The first round of the 2024 British F4 Esports Championship saw Ferrari Esports’ Graham Carroll claim the championship lead after victory in Race 2.
The British F4 Esports Championship grid has a new look for 2024, with several Formula 1-affiliated teams set to battle it out for top honours across eight double-headers. Although the competition will be fierce, one thing is guaranteed: there will be a new champion.
Luke McKeown of Stormforce Racing ART claimed back-to-back drivers’ titles but has not returned to claim a hat-trick, opening up the championship fight for the likes of Graham Carroll, Gergo Baldi, Remy Gilbert and Matt Caruana.
F1 Esports teams from Ferrari, Williams, Alpine and Aston Martin add an extra touch of intrigue for 2024, but as Round 1 from Brands Hatch Indy proved, they wouldn’t have it all their own way.
Race 1
The first qualifying session of the season saw Guild Racing’s Remy Gilbert snatch pole position, with the top six separated by just one-tenth of a second.
Gilbert, who won the second race at Brands last season, was joined on the front row by Mensah Racing Driven By Us’ Matt Caruana, who was looking for a redemption arc after controversially exiting last year’s series after Round 4.
Gilbert and Caruana made equally good starts and were line astern on the first lap, with Guild’s Leo Brown following in third and a gaggle of FIA F4 cars directly behind.
The top six broke away from the main pack as Caruana and Brown passed Gilbert and into first and second place respectively, with UK FF1600 Esports Cup graduate Henry Moore making it three Guild drivers in the top four with five minutes to go.
Ferrari’s Carroll crashed the Guild party, however, by launching a robust overtake on Moore for fourth, just as Brown made his move on Caruana for the lead. Gilbert swiftly followed his team-mate through into second position, with Carroll pressuring for third. The positions remained status quo until the chequered flag.
AzzTech Racing by Grid Finder’s Ryan Micallef would gain the reversed grid pole position for Race 2, as race winner Brown lined up ninth.
Race 2
Micallef held off the advances of William Chadwick on the first lap but would be tapped off at Clearways on lap 3 after slight contact, effectively ending his points-scoring chances.
At the following corner, Ferrari’s Gergo Baldi drifted into Loake’s Aston Martin-backed car, sending the 2023 Aston Martin Autosport BRDC Young Driver of the Year across the gravel and down into seventh position.
The stramash elevated Chadwick into first with Moore and Carroll just behind, while Gilbert had worked his way up to fourth. As Moore failed in a move for the lead, Carroll pounced for second, followed by a quickfire move on Chadwick for first at Paddock Hill Bend.
The top four eased away from the pack and were nose-to-tail heading into the final laps, with the Guild pair of Gilbert and Moore battling hard. This gave Chadwick a pressure-free final lap but he couldn’t do enough to usurp Carroll, with the Scotsman holding on for victory.
Gilbert would claim the final podium slot and, as a result, claim joint second place in the championship alongside team-mate Brown. Both trail Ferrari’s Carrol by two points heading into Round 2 at Zandvoort on the 2nd of October.
Original article written by Ross McGregor for Traxion.gg
Photos courtesy of Rhys Caryl
