British F4: Ella Lloyd claims second top 10 finish in two rounds
- RACERS
- 21 hours ago
- 4 min read
McLaren junior Ella Lloyd secured her second top-ten finish of the season in the Wera Tools British Formula 4 Championship at Snetterton, also claiming second place in all three races in the Challenge Cup.
McLaren junior Ella Lloyd secured her second top-ten finish of the season in the Wera Tools British Formula 4 Championship at Snetterton, also claiming second place in all three races in the Challenge Cup—a class designed for drivers who are unable to commit to the full season.
Lloyd, who had to miss the second round at Silverstone due to a clash with her F1 Academy programme, returned to her McLaren-liveried Tatuus after scoring a tenth place at the season opener at Donington Park, where she also earned her first runner-up finish in the Challenge Cup.
In her rookie season in 2024, Lloyd finished 11th overall with four podiums. Now racing for Rodin Motorsport and newly inducted into the McLaren Driver Development Programme, she is contesting F1 Academy full-time, where she currently sits sixth in the standings after an impressive victory in Jeddah. With her primary focus on F1 Academy, Lloyd is running a partial British F4 campaign in the newly established Challenge Cup, which allows eligible drivers to compete in up to seven rounds.
During the pre-event test at Snetterton on Wednesday, drivers had the chance to gain valuable mileage ahead of Friday’s official practice, despite a few red flag interruptions in the afternoon. In FP1 on Friday morning, Lloyd posted a 1:48.407—16th fastest overall and quickest among the Challenge Cup contenders. Lloyd found more pace in FP2, setting a 1:48.268 to go P17 overall. She was the highest-placed female driver in the combined times of the day, narrowly edging fellow F1 Academy racer Chloe Chong by 0.081 seconds.
Qualifying on Saturday morning took place in damp conditions, though drivers opted for slick tyres. Lloyd’s first representative lap was a 1:56.9, placing her P13. As the track continued to evolve, she improved to a 1:50.7 and then broke the 1:50 barrier with a 1:49.9, which briefly put her in ninth. In the final minutes, she ended the session P14—just one tenth shy of earning reverse grid pole.
Later that afternoon, the grid for Race 1 was set by each driver’s second-fastest lap from qualifying, placing Lloyd in P12. At lights out, race leader McLaughlin held off Joslyn and Palmer in a clean opening lap for the frontrunners. Lloyd, however, had a tough start, dropping to P20 after contact from Fu Yuhao, who was later handed a 10-place grid penalty for Race 2.
After completing lap one in 20th, Lloyd passed Fu on the following lap and began her recovery drive. Incidents for Avramides and Mercier, who both pitted with damage, promoted her to P18, while Piszcyk also hit trouble. As McLaughlin pitted with front wing damage, Lloyd gained another place and set her sights on Challenge Cup rival Alba Larsen.
Lloyd quickly closed the gap and passed Larsen for P16 on lap 9. At the chequered flag, Adam Al Azhari took a controlled win ahead of Joslyn and Jeff-Hall. With Edge receiving a penalty post-race, Lloyd was classified 15th overall and second in the Challenge Cup.
On Sunday morning, Race 2 began on a damp track, with all drivers on slicks. August Ryba started from reverse grid pole alongside compatriot Bergstrom, while Lloyd lined up P13. However, a chaotic opening lap saw multiple incidents: Hartfield and Campbell-Pilling crashed, Bergstrom went off at Turn 1, Raber ran wide at the following corner, and Al Azhari emerged in the lead amidst the carnage. A multi-car pile-up triggered a red flag. Fortunately, all the female drivers, including Lloyd, emerged unscathed.
A restart from the original grid followed, but was quickly red-flagged again. The race was then postponed and rescheduled for later in the afternoon.
At the third attempt, the race finally got underway. Lloyd made a strong start but was caught in contact while avoiding two cars ahead, dropping her to 16th. She began recovering immediately, passing Edge on lap 2 to reclaim 15th as he ran wide.
Lloyd then posted a series of quick laps, dipping under the 1:51 mark with a 1:50.6. She reeled in Fernandez while creating a two-second gap to Edge and Hewetson behind. After a prolonged chase, she overtook Fernandez on lap 9 to take P14. Though teammate Chloe Chong was five seconds up the road, Lloyd held position to finish 14th and claim again second in the Challenge Cup class.
In the final race of the weekend on Sunday afternoon, Fionn McLaughlin started from pole. Lloyd lined up from P14 on the grid, aiming for another points finish. McLaughlin made a strong getaway, with Molnar slotting into second ahead of a slow-starting Joslyn. Despite several lock-ups and a few off-track moments further down the field, everyone made it through the opening laps, with Lloyd maintaining her P14 position.
She began to push forward, running consistently in the 1:52s. Ella then overtook Avramides on lap 4, with Bearman following her through. Now in P13, she capitalised on a battle between Palmer and Fernandez to move into P12.
When Robinson encountered issues and pitted, Lloyd advanced to P11; with ten minutes remaining, she was not far off the top ten. A collision between Al Azhari and Fu left both with damage—Al Azhari’s front wing broke, and Fu picked up a puncture. As Fu retired and Al Azhari pitted, Lloyd moved into the top ten and then up to ninth.
Bearman closed in quickly with purple sectors, but Lloyd defended strongly to hold position. She gained five places over the course of the race to finish P9 overall—second in the Challenge Cup class and top female driver.
It was another strong weekend for the McLaren junior, who secured three runner-up finishes in the Challenge Cup to collect valuable points. She now sits fourth in the Cup standings with 66 points.
Lloyd will now shift her focus back to F1 Academy, with the fourth round of the season scheduled for 14–15 June at the Canadian Grand Prix in Montreal.