Magherafelt's Fionn McLaughlin secures British Formula 4 podium place

After getting dialled into the 3.66-mile circuit during Friday’s practice session, drivers hit the track for qualifying first thing in the morning and it was McLaughlin that paced the opposition to snare his second C1RCUIT Watches Pole Position Award of the year.

The County Derry youngster set a best time of 2:00.832 – a new lap record no less – to secure a front-row start for race two with Tommy Harfield (Chris Dittmann Racing), Martin Molnár (Virtuosi Racing), Hanna and Thomas Bearman (Hitech TGR) completing the top five behind him.

While McLaughlin claimed the bragging rights for clinching top spot in qualifying, second fastest lap times decided the grid for race one, and that meant Hanna and Jeff-Hall locked out row one.

As the lights went out it was Rowan Campbell-Pilling (JHR Developments) that emerged as the one to watch from third place as he first dispatched Jeff-Hall off the line and then produced a stunning late braking move down the inside of Hanna at Brooklands on lap one.

Leading the field down the Wellington Straight, Campbell-Pilling had hoped to break clear of the chasing pack; however, a small moment through Becketts and into Chapel sent him into a spin and left him stranded at the side of the track.

That incident, in addition to contact earlier in the lap which resulted in Ella Lloyd requiring a visit to the pit lane, saw the Lotus Emira Safety Car appear to neutralise proceedings.

On the restart, Colombian native Hanna initially soaked up an abundance of pressure from Jeff-Hall, but after covering off the former Ginetta Junior and FIA World Karting champion, he soon punched in the fastest lap of the race and began to stretch his legs to build up a small advantage.

With victory in sight, Hanna controlled the pace out front while Jeff-Hall settled for his best result to-date in British F4. McLaughlin, meanwhile, had to contend with a late charge from Harfield but did enough to secure the third step on the podium.

Challenge Cup front-runner Harfield crossed the line in fourth ahead of Bearman and Theo Palmer (Xcel Motorsport) – who had ran nose-to-tail for much of the bout – while Molnár bounced back from a sluggish start to charge back up the order and finish seventh.

Completing the top ten was Adam Al Azhari (Rodin Motorsport), Leo Robinson (Hitech TGR) and the impressive Yuhao Fu (Xcel Motorsport).

Further down the order, Virtuosi Racing’s Oleksandr Savinkov emerged as the highest-placed finisher of the drivers featuring for the first time in 2025, crossing the line in 12th.