British F4
History
The Wera Tools F4 British Championship certified by FIA can trace its roots through various guises to the creation of Formula Ford back in the late 1960s at Brands Hatch, and over the following four decades propelled a whole roster of motorsport stars, such as Ayrton Senna, Eddie Irvine, and Jenson Button to the sport’s highest echelons.
In 2014, the decision was taken to replace the Formula Ford Championship of Great Britain with MSA Formula, and cars conforming to the FIA’s new global Formula 4 regulations, but the same spirit of providing a race-proven, effective entry point to the FIA Single Seater Pathway remains.
2015
The success of the system has since been illustrated by it’s very first champion; Lando Norris. Then just 15 years of age, driving for Carlin, the Brit stormed to the series’ inaugural title, collecting eight victories and a further seven podium finishes to beat nearest rival Ricky Collard to the crown by 42 points.
2015 would prove to be quite the star-studded line-up in years to follow, with Norris and Collard joined by the likes of IndyCar star Colton Herta, Formula E racer Dan Ticktum, British GT champion Sandy Mitchell and more for their first steps in single seaters.
2016
Max Fewtrell made it ‘two for two’ for Trevor Carlin’s outfit the following year, although with six drivers heading to the Brands Hatch finale in mathematical contention, it proved to be a much closer-run affair. Although only thrice a race winner, Fewtrell’s consistency – including 16 podiums from 30 starts – was enough to see him crowned by a seven-point margin over JHR’s Sennan Fielding.
2017
Eight wins from the opening 11 rounds set Jamie Caroline on his way to the title in 2017, a year also notable for the emergence of , Ayrton Simmons, Jonathan Hoggard, and now-FIA Formula 1 drivers champion Oscar Piastri and Logan Sargeant.
2018
Single seater rookie Kiern Jewiss delivered Double R Racing their first title in Britain’s FIA Formula 4 series in 2018, winning out in an intense battle with JHR’s Ayrton Simmons. There were fireworks on-track between the sparring Red Bull juniors Dennis Hauger and Jack Doohan; whilst Hauger finished the season ahead overall, Doohan walked away with the Rookie honours, both now competing in FIA Formula 2.
2019
In 2019, the ‘Boy from Barbados’, Zane Maloney, kicked off his journey through the motorsport ranks by taking the title at the first attempt. Maloney was often peerless throughout the first half of the campaign, but a fightback from Double R’s Sebastian Alvarez after the summer break – plus a dramatic collision at Luffield – ensured both title contenders would head to Brands Hatch level on points to decide the title. They claimed a victory apiece on Saturday to set up a thrilling one-race showdown for the crown and victory for Maloney with Alvarez on the sidelines due to an overheating engine was enough to send the title overseas for the first time. Maloney now competes alongside Hauger in F2.
2020
2020 was an exceptional year for many reasons, but the thrilling on-track action in British F4 provided welcome familiarity in an unsettling global pandemic. Having won two races in 2019, Luke Browning switched teams to Fortec Motorsport and put together a fully-fledged title challenge; in the blue corner was Carlin’s latest protégé, Zak O’Sullivan.
Browning’s experience paid dividends early on as the Brit stole a march on the field, but with four events to go O’Sullivan hit his stride, scoring five wins and podium finishes in all bar two of the final 11 races to take the title down to the wire.
Even by the championship’s lofty standards, the battle was decided in Browning’s favour by the most dramatic of circumstances. Both title contenders started together up front and ran wide on oil at Clearways on the opening lap; Browning spun to the very back, with O’Sullivan able to skate through the gravel and re-join fourth.
From there, he worked his way back up to the race lead and, with Browning only recovering as far as tenth, the pendulum looked to have swung decisively towards O’Sullivan. Enter the weather gods.
Torrential rain with the entire field on slick tyres just before half-distance forced a red flag stoppage in accordance with the regulations. Once safely back in pit lane, the dwindling light and TV pressures ensured there would be no opportunity to restart the race. Half points were awarded, meaning O’Sullivan’s victory on track would not be enough to overturn Browning’s advantage. The title went to Fortec.
2021
Such was the strength in depth of the competition in 2021, it was impossible to get a true bearing on the title protagonists until well into the summer months.
James Hedley looked to be the ‘man to beat’ after a hat-trick of podiums, including two wins, at the Thruxton season opener, but was immediately pegged back by rookie Matthew Rees (JHR) at the next event at Snetterton. Matias Zagazeta then claimed a maiden win at Brands Hatch to propel himself into the reckoning, with Joel Granfors and McKenzy Cresswell in close company behind.
Gradually, a three-horse race emerged between Rees, Zagazeta and Cresswell. Zagazeta, coached by 2015 runner-up Collard, seemed to grow in confidence round-by-round, and further victories at Knockhill and Silverstone, plus five runner-up finishes, quickly marked him out as the only driver capable of stopping Rees’ run to the title.
