British F4: Esmee Kosterman scores first championship points with recovery drives at Snetterton
- RACERS
- 1 day ago
- 4 min read
In just her second British F4 weekend, Esmee Kosterman joined the field on short notice but once again demonstrated good potential with recovery drives in both Race 1 and 2 at Snetterton, scoring her first championship points after making up positions in the second race of the weekend.
Esmee Kosterman made a last-minute return to the Wera Tools British F4 Championship at Snetterton for her second-ever appearance in the series, following a highly promising debut at Silverstone.
On her return, Kosterman bounced back from a challenging qualifying session to gain eight places in Race 1, finishing a weekend-best of 13th. She then scored her first championship points in Race 2 by making up four positions in the reverse-grid contest.
The Dutch racer had made a strong impression on her debut at Silverstone, securing a best result of 11th place with JHR Developments. After an impressive Race 1 drive just outside the top ten, she completed two further clean races, gaining valuable experience in a tightly contested field. Despite most of her competitors already having a round under their belts, Kosterman quickly adapted and emerged as a competitive midfield contender.
Before joining the British F4 grid, Kosterman completed a testing programme with the experienced JHR Developments outfit and debuted in single-seaters in the 2024 Indian F4 Championship, where she claimed two top-10 finishes at the Madras International Circuit. She also has experience in closed-wheel racing, having competed in both the Lamera Cup and the BMW M2 Cup.
With a partial campaign scheduled for 2025, she joined the Snetterton field on short notice but once again demonstrated strong potential with recovery drives in both Race 1 and 2, scoring her first championship points after gaining four positions in the reverse-grid contest.
Friday morning saw the start of official practice. Kosterman finished FP1 in 19th with a 1:49.623, and then improved by two-tenths to a 1:49.404 in FP2, despite not yet piecing together all her best sectors.
Qualifying on Saturday morning took place in damp conditions, though the field opted for slick tyres. Kosterman’s first flying lap was a 2:04.9, which briefly placed her inside the top ten as times began coming in.
As the track improved rapidly, she lowered her time to a 2:00.9 and sat 20th. With ten minutes remaining, she found further gains with a 1:53.1, and later improved again to a 1:50.9, ultimately qualifying 22nd. It would set the stage for recovery drives in all three races.
In the afternoon, the grid for Race 1 was determined by each driver’s second-best qualifying lap, with Kosterman lining up in 21st. At lights out, McLaughlin led the field from pole, followed by Joslyn and Palmer. Kosterman made a lightning start, gaining five places to move up to P16 by the end of the opening lap.
She then overtook Chong on Lap 2 to slot into P15 and began lapping in the 1:54s. Incidents ahead involving Avramides and Mercier — both forced to pit with damage — helped Kosterman climb to 12th. When race leader McLaughlin also pitted with a broken front wing, Esmee found herself running in P11.
On Lap 7, Chong reclaimed the position, and Kosterman later lost one more place to Harfield on the final lap, eventually taking the chequered flag in P13. It was nevertheless a strong drive that saw her gain eight positions in just her second weekend in British F4.
Sunday morning brought damp and tricky conditions for Race 2, with all drivers on slicks. The challenge became immediately clear when Kosterman spun and hit the guardrail on the formation lap, damaging her front wing — a testament to how treacherous the circuit was.
August Raber started from pole on the partial reverse grid ahead of compatriot Bergstrom, with Kosterman lining up P22. Chaos unfolded at the start: multiple contacts and off-track excursions, including crashes for Hartfield and Campbell-Pilling, led to a red flag. The race was set to be restarted from original positions, but a further red flag eventually resulted in the race being postponed to later in the afternoon.
At the third attempt, the race finally got underway cleanly; Kosterman made another great start, avoiding incidents and passing Alba Larsen to climb to P18 by the end of Lap 1. She ran consistent laps in the 1:53s and held position ahead of both Larsen and Fu, even as Bearman came through the field and moved ahead.
Matching Larsen’s pace and holding off challenges behind, Kosterman crossed the line in 19th — later promoted to 18th — gaining four places from her grid spot and thus scoring her first championship points.
The final race of the weekend took place on Sunday afternoon, with Fionn McLaughlin starting from pole once again. Kosterman lined up from P22 and avoided early chaos as several drivers locked up and ran wide through the grass.
She moved ahead of Edge, Campbell-Pilling, and Hewetson — the latter suffering from damage — to slot into P20. By Lap 3, she was closing in on Larsen and running quicker than some cars ahead. Esmee dipped under the 1:52 mark, with Mercier rejoining just ahead of her after an off-track moment. When Robinson pitted with issues, Kosterman moved up to P19, then P18 as Fu and Al Azhari both dropped out after contact.
Unfortunately, on Lap 9, Charlie Edge made contact at Turn 3 sending both cars around, and ending Kosterman’s race early. It was an unlucky end to the weekend, but the Dutchwoman once again showed strong pace, made up positions in both of the completed races, and confirmed her status as a quick learner in just her second British F4 appearance.
Kosterman will be aiming to carry this momentum into her next F4 outing later in the season.