Hitech TGR’s Fionn McLaughlin secured the 2025 Wera Tools F4 British Championship certified by FIA Drivers’ Title and an invaluable 12 FIA Super Licence Points, following a thrilling opening encounter around the legendary Brands Hatch Grand Prix circuit.
The Red Bull Junior driver entered the final meeting of the season with a commanding 61.5-point lead, and a podium in a captivating curtain-raiser at the Kent venue was enough for him to clinch the highly-coveted crown.
In what has been a ground-breaking campaign, McLaughlin’s path to title glory has been nothing short of sublime, with the Irishman tallying a total of two pole positions, five race wins, an additional eight podiums and seven fastest laps on his way to championship superstardom.
To underline his champion status, the 17-year-old has dominated the Rookie Cup, securing an unassailable lead at Donington Park two rounds hence. He has also played a part in guaranteeing that Hitech TGR go into the final day of the season in contention for the Teams’ Cup.
Fionn McLaughlin: “I’m speechless and so proud to now be able to call myself British F4 champion. Since I was seven, achieving something like this has been what I’ve been aiming for and it has been a long-time coming. It’s an incredible feeling.
“I’ve got to say a massive thank you to everyone at Hitech TGR; they’ve been incredible all year. I’m just so proud of what we have done together. I’ve also got to thank my family because they’ve sacrificed so much to get me to where I am, so it means a lot.
“It has been an incredible season and I don’t think it has fully sunk in yet in regards to what we’ve achieved. There is still work to be done though and now the target is making sure we can bring home the Teams’ Cup tomorrow – then we’ll properly celebrate!”
Jimmy Piszcyk (Rodin Motorsport) entered the weekend as one of two drivers that could stop McLaughlin, and the Australian gave himself the best opportunity to do just that, as he clinched his second C1RCUIT Watches Pole Position Award of the season in qualifying.
In what proved to be a frenetic session around the 2.43-mile circuit, Piszcyk punched in a number of laps that were good enough for pole position and importantly, the pivotal bonus points that come with it.
Behind, Adam Al Azhari (Rodin Motorsport), Ethan Jeff-Hall (Argenti Motorsport), McLaughlin and Theo Palmer (Xcel Motorsport) locked out the top five, whilst fellow title contender Martin Molnár (Virtuosi Racing) was sixth.
Second-fastest lap times decided the starting order for race one, and that ensured that Piszcyk and McLaughlin would line up alongside each other on the front row of the grid – with the destiny of the title firmly hanging in the balance.
As the lights went out, both front-row starters made strong launches, however a small amount of wheel spin from McLaughlin allowed Piszcyk to surge into Paddock Hill Bend in the lead, while the Hitech TGR ace had to see off the challenge of Al Azhari on the run up to Druids.
Settling under the rear wing of McLaughlin, Al Azhari had little opportunity to begin applying any pressure to the championship leader as he soon became swarmed by Jeff-Hall and Molnár – with the former finding a way past at Druids on lap two.
As the race settled into a rhythm, just one second separated Piszcyk to McLaughlin at the front of the field, and the pair soon began to trade the fastest lap of the race. Pivotally, the title battle rested on whether Piszcyk could snare the accolade and the crucial extra championship point to take the fight into Sunday.
Running line astern all the way to the chequered flag, it would ultimately be Al Azhari that earned the Lotus Fastest Lap Award, which ensured that second place behind Piszcyk was enough for McLaughlin to provisionally wrap up the title two races early.
Jeff-Hall continued his recent run of form to tally his fifth podium of the season, while Al Azhari and Molnár rounded out the top five. Chris Dittmann Racing’s Tommy Harfield meanwhile came out on top of a brilliant battle with Chase Fernandez (Xcel Motorsport) to finish in sixth.
Completing the top ten was the second-highest placed Rookie Xavier Avramides (Hitech TGR), Oleksandr Savinkov (Virtuosi Racing) and Thomas Bearman (Hitech TGR).
Those results mean that McLaughlin can now not be beaten in the Drivers’ Championship, but the battle for vice-champion status between Piszcyk and Molnár is set to go down to the wire. Elsewhere, just 14.5 points split Hitech TGR and Rodin Motorsport in the Teams’ Cup.
The final two races of the Wera Tools F4 British Championship certified by FIA season are scheduled to take place around Brands Hatch at 10:35 and 15:20 on Sunday.
UK viewers will be able to tune into ITV4 and ITVX’s free-to-air coverage that commences at 10:30 BST, while both contests will also be streamed live on the championship’s YouTube channel for those watching outside the UK.
Click here for all the links you’ll need this weekend – including coverage on our social media channels, live timing, commentary from the circuit, results & standings, race reports and podcast & post-race interviews.
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