After a brief detour to the Formula 1 Hungarian Grand Prix and a test session at Brands Hatch, Martin Molnár returns to racing this weekend at a track where he impressed last year, during his debut season in the Formula 4 series.
This weekend, the British F4 grid will visit Scotland, with the 2 km long Knockhill circuit located just 10 km north of Dunfermline. Built in 1974 on a former sheep farm, the circuit doesn’t have the long history of many other British F4 venues, but as Scotland’s national motorsport hub and the country’s only FIA-licensed circuit, it holds a special place on the UK motorsport map.
It’s also significant in Martin’s career, as last year he secured his first-ever overall podium finish here, taking second place. It was also the first time he finished inside the top three twice in a single race weekend. The Hungarian driver, currently second in the overall standings, heads into the seventh race weekend of the season with hopes of continuing his strong form and possibly clinching his first victory.
“I think we’ll be fast because we had a good performance here last year,” said Martin. “It’s a very technical track with some jumps, and precision is key. Anyone who can drive with accuracy here will benefit. I found a good rhythm last year, and our base setup is solid, so I’m confident. Unfortunately, the three-place grid penalty carried over from Zandvoort will make things difficult for me, but I hope to secure a good grid spot in the third race and fight for the win.”
The Hungarian Motorsport Academy (HMA) driver had a busy three-week break, which included a visit to the Formula 1 Hungarian Grand Prix, where he met the members of Virtuosi Racing’s F2 sister team, Invicta Racing. However, he couldn’t stay for the entire F1 race weekend at the Hungaroring as he had to head to the airport to return to England.
“We tested at Brands Hatch early last week, and it went really well,” Martin continued. “Although we couldn’t complete as many laps as we wanted due to frequent red flags, we were quick when we were able to run. In the final stint, we set the best time because I finally managed to complete a clean lap. As for the real rest days, I tried to disconnect and take a bit of a break from racing.”
Martin is currently 28.5 points behind championship leader Fionn McLaughlin, but with four race weekends and 12 races remaining, the gap is far from insurmountable. However, Martin isn’t focused on the standings. “Honestly, I don’t really check the table. I just focus on doing my best every weekend and hope that at the end of the season, it will be enough for the championship. There’s nothing else I can control. Given that we’ve done well at tracks this year where we didn’t perform as strongly last season, I’m confident we’ll be even better at the remaining venues where we were particularly strong last year.”
The schedule of the Knockhill weekend (GMT+1):
Saturday
09.00 – 09.25: Qualifying
13.40 – 14.00: Race 1
Sunday
10.35 – 10.55: Race 2
15.55 – 16.20: Race 3