Latest news with #BritishFormula4
Yahoo
26-05-2025
- Automotive
- Yahoo
McLaughlin takes F4 lead with Snetterton win
Red Bull Junior driver Fionn McLaughlin won his first race of the season to take the lead in the British Formula 4 standings. McLaughlin, from Magherafelt, won the third race at Snetterton with a commanding drive from pole position. The 17-year-old now leads the overall championship by nine points over Martin Molnar of Hungary, as well as the rookie standings after three rounds. McLaughlin had taken pole position for the first race before a mistake while leading dropped him down the order. However, he rebounded by finishing eighth in race two before his victory in the final race of the weekend. "I was really rooting for the victory. In that last one I was really fast and I came away with the win," said Hitech driver McLaughlin. "Every racing driver loves it when you're on your own and you have a big gap behind, so the stress was low and I just tried to manage the gap and stay calm." In the British Touring Car Championship, which was also racing at Snetterton, Northern Ireland's Chis Smiley had another strong weekend with two top-10 finishes to move into eighth in the standings. The Restart Racing driver was set to start the third and final race from second on the grid but an electrical issues on his Hyundai forced him to miss the Green flag. The three BTCC races were won by Ford duo Dan Cammish and Daniel Rowbottom, before Power Maxed Racing's Mikey Doble claimed the final race.
BBC News
26-05-2025
- Automotive
- BBC News
McLaughlin takes F4 lead with Snetterton win
Red Bull Junior driver Fionn McLaughlin won his first race of the season to take the lead in the British Formula 4 from Magherafelt, won the third race at Snetterton with a commanding drive from pole 17-year-old now leads the overall championship by nine points over Martin Molnar of Hungary, as well as the rookie standings after three had taken pole position for the first race before a mistake while leading dropped him down the order. However, he rebounded by finishing eighth in race two before his victory in the final race of the weekend."I was really rooting for the victory. In that last one I was really fast and I came away with the win," said Hitech driver McLaughlin."Every racing driver loves it when you're on your own and you have a big gap behind, so the stress was low and I just tried to manage the gap and stay calm."In the British Touring Car Championship, which was also racing at Snetterton, Northern Ireland's Chis Smiley had another strong weekend with two top-10 finishes to move into eighth in the Restart Racing driver was set to start the third and final race from second on the grid but an electrical issues on his Hyundai forced him to miss the Green three BTCC races were won by Ford duo Dan Cammish and Daniel Rowbottom, before Power Maxed Racing's Mikey Doble claimed the final race.
Irish Daily Mirror
16-05-2025
- Automotive
- Irish Daily Mirror
Meet the Irishman waiting to follow in Lando Norris's F1 footsteps at McLaren
McLaren boast the quickest car and, in the view of many, the best driver line-up in Formula 1 in Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri. But when the day arrives for the legendary Woking squad to make a change, a young Irishman could be the next cab off the rank. Offaly-born Alex Dunne has rapidly climbed the motorsport ladder in recent years, winning the British Formula 4 title in 2022 and now excelling in Formula 2, where he sits fourth in the standings ahead of this weekend's round at Imola, the chief support act to the F1 grand prix. He has already won this season, dominating the feature race in Bahrain, where he was joined on the podium by none other than McLaren CEO Zak Brown. While the American's main job of the weekend was to oversee Norris and Piastri in the F1 race, he keeps a close eye on the future of his team, which could include Dunne, who joined McLaren's Driver Development Programme one year ago. While the 19-year-old finished 14th in last season's Formula 3 championship, the McLaren talent-seekers had seen enough. He has been placed with Rodin Motorsport for 2025, and the results are there for all to see. 'When I got out of the car [in Bahrain], he [Brown] was the first person I saw,' said Dunne. 'He shook my hand and said, 'Well done'. There were quite a few people from McLaren at the podium after the race, which was quite nice to see. 'It's super-cool to be with them, it's a dream come true. They're one of the most prestigious teams in the sport. They've really helped me develop as a driver quite a lot. 'I have someone from McLaren with me every race weekend, [driver coach] Warren Hughes. I have contact with pretty much everyone involved.' It's been a battle for Dunne to get this far. While dad Noel is a racer himself, the family didn't have the funds to buy their way up the motorsport ladder. His progress has mostly relied on Noel rounding up support from sponsors. 'My family have been massively supportive in what I'm doing,' stressed Dunne, who recalls being allowed to steer as his dad took him for rides around Mondello Park when he was five. 'We didn't have the funds to make it happen ourselves, so we pretty much entirely relied on sponsorship. My dad is my manager and he's arranged most of my sponsors. He goes around trying to find as much as possible to keep pushing us forward. 'It was difficult when I was a kid and there were a few times in karting when we questioned stopping because it was too difficult to continue to get the funds.' While Dunne still needs sponsors, those backers have become easier to find in recent times. He said: 'As you go through the ranks, people naturally get more interested as you get higher and higher. 'Being part of McLaren has also made it a little easier to get sponsors to come on board. Although this is the most expensive year we've had so far, it's probably been the least stressful one we've had.' Dunne has already driven a McLaren at Dutch track Zandvoort as part of a TPC (testing previous cars) programme. He could get an FP1 outing - which F1 teams are mandated to provide for young drivers - during a grand prix weekend later in the season. However, he knows the step to a full F1 race seat is the biggest and is refusing to look too far ahead. He insisted: 'I'm not thinking about at all. At the moment, there's no point in focusing on F1. I'm in F2 and I need to focus and getting good results and finishing the year strong.'
