Photo: F1 Academy

The all-Dutch combination of Maya Weug and MP Motorsport comfortably converted pole into victory in F1 Academy’s main race at Zandvoort.

There was drama before the start as Campos Racing’s title contender Chloe Chambers had issues on the dummy grid that required a reset. She could not get her car going for the formation lap though after that, nor from the pits, so did not race.

Chambers was due to line up fourth, and ART Grand Prix’s Lia Block took that spot at the end of the formation lap. Realising her error, she reversed into the sixth placed grid box she was supposed to start from but still copped a 10-second penalty.

Rodin Motorsport’s Ella Lloyd ended up having row two of the grid to herself and made a great launch to pass Campos’s Alisha Palmowski for second while Block was slow off the line and dropped to eighth.

Lloyd then attacked Weug through the esses, before Palmowski came back at her into turns seven and 10. Prema’s Doriane Pin joined in after that, with Lloyd now under less pressure but with a five-second penalty for moving forward slightly while the starting lights were still on.

Weug ended lap one 0.8s ahead, and got her gap over two seconds after lap five. It kept on growing through the rest of the 17-lap race, and she finished 6.257s clear of Lloyd.

Palmowski was all over Lloyd on lap five after she went wide at turn three, but at that point Pin was still filling Palmowski’s mirrors and splitting her attention.

Lloyd only truly shook off Palmowski with a few laps to go, but at that point it was too late to negate her penalty and she was classified in fourth behind Pin.

Tina Hausmann came under attack from Prema team-mate Nina Gademan for fifth at the very end, while Block pressured Hitech GP’s wildcard driver Esmee Kosterman on and off through the race but was unable to recover a place on-the-road. Once her penalty was applied, she was then demoted to 12th.

Campos’s Rafael Ferreira inherited eighth, just ahead of MP’s charging Alba Hurup Larsen. She started 13th and made up one spot on lap one. Two laps later she made a brave attempt at overtaking Rodin’s Chloe Chong into turn three but could not pull it off, then they both moved up the order when Rodin’s Emma Felbermayr spun on lap seven at turn 10.

Larsen renewed her attacks in the last two laps, and went to Chong’s outside down the pit straight as they began the final tour. She was ahead approaching turn one, but Chong braked late to get back ahead. However her huge lock-up sent her deep and allowed Larsen to then cut to the inside and move past into what would become ninth place.

Race results (17 laps)

The post Weug cruises to victory in F1 Academy’s main Zandvoort race appeared first on Formula Scout.

Photo: F1 Academy

Nina Gademan celebrated her 22nd birthday by claiming her maiden F1 Academy victory on home soil in the reversed-grid race at Zandvoort.

There was pre-race drama as Hitech GP’s wildcard driver Esmee Kosterman was instructed to head to the pits on the formation lap and team-mate Aiva Anagnostiadis had a spin.

Gademan started from pole and had a big gap by the opening corner as ART Grand Prix’s Lia Block went around the outside of Prema’s Tina Hausmann for second. Her team-mate Doriane Pin was fourth and made contact with Campos Racing’s Chloe Chambers before turn two, with the latter going off and dropping to eighth.

MP Motorsport’s Maya Weug, who has pole for race two, started eighth and made up two spots on the opening lap. She tried diving past Rodin Motorsport’s Ella Lloyd at turn nine and was side-by-side with her through turn 10 before tucking back in behind, then moved up to fifth when Hausmann crashed out at turn eight on lap two.

That brought out the safety car, and when racing resumed on lap five Weug attacked Lloyd on the outside at turn one. She was then freed of pressure as Pin ran wide at turn three and conceded third, and by lap six Campos’s Alisha Palmowski was attacking Weug.

But the local talent was soon the fastest driver on track again and cleared Pin in the esses on lap seven while Chambers overtook Palmowski. By lap eight she was attempting to pass Lloyd again, this time into turn three, and on lap nine they ran side-by-side until Weug got ahead at turn two.

Pin and Chambers were on their tail, and the latter made her move at turn eight to recover to her starting position of fifth.

