British F4: Ella Lloyd and Alba Larsen achieve season’s-best finishes at Thruxton
- LIAM REDFORD
- Jun 9
- 7 min read
Ella Lloyd and Alba Larsen rose to the challenge of Britain’s fastest circuit with strong performances in the latest round of the British F4 Championship at Thruxton, where the McLaren junior secured her best qualifying effort of the season before a strong defensive drive to finish seventh, while Larsen drove smartly, gained seven positions in race one to finish in 11th.
Both Ella Lloyd and Alba Larsen rose to the challenge of Britain’s fastest circuit with strong performances in the latest round of the Wera Tools British F4 Championship at Thruxton. Lloyd secured her best qualifying effort of the season with a sixth-place effort, before a strong defensive drive in race three saw the Rodin Motorsport driver finish in seventh position.
Larsen drove smartly throughout the weekend and this saw the Danish racer gain seven positions in race one to finish in 11th. The Chris Dittmann Racing driver also excelled in a wet race two as she regularly set top-10 lap times on her way to a 17th place result.
In addition to their F1 Academy commitments, Lloyd and Larsen have continued to benefit from appearances in the Wera Tools British F4 Championship. In the previous event at Snetterton, Lloyd secured her best finish of the season with a hard-charging drive to ninth position in race three. Larsen meanwhile, finished all three races at Snetterton while banking vital experience as she learns new circuits in her first full-season of F4 level competition.
Thruxton was a new challenge for the Danish driver with the high-speed circuit unlike any other track she had previously visited. With only two recognised braking zones and a powerful slipstream effect, the racing at Thruxton was set to be intense. Lloyd had competed at the circuit last season and secured a top-10 finish in 2024 and now the Rodin Motorsport driver was looking to use her experience to fight in among the leading group of drivers.
With limited on-track opportunities available at Thruxton, the drivers competed in an official test day one week prior to the event. Lloyd set a quickest time of a 1:11.905 which placed her in 13th overall but less than four tenths of a second away from the fastest lap set by Henry Joslyn. Larsen built up her confidence throughout the day and ended the test session in 25th position with a best time of a 1:13.402.
The drivers returned to Thruxton on the Friday prior to the race weekend for two further free practice sessions. At the end of the day, Lloyd was 15th fastest with her best time of a 1:11.542 almost half a second quicker than she managed a week prior. Larsen set the 22nd fastest time overall, however she improved considerably with her fastest time of a 1:11.904 just over a second away from the quickest lap of the day.
Following overnight rain, conditions were more challenging for qualifying on Saturday morning. The track was damp, albeit drying and therefore all drivers fitted the slick tyres. With low ambient and track temperatures, generating heat into the tyres was a challenge and as a result, the drivers continued to improve throughout the qualifying session.
At the halfway point, Lloyd was sitting inside the top-8 with her prior knowledge of Thruxton proving advantageous. Larsen was building up her confidence as she continued to gain confidence of the high-speed circuit. As a number of drivers improve in the closing stages, Lloyd fell to 14th before producing a superb final lap time which elevated her to sixth, her best starting position of the season. Larsen also set a personal best time as the chequered flag was displayed with the Chris Dittmann Racing driver finishing the session in 22nd position.
Race one of the weekend took place early on Saturday afternoon with dry conditions remaining at Thruxton. The grid was set by the second fastest times from qualifying and with a number of grid penalties also applied throughout the field, this meant that Lloyd started from 12th position, while Larsen lined up from 21st on the grid.
It was an excellent start for both drivers who gained positions off the line with Lloyd entering the top-10 in ninth position. Larsen also moved up three positions as the Danish driver was now into 18th spot on her debut race at Thruxton. Ary Bansal and Charlie Edge moved back ahead of Larsen on lap two, while Lloyd continued to apply pressure to those ahead of her.
As the leading group of drivers approached the final chicane on lap three, a multi-car incident took place and Lloyd was caught up in this crash. The damage sustained to her car resulted in an unfortunate retirement with the race subsequently red flagged. Larsen made it through the incident without damage and she was now up to 18th position.
Light rain also began to fall during the stoppage and therefore the race was resumed behind the safety car with a revised duration of ten minutes. With Ethan Jeff-Hall not able to take the restart, Larsen was now into 17th position as the green flag was displayed.
