COVER FEATURE
As with its predecessors, British F4’ s role is to not only nurture new talent but to entertain the fans who watch. This is one of the UK’ s premium single seater racing series, with eight of the ten rounds run in support of the high-profile British Touring Car Championship( BTCC), so there is plenty of opportunity for fans to get involved – and it is Lake-Grange’ s task to make the show is as entertaining as possible.
Having grown up in Silverstone village and worked at the race circuit in various departments, she became a coordinator for several different championships, and since she took the helm of British F4, as Championship Manager, the grid has grown from 15 cars to a roster of 39 different drivers. Among them are 10 different nationalities from outside the UK – with competitors from the USA, Sweden, Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands, Poland, Algeria, India, Pakistan and Australia.
“ The championship has always had so much potential, and it was tough for a while trying to get the momentum going and help it realise that potential,” she recalls.“ Growing the numbers has taken a lot of work but we now enjoy healthy grids, and they seem to still be growing. That, to a certain extent, is down to us investing and building the championship into what it is today: the look, the atmosphere, the mutual respect and camaraderie within the paddock.”
Its presence on the British Touring Car Championship( BTCC) bill has given British F4 even greater gravitas, as did the coup of getting it added to the British Grand Prix support races earlier this year. That was the first time the entire F1 feeder ladder had appeared on the same bill and Lake-Grange fondly recalls standing on the grid with her team as the F4 cars lined up for their first race.“ I wish I could have bottled that moment,” she says.“ Proud just doesn’ t seem to do it justice!
“ It was an incredible experience and something that we reflect on with a great sense of pride because it was another fantastic platform for our drivers to showcase their skills. The link with BTCC is also very important for the championship as it provides a fantastic place within the UK to showcase our young drivers as they develop, getting to race in front of bumper crowds with a big sense of occasion.”
Currently, the championship only separates from the BTCC on two occasions – once in May to race on the Silverstone GP circuit( a different event to the non-Championship F1 support race) and once in late July, when it heads overseas to race at Zandvoort.“ Those two events give the drivers access to current F1 tracks,” she continues.“ They’ re keen to test themselves on the larger tracks as they could be racing there again in the future as they progress.”
In a world where everything is becoming slicker, more professional and more exclusive, Lake-Grange is also keen to keep the championship accessible and open and to appeal to every generation of motorsport fan. Indeed, just as the championship is a feeder for young drivers, it is also a feeder for the next generation of spectators who, being of a similar age to the drivers on the grid, will ultimately follow them all the way up the ladder.
That has led to a significant investment in British F4’ s online content and its global profile and Lake-Grange explains:“ We continue to explore ways to bring our audience closer to the championship and we have seen tremendous growth in social media in recent years. We have also been able to facilitate our UK broadcast races to be live streamed overseas, which has helped grow our audiences considerably through the course of this season.”
As part of the BTCC support races, the British F4 Championship gains ITV coverage
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Revolution- September 2025