COVER FEATURE
Drivers can race from the age of 15 and typically come from a karting background, with some already having a season of racing experience in Ginetta Juniors or other junior formulae. Typically, however, their racing know-how is very limited and for many, getting into a British F4 car will be the first time circuit racing – which means there is a huge range of maturity levels when it comes to track and technical knowledge.
Technical Delegate Rob Mason explains:“ There’ s a real mix around the paddock and it’ s not always where you would expect it either. The drivers are all relatively young but the maturity and approach of some is impressive, and that reflects in your interactions with them. Some are a bit quiet, but others are very engaging, will always say hello to you in the paddock and want to discuss and learn more.
“ Some of the drivers have already done some racing in the UK or around the world, but quite a lot have come straight from karting, so this is a bit like a university of racing. The learning is very much not just on track, it’ s around everything, and that is what we want to encourage going up the ladder, because these days the drivers need to be fast, but also be approachable, and have plenty of technical knowledge to do well.”
The Championship is constantly exploring how to help its drivers develop and as it organised by Motorsport UK, it has access to the Motorsport UK Academy and their cohort of coaches. As a result, there is a Motorsport UK Academy coach at each round, to support the drivers offering them the opportunity to improve their off-track skills in front of camera through dedicated media training, which all drivers are enrolled in at the start of the year.
This support, and the assistance the drivers receive from within their own teams, ensures a season of British F4 helps
them to improve their race craft and also become better rounded drivers – and this year the champion will additionally get a special prize from the Mercedes-AMG Petronas F1 team, with the opportunity to put themselves to the test on the same simulator used by the team’ s current drivers.
Mason adds:“ Naturally, they’ re all learning so they have lots of questions and we do our best to explain what we do and why we do it. For example, there are some general practices to learn – like putting the steering wheel back on the car every time you get out of it and making sure you get weighed at the right times – and those things carry on all the way up the ladder right the way to F1.
“ There are other training aspects as well, like last year we had some of the FIA safety team come and do a presentation on why the safety clothing and helmets are important, how to wear them correctly and why you should look after your equipment. As a feeder series, we have a responsibility to help these drivers to learn, and it is important that we start ingraining the key things in them from this early age.”
While British F4 is a good place for drivers to cut their teeth, it is also perfect to help budding young engineers take their talent to the next level. The teams are all highly professional, with lots of expertise in the garages – and while some long-termers prefer home-based racing over the non-stop travelling involved in an international series, others build their skills and quickly progress up the ladder to the highest level.
Dom Gibbons / JEP
The Championship visits many technically challenging British Circuits which boost driver development
Championship manager Eve Lake-Grange presents a Pole Position award to Henry Joslyn
JEP
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Revolution- September 2025