The one-month summer break in British Formula 4 has ended, and this weekend the series is heading to Zandvoort, Netherlands. Martin Molnár, who is currently on the podium in the rookie standings, is refreshed and ready to continue at his favourite track, which might bring the most balanced competition of the entire season.
After the one-month summer break the British Formula 4 championship continues in Zandvoort, Netherlands, precisely halfway through the season, after five races. In the first half of the season, Molnár Martin, british F4’s first Hungarian driver, secured eight podium finishes in the rookie standings and views the home of the Formula 1 Dutch Grand Prix as his favorite track. The modern era of this circuit has been dominated by three-time world champion Max Verstappen since 2021. The Red Bull driver has claimed three consecutive victories at the coast of the North Sea, turning his home race into a fiesta resembling an orange sea of fans.
Zandvoort hosted the Dutch F1 Grand Prix 32 times until 1985, followed by a 36-year hiatus before returning to the calendar in 2021, updated yet preserving its unique characteristics. In some respects, the track has become even more enjoyable, with significant banking added to Turns 3 and the final corner, which has endeared the circuit to Martin as well.
“This is my favorite track; it’s very exciting and enjoyable because of the banked corners and elevation changes. The first test of the year was held here, and we were fast, so I hope we will be again. Since even the more experienced drivers haven’t raced here, the field will be more balanced, but we’ll see how it plays out in practice. Rain is forecasted
for the weekend, which could make the races even more exciting,” anticipated the driver of the Hungarian Motorsport Academy, operated by the HUMDA Hungarian Mobility Development Agency, belonging to the Széchenyi University Group.
As no modern Formula 4 championship, including the British series, has raced in Zandvoort before – as Martin also mentioned – the competition might be tighter than usual, a sentiment echoed by Tamás Pál Kiss, MOTAM’s director and Martin’s coach and mentor.
“I have good feelings about the weekend, mainly because this is the only track where the pecking order will be balanced. It’s very difficult to organize a test here, so the whole field only had two days of practice back in late February under non-ideal conditions, and many drivers will be driving here for the first time. The results from back then show that if we remove the experience factor – since it’s common for a second-year driver to have over 50 days of driving on a current track – the field becomes much more even.”
Refreshment and intense training
Although he didn’t drive a Formula 4 car, the Virtuosi Racing driver didn’t go without motorsport during the one-month break. He visited his former team, Energy Corse Racing Karts at the Slovakian round of the FIA Karting European Championship and attended the International GT Open at the Hungaroring to support Dániel Nagy and Euroformula Open driver Levente Révész.
He also rested and trained intensively to be as prepared as possible for the continuation of the season. “The break initially involved resting, then a lot of training, sometimes two sessions a day, while counting the days until the Zandvoort weekend and looking forward to getting back into the car. It was good to recharge and let the experiences, lessons, and learnings from the first half of the season settle. We reviewed the races so far, but I made sure not to overthink the past and approached the upcoming demanding period with renewed energy,” summarized Martin.
“The summer break came at the perfect time,” confirmed Tamás Pál Kiss, who saw from the outside how much Martin needed the recharge. “We went through a very intense period; Martin has been in the car weekly since the first test of the season, with the accompanying travel and logistical challenges imposing extreme strain. He needed the rest, especially after the double weekend that concluded the first half of the season. At such times, it’s harder to gain momentum, and one becomes tired, sluggish, and exhausted, leading to distraction and small mistakes. Martin also needed a break from the monotony because, just like in school, in racing, no matter how much you push, at a certain point, you can’t absorb more information or learn more. That’s when you need to rest. It wasn’t just him; the first half of the season was long for me too, so the break was welcome, recharged us, and helped us return with renewed strength.”
“At the beginning of the break, we evaluated the most recent race and the entire first half of the season, then Martin had a week and a half to recharge before starting preparations for the second half. We tried to focus on physical training during the preparation. He did a lot of motorsport-specific training with Fit4Race, along with an additional 1-2 daily sessions, which is evident in his physical condition and posture. We didn’t overanalyze things and tried to avoid delving too deeply into the details because a busy period follows until the end of the season,” pointed out Martin’s mentor.
The Zandvoort weekend’s schedule is unusual compared to the rest of the season, as it runs from Thursday to Sunday.
The schedule for the 6th round is as follows (times are in local time):
Thursday
11.05 – 11.50: Free practice 1
14.05 – 14.50: Free practice 2
Friday
12.55 – 13:15: Qualifying
Saturday
09.50 – 10.10: Race 1
15.30 – 15.50: Race 2
Sunday
13.45 – 14.05: Race 3
