It was a multi-record breaking in British F4 last month in Zandvoort. Round 6 of the Championship featured the biggest grid in its history, with a grand total of twenty-seven drivers. Not only that, but the weekend hosted a total of eight female drivers, the highest level of female participation in British F4 so far!
Four of the Eight drivers are full time Championship contenders in the series, with a further 4 joining for the weekend from F1 Academy in order to gain some extra experience. For Bianca Bustamante, Jessica Edgar, and Aurelia Nobels, it was their first time getting behind the wheel of a British F4 car, but for their fellow F1A competitor Carrie Schreiner it was her second time after debuting at the previous round in Silverstone this season.
F1A Championship leader Abbi Pulling is running a dual campaign between the all-female series and British F4 this season, and has become the first ever woman to win in a British F4 race! Currently P6 in the standings, Pulling added to her points total this past weekend with a P9 and P2 in Races 1 and 2. Pulling's three fellow female competitors in the series are Ella Lloyd, Nina Gademan, and F1A alumni Chloe Chong.
These eight incredible women increased female representation to 29%, a historic high and a sign that things are continuing to move in a positive direction for women in motorsport. Speaking prior to the weekend commencing, Delphine Biscaye, F1 Academy Competition Manager, recognised that this was " a significant moment for female representation" as well as the importance of track time for the drivers as it "it will help them prepare for the next step on their journey to elite motorsport.”
Eve Lake-Grange, British F4 Championship Manager added: “We are extremely pleased to have eight female drivers on our ROKiT British F4 grid this weekend at Zandvoort. It is incredible to see the increasing number of females joining our championship and we are proud to be a part of this historic weekend. All of these women have bright futures ahead of them within Motorsport, and we’re delighted they chose British F4 to be part of their journeys.”
The following table displays the weekend's results for all eight female participants at Zandvoort:
Race 1 | Race 2 | Race 3 | |
Abbi Pulling | P9 | P2 | P20 |
Ella Lloyd | P12 | P5 | P7 |
Nina Gademan | P16 | P12 | NC* |
Chloe Chong | P17 | P21 | P14 |
Bianca Bustamante | P18 | P17 | P8 |
Jessica Edgar | P15 | P14 | P15 |
Aurelia Nobels | P23 | P18 | P16 |
Carrie Schreiner | P21 | P20 | P13 |
*NC = Not Classified
The weekend has also served as additional practice for Pulling, Bustamante, Edgar, Nobels, and Schreiner who will all be returning to Zandvoort for the next round of F1 Academy (August 23-25) to compete against nine other drivers in Round 4 of the Championship.
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