RISING STAR SEB MORRIS LEADS BRDC F4 CHAMPIONSHIP
BRDC Rising Star and Hillspeed driver Seb Morris leads the BRDC Formula 4 Championship after the first race weekend in the championship’s history took place on the Silverstone Grand Prix circuit (27-28 April).
17-year-old Morris finished on the podium in all three races, displaying excellent consistency throughout to lead the standings by two points from Mark Godwin Racing’s Jake Dalton.
“It feels very good to lead the championship,” Morris enthused. “From being 1.5 seconds off the pace on Friday to lead the championship on Sunday feels very good, and it shows that consistency is key.
“I would have liked to have won, but in the last race Jake (Dalton) broke the tow early and that was the only thing that was going to keep me with him.
“At Brands Hatch I need to hook up qualifying and really get close to the front in qualifying if not pole. It’s a very good championship and the cars are fantastic.”
The history books will record Privateer Matt Bell as the first ever winner in the series, having secured victory in Saturday's inaugural race. Jack Barlow took race two honours for Sean Walkinshaw Racing on Sunday morning, while Jake Dalton claimed race three later in the afternoon for Mark Godwin Racing. Each race delivered exciting racing, with several battles for position and significant levels of overtaking.
Lanan Racing’s Jake Hughes was the first driver to start an F4 race from pole position, with Diego Menchaca and Matthew Graham following suit in the second and third races.
F1 star Mark Webber, a double Grand Prix winner at Silverstone, and BRDC President Derek Warwick were the star guests for today’s podium ceremony, with Webber presenting trophies to race three winner Dalton, second-place finisher Morris and Graham in third. Graham also received the BRM Rapide Award for setting the fastest race lap of the weekend.
Webber also took the opportunity to meet with all the F4 teams and drivers after the ceremonies were complete.
Speaking afterwards Webber commented: “It's (F4) a great little category and an ideal entry point for young drivers to develop a good feel for slicks and wings with the car moving around. And there’s a nice little paddleshift on the steering wheel too!
“You’ve got to have reliable cars at this level because it’s about the youngsters and Ralph Firman is a proven quantity. I never had the joy at that age to drive on the Grand Prix circuit so the drivers are very, very fortunate.”
A total of 21 drivers contested the first rounds of BRDC F4, representing eight different nationalities.
BRDC Formula 4 Championship standings:*
1. Seb Morris, Hillspeed, 70 points
2. Jake Dalton, Mark Godwin Racing, 68 points
3. Matt Bell, MattRBell Racing Team E-Lites, 64 points
4. Jack Barlow, Sean Walkinshaw Racing, 60 points
5. Charlie Robertson, HHC Motorsport, 48 points
6. Matthew Graham, Sean Walkinshaw Racing, 47 points
7. Jake Hughes, Lanan Racing, 41 points
8. Sennan Fielding, Douglas Motorsport, 33 points
9. Ross Gunn, Motionsport, 31 points
10. Struan Moore, Hillspeed, 27 points
*Provisional standings
The next rounds of the BRDC Formula 4 Championship take place on the Brands Hatch Indy circuit, supporting the DTM on 18-19 May. For more information visit the official website www.formula4.com