Gademan had managed a small gap over Block, and continued without pressure up front through the race’s second half while Weug went on a charge to reduce a 2.5-second gap to second place.

She got onto Block’s tail on the penultimate lap and was very close on the inside into turn one. She filled her mirrors there again on the final tour, and looked to the inside at turn 10. Block planted her car in the middle of the road into turn 11, so Weug sat behind.

Through the last two corners they got closer again and finished 0.127s apart, with Block keeping second for her first podium of 2025, while Gademan had a 2.116s gap ahead.

Lloyd finished fourth, holding off Chambers’ turn 11 attack on lap 12 and surviving turn nine contact a lap later, and Pin did not have to worry about Palmowski behind after she lost time with an off exiting turn three.

ART GP’s Aurelia Nobels made several diving moves as she rose from 17th to ninth, while Rodin’s Chloe Chong punctured early and finished 15th and Alba Hurup Larsen had a pitstop and got a 10s penalty following a clash.

Race results (17 laps)

The post Gademan becomes F1 Academy race-winner on birthday at Zandvoort appeared first on Formula Scout.

Photo: F1 Academy

A drying track set up an open battle for pole in F1 Academy qualifying at Zandvoort, in which Maya Weug prevailed.

Qualifying started sunny but with a soaked track surface, as proven by a red flag-causing off for Hitech GP’s Aiva Anagnostiadis.

Rodin Motorsport’s Chloe Chong was first to set out on wet-weather tyres after the restart. A 1m48.856s benchmark was set by Lia Block six-and-a-half minutes in, then ART Grand Prix team-mate Aurelia Nobels pipped her by 0.051 seconds.

MP Motorsport’s Weug was next to top the times, setting a 1m48.399s, with Rodin’s Ella Lloyd briefly into second after posting a 1m48.734s.

Prema’s Tina Hausmann swiftly beat her with a 1m48.599s, and Weug lowered the pace to 1m48.053s on her next lap as others struggled to improve and chose to pit.

Putting on slick tyres was risk versus reward. There was a waiting game as teams wanted rivals to use the tyres, demonstrate the grip levels and displace more water from the standard racing line before they headed out.

But early adopters got their rubber up to temperature before some drivers even left the pits. Doriane Pin stuck with her first set of tyres and jumped to first place with a 1m47.784s, with team-mate Nina Gademan going third fastest.

Block was the first back out setting flying laps, and was initially way off the pace. She also revealed how tricky turn one was as after hitting a wet patch on the pit straight in the shade she locked up multiple times and took the turn one escape road at high speed.

However when she reached the middle sector she went faster than anyone, and team-mate Courtney Crone’s first lap on slick tyres put her third.

Campos Racing’s Alisha Palmowski moved onto provisional pole with 10 minutes to go by setting a 1m45.441s, and Nobels was second with a 1m46.981s. Several drivers had turn one offs, and spins later in the lap, and Nobels got beached in the turn seven gravel.

Red flags waved and Block’s 1m46.195s stood as the fastest lap, as Palmowski’s best was deleted for exceeding track limits at the banked turn three and she dropped to 14th.

Hausmann was second for the restart, and further drying meant session-best sectors were set immediately.

Pin and Gademan broke into the 1m42s with five-and-a-half minutes remaining, then Lloyd posted a 1m41.645s and Weug improved to 1m41.916s. Block was fifth, setting a 1m43.058s.

Chambers led with five minutes to go, beating Lloyd by 0.121s as Rodin’s Emma Felbermayr also broke the 1m42s barrier. Lloyd responded with a 1m41.197s, Chambers’ next lap was a 1m41.062s, then Felbermayr streaked ahead with a 1m40.543s.

Palmowski got within 0.228s of that three minutes before the end, as traffic became an increasing issue. Pin got a tow at the end of her lap and took top spot with a 1m40.515s, but behind her was Lloyd who crossed the line in 1m39.911s.

Weug soon beat that with a 1m39.632s, which Chambers got within 0.226s of as Felbermayr improved in fourth. Pin was pushed further down the order, with Palmowski lapping 0.044s shy of Weug.

Block had clear air and set a 1m39.279s with 30s to go, and just before the clock hit zero Weug reclaimed pole with a 1m38.975s. Crucially, she got to do another flying lap.

