British F4: Ella Lloyd scores top-10 finish as female drivers make significant progress at Silverstone

Five female drivers contested the high-profile non-championship British F4 round supporting the F1 British Grand Prix at Silverstone, where Ella Lloyd scored a top-10 finish and Ava Dobson gained 17 positions across the weekend to secure a top-15 on her series debut.

Photo credits: JEP

In support of the Formula 1 British Grand Prix at Silverstone, the Wera Tools British F4 Championship hosted a non-championship round with Ella Lloyd achieving a top-10 finish during race two. The Rodin Motorsport driver showed excellent speed throughout the event and displayed her racecraft following a setback in race one.

Fantastic hard-charging drives from Ava Dobson saw her gain 17 places across the weekend with the debutant achieving a best result of 15^th place. Nina Gademan returned to the championship following her full-season campaign in 2024 and Hitech TGR driver scored a 16^th place result in the opening race at Silverstone.

Emily Cotty completed both races inside the top-20 with the Fortec Motorsport driver finishing 16^th in race two after challenging for a spot inside the top-15. Esmee Kosterman also impressed as the Dutch racer briefly held the overall fastest lap in race two as the JHR Developments racer recovered from being spun on lap one to take the chequered flag in 17^th position.

In a landmark move, the Wera Tools British F4 Championship secured a non-championship round at the Silverstone Grand Prix circuit in support of Formula 1. As a result, the series joined FIA Formula 2 and FIA Formula 3 on the same support package with fans able to watch drivers race on four significant steps on the single seater ladder.

The Wera Tools British F4 Championship attracted a competitive grid of 26 drivers with five female representatives. Challenge Cup entrant Ella Lloyd returned to the series for Rodin Motorsport with the Welsh racer missing the championship-scoring event earlier in the season at Silverstone due to her F1 Academy commitments. Nonetheless, Lloyd had four top-10 finishes in the Wera Tools British F4 Championship this season and she was keen to compete for top female honours in front of a bumper crowd.

Photo credits: JEP

Lloyd was joined by F1 Academy rival Nina Gademan who raced on the Silverstone Grand Prix circuit in her 2024 British F4 campaign. Gademan was entered by Hitech TGR who she drove for in the 2025 Formula Winter Series. Another driver with competitive experience of the track was Esmee Kosterman who was the only female driver to enter the earlier round in May. The JHR Developments racer secured a best result of 11^th during an impressive debut weekend.

The final two drivers entered were Emily Cotty and Ava Dobson who drove for Fortec Motorsport and Chris Dittmann Racing respectively. Cotty has raced in the ultra-competitive Italian F4 Championship during 2025, while she raced on the Silverstone National layout in her only British F4 Championship appearance in 2024. Dobson, meanwhile, has experience of the circuit in the GB4 Championship where the American racer currently sits 22^nd in the overall championship standings with two top-10 finishes to her name.

With all five drivers having experience of the Silverstone Grand Prix circuit, the single forty-five-minute practice session on Friday afternoon allowed them to reacclimatise to the track. It was Lloyd who starred as the Rodin Motorsport driver set the fifth fastest time in free practice on a time of a 2:01.707.

The lap times were extremely close in the midfield with Gademan the next fastest female driver in 20^th position. Cotty set the 23^rd quickest lap for Fortec Motorsport with Dobson just one tenth of a second behind in 24^th spot. Kosterman was 25^th fastest and she was just half a second away from her qualifying time from earlier in the season.

Photo credits: JEP

Qualifying took place early on Saturday morning with cool track temperatures making tyre warmup challenging. Lloyd was soon setting a fast pace and she quickly jumped inside the overall top-5, while leading the way for Rodin Motorsport.

Although she was unable to improve in the closing stages, it was another good qualifying session for the Welsh racer who set the 11^th fastest time overall, while remaining the lead car within the team. Cotty was able to take a good step forward from practice as the Fortec Motorsport driver qualified in 20^th position on her return to the championship.

