Dries Van Langendonck produced a commanding lights-to-flag performance in the opening Wera Tools F4 British Championship, certified by FIA race of the weekend at Zandvoort to score his third win of the season and with it, reclaim top spot in the standings.
Returning to competitive action in the Netherlands after the series’ annual summer break, the Rodin Motorsport driver was inch-perfect as he converted pole position into a flawless victory ahead of Hitech team-mates Theo Palmer and Scott Kin Lindblom.
Van Langendonck had arrived at the home of the Formula 1 Dutch Grand Prix trailing Lewis Wherrell (JHR Developments) by nine points in the Drivers’ Championship; however, his sublime Saturday showing has elevated him back to the summit of the leaderboard.
Track action began with the 32-car field – which is a record-equalling grid size of the UK’s premier single-seater series – delivering a captivating qualifying session around the challenging 2.626-mile circuit.
The session provided a frenetic 25 minutes, with a number of different drivers staking their claim, however in the end it was McLaren Development Driver Van Langendonck that came to the fore late on to secure his second CADOLA Watches Pole Position Award of the season.
Punching in two laps that were good enough for first place, the Belgian teenager finished just over a tenth of a second ahead of his nearest challenger Kin Lindblom, while Ethan Jeff-Hall (Argenti Motorsport), Palmer and Jaber Alsabah (Xcel Motorsport) rounded out the top five.
Second fastest lap times determined the starting order for race one and with a clear road ahead of him, Van Langendonck wasted no time in converting his front row start into an early lead as the lights went out.
Behind him, Palmer also got a good launch to keep Red Bull Junior Kin Lindblom behind him, while Ethan Jeff-Hall dispatched Ethan Carney round the outside, on the exit of turn one.
Despite having to contend with a brief appearance from the safety car to allow for Sun Anzhe’s (Argenti Motorsport) stricken machine to be recovered, Van Langendonck maintained a steady margin to Palmer all the way to the chequered flag to claim both the overall and Rookie Cup wins.
Behind them, Kin Lindblom kept a watching brief on the top two, all whilst ensuring that Mercedes F1 Junior Jeff-Hall remained firmly in his mirrors. Covering the British racer off at all major overtaking spots, the Swedish native kept his cool to secure the final spot on the podium.
Jeff-Hall banked valuable points as he settled for fourth place with Ethan Carney (Fortec Motorsports), Tommy Harfield (Chris Dittmann Racing) – who clinched the Lotus Fastest Lap – and Jarrett Clark (Virutosi Racing) finishing fifth, sixth and seventh respectively.
Rounding out the top ten were American twin brothers Cash and Roman Felber (Fortec Motorsports) and Alsabah. Meanwhile, just missing out on the points-paying positions was debutant Ruykov Lyuboslav (Argenti Motorsport) and three-time race winner Lewis Wherrell.
Races two and three of the Wera Tools F4 British Championship, certified by FIA from Zandvoort are scheduled to take place at 09:40 and 13:35 respectively on Sunday, with both races being streamed live on British F4 YouTube channel. All times are CEST, one hour ahead of the UK.