Chambers set a 1m39.114s as the chequered flag waved, and a 1m38.873s then made Palmowski fastest. The next pole contender to cross the line was Block, recording a 1m39.126s, then Lloyd snuck into second with a 1m38.963s.

Weug’s final lap was 0.039s faster than Palmowski’s, earning her a second pole of the season. Points leader Pin returned to the top five when she finished her final lap, 0.001s quicker than Block, and Hausmann went seventh fastest.

In-season testing at Zandvoort had been topped by Weug, while in practice she was only bettered by Chambers and by a slim 0.15s.

Qualifying results

The post Weug comes out on top at drying Zandvoort in F1 Academy qualifying appeared first on Formula Scout.

Photo: Jakob Ebrey Photography

Fionn McLaughlin won an incident-packed final British Formula 4 race of the weekend at Zandvoort to open up his points lead.

Multiple safety car interruptions and two red flags broke up the race, with a final red flag calling an early end after only nine laps.

The first stoppage came after just two laps when Alba Hurup Larsen spun towards the back of the field. Charlie Edge tried to avoid the stationary car but hit the barriers at the banking. Initially, marshals tried to clear the incident behind the safety car but the red flags had to be thrown.

The race resumed behind the safety car, with the track going green again with 15 minutes on the clock. Adam Al Azhari had made his way up to third before the first red flag and challenged Martin Molnar for second on the restart. Molnar locked up as they approached the first corner, but managed to avoid contact. However, a few corners later, Molnar locked up again and hit Al Azhari, taking him out of the race. 

The safety car was brought out once more to clear the car of Al Azhari while championship contender Molnar limped back to the pits and retired.

McLaughlin once again got a good restart, pulling away from James Piszcyk and Ethan Jeff-Hall who now occupied second and third. He was beginning to build a gap when a spin for Cole Hewetson put his car into the gravel at Tarzan. Hewetson was able to continue, but left gravel strewn about the track which needed to be cleared. The safety car returned to the track once again.

Less than three minutes remained when the track went green for a third and final time. McLaughlin got a good restart, shaking off Piszcyk. There was little that could be done to challenge the race leader before an incident for Emma Felbermayr brought her to a stop on track, prompting another red flag with just 90 seconds on the clock. The session would not be resumed.

McLaughlin claimed the victory, ahead of Piszcyk and Jeff-Hall.

Between the stoppages, Tommy Harfield had challenged Ella Lloyd for fourth. Harfield kept the pressure on Lloyd, but safety car interventions left him with little time to actually make a move. Lloyd held onto fourth, with Harfield and Chase Fernandez close behind.

Thomas Bearman got a good start before the initial red flag to move up to ninth. He was then promoted to seventh by the incident for Al Azhari and Molnar. Henry Joslyn took eighth, as August Raber and Oleksandr Savinkov completed the top 10.

Race results (6 laps)

The post McLaughlin wins incident-packed final Zandvoort British F4 race appeared first on Formula Scout.

Photo: Jakob Ebrey Photography

Fortec Motorsports’ Ary Bansal won British Formula 4’s reversed-grid race at Zandvoort, which began with a dramatic crash.

The race was red flagged after a multi-car incident that caused Hitech GP’s Xavier Avramides to flip in the air before landing upside down. He was able to get out of his car and was taken to the medical centre. Rodin Motorsport’s Chloe Chang, JHR Developments’ Esmee Kosterman and Xcel Motorsport’s Yuhao Fu also retired in the incident.

Bansal had started from pole and lost first place to Hitech’s Thomas Bearman before the red flags, but was put back onto pole position for the restart. At the second attempt he managed to hold onto the lead, and was able to actually break away up front as Rodin’s Adam Al Azhari put pressure on Bearman.

Al Azhari eventually found a way past Bearman, who damaged his front wing and would later be forced to pit for repairs. Before he could then chase down Bansal, he had team-mate Ella Lloyd in his mirrors and the two ran nose to tail for several laps before a wide moment from Al Azhari allowed Lloyd to get through into second.

