The first half of this year’s British Formula 4 Championship concluded with the Silverstone weekend. After five rounds Martin Molnár stands third in the rookie classification.
The first half of the British Formula 4 Championship has ended at Silverstone, at the home of motorsport and Formula 1. Martin Molnár, the first Hungarian driver in the series’ history, added another podium finish in the rookie classification, securing third place as he looks forward to the continuation of the season in a month.
The weekend started well for the Virtuosi Racing driver, clocking the 8th fastest time in the first free practice. However, in the qualifying session, held on a drying track with constantly changing conditions, he only managed the 18th fastest time, which put him in a challenging position for the rest of the weekend. Starting from 17th in the first race (where the second-best qualifying lap time counts), he quickly climbed to 11th place but lost two positions in the final laps after aborting an overtaking move when his rival closed the door on him. Nonetheless, he still secured third place in the rookie classification, advancing to second in the overall rookie standings.
Sunday’s races didn’t turn out favorably, which is not surprising given that Martin started both races from 18th place, and both were shortened by safety car phases. Immediately after the start of the second race, four cars were involved in an accident, leading to a 15-minute safety car period, leaving only 5 minutes for racing. This limited Martin’s ability to make significant progress, finishing in 16th place.
In the weekend’s final race, the Virtuosi driver had a poor start, dropping to last place. The field then spent another 7 minutes behind the Safety Car, leaving 11 minutes of racing, in which Martin finished 17th.
“Overall, the first half of the season went well, but we didn’t end this period as we had hoped. However, days like the last day of the Silverstone weekend are the most valuable learning experiences. We’ll come back stronger after the one-month break for the second half of the season,” evaluated the driver of the Hungarian Motorsport Academy, operated by HUMDA Hungarian Mobility Development Agency Zrt., part of the Széchenyi University Group.
Molnár Martin closed the first half of the season as the third-best rookie, looking forward to the next round in Zandvoort, Netherlands, on July 13.
