British F4: Daniella Sutton enjoys thrilling battles at Croft

Having taken significant steps forward in both one-lap pace and racecraft since the summer break, Daniella Sutton enjoyed one of her most competitive showings in the British F4 Championship to date as the Chris Dittmann Racing driver battled confidently in the midfield on her way to a best result of 21st position at Croft.

Photo credits: JEP

Daniella Sutton enjoyed one of her most competitive showings in the British F4 Championship to date as the Chris Dittmann Racing driver battled confidently in the midfield on her way to a best result of 21st position at Croft.

After adding to her championship points tally at Donington Park, Sutton had scored points in the last three events prior to Croft. Her total of 29 points saw the Chris Dittmann Racing driver enter the eighth round of the season in 22nd position in the standings, but just nine points behind 17th place driver Cash Felber.

Sutton has taken significant steps forward in both one-lap pace and racecraft since the summer break and now she was looking to tackle a circuit she last visited in 2024 in the BRSCC Fiesta Junior Championship. Having not taken part in the British F4 Championship in-season test at the Yorkshire circuit in August, Sutton was targeting a weekend of development and improvement.

Two free practice sessions were held on Friday with Sutton making a hugely encouraging start to the weekend. In the morning session, the Chris Dittmann Racing driver completed 29 laps, the most of any driver, on her way to a fastest lap of a 1:19.774 which placed Sutton in 27th position.

In free practice two, Sutton improved by a further two tenths of a second as she set a quickest time of a 1:19.564. This lap saw Sutton end the day in 28th position, but just one second away from the third fastest time. Sutton’s speed through the challenging first sector was particularly impressive as she was just three tenths of a second away from the quickest time through this part of the circuit.

Qualifying took place on Saturday with 25-minutes for the drivers to set a fast time. Sutton built up her speed confidently in the early stages and at the halfway point, the Chris Dittmann Racing driver sat in 28th position on 1:19.518.

Sutton took a significant step forward on her second set of tyres, improving by over half a second with sizeable gains in all three sectors. Dipping below the 1:19 barrier for the first time during the event, Sutton qualified in 27th position with a quickest lap of a 1:18.895 and less than half a second away from securing reverse grid pole position.

Photo credits: JEP

Race one at Croft took place on Saturday afternoon with the grid positions based upon the second fastest times from qualifying. Sutton was due to line up from 27th on the grid, however a grid penalty applied to Jackson Wolny promoted the Chris Dittmann Racing driver to 26th position.

As the lights went out, Sutton made a superb start and with a number of cars running through the gravel at the first turn, Daniella gained ground. She drove a composed opening lap and moved up to 24th position while resisting the challenge from teammate Piotr Orzechowski.

Orzechowski drew level with Sutton as the drivers began lap two, however Daniella protected her position well and retained 24th spot. Sutton got up to speed quickly and this relieved some immediate pressure while Orzechowski came under attack from Haarni Sadiq. On lap four, Sutton was faster than the next three drivers ahead as she looked to bridge the gap to the next group who were fighting for top-20 positions.

Contact ahead involving Wolny and Justin Di Lucia saw the Canadian driver lose his front wing. Sutton drove smartly behind the damaged car on lap five and she was able to retain her position before Di Lucia pitted. Now up to 23rd position, Sadiq now was behind after he capitalised to pass Orzechowski as the drivers slowed behind Di Lucia.

Sadiq applied significant pressure to Sutton during the middle portion of the race, however Daniella’s pace remained strong as she focused forward. On lap 10, Sadiq looked to the inside into Tower but Sutton’s defence remained resolute and she held 23rd position.

After maintaining her position for the next four laps, Sadiq made his move on lap 15 with Sutton settling in behind. Despite losing out to the JHR Developments driver, Sutton remained in touch with Sadiq in the final laps to take the chequered flag in 24th position. It was a strong start to the weekend for the Chris Dittmann Racing driver who competed confidently at a challenging circuit.

Race two of the weekend took place on Sunday afternoon and with damp conditions at Croft, all drivers fitted the wet weather tyres. The grid positions were based upon the results of qualifying with the top-12 reversed and this resulted in Sutton starting from 27th position.