She could not close the gap to Bansal either, finishing 3.285 seconds behind the first-time winner.

Rodin’s James Piszcyk led a close four-car battle for fourth for much of the race. Hitech’s Fionn McLaughlin, Fortec’s Henry Joslyn and Chris Dittmann Racing’s Tommy Harfield kept Piszcyk under pressure while also battling for position themselves.

McLaughlin and Joslyn made slight contact late in the race, leaving Joslyn stranded between turns two and three. Harfield came through to take fifth, finishing just 0.126s behind Piszcyk and slightly ahead of Argenti Motorsport’s Ethan Jeff-Hall.

The fight for seventh at the end ended up being for the championship lead, as McLaughlin came home just ahead of Virtuosi Racing’s Martin Molnar and therefore took top spot in the standings from him by half a point.

Bearman, running at the back of the field after a change of nose, set the fastest lap.

Race results (11 laps)

The post Bansal wins in British F4’s restarted reversed-grid Zandvoort race appeared first on Formula Scout.

Photo: Jakob Ebrey Photography

Martin Molnar won the opening British Formula 4 race of the weekend at Zandvoort to reclaim the points lead.

The Virtuosi Racing driver snatched the lead off the line and was unchallenged throughout the 12 lap race.  Championship leader Fionn McLaughlin held onto second ahead of polesitter Henry Joslyn.

From second on the grid, Molnar got the best start to dart into the lead while McLaughlin battled Joslyn for second. A few positions back, Adam Al Azhari spun before the first corner, coming to a stop on track and bringing out the safety car.

Molnar spent a lap behind the safety car before the track went green again with 16 minutes on the clock. He managed to hold onto the lead ahead of McLaughlin and was unchallenged throughout the remainder of the race.

The top three drivers slowly broke away from the rest of the field, building a gap of over three seconds to Jimmy Piszcyk. In the closing stages of the race, Molnar also separated from the two drivers behind him to finish 1.127 seconds clear of McLaughlin. Joslyn stayed on McLaughlin’s tail, but there were few opportunities to overtake.

After the opening lap, there was little movement elsewhere in the field. Piszcyk led a train of 10 cars in fourth but, despite the close proximity, there were few overtaking attempts. In the closing stages of the race, the main battle was that between Ella Lloyd and Ary Bansal over seventh. Lloyd managed to hold onto the position, taking the chequered flag just 0.357s ahead of the Chris Dittmann Racing driver. 

Ahead of them, Ethan Jeff-Hall took fifth, behind Piszcyk and ahead of Chase Fernandez.

After his difficult start, Al Azhari was able to continue, but came into the pits four laps down. Thomas Bearman was also forced to pit early. The Hitech GP driver stalled on the grid but was able to get going again. Not long after the safety car restart, Bearman slowed and came into the pits to retire. 

Theo Palmer also ran into problems while battling for position, locking up and running straight on at the first corner. He continued along the escape road but dropped down the order to finish 20th.

One of the closest battles on track was that between Yuhao Fu and Rowan Campbell-Pilling for 11th. Having managed to find a way through, Campbell-Pilling was running just outside the top 10 on the final lap when Chloe Chong spun just ahead of him. Her car hit the rear wing of Campbell-Pilling’s as he passed the incident, taking both drivers out of the race. Fu came through to take 10th, just behind Tommy Harfield.

Race results (12 laps)

The post Molnar beats McLaughlin in first Zandvoort race to retake British F4 lead appeared first on Formula Scout.

Photo: Jakob Ebrey Photography

Fionn McLaughlin and Henry Joslyn shared the pole positions in British Formula 4 qualifying at Zandvoort.

McLaughlin jumped to the top of the times with his penultimate lap of the session, managing a 1m37.073s around the Dutch circuit. The time was 0.074 seconds quicker than Martin Molnar in second.

It was Joslyn who set the pace in the opening laps but the order wouldn’t stay for long, with Ethan Jeff-Hall, Adam Al Azhari and Molnar – who set the best time across Friday’s two practice sessions – all taking turns at the top of the order. 

When the field came into the pits after their first runs, it was Molnar on top ahead of Jeff-Hall and Al Azhari. McLaughlin was only fifth.