For the seventh season in succession, Brands Hatch would be the stage for the title decider. Ultimately, a hat-trick of top-five finishes proved enough for Rees to win through, although second spot for Zagazeta in the finale was enough to stave off Cresswell and keep the vice-champion honours overall.
2022
In 2022, it was all change in British F4, with the introduction of the new Tatuus T-421 second-generation F4 car, complete with a Halo-style safety device, Abarth engine and Pirelli control tyres. Seven of Europe’s leading single seater teams contested the ten-event, 30-race calendar, with Chris Dittmann Racing, Hitech GP and Virtuosi Racing joining existing entries Argenti, Carlin, Fortec and JHR. Ireland’s Alex Dunne prevailed, driving for Hitech GP while Carlin secured the Teams’ Championship and Ugo Ugochukwu claimed the Rookie title.
2023
To conclude the ultra-competitive 2023 season with 12 different race winners, 21 different podium finishers and a total of 27 competitors, Louis Sharp’s second place in the final race of the season was enough to secure the championship with Macintyre’s third sealing his runner-up position. The Team’s Cup was won by Rodin Carlin with points accumulated by strong performances from Louis Sharp, Dion Gowda, Josh Irfan and Noah Lisle who won 15 of the 30 races.
Meanwhile in the Rookie Championship, Chris Dittmann Racing’s Gustav Jonsson was the fourth rookie across the line in the penultimate race, which secured him an unassailable lead and the Rookie Cup with one race remaining. As 2023 Rookie Cup winner he follows in the footsteps of, among others, Alpine F1’s reserve driver Jack Doohan and Formula 2’s Zane Maloney who won in 2018 and 2019 respectively. Gabriel Stilp (Hitech Pulse-Eight) was the 2023 Rookie Cup runner-up.
2024
The 2024 British F4 championship saw new champions created, record grids, record female participation, a new overseas track added to the championship, history created with a first female winner in Abbi Pulling and our Champion Deagen Fairclough’s dominance throughout the year led him to break the in-season race win record, winning 14 races.
Deagen Fairclough clinched the 2024 British F4 Championship certified by the FIA title at Silverstone on 21st September, in the 25th race of the season. He became the tenth champion in British F4’s history. Throughout the year Fairclough secured 18 Motul Fastest Laps and claimed seven C1RCUIT Watches Pole Position Awards.
Both the Rookie Championship and Teams’ Championship titles were still all to play for at the season finale at Brands Hatch GP on 5-6 October. Hitech Pulse-Eight had secured enough points in the penultimate race of the season to secure the Teams’ Cup crown for 2024.
However, the Rookie Cup title remained open going into the final race of the season, and in the end, it was Martin Molnár (Virtuosi Racing) who fought his way to the top of the Rookie standings closely followed by Yuanpu Cui (Phinsys by Argenti).
2025
Packed with thrills and spills from start-to-finish, history was made at almost every turn in 2025 and it culminated in Hitech TGR’s Fionn McLaughlin securing the championship in what was an unforgettable debut open-wheel campaign.
Touted by many as one to watch before racing had even begun, the Red Bull Junior driver pieced together a sublime season that was packed with wins, podiums, poles and fastest laps to clinch both the Drivers’ Championship and Rookie Cup.
McLaughlin didn’t have it all his own way with Virtuosi’s 2024 Rookie Cup winner Martin Molnár leading the championship in the early part of the season. Latterly Rodin Motorsport’s Jimmy Piszcyk gave the champion a good run for his money to the end, besting McLaughlin’s number of outright wins.
Despite his best efforts, McLaughlin and Hitech TGR couldn’t stop Rodin Motorsport from snatching Hitech’s long-held Teams’ Cup lead at the very last race, with just 1.5 points separating the two rivals as the season concluded.
2025 saw year on year records in average and peak grids, with a whole host of fresh faces nearly every weekend as drivers from other championships took the opportunity to join the fray, underlining that drivers from across the world wanted to test their competitiveness in the British Championship.
In total, a record 14 different drivers from each of the championship’s eight teams claimed victory during the season with a further four drivers also standing on the rostrum. Additionally, there were no less than six different recipients of the C1RCUIT Watches Pole Position Award across championship weekends.
One winner that will undoubtedly look back on the year with fond memories is Virtuosi Racing’s Salim Hanna as he built on success at Thruxton to grab a brace of famous race wins at the 2025 Formula 1 Qatar Airways British Grand Prix.
Making history at Silverstone in July, British F4 underlined its position as the first rung on the single-seater pathway ladder by racing on the same bill as Formula 1, Formula 2 and Formula 3 for the first time ever.
The 2025 Wera Tools F4 British Championship certified by FIA will, for now, go down in history as one of the all-time great seasons, with open and competitive racing to rival no other championship.
Fans will have to wait until Donington Park on April 18-19 next year when the new season gets underway to see how the next chapter unfolds.