After initially falling behind Tommy Harfield at the restart, a second significant incident occurred at the final chicane. This resulted in five cars receiving damage and three of those were stranded at the side of the track. The safety car was once again deployed with Larsen now into 11th position as she drove smartly to avoid the incidents around her. Due to the extensive recovery required, the race ended behind the safety car with Larsen achieving her best result in the Wera Tools British F4 Championship as the Danish driver was classified in 11th.
The second race of the weekend took place late on Saturday afternoon and the start was delayed following persistent heavy rain. When the conditions were safe for the drivers, they all fitted the wet weather tyres with a rolling start taking place behind the safety car. Grid positions were formed based on the results from qualifying with the top-12 reversed and therefore Lloyd started from seventh and Larsen from 22nd.
It was a challenging start for the two female drivers as Lloyd lost two positions on the first flying lap, while Larsen dropped to 23rd spot. Lloyd soon moved back into eighth after August Raber fell down the order, while Larsen was gaining confidence as she learnt from the more experienced drivers ahead of her. The Chris Dittmann Racing driver was looking racy as she overtook debutant Tom Ingram Hill on lap five, before running side-by-side with Joel Bergstrom to start lap seven.
Larsen completed the pass on Bergstrom for 21st, while Lloyd was doing well to hold off Salim Hanna. Hanna was able to move ahead on lap seven with Martin Molnar and Tommy Harfield also overtaking the Welsh racer on lap eight. Lloyd was now in 11th position and had a comfortable margin of five seconds behind her, therefore enabling Ella to focus forward on the drivers inside the top-10.
After clearing Bergstrom, Larsen was running top-10 lap times and on lap nine, she was quicker than the next eight drivers ahead. She was combining this speed with overtaking moves and on lap 11, she moved inside the top-20 at the expense of Ary Bansal. Following moves on Henry Mercier and Rowan Campbell-Pilling, Larsen was now into 18th and continuing to match those fighting for points scoring finishes.
Lloyd’s pace was consistent as she remained in 11th and Cole Hewetson was unable to get within five seconds of the Rodin Motorsport driver. Taking the chequered flag in 11th position, Ella completed a clean race at Thruxton while narrowly missing out on adding to her tally of championship points. Larsen meanwhile, pulled off a superb move on Yuhao Fu at the final chicane to claim 17th position by a margin of just six thousandths of a second to complete an excellent race in the difficult conditions.
For the final race of the weekend, the grid positions were based on the fastest times set in qualifying with Lloyd starting from sixth and Larsen from 22nd position. Lloyd made a great initial launch but became boxed in on the run down to the opening chicane and as a result, she ended lap one in eighth. Larsen meanwhile, used her racecraft to gain four positions on lap one as she continued to enjoy her debut meeting at Thruxton.
The Danish driver was showing superb pace in the initial stages of the race and after running side-by-side with Yuhao Fu to start lap three, she cleared the Chinese driver to claim 17th spot. Larsen was soon into 14th after an incident between Chase Fernandez, Thomas Bearman and Joel Bergstrom saw the trio retire from the race.
Lloyd was busy defending from teammate James Piszcyk prior to this incident and although the Australian driver moved ahead, Ella remained in eighth as the safety car was deployed as she overtook the slowing Fionn McLaughlin. The restart came with 12-minutes remaining and it was a challenging period for Larsen who first slipped to 17th, before falling to 20th position at the end of lap ten.
Lloyd was keen to fight back and secure a large haul of championship points and after getting a good exit from the final turn, she reclaimed seventh from Piszcyk. A smart move on Ethan Jeff-Hall followed and now Ella was looking confident in a strong sixth position. Although Lloyd spent the next period of the race defending her position, she was placing her car well and negating the powerful slipstream effect.
Piszcyk was once again able to move ahead on 14, however Lloyd again defended stoutly from an ever-growing group of drivers behind her. Larsen was now also making progress as she benefited from an incident which led to the retirements of both Tommy Harfield and Theo Palmer. In the closing stages, she was also defending her position as teammate Charlie Edge closed in.
Larsen did a nice job to repel the challenge from her teammate and therefore completed her weekend with an 18th place result. Lloyd’s defensive drive was also successful as she secured her best result of the season in seventh place, second among those eligible for the Challenge Cup.
Both Lloyd and Larsen showed good performance at Thruxton despite the demanding nature of the circuit. Lloyd’s strong qualifying effort was backed-up by a top-10 result to end the weekend, while Larsen showed exceptional pace in wet conditions, while also achieving a season’s best finish. Both drivers will now be looking ahead to the next round of their F1 Academy campaign which takes place in less than one week at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve in Montreal, Canada.
