It was a fantastic penultimate race weekend of the season for Molnár Martin in British F4. The Hungarian driver for Virtuosi Racing secured a podium finish in the third race at Silverstone, and most importantly, he took over the lead in the rookie standings.
Already on Friday’s practice sessions it was clear that Martin had the pace to achieve strong results on the National circuit at Silverstone, the venue for the penultimate round of British F4. In the second practice session the Hungarian racer from Virtuosi Racing finished in P2, right behind championship leader Deagen Fairclough, and carried this form into Saturday’s qualifying where he clocked the fifth-fastest time, just 0.025 seconds off P2.
Competing as part of the Hungarian Motorsport Academy supported by the HUMDA Agency, Martin started Race 1 from P9 and finished in P9 overall, while securing 2nd place in the rookie classification, reducing his points deficit to just 10.5 behind the rookie championship leader, Yuanpu Cui.
“The highlight today was my strong start and proving that we have the pace, which allowed me to gain points in the rookie title battle against my main rival. It looks like it’s going to rain on Sunday, so we’ll try to maximize our potential,” Martin said, looking ahead after Saturday’s action.
As predicted, the rain arrived on Sunday, resulting in Race 2 being red-flagged halfway. Despite attempts to restart, weather conditions worsened by the end of the day, meaning the race results won’t count toward the championship standings.
“The second race was chaotic. Even before the start the rain intensified and by the time we reached the grid, there was water standing on the track. After two formation laps the race finally started, but two cars stalled in front of me, allowing me to gain two positions right away. Unfortunately, one of the stalled cars got hit and the race was immediately red-flagged. Even after clearing the debris conditions were so bad that the race was eventually canceled,” summarized Martin.
The third and final race of the weekend saw some improvement in the weather. Since Rowan Campbell-Pilling couldn’t take the start due to a crash in Race 2, Martin moved up to P4 on the grid for the 20-minute race and crossed the finish line in P3, marking his fourth overall podium of the season.
And most importantly, Martin took the lead in the rookie standings, entering the season finale with a 2.5-point advantage over Yuanpu Cui.
“We started the third race behind the safety car. Early on I got lucky when Alex Ninovic spun in front of me. But from that point onwards I was under constant pressure and there was no room for error. Overall it was a good weekend. I’m happy to have taken back the lead in the rookie championship but the season isn’t over yet. Next week I’ll be doing simulator training and then a test on Wednesday at Brands Hatch, where the final weekend will take place. From now on, I’m fully focused on the tasks ahead,” the 16-year-old driver reflected.
The final race weekend of British F4 will take place on October 5th and 6th