More first time BRDC Formula 4 race winners at Brands Hatch

30/07/2013

High Quality Jpeg (346.85 KB) High Quality Jpeg (211.17 KB) High Quality Jpeg (267.64 KB)

Not since 1975 has the name of 'Fittipaldi' featured on the podium of a motor race in the UK. Back then, it was the reigning World Champion, Emerson Fittipaldi, who was celebrating his victory for McLaren in the British Grand Prix. Almost four decades later, Emerson's grandson, Pietro Fittipaldi, stood a'top the podium after winning the opening race of the BRDC Formula 4 triple-header at Brands Hatch on Saturday, July 27th. In so doing, the newest star in the Fittipaldi firmament became the ninth different winner in the flourishing and intensely competitive Formula 4 series which, in its very first season, is already shaping up to be the established first international stepping stone for aspiring Formula 1drivers.

Having qualified second to Jake Hughes on the grid for the opening encounter of the weekend, Fittipaldi took his maiden single-seater victory ahead of Seb 'Mr Consistency' Morris, with Charlie Robertson in third place.

.....and yet another debut winner....

In Race 2 on Sunday the 28th, it was Matty Graham's turn to add his name – the tenth in just fourteen races- to the list of BRDC Formula 4 winners. Racing for the Sean Walkinshaw team, Graham has been knocking on the door as a likely contender since the beginning of the season, and his victory ahead of two-time winner Jake Barlow and South Africa's Raoul Hyman elevated him to seventh place in the championship by the end of the weekend.

On Sunday afternoon, the final encounter of the sun-kissed meeting went the way of Jake Hughes, his second win of the series gifting him the lead of the championship before the BRDC F4 caravan moves on to the Silverstone Grand Prix circuit three weeks hence on August 17th/18th. Mexico's Diego Menchaca recorded his first podium of the season in second place, with Matty Graham making a second trip of the weekend to the podium in third place.

The top seven drivers in the championship table now all have over 200 points to their credit, with Hughes on 272 and Matty Graham in seventh place on 204. Of this group, Seb Morris remains the only driver still to register at least one race win, yet he is in a solid second place just 16 points adrift of Hughes and seven points ahead of Jake Dalton in third. With a huge 270 points in race wins alone still on offer before the end of the season at Donington Park in late September, it's anyone's guess as to the likely championship outcome. Meantime, watch this space and enjoy some of the most entertaining and competitive racing in the country.

A dedicated 1 hour recorded programme is televised on ITV 4 on the Sunday following every BRDC Formula 4 race weekend. Complete race reports and comprehensive information on the championship can be viewed on the excellent BRDC Formula 4 website at www.formula4.com

Comma is Technical Partner to the BRDC F4 Championship. Comma supplies every team in the BRDC F4 Championship with the lubricants and chemicals they need to compete; Comma is appointed to do so by MotorSport Vision, one of the world's leading operators and promoters of motorsport.