It was a clean start throughout the field with Sutton slipping behind Sun Anzhe on the initial launch. The Chris Dittmann Racing driver then moved back into 27th position after teammate Henry Mercier spun. It was an encouraging start to the race for Sutton who was competing well and remaining in contention with the midfield runners.

Despite limited wet running throughout the campaign, Sutton was looking for a way ahead of both Anzhe and Justin Di Lucia who were battling just ahead. On lap five, Anzhe overtook Di Lucia for 25th position with Sutton aiming to follow the Argenti Motorsport driver through the field. Misfortune then struck on the following lap as Sutton had a spin while battling with teammate Mercier who was making his way back through the pack.

Now in 28th position, Sutton was searching for a safety car period in order to catch the rear of the field. In clean air, Sutton immediately set a personal best time while she found good improvements in the first sector especially. During the middle portion of the race, Sutton continued to make progress and on lap 11, she dipped below 1:30 for the first time with a quickest lap of a 1:29.857.

Continuing to build momentum in the closing stages, Sutton lapped faster than both Di Lucia and Haarni Sadiq on lap 12 as the track became increasingly greasy. It was a clean run to the chequered flag for Sutton who crossed the line in 28th position while banking valuable wet weather experience.

Photo credits: JEP

Looking to end the weekend on a high, Sutton lined up from 27th on the grid for the final race of the weekend. The track was now fully dry and Sutton was looking to replicate a strong showing from the opening contest on Saturday.

Sutton made an excellent start and gained multiple positions off the line before running as high as 20th on the exit of Tower. After being shuffled back slightly through the final sector, Sutton completed lap one in 22nd position and now she was firmly inside the midfield.

On lap two, Sutton slipped behind Haarni Sadiq with Leon Hedfors also moving his way through on the following tour. Now in 24th position, Sutton began to move forward once again and after Adam Al Azhari hit the barrier at Sunny In, the Chris Dittmann Racing driver was back into 23rd spot.

Setting a time of a 1:19.782, Sutton almost matched her fastest lap from race one while she was quicker than the next four drivers ahead. Teammate Piotr Orzechowski was the next target after Hedfors overtook the Polish racer on lap six. Running in a competitive train of cars, Sutton’s speed through the first sector was particularly fast as Daniella was consistently setting top-10 times through this section of the circuit.

Improving her overall quickest time on lap eight, Sutton was looking to make a move on the drivers ahead as they contested positions inside the top-20. On lap 10, Sutton got an excellent run down the back straight and shaped to the outside of Orzechowski into Tower. Although the positions remained unchanged between the Chris Dittmann Racing teammates, Sutton moved up to 22nd position after George Proudford Nalder retired from the race.

Sutton was now looking to capitalise on the mistakes of others and Sadiq ran wide at Sunny In, the JHR Developments driver rejoined just ahead. Looking to regain position, Sadiq made a move on Orzechowski at the final hairpin with Sutton taking advantage as she overtook her teammate for 21st spot.

Gaining confidence with each passing lap, Sutton was now searching for a way ahead of Sadiq. Another superb exit down the back straight saw Sutton move to the inside of Sadiq into Tower. Light contact was made between the drivers with Sadiq holding on, while Sutton continuing to show her intent.

After a challenging start to the contest, former race winner and Red Bull supported driver Scott Kin Lindblom was making his way through the field and now applying pressure to Sutton. On lap 16, Lindblom moved ahead with Sutton also fending off Cameron Nelson, who was racing hard despite being one lap down.

Two laps later, Kin Lindlom ran wide and the Hitech racer rejoined behind Sutton with Daniella back up to 21st position. On the final lap of the race, Sutton defended superbly to keep Kin Lindblom behind with the Chris Dittmann Racing driver beating the Swedish racer in a drag race to the line.

As a result, Sutton took the chequered flag in 21st position to complete an excellent race where Daniella fought confidently in the midfield. Despite coming into the weekend with a track time disadvantage to her rivals, Sutton enjoyed arguably her strongest event to date with her performance in race three a particular highlight.

Sutton will now be looking to build upon this showing during the penultimate round of the season which takes place at Silverstone on the weekend of 26th/27th September.