British F4: Ella Lloyd secures top-10 finish, Alba Larsen enjoys first trip to Oulton Park
- LIAM REDFORD
- Jun 23
- 8 min read
Ella Lloyd returned to the top-10 in British F4 following a weekend of progress at Oulton Park, where she gained a total of 15 places across the weekend, including a best result of eighth in race one, while Danish racer Alba Larsen banked vital experience on her first visit to the track as she scored two top-15 finishes.
Ella Lloyd returned to the top-10 of the Wera Tools British F4 Championship following a weekend of progress at Oulton Park. The Rodin Motorsport driver gained a total of 15 places across the weekend, including a best result of eighth in race one, at a challenging circuit for overtaking.
Danish racer Alba Larsen banked vital experience on her first visit to the track as she scored two top-15 finishes with a best result of 14th. Both Lloyd and Larsen adapted superbly to changeable conditions while battling within the highly-competitive midfield.
Both Lloyd and Larsen arrived at Oulton Park high on confidence after excellent performances in the most recent round of F1 Academy in Montreal just one week prior. Lloyd achieved her largest haul of championship points to date with three runner-up finishes which vaulted the Rodin Motorsport driver up to fourth in the overall standings and first of those in their debut full-season in the series.
Larsen also enjoyed a positive weekend at Circuit Gilles Villenueve as the Danish driver twice finished inside the top-5. Her racecraft was particularly impressive and she was unfortunate to only finish in eighth position in race three after late-race contact denied her a hat-trick of top-5 results.
Now tackling the challenging Oulton Park circuit, both drivers were looking to build upon their strong dual campaigns to date. Lloyd achieved her best result of the season two weeks prior at Thruxton but would now have to rely on her Ginetta experience at Oulton Park.
In 2023, Lloyd claimed pole position in the GT5 class of the Protyre Motorsport Ginetta GT Championship before securing two overall victories. For Larsen, it would be her first appearance at Oulton Park as she continues to learn new circuits in her Wera Tools British F4 Championship Challenge Cup campaign.
Friday’s action consisted of two free practices with both Lloyd and Larsen making good progress throughout the day. Larsen completed a total of 54 laps at Oulton Park as she set the 19th fastest time overall and was the third quickest driver eligible for the Challenge Cup.
It was a challenging day for Lloyd who was the 21st fastest driver on combined times, however the Rodin Motorsport driver found three tenths of a second between the morning and afternoon sessions. The top-19 drivers were covered by just one second on Friday and therefore qualifying was set to be extremely closely contested.
Qualifying was held on Saturday morning and fine margins continued to separate the entire field of Wera Tools British F4 Championship drivers. Lloyd made a positive start to the session as the Rodin Motorsport driver sat just outside the top-10 at the halfway stage.
It was a more challenging session for Larsen who struggled to match the speed she showed in Friday’s pair of free practice sessions. Qualifying was brought to an early conclusion following a red flag as light ran began to fall. Larsen had set the 20th fastest time on a 1:21.720 with forward progress now the target for the Chris Dittmann Racing driver.
With the gaps between the drivers exceptionally close, Lloyd lost out in the final stages as her best lap of a 1:20.920 placed her 18th fastest. The Welsh racer was just three tenths of a second away from the top-8 and only half a second off a spot on the front row of the grid.
Race one of the weekend took place on Saturday afternoon with the grid positions based on the second fastest times set in qualifying. Courtesy of her excellent consistency over one-lap, Lloyd lined up from 13th on the grid while Larsen started from 20th position. As the lights went out, an incident at the front of the field resulted in multiple cars receiving damage through the opening turns and the race was subsequently red flagged.
Both Lloyd and Larsen did a nice job to avoid the incident, however with a full restart required the drivers returned to their original grid positions. It was a cleaner start second time around with Lloyd moving up to eighth at the end of lap one, while Larsen elevated her Chris Dittmann Racing machine up to 14th position.
At the end of lap two, Larsen was just a tenth behind race-winner Jimmy Pisczyk to underline the step forward she had taken from qualifying. Lloyd meanwhile, had Yuhao Fu behind and the Rodin Motorsport driver was doing well to protect her position. Overtaking was proving challenging throughout the field with the lap times extremely close as the drivers entered the middle portion of the race.
Although Larsen began to come under pressure from Henry Mercier, she was placing her car well and showing good pace through the middle sector in particular. On lap eight, Lloyd grew her margin to Fu to over a second and after the Chinese driver came under pressure from the drivers behind, the gap increased further. Nonetheless, Fu was able to mount a late challenge on the Welsh racer and the Xcel Motorsport driver was just half a second behind as the drivers began the final lap.
Lloyd continued to protect her position smartly and therefore secured an excellent eighth-place result in race one as she bounced back from a tough qualifying session. Larsen’s race pace was also impressive as the Danish racer took the chequered flag in 14th, while regularly matching the speed of those competing for top-10 positions.
