Victorious Fionn edges towards F4 title
Round 9 - Silverstone - Report
Hitech TGR’s Fionn McLaughlin secured his fifth victory of the season at the weekend to put him within touching distance of this year’s British F4 title. The Irishman took the win at the opening race of Hitech’s home event at Silverstone on Saturday. He was second in Race 3, which means he can clinch the F4 Drivers’ Championship at the season finale at Brands Hatch in a fortnight’s time.
Fionn started third on the grid for Race 1 on Saturday afternoon, but was soon at the front of the field after a great opening lap. Sadly, behind him, Hitech team-mate Thomas Bearman was involved in an incident heading towards Becketts and retired early on.
By lap six, the Red Bull Junior Team driver had a lead of just 0.8 seconds on Silverstone’s National layout. But the close-knit racing on the shorter configuration meant the field were never far behind, and Fionn had to keep his eyes focused forward while maintaining the gap behind. As the race continued, that lead was whittled down to just 0.3s on lap 16 and 0.1s on the penultimate lap, but he brilliantly held on to take his fifth win of the season — and secure the Lotus Fastest Lap too.
By lap six, the Red Bull Junior Team driver had a lead of just 0.8 seconds on Silverstone’s National layout. But the close-knit racing on the shorter configuration meant the field were never far behind, and Fionn had to keep his eyes focused forward while maintaining the gap behind. As the race continued, that lead was whittled down to just 0.3s on lap 16 and 0.1s on the penultimate lap, but he brilliantly held on to take his fifth win of the season — and secure the Lotus Fastest Lap too.
Fionn McLaughlin:
“Yeah, I was definitely working hard for that one. We worked hard with the Hitech team to get a good set-up together and I think we showed it in this race. From the start to middle part of the race, I was really fast, and had an advantage, but then at the end I just struggled a lot.”
Fionn continued:
“Obviously I love winning, but the most important thing for me right now is the championship and I’m just focused on being consistent and taking as many points as I can.”
After starting 11th for the Reverse Grid race on Sunday morning, Fionn was caught on the outside of a group of cars as the field headed towards Becketts on the opening lap, and contact caused him to pick up a puncture. He parked his car in the pits for the remainder of the race.
In Race 2, Challenge Cup contender Joseph Smith started on the front row of the grid in his Hitech machine and held onto second place in the opening laps of the race. The young British driver valiantly tried to defend his position, but the slipstreaming between cars was frenetic. After a brief Safety Car, Smith dropped to sixth at the chequered flag, with Thomas 11th and Xavier Avramides in 16th.
During that race, Thomas had impressed with a terrific overtake down the Wellington Straight — with cars three abreast — before making a superb triple pass around the outside of Brooklands, which became the inside at Luffield. He also enjoyed a decent battle with his Hitech team-mate Joseph in Race 3 and the pair finished tenth and P13 respectively.
At the start of Race 3, Fionn made a superb start to take the lead heading into Copse corner and ran at the front for the majority of the race. He couldn’t quite hold on to secure his sixth overall win of the season — but did pick up another Rookie Class crown (his 15th of the year). He leaves Silverstone on 318.5 points — with a lead of 61.5 — so can wrap up the 2025 championship at the next round at Brands Hatch.
Fionn McLaughlin added:
“All weekend we’ve worked well together as a team and I’m happy to get more points on the board in the championship and gain a greater lead — that’s the main focus. I certainly feel more relaxed now and aim to go to Brands Hatch with the goal of getting more wins, try and get pole, and see how we do.”
The final round of the Wera Tools F4 British Championship — in which Hitech TGR also hold a 27.5-point lead in P1 in the Teams’ standings — takes place on the weekend of October 4-5.
