“Signs are good for a strong British F4 season in 2020”
There is no denying that the past couple of British Formula 4 seasons have not been the strongest, certainly in terms of grid numbers. Yes, there was an entertaining title battle between Zane Maloney and Sebastian Alvarez last year, which featured the pair dramatically colliding at Silverstone, but there were just 11 drivers who contested the whole season and the track was noticeably empty at times.
It was not much better in 2018, when there were 14 regular drivers. And the series has very much struggled to live up to the star-studded field it attracted for the first season of its current guise in 2015, when the likes of Mclaren Formula 1 ace Lando Norris and Indycar race winner Colton Herta were on the grid.
Therefore, considering that 2020 could be the last season for the existing Mygale-ford chassis/engine combination (a new hybridpowered, halo-fitted car could be introduced as soon as next year), you would perhaps expect the coming campaign to again not be particularly strong numbers-wise. But, actually, the signs are looking very positive.
It is still two months before the opening rounds at Donington Park and eight drivers have already signed up, and there are more announcements in the pipeline. Perfectly respectable grid numbers in the high-teens are seemingly on the cards.
Take leading squad Carlin. It fielded just one regular driver – champion Maloney – last season on its return to the category, while this year it has already filled all four of its seats. But it is not just the numbers that are looking encouraging at this stage, it is the quality of the drivers on the grid.
A significant number of the top drivers from last season’s Ginetta Junior line-up are set to graduate to the series. Impressive rookie Zak O’sullivan is now signed with Carlin, F4 Scholarship winner and regular Ginetta podium finisher Casper Stevenson is at Double R and champion James Hedley is not confirmed as taking part but has been testing with the JHR Developments squad. Add in Roman Bilinski at Arden and you have got a considerable number of Ginetta racers making the switch to single-seaters and there is set to be an intriguing battle to see who has the upper hand.
Also at Carlin there is Marijn Kremers, the winner of Jacques Villeneuve’s FEED Racing School’s shootout, along with Australian F4 driver Christian Mansell. Plus, there are karting graduates Matias Zagazeta (Carlin) and Frederick Lubin (Arden) and that is before even mentioning any drivers that will stay in the category for a second season.
Fortec’s Roberto Faria will look to take a step forward in 2020 with a year’s experience under his belt and if race winner Luke Browning sticks around for another season, he would be a title contender too.
Having so many talented racers already announced is certainly a good sign for a strong season ahead. And it could provide the series with some welcome momentum ahead of its possible car change for 2021.