Salim Hanna signed off his maiden outing in the Wera Tools F4 British Championship certified by FIA in style by claiming a commanding lights-to-flag victory in the third and final race of the weekend at Thruxton Circuit.
Making his debut in the UK’s premier single-seater series, the Colombian driver was perfection personified, leading home a Virtuosi Racing one-two as Martin Molnár and Fortec Motorsport’s Henry Joslyn completed the podium.
With bright sunshine replacing the heavy rain showers of the day before at the high-speed Hampshire venue, Hanna made the most of his front-row start by sweeping around the outside of polesitter Joslyn as the lights went out.
Leading the field through the Complex, Hanna wasted no time in beginning to stretch his advantage out front, while his team-mate and race one winner Molnár and Hitech TGR’s Fionn McLaughlin settled into a groove, both having bested Joslyn off the start line.
McLaughlin became the one to watch during the opening exchanges but a small mistake, where he dropped a wheel on the grass at Goodwood, lost the Red Bull Junior driver many places, as he dropped down the order from second to 11th.
Soon, however, the safety car would make an appearance as the cars of Thomas Bearman (Hitech TGR), Joel Bergström (JHR Developments) and Chase Fernandez (Xcel Motorsport) needed to be recovered following contact at the exit of the Club Chicane.
At the restart, Hanna again got his head down and began to build up an initial small advantage, and that would only grow over the subsequent laps as Molnár and Joslyn become embroiled in a captivating back-and-forth battle for the remaining podium positions.
Joslyn found a way past last year’s Rookie Cup title winner at the Complex but Molnár struck back immediately as they streamed around the second half of the lap. Once back past, he would hold station to finish second behind Hanna, while earning the fastest lap, with Joslyn secured third.
Adam Al Azhari (Rodin Motorsport) and August Raber (Argenti Motorsport) enjoyed a relatively trouble-free drive to finish fourth and fifth whilst Jimmy Piszcyk (Rodin Motorsport) charged forward to take the chequered flag in sixth.
Completing the top ten was an almighty scrap which saw Ella Lloyd (Rodin Motorsport) fend off the recovering McLaughlin, Ethan Jeff-Hall (Argenti Motorsport) and debutant Ary Bansal (Fortec Motorsport).
Before the race was finished, there was further drama towards the rear of the field as Challenge Cup front-runner Tommy Harfield (Chris Dittmann Racing) and Theo Palmer (Xcel Motorsport) coming together at the Complex.
Leaving Thruxton, Molnár nows sits atop the Drivers’ Championship holding a ten-point lead over McLaughlin, who in-turn continues to lead the way in the Rookie Cup.
Hitech TGR control the Teams’ Cup, with Harfield leading his Chris Dittmann Racing team-mates Charlie Edge and Alba Larsen in the Challenge Cup.
Next up for the Wera Tools F4 British Championship certified by FIA is a visit to Oulton Park for Rounds 13, 14 & 15 on June 21-22.
Sunday’s two races at the Cheshire venue will be broadcast live on free-to-air television in the UK on ITV4 and ITVX, while the action will be livestreamed outside the UK on the championship’s official YouTube channel.