The second race of the weekend was the first of two which was held on Sunday afternoon. The grid positions were based on the results from qualifying with the top-12 positions reversed and this put Henry Mercier on pole position for the first time. Lloyd started from the ninth row of the grid in 18th position, while Larsen lined up from 20th spot.
As the red lights went on, Rowan Campbell-Pilling made a false start and immediately jumped to the front of the field before he out-braked himself at the hairpin. Lloyd made a fast and clean start and she gained three positions on lap one to move inside the top-15. Larsen also made a nice getaway and moved up two positions to complete the first lap in 18th spot.
Lloyd was quickly applying pressure to Yuhao Fu and following a superb move at the hairpin, she claimed 14th position. The Xcel Motorsport driver remained right behind the Welsh racer following the switch of positions, while Larsen was matching Cole Hewetson ahead.
As Lloyd’s attentions were turned to defending her 14th place, she began to lose touch with championship leader Martin Molnar who was now ahead. On lap seven, she responded by setting the fastest time through the high-speed first sector. The pressure behind was briefly relieved as Xavier Avramides overtook Fu, before the Hitech TGR racer quickly closed the gap to Lloyd.
At the same time, Larsen was closing in on Hewetson and the Danish racer was again displaying extremely consistent pace. On lap nine, Molnar slowed with a technical issue and as a result, this promoted Lloyd to 13th and Larsen to 17th position.
Avramides was now forcing Lloyd to defend and on lap 12, he looked to the inside at the hairpin. As Lloyd aimed to tuck in behind the Australian driver, she made a slight misjudgement and light contact was made between the two cars. This led to Avramides slowing with a puncture, while Lloyd’s front wing had become loose. Larsen was able to benefit as Avradmides pulled into the pits, while Lloyd continued on track with just three laps remaining.
Lloyd did a nice job to take the chequered flag in 13th position with her damaged car, while Larsen set a personal best time on the final lap of the race. The Chris Dittmann Racing driver finished race two in 16th position as she banked further experience at a challenging circuit for overtaking.
The third and final race of the weekend took place later on Sunday afternoon with difficult track conditions at Oulton Park. Following a rain shower between the two Wera Tools British F4 Championship races, the track was damp, however all drivers fitted the slick tyres. The grid positions were based on the fastest times from qualifying and therefore Lloyd lined up from 18th with Larsen in 20th position.
As the lights went out, the drivers were fighting for grip and as Lloyd exited Cascades, she was forced onto the grass. The Rodin Motorsport driver fought back and dived to the inside at the hairpin to regain the lost position. A strong middle portion of the lap put Lloyd into 16th position, before Hewetson overtook Ella at the final corner. The Welsh racer therefore completed lap one in 17th, while Larsen remained 20th after a clean opening tour.
On lap two, Hewetson pitted with an issue and this elevated Lloyd into 16th and Larsen into 19th position respectively. Xavier Avramides was directly ahead of Larsen and after he passed Fu, Alba capitalised and also moved ahead of the Chinese racer.
With the track still damp away the racing line, overtaking manoeuvres were still challenging. As Tommy Harfield looked to the inside of Ethan Jeff-Hall into the first turn on lap five, Harfield spun with his Chris Dittmann Racing machine stopped on the racing line. Both Lloyd and Larsen did a superb job to avoid the spun car, while passing both Harfield and Jeff-Hall who had to take to the grass in avoidance.
As the drivers approached the final sector, the rain started to fall and a number of the leading drivers slid off the road at the final turn. After contact was made between Fionn McLaughlin and Ary Bansal while in the gravel trap, Bansal rejoined the track with a damaged car and he spun across the circuit. Once again, Lloyd and Larsen were able to move forward without picking up any damage and the two female drivers were now running in 13th and 15th positions respectively.
Under the safety car, McLaughlin pitted for a change of front wing with the race resuming on lap nine. At Old Hall corner, contact in the midfield saw a front wing fly into the air and land on the circuit. Some excellent reactions allowed Lloyd to miss the debris with Larsen doing likewise while overtaking Avradmides who also lost his front wing. With the rain increasing, the race was red flagged and the drivers returned to the pit lane.
The revised race distance was scheduled to be seven minutes with the majority of the drivers fitting the wet weather tyres. Lloyd remained on the slicks as the race resumed under the safety car. With the track increasingly damp, the Rodin Motorsport driver returned to the pit lane to change onto the grooved rubber. Prior to the race resuming, the race was red flagged for a second time and was not resumed after the changing conditions and series of unfortunate delays.
As a result, the final classification was reverted to the positions prior to the original red flag with Lloyd in 13th position and Larsen ending the weekend with a 15th place result. It was a productive weekend for both drivers who battled within the competitive midfield at Oulton Park.
The next round of the Wera Tools British F4 Championship is the non-championship round which takes place alongside the British Grand Prix at Silverstone on the weekend of 5th/6th July
