British F4: Double top-5 for Chiara Bättig at Croft
- LIAM REDFORD
- 9 hours ago
- 5 min read
Chiara Bättig equalled the best qualifying result for a female driver in the history of the British F4 Championship as the Swiss racer lined up from second position at Croft, before converting this one-lap pace into two top-5 results.
Chiara Bättig equalled the best qualifying result for a female driver in the history of the British F4 Championship as the Swiss racer lined up from second position at Croft, before converting this one-lap pace into two top-5 results.
Following her sixth top-10 finish of the season at Donington Park, Bättig arrived at Croft looking to continue her positive rookie campaign to date. The Red Bull supported driver had completed every racing lap of the 2026 season heading into round eight and now she was looking to return to the rostrum.
Croft was set to be a new circuit for the Hitech driver to tackle and one with unique characteristics with a number of slow speed and off-camber corners. Bättig took part in an official in-season test at the Yorkshire circuit at the beginning of August to gain familiarity with the track. Competing 155 laps across two days, the Swiss racer ended testing with the ninth fastest time on a 1:18.611.
The drivers returned to Croft on Friday for two free practice sessions and Bättig was immediately on the pace. Setting a quickest lap of a 1:18.394, the Hitech driver ended the morning session in second position with the overall fastest time through the first sector. Completing a further 23 laps in free practice two, Bättig was unable to improve upon her earlier time, however she still ended the session inside the top-10.
Saturday’s action began with qualifying and after two positive free practice sessions, Bättig was targeting her career best starting position. It was an excellent start for the Hitech driver who sat in fourth position at the halfway point.
Fitting a new set of tyres for the second half of the session, Bättig was the fastest driver through the opening sector on her way to a quickest time of a 1:17.964. This placed the Swiss racer in second position overall, therefore securing her best qualifying result while missing out on pole position by less than a tenth of a second.
Race one at Croft took place on Saturday afternoon and with the grid positions based upon the second fastest times from qualifying, Bättig lined up from fourth position. The Hitech driver held her position off the line, before she came under attack from teammate Theo Palmer into Tower. Palmer moved ahead into fourth position, however Bättig fought back and following a superb move into the final hairpin, she re-passed her more experienced teammate.
Completing lap one in fourth position, Bättig was now pushing forward to challenge for a podium position. The Swiss racer was showing excellent speed through the middle sector especially and this was ensuring that Palmer was not close enough to shape for a move. Two laps later, Bättig was the second fastest driver on track as she continued to gain confidence by running at the front of the field.
Overtaking was proving challenging and this was beneficial for Bättig as she remained in fourth position, with a margin of just over half a second to Palmer behind. As the race entered the closing stages, Palmer applied increasing pressure and this led to a small error from Bättig on lap 14.
Following a lock-up into Clervaux, Palmer got a good run down the back straight and into Tower. Nonetheless, Bättig remained composed and defended her position through the high-speed middle sector. A confident run to the chequered flag saw Bättig cross the line in fourth position to secure a large haul of championship points.
Sunday’s action began with the partial reverse grid race with Bättig lining up from 11th on the grid. A change of conditions at Croft meant that all drivers fitted the wet tyres with a damp and greasy track leading to a further challenge. As the lights went out, it was a challenging start for Bättig who was shuffled down the order through the opening turns.
It was a difficult opening lap for the Hitech driver who fell to 17th position while battling the trickly conditions. On lap two, she immediately gained one position after a spin for Cash Felber saw the Fortec Motorsport driver fall down the order. Now with a small gap to push into Bättig was looking to gain further ground, however she slipped to 21st position at the end of lap three.
Bättig then got into a rhythm and after starting lap five just a tenth of a second behind Alfie Slater, she applied significant pressure to the Rodin Motorsport driver. On lap six, the conditions caught out Haarni Sadiq who spun down the order with Bättig now back inside the top-20.
As her confidence continued to grow, Bättig’s speed through the middle sector was particularly impressive. This allowed her to pass Leon Hedfors with the Swiss racer now up to 19th position. A spin for Adam Al Azhari then saw Bättig climb to 18th with the Hitech driver showing good speed in the closing stages.
It was an excellent end to a challenging race for Bättig who set a personal best time on the final lap of the contest. Taking the chequered flag in 18th position, Bättig banked valuable knowledge during a tough race in challenging conditions.
For the final race of the weekend at Croft, Bättig lined up from the outside of the front row with the grid positions based upon the results from qualifying. Targeting a breakthrough result in dry conditions, Bättig endured a challenging start as she lost one position off the line to Lewis Wherrell, before Ethan Lennon moved to the inside at Clervaux.
Bättig then slipped behind Adam Al Azhari at Tower, before completing lap one in fifth position. Regaining her momentum, Bättig’s speed was strong as she focused forward on the drivers ahead. On lap three, a mistake for Lennon saw the Rodin Motorsport driver leave the circuit and rejoin just ahead of the Swiss racer.
The following lap saw Al Azhari spin off the circuit at Sunny In with Bättig now back into fourth position. With a podium finish in her sights, Bättig was the overall fastest driver on laps six and seven with the Hitech driver once again showing impressive pace through the middle sector.
While overtaking remained challenging, Bättig ran just half a second behind Lennon as she aimed to force her rival into another mistake. The pace at the head of the field remained strong and Bättig’s consistency was impressive as she continued to hold fourth position.
On lap 12, Bättig was the fastest driver through the middle sector as she ensured Lennon remained in her sights. Despite just running out of time to make a move, Bättig took the chequered flag in fourth position to complete an excellent weekend at Croft.
Bättig secured her largest haul of championship points of any round to date and made history by qualifying on the front row of the grid - equalling Abbi Pulling's feat from 2021. The Swiss racer will be looking to continue this momentum when the British F4 Championship enters its penultimate round with the drivers returning to Silverstone on the weekend of 26th/27th September.
