British F4: Ella Lloyd scores top-5 finish, Chiara Bättig makes encouraging debut at Donington Park
- LIAM REDFORD
- 2 minutes ago
- 7 min read
Ella Lloyd produced a hard-charging drive to score a top-5 finish on her return to the British F4 Championship, while rookie Chiara Bättig made a positive debut in the championship as she achieved a best result of 13th in race three at Donington.
Ella Lloyd produced a hard-charging drive to score a top-5 finish on her return to the British F4 Championship at Donington Park. The Rodin Motorsport driver bounced back from a challenging start to the weekend to move forward from 15th on the grid in race three to finish in fifth position.
Swiss racer Chiara Bättig made a positive debut in the championship as she achieved a best result of 13th in race three. The Hitech TGR driver advanced 14 places from her starting positions across the trio of races to highlight her racecraft, while securing a pair of top-15 results. Bättig made consistent progress across the course of the event where she race confidently on a new circuit.
Bättig entered the weekend targeting a positive start to her full season British F4 Championship campaign. The Red Bull backed driver made her single seater debut in the F4 Saudi Arabian Championship at the end of 2025 and has since gained valuable experience in F4 level machinery. Bättig secured a best result of eighth in the Middle East as she finished 12th in the overall championship standings.
Since then, the Swiss racer has competed in the Formula Winter Series with great success. Driving for Campos Racing, Bättig achieved a stunning podium finish on debut at Portimao, before also scoring points in the season finale at Circuit de Barcelona. Now racing with Hitech TGR in the British F4 Championship, Bättig was targeting regular points scoring finishes in her rookie season as she adapts to new circuits.
For Lloyd, she is competing in a partial season with Rodin Motorsport to supplement her F1 Academy commitments. Backed by McLaren, the Welsh racer is a five-time podium finisher in the British F4 Championship and she was now seeking her first victory in the series. Known for her fast starts and bold overtakes, Lloyd was aiming to make her experience count as she entered her third season of F4 level competition.
On-track action at Donington Park began on Thursday with two free practice sessions. Both sessions featured red flag interruptions, however Bättig and Lloyd were able to make good progress. At the end of the day, Lloyd’s quickest time of a 1:05.675 placed her in 15th position overall, less than a quarter of a second away from the top-10. Bättig found over half a second of lap time improvements in free practice two compared to the morning session and this ensured the Swiss racer finished Friday’s running in 23rd position but just three tenths of a second behind Lloyd.
Saturday morning’s qualifying session saw twenty-five minutes of uninterrupted running for both Lloyd and Bättig. The Rodin Motorsport driver jumped to the top of the times, before falling to 17th at the midway point. Bättig meanwhile, was quickly on her pace from free practice and the Swiss racer was holding a position inside the top-15 as the drivers changed onto their second set of tyres.
Lloyd made good improvements in the closing stages of the session and she set of a fastest time of a 1:05.623 which placed her in 17th position but less than one tenth of a second away from the top-10. Bättig gained one tenth of a second during the second half of qualifying with the Hitech TGR racer setting the 23rd quickest time overall. The close and competitive nature of the field was underlined by the fact that Chiara was just half a second away from the second row of the grid.
The opening race of the season took place on Saturday afternoon and with the grid positions decided by the second fastest times set in qualifying, this led to a jumbled grid. Bättig was the biggest beneficiary in the whole field as she lined up from 15th position with Lloyd directly behind in 16th spot. Lloyd made a trademark fast start as she gained one position on the first lap to move into 15th position while Bättig completed lap one in 17th spot.
On lap two, Cole Hewetson went off the road in his Xcel Motorsport machine with both Lloyd and Bättig gaining one position. After Ethan Lennon received contact on lap three, Lloyd was up to 13th position with Bättig enjoying a strong series debut in 14th. The two female racers ran nose-to-tail during the early stages of the race with the midfield drivers then settling into a rhythm.
The gaps between the drivers remained consistent as the race reached the midway point, before Jaber Alsabah began to close in on Bättig. With five minutes remaining, several drivers received track limits penalties and this included Kit Belofsky who received a drive-through penalty. Three of the four drivers directly behind Bättig had now received five-second penalties and this gave the Swiss racer some extra breathing space.
As Bättig’s confidence continued to grow in the second half of the race, she began cutting the deficit to Lloyd ahead. Both drivers were able to pass Lewis Wherrell after the JHR Developments driver spun into the gravel in the closing stages. As the chequered flag was displayed, Lloyd crossed the line in 13th position with Bättig in 14th spot.
