British F4: Alba Larsen adds two more podiums to Challenge Cup campaign at Snetterton

Alba Hurup Larsen returned to the Wera Tools British F4 Championship for the third round of the season, securing two third-place finishes in the Challenge Cup classification, a fourth place among the rookies, as well as two P16 overall results as her best of the weekend at Snetterton.

Photo credits: Roberts / JEP

Alba Hurup Larsen returned to the Wera Tools British F4 Championship for the third round of the season, securing two third-place finishes in the Challenge Cup classification, a fourth place among the rookies, as well as two P16 overall results as her best of the weekend at Snetterton.

The Danish racer made a promising debut in British F4 at Donington Park, finishing all three races and securing a best result of 14th as she joined Chris Dittmann Racing for her dual program alongside F1 Academy. The single-seater rookie twice placed inside the top five of the rookie classification and stepped onto the Challenge Cup podium in both races two and three at the season opener, marking a strong start to her campaign in the class designed for part-time entrants.

Larsen joined the British F4 grid following an impressive start to her rookie season in the F1 Academy, where she currently sits fifth in the standings after consistently battling inside the top five. With her primary focus on F1 Academy, Larsen is contesting a partial British F4 schedule and is eligible for the newly introduced Challenge Cup, which allows drivers to enter up to seven rounds.

Having missed the second round at Silverstone due to F1 Academy commitments, Larsen returned to Chris Dittmann Racing for round three at Snetterton, a technical circuit that she had to learn. A pre-event test on Wednesday offered the opportunity to get valuable mileage in the car ahead of official practice on Friday, despite a few red flags disrupting the afternoon sessions.

On Friday morning, official practice began with Larsen now sporting a new blue-liveried car. She encountered an issue in FP1 and was unable to set a representative lap time. In the second session, she placed 22nd with a 1:49.321.

Qualifying on Saturday morning took place in damp conditions, though drivers were on slick tyres. Larsen set an early 2:01.2 to go P10, followed by a strong 1:54.8 to move back up into ninth. As track conditions improved, times dropped rapidly. Larsen continued to improve with laps of 1:51.9 and 1:51.2, briefly returning to the top 10. She found more time late in the session with a 1:50.7, but in the final minutes, she slipped to P21 as others improved further.

In the afternoon, the second-fastest lap from qualifying set the grid for race one, placing Larsen in P20. At lights out, McLaughlin led from pole, ahead of Joslyn and Palmer, with the field making it cleanly through the opening lap. Al Azhari moved up to second, while McLaughlin held the lead.

Larsen had a great start, gaining three places to slot in behind Chong and Kosterman in P17. She briefly lost P16 to Charlie Edge on lap two but reclaimed the spot shortly after. As Avramides and Mercier dropped down the order following contact, Larsen passed Edge—who had a penalty—and became the leading Challenge Cup driver. However, she was passed by Hewetson on lap four and dropped to P14.

McLaughlin, who was leading, sustained front wing damage and was forced to pit, promoting Al Azhari into the lead, half a second ahead of Joslyn. Meanwhile, Larsen and Edge resumed their battle, trading positions, with Larsen running P16. With Harfield ahead, she now held second in the Challenge Cup class.

Ella Lloyd, recovering from early contact, closed in on Larsen and overtook her. Larsen crossed the line in P17 but was promoted to P16 after Edge served a penalty for a starting infringement. She ended the race third in the Challenge Cup and fourth among the rookies.

Photo credits: Roberts / JEP

On Sunday morning, race two began under damp conditions, with all drivers on slicks. August Raber started on pole from the partial reverse grid, ahead of fellow Swede Bergstrom. Larsen lined up in P21.

The start was chaotic, with Hartfield and Campbell-Pilling crashing, Bergstrom going off at Turn 1, and Raber running wide. Al Azhari emerged in the lead, but a multi-car crash behind caused a red flag. All the female drivers, including Larsen, avoided the incidents.

A restart from the original grid followed, but further incidents led to another red flag. The race was abandoned and rescheduled for later in the afternoon.

On the third attempt, all cars made it through Turn 1 cleanly. Larsen gained several positions amid the chaos and ran 19th. She began closing in on Kosterman but had to defend from Bearman, losing a spot on lap three.

Larsen also came under pressure from Fu, and later from Avramides, who overtook her on lap nine to take P20. On the final lap, Mercier passed Larsen, who took the chequered flag in P22 but again finished third in the Challenge Cup classification.

In the final race of the weekend, Fionn McLaughlin started from pole. Larsen began from P21, aiming to fight her way back into the top 15. McLaughlin led off the line, with Molnar up to second. Several drivers ran wide or locked up, but everyone made it through the first lap.

Larsen made another strong start, gaining three places and avoiding the first-lap incidents to move into 18th. She lost the position to Jeff-Hall on lap three and had to fend off Kosterman. When Mercier dropped back, Larsen regained P18 on lap six.

Robinson encountered issues and pitted, moving Larsen up to P17. A collision between Al Azhari and Fu left both with damage, allowing Larsen to inherit P16 when Fu retired and Al Azhari pitted.

She then became part of a five-car train including Fernandez, Chong, Jeff-Hall, and Mercier. Larsen tried to hold on, but Mercier passed her on lap 12; Alba crossed the line in P16, equalling her best finish of the weekend and again finishing third among the Challenge Cup entrants.

After two rounds, Larsen now sits third in the Challenge Cup standings with 73 points. While it was a more challenging weekend, she showed adaptability and fighting spirit, continuing to gain experience through intense midfield battles in a highly competitive field.

She will now shift her focus back to F1 Academy, as the all-female championship heads to Canada for the first time. The fourth round will take place at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve in Montreal on 14–15 June.