Dries Van Langendonck has written his name into the pages of Wera Tools F4 British Championship, certified by FIA history books today (October 10) after clinching the 2026 Drivers’ Title and 12 FIA Super Licence Points in a blockbuster opening encounter at Brands Hatch.
The Rodin Motorsport driver entered the final meeting of the year with a commanding 72-point lead, and a second place finish in a thrilling curtain-raiser around the legendary Grand Prix circuit in Kent proved to enough for him to wrap up the coveted crown – joining the likes of Lando Norris on the illustrious list of champions.
In what has ultimately been a landmark campaign for the McLaren Development Driver, Van Langendonck’s charge to championship superstardom has been nothing short of spectacular – with the Belgian being the driver to beat from the very start.
The 16-year-old’s champion status is underlined by the fact that he has claimed a total of four CADOLA Watches Pole Position Awards, eight race wins, a further four podium finishes and countless Lotus Fastest Laps over the course of the year.
Dries Van Langendonck: “I’m so happy to be able to call myself British F4 Champion – it’s been a truly amazing year. As a team we have done a great job and although we encountered a few difficult moments, we pulled through and now here we are.
“Given the position that we were in coming into the weekend I didn’t feel too much pressure, however there was still a job to be done. We managed to secure a spot on the front row in qualifying and then it was about bringing it home behind Theo (Palmer) in race one.
“I’ve got to say a massive thank you to everyone at Rodin Motorsport, they’ve been fantastic throughout the season. I’ve also got to say a huge thank you to McLaren and my family for their incredible support.
“Coming into the season we set ourselves the goal of lifting the title and now here we are. The job isn’t done however as we have the Rookie Cup to try and wrap up tomorrow. Now though, the immediate emotion is just pure happiness.”
The final qualifying session of the season kicked off proceedings around the 2.433-mile track and it was Theo Palmer (Hitech) that reigned supreme as he claimed his first CADOLA Watches Pole Position Award of the season.
Palmer soared to the top of the times midway through the session and then proceeded to up the ante by twice lowering the benchmark. In the end, his advantage was more than two tenths of a second over his nearest challenger, Van Langendonck.
George Proudford-Nalder (Virtuosi Racing) saved his best till last to capture third place ahead of Chiara Bättig (Hitech), Ethan Lennon (Rodin Motorsport) and Lewis Wherrell (JHR Developments) who completed the top-six.
Just a few hours on from sweeping aside the competition in qualifying, Palmer’s day of days in Britain’s Formula 4 category continued in race one as he charged to a second commanding win of the year.
Making a flawless start as the red lights went out, the British racer immediately streaked clear of a chasing pack that was led by Van Langendonck and Lennon, who was able to leapfrog Proudford-Nalder to slot into third.
Getting his head down, Palmer extended his advantage as the 20-minute encounter wore on and for good measure, he secured the Lotus Fastest Lap Award as well. That maximum points score also helped secure an unassailable lead in the Team’s Cup for Hitech.
Behind Palmer, Van Langendonck ran untroubled in second, which in-turn was more than enough for him to provisionally wrap up one of the biggest prizes on the FIA single-seater ladder with two races to spare.
Ethan Lennon finished third on the road, but a five-second post-race penalty for a grid-box start infringement meant Lennon would drop to sixth promoting Proudford-Nalder to third, and Adam Al Azhari (Hitech) and Jarrett Clark (Virtuosi Racing) into fourth and fifth respectively. Scott Kin Lindblom (Hitech), Jaber Alsabah (Xcel Motorsport), Cole Hewetson (Xcel Motorsport) and Red Bull Junior driver Bättig, rounded out the top-ten.
The final two races of the 2026 Wera Tools F4 British Championship, certified by FIA season are scheduled to take place around Brands Hatch at 10:00 and 15:15, respectively on Sunday.
ITV4 will broadcast race three for the UK audience, while international viewers can watch the two remaining encounters live on the official British F4 YouTube channel.