and had to settle for second at the flag.
Rounding out the podium, Ary Bansal secured third place with a steady drive, finishing just over a second adrift of the leading pair but largely unchallenged on his way to the flag.
It was a tougher outing for Martin Molnár, however. After starring in Qualifying, the Virtuosi driver’s race unraveled following an early incident that dropped him down the order. He eventually crossed the line in ninth, losing valuable ground in the championship fight to McLaughlin.
#BritishF4 podiums from Race 1 🏆
🥇 McLaughlin 🇮🇪
🥈 Harfield 🇬🇧
🥉 Bansal 🇮🇳Rookie Cup:
🥇 McLaughlin 🇮🇪
🥈 van Langendonck 🇧🇪
🥉 Larsen 🇩🇰 pic.twitter.com/rxculCbG1z— Wera Tools British F4 (@BritishF4) September 20, 2025
Drama unfolded further down the order when Thomas Bearman and Henry Joslyn tangled at Turn 3 in the early laps, forcing both into retirement. The incident was swiftly cleared, allowing the race to continue without the need for a safety car or red flag.
Elsewhere, Xavier Avramides was forced into an early pit stop for front-wing damage but managed to rejoin and see the chequered flag. Ella Lloyd, meanwhile, lost ground off the start and slipped to P10. Her hopes of points were dashed entirely after a five-second penalty for track-limits violations dropped her out of the top ten.
McLaughlin also stood tall on the Rookie Cup podium, joined by McLaren junior Dries van Langendonck in second and Alba Larsen in third.
With two more races still to come at Silverstone this weekend, fans can expect plenty more drama and action as the British F4 Championship continues on Sunday.