Sunday morning’s race two was the partially reversed grid contest, however with Lloyd and Bättig qualifying outside the top-12 positions, they retained their original qualifying spot. This meant that Lloyd started in 16th position, while Bättig began the second race at Donington Park from 23rd on the grid. As the lights went out, both drivers did a superb job to avoid a series of incidents which unfolded on the first lap.
Lloyd completed lap one in 13th position while Bättig began lap two in 24th spot. The safety car was deployed with the race then red flagged in order for the stricken cars to be retrieved. As a result, a full restart was required with the starting positions reverted to the original lineup. This was a good break for Bättig, however Lloyd’s quick start was negated as she lined up from 16th once again.
As the race got underway for a revised duration of 17 minutes, Lloyd again made progress and completed the first lap of the restarted race in 12th, while Bättig gained significant ground to move up to 17th position. On lap two, Timo Jungling passed Bättig with the Swiss racer settling into 18th spot. The safety car was then deployed for a second time after Alfie Slater spun into the gravel at McLeans.
The race was set to be restarted on lap five, however Bättig made contact with Jungling down the Exhibition Straight as the drivers accelerated towards the final chicane. This contact lost the Hitech TGR driver three positions as the green flag was briefly displayed. Due to Jungling’s stricken car requiring recovery, the safety car was called for once again with Lloyd remaining in 12th and Bättig now in 21st position.
The race resumed for a final three minutes and Bättig made a superb restart to immediately pass Piotr Orzechowski for 20th spot. Now with a small amount of clean air to push into, Bättig set the overall quickest times through sectors two and three which resulted in Swiss racer setting the fastest lap of the race.
On lap 10, Lloyd shaped for a move on Jaber Alsabah down the Exhibition straight and in an attempt to defend, Alsabah moved across the track and contact was made between the drivers. Unfortunately, both Lloyd and Alsabah retired from the race with damage while Bättig moved up to 18th position.
After a series of fast sectors, Bättig came under pressure from Cash Felber in the closing stages as the positions within the midfield remained closely contested. A strong defensive drive saw Bättig retain 18th position to the chequered flag and as a result, she collected four championship points through her improvement from the original grid position.
Race three at Donington Park took place on Sunday afternoon with the grid positions based upon the results from qualifying. After a grid penalty was applied to Alsabah ahead, Lloyd lined up from 15th on the grid with Bättig starting from 23rd. Both drivers made a good start and did a superb job to negotiate a series of incidents on the opening lap. The safety car was deployed at the end of lap one with Lloyd up to 12th position and Bättig solidly inside the top-20 in 18th spot.
Lloyd and Bättig gained a further position under the safety car after Lewis Wherrell pitted for a new front wing. The race resumed on lap six and Lloyd was quickly on the move as she used her racecraft to overtake both Ethan Carney and Cole Hewetson, while Cash Felber went through the gravel trap at Redgate corner. Lloyd was now into eighth position with Bättig also benefiting from Felber’s misfortune as she Swiss racer moved into 16th spot.
Now with a gap to push into, Lloyd began setting a number of fast and consistent lap times and this enabled her to pull out a margin to those behind. After Bättig lost one position to a recovering Timo Jungling, the Hitech TGR driver became engaged in a fantastic battle with Roman Felber. On lap 12, the safety car was deployed for a second time after Theo Palmer became beached in the Redgate gravel trap.
This incident promoted Lloyd to seventh position while Bättig was now inside the top-15 as the drivers circulated at a reduced speed. The race restarted with five minutes left on the clock and Lloyd was forced to defend from teammate Alfie Slater. After resisting Slater’s challenge, Lloyd got back into her rhythm and with Jarrett Clark and Ethan Lennon battling for position ahead, Ella seized her chance. She passed both drivers on lap 17 for a place inside the top-5 with Lloyd now up ten positions from her starting spot.
Bättig was also enjoying close battles in the midfield where the racing remained intense. After passing George Proudford Nalder on lap 18, a fantastic defence from Bättig into Redgate corner on the following lap saw her retain the position. Bättig took the chequered flag in 14th position before being promoted to 13th after Clark received a five second time penalty for exceeding track limits. Lloyd maintained her pace to cross the line in fifth position to complete an excellent, hard-charging drive.
It was a strong end to the weekend for both Lloyd and Bättig with the Welsh racer making significant progress to finish inside the top-5. On her series debut, Bättig raced confidently and she should be encouraged by her progress on her first visit to Donington Park. The British F4 Championship resumes at Brands Hatch on the weekend of 9th/10th May.