Hitech chase points at Silverstone home
Round 9 - Silverstone - Preview
The penultimate round of the Wera Tools F4 British Championship takes place at Silverstone this weekend — the third F4 visit to the home of British motorsport this season. This time, however, the action takes place on the shorter 1.64-mile National layout, where Hitech TGR’s Fionn McLaughlin will be aiming to take maximum points in his quest for the 2025 title.
Heading to our home race, the Irishman sits on 274.5 points, 34.5 ahead of his nearest rival. After clinching the Rookie Cup crown last time out at Donington Park, the Red Bull Junior Team ace needs to leave the weekend with a margin of 79 points to secure the overall championship with one round to spare.
The second meeting of the British F4 season was held at Silverstone in early May, where Fionn claimed two podiums — a second and third — before returning to the track in July for the non-championship invitational round supporting the Formula 1 British Grand Prix. There, he started on pole and took third. This weekend he’ll be targeting his first win at the historic venue.
Fionn McLaughlin:
“Winning the Rookie Cup at Donington Park was a huge moment for me and the Hitech team — it’s great to have that in the bag. I’ve taken four wins this year and I’d love to add to that tally at Silverstone, but the main thing is to keep scoring solid points. It’s tempting to think about the title, but I’m just focusing on each session, each race, and making sure we come away with as many points as possible.”
Located on a high, windswept plateau on the Northamptonshire/Buckinghamshire border, Silverstone is the UK’s biggest circuit. But for this weekend, as a support race to the British Touring Car Championship, the racing takes place on the National layout. The configuration uses the old pits and features the ultra-fast Copse corner as Turn 1, before a return loop down the Wellington Straight and into the challenging Priory/Brooklands/Luffield sequence to complete the lap.
Fionn’s Hitech team-mate Thomas Bearman sits second in the Rookie class standings and eighth overall, while Xavier Avramides has slipped to fifth in the Rookie Cup, but is eager to return to a circuit he has raced at before.
Xavier Avramides:
“Each time I go to Silverstone, I feel I’m getting quicker. Last time, my pace was strong, but I need to qualify better and make no mistakes in the races. I’ll be studying the data from the previous round and building from that. Fortunately, it’s a track where you can still make up positions even if qualifying doesn’t go perfectly.”
Challenge Cup competitor Joseph Smith picked up a point at the previous round at Donington Park and will be aiming to add to his tally at Silverstone, helping Hitech in the fight for the Teams’ Championship. We currently lead the standings on 433.5 points, 32.5 clear of second.
Qualifying takes place at 10:40 on Saturday morning with Race 1 at 14:55 on Saturday, Race 2 at 09:55 on Sunday morning, followed by the longer 25-minute Race 3 at 15:25 on Sunday afternoon.