Gademan was less than a tenth of a second behind in her Hitech TGR machine with the Dutch racer setting the 22^nd quickest time. Her compatriot Kosterman qualified in 25^th position with Dobson rounding out the grid in 26^th spot, however she was just over a second away from the top-10.

The grid for the first race of the weekend on Saturday afternoon was set by the second fastest times set in qualifying and this produced significant changes from the overall qualifying results. Lloyd remained the highest-placed female driver as she started from 12^th position with Cotty remaining in 20^th spot.

Courtesy of a consistent second fastest time, Gademan lined up from 21^st with Kosterman gaining two positions compared to her quickest lap to start from 23^rd. Dobson also improved by a couple of spots as she started her first Wera Tools British F4 Championship race from 24^th on the grid.

Lloyd made a confident start and was challenging for positions around the top-10, before contact from Martin Molnar spun the Welsh racer on the exit of the loop. This resulted in damage to Lloyd’s car and she was forced to pit for her team to make repairs. Meanwhile, a spin for Rowan Campbell-Pilling while coming onto the Hanger Straight resulted in his car stranded across the racing line. The entire field did a superb job to avoid the stopped car and following this incident, the safety car was deployed.

Photo credits: JEP

Under the neutralisation period, Cotty was the highest placed female driver in 17^th position with Gademan and Dobson also inside the top-20 as they ran in 19^th and 20^th places respectfully. Kosterman was in 22^nd position and after a good job from the Rodin Motorsport team, Lloyd rejoined one lap in arrears.

The restart took place on lap five with debutant Guy Albag quickly moving ahead of Cotty, while Gademan followed him through. After running side-by-side with Albag down the Hanger Straight, Gademan moved her Hitech TGR machine into 17^th spot. Cotty was now in 19^th position with Dobson just behind in 20^th. After being overtaken by Thomas Ingram Hill, Kosterman was now running in 23^rd position and was keen to move up the order.

Xcel Motorsport driver Jaber Alsabah then passed Kosterman on lap six, however the Dutch racer fought back and overtook Charlie Edge after contact was made between Edge and Ingram Hill. Meanwhile, Dobson was enjoying an extremely strong Wera Tools British F4 Championship debut as she overtook Cotty to become the second-highest placed female driver in 19^th position.

The race then settled into a mid-race rhythm as the drivers sized up their next opportunities to make a move. Gademan was showing excellent speed and after closing onto the tail of Henry Joslyn, she made the move on lap 11. Despite running one lap down, Lloyd’s pace was strong and she had passed a number of cars on the circuit as she continued to develop her racecraft.

As Joslyn continued to fall down the order on lap 12, an off-track moment involving himself and Albag gave Gademan further breathing space. The Dutch racer was now in 16^th with Dobson and Cotty moving up to 17^th and 18^th positions respectively after benefiting from this incident ahead. Further contact at Brooklands between Albag and Ingram Hill resulted in both drivers receiving damage, while Alsabah had to take avoiding action.

This resulted in the safety car being deployed with Kosterman benefiting especially as she climbed inside the top-20 for the first time. With less than one minute remaining, the race ended behind the safety car with Gademan taking the chequered flag in 16^th position on her return to the series. Dobson was one of the biggest movers as she finished in 17^th with Cotty just behind in 18^th position. Kosterman was classified in 20^th, while Lloyd finished race one in 24^th position after her earlier unscheduled pit stop.

Photo credits: JEP

For the second race of the weekend on Sunday morning, the grid positions were based on the fastest times from qualifying. With a number of grid penalties applied throughout the field, this resulted in Lloyd starting from 11^th, Cotty from 20^th, Gademan from 22^nd, Kosterman from 24^th and Dobson from 25^th.

It was a great start from Lloyd was on the attack as the lights went out and by the end of lap one, the Rodin Motorsport driver was up to tenth position. Gademan had gained two spots to move inside the top-20, while Cotty ran in 21^st position and Dobson moved up two positions to 23^rd. Kosterman, meanwhile, was spun by Jaber Alsabah at Luffield and therefore the JHR Developments driver had fallen to the rear of the field.