Yahoo
18-02-2025
- Automotive
- Yahoo
Racing only getting 'more expensive' - O'Sullivan
Racing driver Zak O'Sullivan says it will take something "bigger" from the FIA to make Formula 1 more affordable for young drivers to break through into the sport. The 19-year-old was forced to leave the Formula 2 campaign early in 2024 due to funding issues, despite winning a feature race in Monaco and the sprint race in Spa-Francorchamps. O'Sullivan was part of Williams' academy for the past two years and also drove an FW45 Formula 1 car during a practice session at the Abu Dhabi GP in November 2023. "It's always been a problem in the sport but it's only getting more expensive," O'Sullivan told BBC Sport. "Every year I've done racing even if you do the same championship twice, the next year it ends up being more expensive because people are just charging more and more. "Obviously, I kind of fell foul of it but it's easy for me to sit here and say something needs to be changed but in reality the teams are just trying to keep themselves afloat as well. "It would take something far bigger, something from the governing body, to change it. Until that happens, the situation won't change." O'Sullivan, from Cheltenham in Gloucestershire, won the British Formula 4 championship in 2020 and GB3 Championship a year later. During two years racing Formula 3 he won four races and finished second in the overall championship, before moving up to F2 in 2024, progressing through the junior ranks. All young drivers, he said, know they are expected to fund huge costs if they want to compete in the sport. "There are some measures in place to help out with that funding but at the end of the day it comes from family money and if you can't afford it, you can't afford it," O'Sullivan added. "Unfortunately for me we knew it was going to be a very tricky year financially but it came to a head in August. We lasted a while but not long enough. "It's the way the sport is and we really tried hard to get as many people on board as we could to try to fill the gaps but unfortunately it wasn't enough." O'Sullivan to 'make most' of Williams test drive In 2025, O'Sullivan will be taking on a new challenge, competing in Japan's Super Formula series for the Toyota-backed Kondo Racing team. The 12-race series takes place over seven weekends from March to November. O'Sullivan said they are the "closest" cars he can race to an F1 car - Liam Lawson who is set to race with Red Bull in F1 this season, finished second overall in the 2023 Super Formula championship. "For them it's their F1 in Japan - it's very very popular with the fans, purely Japanese based so there's only seven races all on Japanese circuits, all Japanese teams and drivers bar two – so it's a big culture shock for me," O'Sullivan said. "I've got a lot of learning to do, I've got to work on my communication in Japanese, I'm really looking forward to it." O'Sullivan's experience through the junior system might not have turned out quite as linear in moving him up the ranks from F3, to F2 and the sport's pinnacle of F1. However his ambition remains to make it to Formula 1. "Obviously, I'm still pushing for that," he said. "This is a good start for me, there's potential for a career in Japan if I do a good job this year but hopefully some more doors will open and I can keep my foot in as many doors as I can to give myself some opportunities."
BBC News
18-02-2025
- Automotive
- BBC News
Racing only getting 'more expensive' - O'Sullivan
Racing driver Zak O'Sullivan says it will take something "bigger" from the FIA to make Formula 1 more affordable for young drivers to break through into the 19-year-old was forced to leave the Formula 2 campaign early in 2024 due to funding issues, despite winning a feature race in Monaco and the sprint race in Spa-Francorchamps. O'Sullivan was part of Williams' academy for the past two years and also drove an FW45 Formula 1 car during a practice session at the Abu Dhabi GP in November 2023. "It's always been a problem in the sport but it's only getting more expensive," O'Sullivan told BBC Sport. "Every year I've done racing even if you do the same championship twice, the next year it ends up being more expensive because people are just charging more and more. "Obviously, I kind of fell foul of it but it's easy for me to sit here and say something needs to be changed but in reality the teams are just trying to keep themselves afloat as well."It would take something far bigger, something from the governing body, to change it. Until that happens, the situation won't change." O'Sullivan, from Cheltenham in Gloucestershire, won the British Formula 4 championship in 2020 and GB3 Championship a year two years racing Formula 3 he won four races and finished second in the overall championship, before moving up to F2 in 2024, progressing through the junior young drivers, he said, know they are expected to fund huge costs if they want to compete in the sport."There are some measures in place to help out with that funding but at the end of the day it comes from family money and if you can't afford it, you can't afford it," O'Sullivan added. "Unfortunately for me we knew it was going to be a very tricky year financially but it came to a head in August. We lasted a while but not long enough."It's the way the sport is and we really tried hard to get as many people on board as we could to try to fill the gaps but unfortunately it wasn't enough." In 2025, O'Sullivan will be taking on a new challenge, competing in Japan's Super Formula series for the Toyota-backed Kondo Racing 12-race series takes place over seven weekends from March to November. O'Sullivan said they are the "closest" cars he can race to an F1 car - Liam Lawson who is set to race with Red Bull in F1 this season, finished second overall in the 2023 Super Formula championship. "For them it's their F1 in Japan - it's very very popular with the fans, purely Japanese based so there's only seven races all on Japanese circuits, all Japanese teams and drivers bar two – so it's a big culture shock for me," O'Sullivan said."I've got a lot of learning to do, I've got to work on my communication in Japanese, I'm really looking forward to it."O'Sullivan's experience through the junior system might not have turned out quite as linear in moving him up the ranks from F3, to F2 and the sport's pinnacle of his ambition remains to make it to Formula 1. "Obviously, I'm still pushing for that," he said."This is a good start for me, there's potential for a career in Japan if I do a good job this year but hopefully some more doors will open and I can keep my foot in as many doors as I can to give myself some opportunities."
