Hitech adds valuable points at UAE4 Lusail finale
UAE4 Series - Round 4 - Report
Hitech arrived at Lusail International Circuit for the final round of the 2026 UAE4 Series eager to end the Middle East campaign on a high. After a season of development and strong performances, the weekend proved frustrating, with multiple Safety Cars, red flags, and interruptions testing the drivers’ focus and resilience.
Despite the disruption, the line-up secured valuable points in both the Drivers’ and Teams’ standings while adding significant mileage in F4 machinery. The experience gained across the four-round campaign provides a strong foundation, with key lessons and momentum to carry into their forthcoming programmes.
Qualifying
Both qualifying sessions saw the field fighting for clean laps on the fast, flowing Lusail layout.
Scott Kin Lindblom delivered two consistent performances, securing P6 in Qualifying 1 and P5 in Qualifying 2, underlining his comfort with the high-speed nature of the circuit and providing a strong platform for the weekend.
Theo Palmer showed competitive pace, placing P7 in Qualifying 1 before finishing P11 in Qualifying 2, leaving him well positioned to challenge inside the top ten.
In the QMMF by Hitech entries, Bader Al Sulaiti and Nasser Al Thani faced the challenge of starting further back, continuing their development and targeting steady progress through the field.
Race 1
Race 1, run over 28 minutes plus one lap, proved eventful from the outset.
Scott started P6 and quickly moved into P5, battling for fourth place when the Safety Car was deployed following an incident among the championship contenders. The race was later red flagged with 16 minutes remaining, bringing a lengthy pause to the proceedings.
Racing resumed under the Safety Car for one lap before returning to full green-flag conditions, only for another Safety Car to be called after two racing laps due to debris on track.
In the final sprint to the finish, Scott maintained position to secure a strong P5 and points, while Theo, who started P7, capitalised on the restarts to move past Costoya and claim P6, completing a double top-six for the team.
Bader gained positions to finish P19, and Nasser crossed the line in P32.
Race 2
The second race – the final reverse-grid event of the season – took place in cooler early morning conditions and was immediately defined by its chaotic nature. After the stop-start Race 1, the drivers were hoping for a clean sprint, but the race proved frustrating once again.
Theo started P7 with Scott in P8, while Bader and Nasser lined up P17 and P30 respectively. After lap 1, Scott was running P9 and Theo P11, both navigating the early jostling of the reverse-grid start.
A collision midway through the race brought out the SC, neutralising the field. Racing resumed behind for one lap before returning to full green-flag racing but momentum was short-lived and another SC followed. On the restart, Theo leapfrogged Scott to claim P10, with Scott in P11, but the racing had barely begun before a car stopped on the start-finish straight, prompting a final red flag and early conclusion to the race.
Bader and Nasser once again gained positions in an interrupted race, though Al Thani did not finish due to an incident.
Race 3
Scott started P5 and Theo P11 for the final race of the season, which once again saw multiple SC interventions. Mid-race, Theo made a decisive move to climb into P9, while Scott delivered a strong and consistent performance to finish P4, narrowly missing the podium but maximising the points opportunity for the team.
Bader finished P18, while Nasser crossed the line in P30, both making valuable development progress from further down the field.
Dominic Stott, Hitech's F4 Programmes Team Manager:
“It’s been a challenging weekend with multiple interruptions to the racing, but we stayed focused and extracted the maximum from each session. Scott and Theo showed consistency and pace, which will serve them well as they prepared to embark on their British F4 challenge. Bader and Nasser made strong steps in their development. We’ll take these positives into the coming season and we look forward to retuning to UAE4.”
Theo Palmer:
“The UAE F4 championship has been an incredibly valuable experience with consistent progress made across every round. Throughout the series I’ve developed significantly as a driver, making strong improvements in my race starts and overtaking ability. Building a solid working relationship with my new team Hitech has also been a major highlight.”
Theo continued:
“This championship has been instrumental in my development, both on and off the track. I now turn my focus to British F4, ready to apply everything I’ve learned and continue pushing forward.
“I’m extremely grateful to the team for their hard work, commitment, and their constant belief in me. I’m excited for the next chapter and what’s ahead.”
Scott Kin Lindblom:
“That's the winter season wrapped here in the Middle East. In the final round here in Qatar we showed good speed and and racecraft with overtakes at a high speed circuit where it's very hard to pass.”
Scott continued:
“In race one and two there wasn’t much running due to five red flags but the last race was pretty good and we had a great battle all the way to the end.
“Big thanks to the whole team for all their hard work over here. We’re now ready to take on British F4!”