On lap two, Dobson continued her charge forward as she gained four further positions to move into 19^th, overtaking both Gademan and Cotty in the process. Charlie Edge was now splitting the female drivers as he ran in 20^th with Cotty settling in just behind. In the process, Gademan had received damage to her car and came into the pits for repairs to be made by her Hitech TGR team. The Dutch racer rejoined on the lead lap, however she was now cut adrift from the field and hoping for a safety car in order to climb back up through the order.

Lloyd was now enjoying a fantastic battle with August Raber and the Swedish racer claimed tenth position at Luffield. The Welsh racer quickly fought back and as the duo battled for position, this brought Theo Palmer and Oleksandr Savinkov into contention.

Dobson and Cotty were now battling for position, while also closing in on the top-15 drivers as the racing remained close and competitive at Silverstone. Now running in clean air, Kosterman briefly set the fastest lap of the race to underline her speed at her second appearance at the circuit this season. Following issues for both Charlie Edge and Thomas Ingram Hill, Kosterman cleared both drivers and by the end of lap five, she was back up to 22^nd position.

Photo credits: JEP

The following lap saw Lloyd overtake Raber and reclaim tenth position into Stowe, before Savinkov fought back through Vale. The Ukrainian driver now led the trio and he began to edge away as he continued his impressive debut weekend in the championship.

On lap seven, Lloyd was back inside the top-10 after a technical issue forced Fionn McLaughlin into the pits. With the Irish driver now retired from the race, this promoted Dobson into 17^th after she had also passed Yuhao Fu, while Cotty ran in 19^th position, Kosterman in 21^st and Gademan was now up to 23^rd position.

Cotty was the next driver to apply pressure to the Chinese driver and on lap eight, she passed Fu for 18^th position. Dobson had already closed in on the Rodin Motorsport machine of Adam Al Azhari and these close midfield battles brought Kosterman into contention who was enjoying an excellent recovery drive following her first lap spin.

Just ahead of this group, Fortec Motorsport driver Henry Joslyn had received a five-second time penalty for exceeding track limits and therefore a top-15 result remained a possibility for Dobson, Cotty and Kosterman. After his lap one contact with the Dutch racer, Alsabah was displaying excellent speed and the Kuwaiti driver overtook Cotty on lap nine and Dobson on lap 11.

Lloyd was still doing a nice job to maintain a position inside the top-10 and although Leo Robinson moved ahead following an excellent side-by-side battle, the Rodin Motorsport driver was still looking to make late-race progress. Kosterman’s excellent drive continued on the penultimate lap as she moved inside the top-20 after passing Fu and she was now directly behind both Dobson and Cotty.

As Joslyn struggled for pace in the closing stages, this allowed Dobson and Cotty to move ahead of the Fortec Motorsport driver while Kosterman passed the former race winner on the final lap. Lloyd’s excellent race came to a close as she took the chequered flag in tenth position to round off a strong weekend at Silverstone.

Dobson took the chequered flag in 17^th position with Cotty and Kosterman just behind in 18^th and 19^th positions respectively. However, all three drivers improved by one position following a track limits penalty awarded to Palmer. Further penalties followed post-race, including for Alsabah, and this resulted in Dobson securing an excellent 15^th place finish, while Cotty and Kosterman were promoted to 16^th and 17^th positions respectively.

It was extremely promising pair of races for the female drivers at Silverstone who benefited from additional exposure in the non-championship round of the Wera Tools British F4 Championship. Lloyd continued her good form with a top-10 finish, while Gademan, Dobson, Cotty and Kosterman all displayed their racecraft as they enjoyed close midfield battles. The next round of the Wera Tools British F4 Championship takes place at Zandvoort in the Netherlands on the weekend of July 26^th/27^th.