Dries Van Langendonck produced a wheel-perfect performance in the Wera Tools F4 British Championship, certified by FIA today (September 5) as he swept aside the opposition at Croft to reign supreme in qualifying, before then going on to claim a commanding victory in race one.
Taking centre stage at the North Yorkshire venue for the first time in three years, the UK’s premier single-seater series served up a captivating opening encounter that was largely dominated by the Rodin Motorsport driver; who was able to extend his points lead in the process.
Having had to watch on from the sidelines last time out at Donington Park, McLaren Development Driver Van Langendonck returned to action in impactful fashion as he charged to a third CADOLA Watches Pole Position Award of the season in qualifying.
The Belgian surged to the top of the times early in the session and despite the best efforts of a number of the championship’s leading lights, he was never toppled – therefore guaranteeing him a starting spot at the very front of the field for races one and three.
Hitech’s Chiara Bättig emerged as the closest challenger to Van Langendonck, with the Red Bull Junior driver getting to within 0.098s of his benchmark time. That in-turn enabled her to secure a career-best start of second place for Sunday’s feature race.
Hot on the heels of the Swiss racer and completing the top six was title protagonist Lewis Wherrell (JHR Developments), Adam Al Azhari (Hitech), Ethan Lennon (Rodin Motorsport) and Theo Palmer (Hitech).
Such are the fine margins that can be found in Britain’s Formula 4 category this year, less than one second ultimately covered 26 of the 28 cars on the timesheets.
Later that afternoon, Van Langendonck exerted his dominance further at the front of the field as he charged to a fifth victory of the season in emphatic fashion ahead of Ethan Jeff-Hall (Argenti Motorsport) and Wherrell.
Timing his launch to perfection as the lights went out, Van Langendonck hit the front on the run down to turn one and from that moment on, he didn’t look back. Leading every lap, the teenager claimed Rookie Cup honours and the Lotus Fastest Lap in addition to the outright win.
Behind him, Jeff-Hall’s brilliant start saw him dispatch Wherrell off the line and he quickly settled into a groove to shadow Van Langendonck all the way to the chequered flag. Not far behind in third, Wherrell did the same to complete the podium places.
One of the most entertaining battles that wowed the crowds was for fourth, where team-mates Bättig and Palmer duked it out. Palmer originally gained the initiative at the beginning but a late braking move at the final corner on lap one enabled Bättig to retake the position.
From there, the two were inseparable and despite coming under heavy pressure in the closing stages, Bättig dug deep and held on to beat Palmer. Meanwhile, fellow Hitech competitor Al Azhari was a further second in arrears as he secured a comfortable sixth place finish.
Completing the top ten was Lennon (Rodin), Scott Kin Lindblom (Hitech) – who recovered from a lurid sideways moment on the opening lap – Cameron Nelson (JHR Developments) and George Proudford-Nalder (Virtuosi Racing).
Heading into Sunday’s double-header at Croft, Van Langendonck now holds a 17-point advantage in the Drivers’ Championship over Wherrell.
Races two and three of the Wera Tools F4 British Championship, certified by FIA from Croft are scheduled to take place at 12:50 and 16:20, respectively on Sunday.
Both races will be aired live on ITV4 for the UK audience, while international viewers can watch the two encounters on the official British F4 YouTube channel.