British F4: Carrie Schreiner achieves top-15 in Zandvoort

Carrie Schreiner returned to the British F4 Championship for the series' first-ever round outside the UK, showing impressive progress in the Zandvoort triple-header and executing a remarkable recovery drive in Race 3, where she finished 13th from 25th on the grid.

Photo credits: JEP

Carrie Schreiner returned to the British Formula 4 Championship for the series' first-ever round outside the UK, showing impressive progress in the Zandvoort triple-header and executing a remarkable recovery drive in Race 3, where she finished 13th from 25th on the grid.

Taking advantage of a gap in the F1 Academy calendar, Schreiner had joined the highly competitive British F4 at Silverstone in the previous round, following an eight-year hiatus since her last participation in the championship, which was also her last single-seater season before returning to F4 in F1 Academy's inaugural season in 2023. Joining the ranks of Chris Dittmann Racing, Schreiner had a promising weekend at Silverstone, scoring points in Race 2 and achieving a best finish of P18.

The Zandvoort round turned out to be a significant one for female drivers, with a record eight women joining the field, including several F1 Academy drivers eager to gain experience before their next round on the same circuit. Zandvoort also holds a special place for Schreiner, who claimed her first race win in F1 Academy and in single-seaters there last year. She aimed to prepare for her upcoming F1 Academy commitments, maximizing track time aboard the Tatuus T421 F4 car and continuing the progress achieved at Silverstone.

Practice took place on Thursday, with Schreiner working on finding her rhythm in two practice sessions, improving by over six-tenths in the afternoon session. Qualifying on Friday, however, saw very wet conditions and two red flags disrupting the action. Amidst traffic and stoppages, Schreiner couldn't find a clean lap and was left with the 25th fastest time, placing her 24th on the grid for the reverse-grid Race 2.

Again held under very wet conditions and in challenging visibility, Race 1 at Zandvoort began with drivers fighting to stay on track in the treacherous conditions.

Deagan Fairclough led from pole position, followed by Molnar, Ninovic, and Dodds. Starting from P25, Schreiner initially held her position but soon began making up places.

On lap two, she advanced to P24 and then she made up another position as Matus Ryba hit trouble. The race saw more attrition ahead; Schreiner, using her experience, navigated through the field methodically and by lap 9, she had cracked the top 20, steadily chasing the group of cars ahead.

Leading fellow F1 Academy driver Aurelia Nobels, Schreiner however couldn't quite close the gap to the cars in front, separated by a few seconds. While on course to secure a top-20 finish, Carrie unfortunately lost out to Kieffer on the final lap, ultimately closing out a commendable recovery drive in P21.

The second race was scheduled for Saturday afternoon and was to be held on a drying track, although a new rain shower during the formation lap; when Matus Ryba's car grinded to a halt on the final corner of the formation lap, the start was delayed, giving some drivers the chance to switch to wet tyres.

After a second formation lap, the starting lights went off, then on again, causing chaos. Most drivers started then slowed down again, leading to confusion and multiple collisions. Carrie Schreiner managed to avoid the stopped cars, before the red flag was eventually deployed and, due to the starting light technical issue, the race was rescheduled to Sunday morning.

Photo credits: JEP

Starting from P24, Carrie was aiming for another charge up the field - now in sunny and fully dry conditions on Sunday morning. Carrie had a good getaway and immediately overtook two cars off the line, slotting into P23. While she fell behind the recovering Kai Daryanani on lap 2 after the Fortec driver had spun on the opening lap, Schreiner soon reclaimed her position by passing Raber on the following lap, then picked up more positions when Campbell-Pilling and Seewooruthun dropped down.

By lap 5, Carrie was again knocking on the doors of the top 20, with steady pace and a mistake-free run. Once she cleared Ernesto Rivera, Schreiner settled in P20 in the second half of the race and, while Chloe Chong closed in in the final laps, Carrie had it under control and she crossed the finish line in 20th place.

 It was another solid run for Schreiner, showcasing her ability to move up the order: by gaining five positions from the start, this performance secured her five championship points in the reverse grid race, bringing her tally up to 8 points.

The third and final race of the weekend, contested on Sunday afternoon in dry conditions, saw Schreiner starting from P25.

With race starts being one of her strongest points, Schreiner had another good launch and moved up to P22 over the first lap then, by lap 3, she had further climbed to P21.

On the following lap, a big crash occurred when a three-wide battle sent Campbell-Pilling through the grass. In rejoining the track, Campbell-Pilling collided with Robinson, Scoular, and Gademan, triggering a major incident that brought out the red flag.

Schreiner expertly avoided the chaos, making up several positions before the race was neutralized. She would take the restart from P14, ahead of Nobels, Chong, and her Chris Dittmann Racing teammate Jessica Edgar. The restart took place behind the safety car with 9 minutes to go. Schreiner held her position and navigated through a hectic restart that saw Alex Ninovic picking up front wing damage and Abbi Pulling suffering a puncture.

Battling just outside the top ten, Schreiner showed her strongest pace of the weekend: with 4 minutes to go, she had climbed to P12. In the final laps, positions were changing at every corner, but Schreiner defended with determination and ultimately brought home a superb P13, having gained 12 spots from the start.

This result topped her personal best of the weekend and the season, surpassing her P18 finish at Silverstone.

“It was a tough weekend in Zandvoort, as we had constantly changing weather conditions", Schreiner commented. "In races one and two I struggled a bit, but in the third race I was finally able to finish inside the top 15, which I was happy about."

"That meant my weekend ended on a positive note and means I feel ready for my F1 Academy races at the circuit in August. Thank you to the team for their help and work over the last two meetings.”

Carrie will in fact return to Zandvoort in a month's time for the fourth round of the F1 Academy season, aiming to build on her strong performances from last year as well as the valuable experience gained in British F4.

Photo credits: JEP