Aurelia Nobels makes up positions and gains experience in British F4 debut

Ferrari Driver Academy racer Aurelia Nobels demonstrated promising pace on her British Formula 4 debut at Zandvoort, recovering from a difficult qualifying to secure two top-20 finishes, including a personal best P16 in Race 3, and gaining valuable experience ahead of the next F1 Academy round.

Photo credits: Formula Motorsport Ltd

Ferrari Driver Academy racer Aurelia Nobels showed promising pace on her British Formula 4 debut at Zandvoort, in a one-off appearance that saw the Brazilian completing recovery drives in all three races following an unfortunate qualifying that forced her to start from the back in all three contests.

Showing fast pace, however, Nobels kept it clean in tricky mixed conditions and secured two top-20 finishes in the series' largest grid ever of 27 cars, including a P16 as personal best in Race 3 and an 18th place in Race 2 that gained her 9 championship points.

Nobels joined the ranks of Phinsys by Argenti team on the eve of the sixth round of the championship, joining seven other female drivers resulting in a historic 8-women - a record breaking number for both British F4 as well as all FIA-sanctioned Formula 4 championships worldwide. This was partly due to a calendar gap in the F1 Academy's schedule, which will then host its fourth round at Zandvoort next month.

“I am racing to prepare for the F1 Academy race that will be here in August", Aurelia stated before the Dutch event, also British F4's first ever outside the UK borders. "It is great to be here because we don’t drive as much, we don’t get to test, and here I can take all of the information and just race and prepare for August."

With her debut in the British-based series, Nobels marked her entry in the ninth different Formula 4 championship in three years: she has in fact made her single seater debut in the Brazilian F4 in 2022, then entered select rounds in the Danish, Spanish, Italian, Euro, UAE, Saudi as well as F1 Academy series.

The FDA supported driver joined the all-female championship in 2024, in a ART Grand Prix entry sponsored by PUMA. Over the first three double-headers, Aurelia scored points in the Jeddah season opener and often showed great pace, but was unlucky in most of the following races. The opportunity to maximise her track time in Zandvoort in one of the most competitive F4 series in Europe was therefore an important chance to gain valuable experience.

"It’s super important to be here, the level is very high and I want to learn as much as possible with the team", Aurelia continued. "It’s nice to be here with British F4, I’ve had a very good orientation. It’s good weather in here Zandvoort so I can’t wait for the races.”

And Nobels had a very promising start of the weekend, posting a 1:37.967 lap in Thursday's second practice ending the testing day 14th fastest.

Unfortunately, Friday would bring significantly different weather conditions and qualifying was held in heavy rain. Amidst the tricky conditions, Nobels brought out the first red flag of the session and would unfortunately be forced to start all three races from the back of the 27-car pack.

Race 1 at Zandvoort continued to present challenging conditions, with heavy rain and poor visibility. Opting to start from the pits, Aurelia Nobels faced an uphill battle from the start; as the lights went out, numerous drivers struggled with the wet track, leading to mistakes and off-track excursions. Nobels, however, maintained her composure and kept it clean.

On lap 4, she began her climb up the order and got ahead of Leo Robinson. Two laps later, she gained another position as Jack Sherwood hit trouble and dropped down the order. Despite the limited visibility and challenging conditions, Nobels steadily made her way up the field, showcasing good pace.

By lap 6, she had moved into 23rd position and started closing in on the car ahead, driven by fellow F1 Academy driver Carrie Schreiner.

While Nobels couldn’t quite catch the group ahead, her steady performance in the harsh conditions allowed her to finish in P23 - a commendable achievement given the circumstances.

Race 2 was supposed to take place on Saturday afternoon and was set to be a mixed-weather contest with different tyre strategies playing out. However, an even more unpredictable factor disrupted the event.

The starting lights went out, then turned red again, causing confusion on the grid. Many drivers started, then abruptly stopped, leading to multiple collisions. The chaos resulted in seven cars being taken out and a red flag was deployed to halt the race.

The race was rescheduled to Sunday morning, where it resumed under dry conditions. Starting from P27, Nobels had an excellent start, quickly moving up four positions within the first lap to slot into P22. She then continued her charge, passing Kieffer to take P21. As the race progressed, an incident between Campbell-Pilling and Seewooruthun allowed Nobels to advance into the top 20.

With Ernesto Rivera spinning and dropping down the order, Nobels capitalized on the opportunity and climbed to P18. She maintained her position for the remainder of the race, once again showcasing her ability to navigate through the field cleanly and efficiently.

Her performance in Race 2 earned her nine championship points and marked one of the biggest position gains in the reverse grid race.

Race 3, held on Sunday afternoon, provided Nobels with yet another opportunity to demonstrate her recovery driving abilities. Starting from P27, Aurelia aimed for another significant charge up the field.

Nobels executed another strong start, quickly gaining three positions in the opening laps. Steadily making her way through the pack with strong race pace, she had advanced to P24 by lap 3, picking up a position on Matus Ryba.

However, a major incident occurred on lap 4 when Campbell-Pilling, after a three-wide battle, cut through the grass and rejoined the track colliding with Robinson, Scoular, and Gademan. The resulting crash triggered a red flag. Nobels skillfully avoided the chaos, finding herself in P15 just before the race was neutralized.

The race restarted under the safety car with 9 minutes remaining. At the green flag, more incidents unfolded, with Alex Ninovic picking up front wing damage and Abbi Pulling suffering a puncture. Despite the hectic conditions and constant position changes, Nobels remained calm and focused and defended well.

She was overtaken by Chloe Chong but managed to then hold her position in the final laps and crossed the finish line in P16, having gained over ten positions from her starting grid spot.

While her strong pace showed potential for a finish higher up the order, her consistent recovery drives set a positive tone as she prepared for her return to Zandvoort for the next F1 Academy round, confident and ready to build on this experience on 24-25 August.