The Hitech GP driver was the first to improve on the second runs, jumping to the top of the times with a lap 0.2s quicker than Molnar had managed.

Joslyn briefly knocked McLaughlin off the top spot, but McLaughlin bounced back with his penultimate lap of the session to go quickest.

Molnar slotted into second while Joslyn was third fastest overall, but the Fortec driver’s second-fastest time was enough to put him on pole for the first race of the weekend. Molnar again placed second in this ranking, 0.044s behind Joslyn while McLaughlin was third.

Jimmy Piszcyk had led Friday’s first practice and been second to Molnar in the second session, and he qualified fourth quickest ahead of Al Azhari and Chloe Chong, making just her second appearance of the season.

After running strong early on, Jeff-Hall slipped back to seventh by the chequered flag, ahead of Ella Lloyd. Chase Fernandez and Theo Palmer completed the top 10

Qualifying round-up
Race 1 grid
1 Henry Joslyn Fortec Motorsports 1m37.351s
2 Martin Molnar Virtuosi Racing +0.044s
3 Fionn McLaughlin Hitech GP +0.100s
4 Jimmy Piszcyk Rodin Motorsport +0.199s
5 Adam Al Azhari Rodin Motorsport +0.256s
6 Ethan Jeff-Hall Argenti Motorsport +0.354s
7 Chase Fernandez Xcel Motorsport +0.534s
8 Ella Lloyd Rodin Motorsport +0.608s
9 Theo Palmer Xcel Motorsport +0.649s
10 Thomas Bearman Hitech GP +0.732s

Race 3 grid
1 McLaughlin 1m37.073s
2 Molnar +0.074s
3 Joslyn +0.205s
4 Piszcyk +0.369s
5 Al Azhari +0.472s
6 Chloe Chong Rodin Motorsport +0.522s
7 Jeff-Hall +0.586s
8 Lloyd +0.664s
9 Fernandez +0.782s
10 Palmer +0.783s

The post McLaughlin and Joslyn takes British F4 poles at Zandvoort appeared first on Formula Scout.

Leo Robinson has dropped out of his British Formula 4 campaign with Hitech GP, with Nina Gademan taking over his car for the next round at Zandvoort.

Halfway through the 10-round season, Robinson sits ninth in the standings with a win, a second place and two other top-five finishes from 15 races. He finished ninth in both races of the non-championship round at Silverstone earlier this month.

The British-Algerian driver was also a winner in British F4 last season when driving for JHR Developments, and in that campaign he had three victories, three other podiums and came sixth in the points table.

Robinson is in his third year of single-seater racing. He started off in Danish F4 in 2023, making the podium in every race he contested and coming fourth in the standings, and earlier this year starred in Iberia’s Formula Winter Series with Hitech.

Across 12 races he took three wins and four second places, enough to make him runner-up in the title fight.

Gademan was 18th in British F4 last year as a part-timer with Fortec Motorsports, and cameoed in the all-female F1 Academy. She is now racing full-time in that series with Prema, and sits eighth in the points with two podiums so far.

The Dutch 21-year-old has also been active with rival Hitech. She did the FWinter Series, coming 15th in the standings despite missing a round, then drove for the team in British F4’s non-championship round.

Two of F1 Academy’s remaining three rounds clash with British F4 dates, meaning Hitech would need to find another replacement driver later this year.

The post Leo Robinson drops out of British F4, Gademan takes seat for Zandvoort appeared first on Formula Scout.

Photo: ACI Sport

Pedro Clerot led lights to flag to claim his maiden Formula Regional Europe victory in race two at Zandvoort.

The Van Amersfoort Racing driver had to withstand race-long pressure from team-mate Hiyu Yamakoshi and Prema’s Freddie Slater, and his victory capped of VAR’s weekend of celebrations on home soil of its 50th year in motorsport.

As in race one, Slater made a flying start from the second row but there was no gap between poleman Clerot and fellow front row starter Yamakoshi.

Slater looked to the low line in the banked turn three hairpin, but his strategy almost backfired as he lost ground to Enzo Deligny. However the R-ace GP driver had to cede ground after running slightly wide on the exit.

