Bättig takes historic podium as Hitech shine at Silverstone
Round 3 - Silverstone - Report
Hitech’s F1 Academy Wild Card entrant Chiara Bättig delivered a sensational debut weekend at Silverstone, taking a historic pole position in Qualifying before converting it into an equally impressive podium in the Feature Race.
American driver Ava Dobson and Scottish racer Rachel Robertson also contributed to a strong collective performance at the team’s home event, with all three drivers finishing in the top 8 in both races.
It was a breakthrough weekend for Hitech at Silverstone, marked by consistent pace and competitive results from all three drivers.
Qualifying
The weekend got off to an auspicious start for Chiara, who immediately topped Free Practice to underline her pace on her debut in the championship.
She carried that form into Qualifying in the Wella-liveried entry, becoming the first Wild Card driver in F1 Academy history to take pole position with a benchmark lap of 2:01.775.
Behind her, Ava in the American Express car and Rachel in the Puma entry delivered one of their strongest qualifying performances of the season, securing fourth and fifth respectively to place all three Hitech cars inside the top five heading into the races.
Reverse Grid Race
The opening race of the weekend on Saturday saw Rachel line up fourth, Ava fifth, and Chiara eighth following the reverse grid format.
At the start, the Swiss driver was caught in a busy midfield battle and dropped to tenth, while Rachel held firm in fourth and Ava ran in fifth before slipping back to eighth by lap three.
As the race developed, Chiara began to recover, passing Alba Larsen for ninth on lap six before moving ahead of Megan Bruce on lap nine to climb back into the points.
Rachel delivered a strong, consistent drive to secure fourth place, while Ava recovered to eighth and Chiara finished in ninth.
Feature Race
Chiara lined up on pole position for the Feature Race following her seismic qualifying performance, with Ava starting fourth and Rachel fifth.
At lights out, the Red Bull Junior Team member made a strong start but lost the lead into Turn 1 by championship leader Alisha Palmowski, dropping to second position. Rachel gained a place to run sixth, while Ava slipped back to seventh in the opening phase.
A Safety Car was deployed at the end of Lap 1 following an incident, neutralising the order and bunching the field.
Racing resumed at the end of Lap 4 with Chiara holding second, Rachel in sixth, and Ava in seventh before ultimately completing the race in eighth.
In the closing stages, Chiara remained firmly in the lead battle and brought the car home in a superb second place on her debut, securing both a maiden F1 Academy podium and a landmark result for the Wild Card programme.
Chiara Bättig said:
“It’s been a really special weekend – fastest in Practice, the first Wild Card pole position, and now the first Wild Card podium. I’m really proud of what we’ve achieved on my debut. A big thank you to the team for all their hard work and support throughout the weekend. It’s been a privilege to race in F1 Academy.”
Dan Hodder, F1 Academy Team Manager:
“It’s hard to overstate what this weekend means for the team. Chiara’s performance on debut was exceptional – to go fastest in practice, take pole position, and convert that into a podium is something very special. Ava and Rachel also delivered strong, composed drives in a very competitive field, and to have all three cars inside the top eight shows the progress we’ve made. This is our best weekend in F1 Academy so far.”
Dan added:
“The car looked competitive from the moment we arrived at Silverstone, and the drivers maximised every opportunity. We’ve taken a big step forward this weekend, but we also know the level is extremely tight. We’ll take the positives, keep working, and aim to build on this momentum in the next round.”
