The 2025 British F4 Championship powered got underway at Donington Park this weekend, and Martin Molnár made a statement with his racecraft. Despite a tough start, the Virtuosi Racing driver regrouped mentally and fought his way back with bold overtakes and two hard-earned podiums.
After clinching the rookie championship last year, Martin Molnár returned for his sophomore season with his eyes firmly on the overall title. However, he made life difficult for himself in qualifying, pushing a bit too hard and ending up P8 in the 21-car field—still just three tenths off pole in a tightly packed session.
In Race 1, held on Saturday, a poor getaway cost him places off the line, but he recovered to P7 and bagged some important points—even if it fell short of expectations. But come Sunday, the Hungarian Motorsport Academy (HMA) driver was mentally reset and charged through the field in both remaining races. First up was the reverse-grid Race 2, where he started P5 and put on a spectacular show, then he repeated the feat in Race 3, fighting from P8.
In Race 2, Molnár gained a spot off the start and nearly took two, drawing alongside the third-placed car into Turn 1. He then pulled off two daring overtakes at the end of the main straight and was soon in the hunt for the win. At one point, he was side-by-side with the leader and looked set to take his maiden British F4 victory—but a red flag with two minutes to go froze the order and denied him the chance for a final attack.
Race 3 brought another electric launch and a gritty climb to P7. He then pulled off a bold move on Thomas Bearman—brother of F1 Haas driver Oliver Bearman—before chasing down Tommy Harfield for P5. On fresh rubber, Harfield proved harder to crack, but Molnár still launched an attack and almost squeezed alongside. A safety car bunched up the field again, and after the restart, Martin shifted focus to tire management and track limits.
That discipline paid off. As the race was red-flagged again with two minutes on the clock, three drivers ahead—race leader August Rabert, P2 Fionn McLaughlin, and P4 Henry Joslyn—were handed five-second penalties for repeated track limits violations. The final results handed victory to James Piszcyk, with Harfield in second and Molnár promoted to P3—his second podium of the day.
Even more crucially, his haul of 37 points vaulted him to P3 in the championship standings, just two points behind Piszcyk—a stunning turnaround after Saturday’s disappointment.
“I honestly didn’t think I’d be standing on the podium twice on Sunday, but we really salvaged the weekend well. In the morning race, I came close to grabbing the win—if we’d had another lap or two, I think I could have pulled it off. Still, no complaints,” Molnár said post-race.
“The third race was tough. After the safety car, my tires started overheating, and Harfield still had a fresh set, so I didn’t have much of a shot. I tried to go for it, but I couldn’t get close enough to make the move stick. After that, I just focused on staying within track limits. I knew several drivers had already been penalized, and I got the final warning myself—one more mistake and I would’ve been hit too. Thankfully, I kept it clean.”
Even on Saturday, Molnár had shown flashes of top-tier pace—proof that the 16-year-old belongs at the sharp end. But on the narrow, twisty Donington layout, raw speed isn’t always enough. “The pace was there, but you really have to lunge from far back to make passes here,” he explained.
“The key was how he set up the overtakes into the final chicane,” noted Tamás Pál Kiss, sporting director of Motorsport Talent Management (MOTAM). “He kept the risk level just below the danger zone, but still aggressive enough. In Race 3, he committed to moves that six months ago he wouldn’t have even attempted. We told him: once you commit to a move, go all in. No hesitation. He delivered exactly that—controlled aggression.”
What impressed the team most was Molnár’s ability to mentally reset after a rough Saturday. “He had to flip the switch in his head,” said Kiss. “Saturday was not the real Martin. We reviewed the Race 1 footage and saw plenty of mistakes—he was clearly shaken by the bad start. We told him point blank: you need to change something, or the results won’t come. On Sunday, even from his eyes, I could see—he was ready to fight.”
And adding another layer of difficulty: Virtuosi Racing only ran one car this weekend. “That makes everything harder,” Kiss added. “There’s no teammate to benchmark against, no extra data to compare. You’re completely on your own. In multi-car teams, drivers can learn from each other—corners where one is faster can help guide setup decisions. With a solo entry, you have to make every call yourself. If you go the wrong way in free practice, that’s it—session gone. Bigger teams just have triple or quadruple the data.”
There’s no rest for Martin Molnár—Round 2 of the championship is already around the corner. The next races will be held at Silverstone on May 2–3.