On lap three, Slater had a run on Yamakoshi on the fast run uphill to turn seven but had to back off as the safety car was deployed. The cause was Sainteloc Racing’s Tim Gerhards pulling off onto the grass on the run down from Turn 10.

The VAR pair mastered the restart, and Slater came under attack from Deligny but successfully defended his position.

R-ace’s Jin Nakamura was the big winner from the restart, rising to fifth by passing team-mate Akshay Bohra and Trident’s Matteo De Palo.

Clerot was unable to distance himself from Yamakoshi, locking up as he tried to maintain his gap. After dropping back while defending, Slater soon closed back onto the tail of the top two but was unable to challenge. Behind him, R-ace’s drivers ran in formation.

De Palo took seventh after a lonely race spent adrift of the leading group, relinquishing his points lead to Slater as a result.

ART Grand Prix’s Evan Giltaire provided most of the race’s overtaking action. After stalling on the grid, he was forced to start from the pitlane after the rest of the field had completed a second formation lap. He then went on a charge, aided by the two laps behind the safety car allowing him to close up to the pack, and finished 16th.

On the safety car restart, Prema’s Doriane Pin picked up front wing damage and after pitting was consigned to 24th place.

Race results (19 laps)

The post Clerot leads VAR 1-2 in FREC race two at Zandvoort appeared first on Formula Scout.

Photo: ACI Sport

Pedro Clerot took his second Formula Regional Europe pole of the weekend at Zandvoort as Hiyu Yamakoshi completed a front row lockout for Van Amersfoort Racing on home soil.

Prema’s Freddie Slater will line up third for race two, with R-ace GP’s Enzo Deligny alongside him on row two.

The Dutch coast’s unpredictable weather again posed additional challenges, with a shower 10 minutes before the start of qualifying necessitating a change to wet tyres for Group B’s drivers who were first on track.

Slater set the early pace of 1m42.832s on the wet track, over 1.7 seconds clear of R-ace’s Jin Nakamura, who impressed throughout the session.

While Slater was unable to improve on subsequent laps, Nakamura closed to within 0.011s of him and Clerot swapped third with his team-mate Dion Gowda. The slippy conditions almost led to one of the VAR drivers finding the gravel at Tarzan.

ART Grand Prix’s Evan Giltaire and Taito Kato made an early pitstop but once out on wets were soon on the pace and Giltaire jumped to third.

As the track dried Clerot moved to the top, with Nakamura in second, before Slater responded with the first sub-1m41s lap to briefly hold top spot by 0.3s.

Slater was unable to improve on his final lap, and Clerot snatched pole after improving in the middle and final sectors to set a 1m40.144s.

Giltaire’s challenge for pole fell foul of a trip through the gravel at the Hans Ernst Chicane as he pushed to the limit.

By the start of Group A’s session, the track looked to be ready for slick tyres, but the changeable conditions again disrupted the plans as another shower blew across the circuit, leaving those who had gambled on slicks to flounder.

At one point, Akcel GP’s wet-shod Aditya Kulkarni was surprisingly seven seconds clear of Trident’s slick-shod championship leader Matteo De Palo.

Other drivers pitted so they could switch to wet tyret, and laptimes soon tumbled. Prema’s Jack Beeton was the first to beat Kulkarni, but it was Deligny and Yamakoshi who had the pace to battle for pole as the track began to dry again.

Deligny went fastest with a 1m42.590s, before Yamakoshi bettered him, with the pattern repeating itself next time around.

The pace was being lowered with each lap, and Yamakoshi bettered each of Deligny’s improvement when he crossed the line. At the end of the session he was on top with a 1m41.209s, leading Deligny by 0.407s but trailing Clerot’s benchmark by 1.065s.

Deligny is under investigation for an unsafe release, and only held on to second in his group by 0.025s over team-mate Akshay Bohra.

After his brief spell in the limelight, Kulkarni ended qualifying as the slowest driver.

Qualifying results

The post VAR’s Clerot and Yamakoshi fill front row for FREC race two at Zandvoort appeared first on Formula Scout.