Martin Molnár leads the British Formula 4 championship standings by ten points. The Virtuosi Racing driver achieved a historic success in Thruxton, becoming the first Hungarian to win in an FIA-sanctioned F4 championship. He complemented this performance with a very confident drive and a second-place finish on Sunday, propelling him to the top of the points table.
The fourth race weekend of the British F4 championship concluded on Sunday with the third and final race at Thruxton. After his milestone victory on Saturday, Martin Molnár started from the third grid slot, aiming to take the lead right at the start, just as he did the day before.
However, Henry Joslyn, starting ahead of Martin, anticipated this move and pushed the Hungarian driver towards the barrier, causing him to lose momentum. Fionn McLaughlin, who was leading the championship before the second race, also passed him, dropping Martin to fourth place. But at the end of the first lap, Martin executed a sensational move on the outside line to reclaim third place. He then pursued McLaughlin until the Hitech driver made a mistake and dropped to 11th place after running off onto the grass.
Just over five minutes into the 25-minute race, a three-car collision brought out the safety car, holding the field back for approximately seven minutes. At the restart, Martin, in second place, closely followed his race leading-teammate, Salim Hanna. However, he soon had to be cautious from behind as Joslyn overtook him in the final corner combination. Martin immediately countered, retaking the position, but Joslyn again passed him on the next braking zone. Martin didn’t back down and, on the final braking zone of the lap, overtook Joslyn on the outside, pulling away from the Fortec driver and chasing after his teammate.
Although he consistently set the fastest laps and closed the gap to his teammate, he couldn’t get into a position to overtake and had to settle for second place. Meanwhile, his championship rival could only climb to 8th place, allowing Martin to take the lead in the standings with a 10-point advantage, looking forward to the next round in two weeks.i
“It was a good race; my start went well, but then I was pushed towards the wall, so I couldn’t take the lead this time and even lost a position, which I managed to recover. My pace was good throughout, I had some great battles, trying to be aggressive but taking reasonable risks, as a DNF isn’t acceptable in the championship fight. I couldn’t catch my teammate in the end, but a double podium is a great result for the team,” said the Hungarian Motorsport Academy (HMA) driver after the checkered flag.
The pressure came off
Tamás Pál Kiss, manager of Motorsport Talent Management (MOTAM), which is supporting Martin’s career, wasn’t at the track this time but stayed in constant contact with the team and the Hungarian driver.
“I felt on Friday that this would be a great weekend. Not just because he achieved promising results in free practice, but because everyone, from the performance coach to the race engineer, communicated very briefly and concisely that Martin is in incredible form. When I spoke to him, I could tell he was very composed in every way,” reflected Martin’s coach and mentor on the beginning of the weekend.
Since there was no online broadcast available for the first two races, Kiss Pál, who last won an FIA-sanctioned single-seater series before Martin as a Hungarian in 2011 at the Barcelona GP3 race, relied on live timing and those present at the track.
“Experiencing that after the start, I received a message from Péter Sebestyén (Martin’s performance coach) saying ‘he’s learned how to start,’ then watching the live timing, waiting for it to update and show Martin in first place… I had chills the whole time. I regretted a bit that the race wasn’t uninterrupted because I believe he would have won with a 6-7 second lead, but the important thing is that he won, and he earned it with his own performance.”
Tamás Pál Kiss believes that the victory had a positive impact on Martin’s performance in the Sunday race.
“There was huge anticipation for this success because since the beginning of the season, it was in the air that Martin could win at any time, but something always came up. I could feel that he no longer rejoices in second or third place because he wants to be first, which is good because that’s how a champion thinks. He was frustrated that it wasn’t happening, and as soon as he succeeded, he became so liberated that in the Sunday race, confidence radiated from him, which shouldn’t be confused with arrogance. You could see the awareness in him, and I’m incredibly proud because he applied all the advice he’s ever received in the weekend’s final race.”
“After the start, he placed the car between the barrier and another car; he never locked a wheel during battles; and he made such an overtaking move on the outside that it was impressive. These are all signs of composure. Since the beginning of the year, I’ve been telling him that motorsport is a strategic game: you have to plan ahead, outsmart the other, and remain calm. When Joslyn passed him, it was clear that Martin wouldn’t engage in unnecessary squabbles; instead, he positioned himself and looked for where to counterattack. He applied pressure on McLaughlin and forced a mistake, which was also sensational.”
The next step
As Martin said after his victory, this success is the next stage in a long journey. A stage that not only showed that the 16-year-old athlete is capable of winning but also that he is continuously developing.
“After the last test, I advised him to go home to his family and be with them because that’s the best therapy when someone feels a bit lost,” continued Kiss Pál. “This recharged him to such an extent that in Thruxton, he delivered the performance of his life and took his development to the next level. I’ve already noticed that the time it takes him to overcome obstacles is getting shorter.”
“How he handled the fact that his teammate outqualified him in his first weekend also shows this. It’s not easy to drop from pole position when 40 seconds before the end of qualifying, you’re still in the lead, but Martin just said, ‘It’s okay, I’ll win from here.’ He’s undergone incredible mental growth and strengthening, and I believe this weekend solidifies the foundation he’s building on, so the next level is coming.”
A huge breakthrough
Tamás Őry, the CEO of MOTAM, was able to watch Martin’s races live in Thruxton and experienced firsthand the developments mentioned above.
“After his Saturday victory, on Sunday, I felt that Martin was extremely confident and made good decisions throughout. He approached the start with a very smart concept, which didn’t work out, but he took care of himself and the car, then did what was necessary: applied pressure on the car ahead and forced his championship rival into a mistake, then engaged in a massive back-and-forth overtaking move and came out positively. He raced bravely but not recklessly, while being incredibly fast. It’s a fantastic second place because he fought for it and proved that he’s an excellent race car driver.”
This also indicates that he handled the pressure well.
“We started this year with the explicit goal of winning the championship, and now we can say that we set a realistic goal,” continued Tamás Őry. “Of course, we still have a lot of work to do, but it’s very important feedback for me that after we placed this goal on Martin, he visibly handles it well. A successful race car driver can only be someone who can handle pressure. In this profession, that’s the most important thing, and I’m proud of Martin for handling it. And as incredibly confident and tough as he is on the track, off the track, he’s still the calm and likable young man that the British audience has quickly embraced.”
Of course, we must not forget the Hungarian audience either, as many people back Martin’s success from home. Thanks to the growing interest from the domestic media, more and more people are learning that a young compatriot is performing excellently in the British F4.
“We’re building Martin’s brand very consciously and prefer to move forward gradually and organically. However, this weekend brought a huge breakthrough because media outlets that have never written about Martin before did so; people who have never noticed him before did so,” pointed out Tamás Őry. “And what’s very important is that we’ve stepped out of the motorsport-loving bubble and Martin has appeared in the wider public as a young athlete delivering exceptional performance. This, of course, required a good result.”
“Additionally, I’m incredibly proud that we’re carrying Hungary’s and Hungarian motorsport’s good reputation out into the world,” added Tamás Őry. “It feels great to be Hungarian in the UK motorsport paddock – we’re receiving nothing but positive feedback from professionals, media, and rival teams alike. In this environment, no one is jealous of another’s success – everyone respects each other’s performance, and that’s a massive help for Martin, both in developing as a racing driver and as a person.”
Martin Molnár’s next challenge in the British F4 calendar is set for June 21–22 at the iconic Oulton Park Circuit. Then, just a couple of weeks later, he’ll be back in action during the Formula 1 British Grand Prix weekend, where the F4 field joins the world’s top racing talent as a support series.