British F4: F1 Academy racers bank valuable experience at Silverstone

With Silverstone featuring as round three of the F1 Academy season, additional mileage was set to prove valuable ahead of a new venue for the all-female single seater championship: Ella Lloyd, Alba Larsen and Emma Felbermayr who all returned to the British F4 Championship at Silverstone in preparation for the next F1 Academy event.

Photo credits: JEP

It was a valuable weekend of learning for Ella Lloyd, Alba Larsen and Emma Felbermayr who all returned to the British F4 Championship at Silverstone in preparation for the next F1 Academy event.

Lloyd scored ten championship points courtesy of a hard-charging drive through the field in race two which saw the Rodin Motorsport driver finish in 15th position after starting from 25th on the grid.

Larsen achieved a best result of 15th after a strong drive race one with the Danish driver reunited with her 2025 team Chris Dittmann Racing. After scoring two championship points in the second race, Larsen showed exceptional pace in race three as she set the sixth fastest lap of the race.

It was a more challenging return to the series for Felbermayr with the Virtuosi Racing driver scoring a highest finish of 20th position. Nonetheless, the Austrian racer gained valuable experience as she competed within the highly competitive midfield.

With Silverstone featuring as round three of the F1 Academy season, additional mileage was set to prove valuable ahead of a new venue for the all-female single seater championship. In addition to competing at the home of British motorsport, the trio are set to race at Zandvoort in July in preparation for their F1 Academy event at the same venue a month later.

Lloyd arrived into the weekend with the most experience of the track having raced on at least one configuration of the Silverstone circuit each year since 2022. Racing in British F4 in 2024, the Welsh racer secured a large haul of points as she finished all three races inside the top-10 with a best result of second in race two. This weekend marked Lloyd’s second appearance in British F4 during the 2026 season as she competed in the opening round of the campaign at Donington Park, securing a highest-finish of fifth.

Photo credits: JEP

Larsen was also no stranger to the British F4 Championship having competed in seven out of the ten rounds in 2025. Returning with Chris Dittmann Racing, Larsen remained in a familiar environment and although she had not previously competed on the Grand Prix layout at Silverstone, she enjoyed success on the National circuit last season. Larsen matched her series-high finish of 11th, while securing seven championship points across the weekend, her largest total throughout the campaign.

Felbermayr arrived at Silverstone as the least experienced of the trio at the circuit, however the Austrian racer was the highest placed of the three drivers in the F1 Academy championship standings. Driving for Rodin Motorsport, Felbermayr has scored points in all six races to date, including a victory in Shanghai, which has firmly established herself as a championship contender. Returning with Virtuosi Racing, Felbermayr was looking to build upon her one previous appearance in the British F4 Championship which came at Zandvoort last season.

The trio of drivers hit the track on Friday as they took part in a pair of free practice sessions. In the morning session, it was Larsen who set the quickest time as she ended the session in 20th, with Lloyd in 25th and Felbermayr in 26th position.

As the drivers readapted to the British F4 Championship over the course of the day, they continued to make progress. Felbermayr took the biggest jump forward in performance during the afternoon session as she climbed to 12th position overall with a lap time a quarter of a second faster than she had achieved earlier in the day. Although Larsen and Lloyd were unable to improve from the morning session, they completed 17 and 15 laps respectively as they continued to fine tune their cars ahead of qualifying.

Saturday’s action began with qualifying with the trio of drivers looking to work on their one lap performance. It was a challenging session for the F1 Academy racers with the competitive British F4 Championship grid making for extremely tight lap times. Larsen set the fastest time as the Danish racer qualified her Chris Dittmann Racing machine in 23rd position with a quickest lap of a 2:03.012.

Lloyd was a tenth of a second behind in 25th position with Felbermayr just five thousandths of a second behind the Welsh racer in 27th spot. All three drivers were only six tenths of a second away from securing reverse grid pole position as the places in the midfield remained typically close. Therefore, Larsen, Lloyd and Felbermayr aimed to develop their racecraft while pushing towards the top-20 as the weekend progressed.

Photo credits: JEP

The opening race at Silverstone was held on Saturday afternoon and the grid positions were based upon the second fastest times from the earlier qualifying session. Larsen lined up from 23rd position with Felbermayr in 24th courtesy of her consistent session, while Lloyd looked to make progress from 25th on the grid after being promoted one position following a penalty for Mate Kobakhidze.

As the lights went out, a stalled car at the head of the field caused a number of drivers to scatter with contact made within the midfield. Larsen, Lloyd and Felbermayr all did a superb job to get through the incident unscathed with Lloyd especially making considerable progress. At the end of the first lap, Larsen was up to 19th with Lloyd climbing five spots in 20th position. Felbermayr also moved forward with the Austrian racer completing lap one in 22nd position.

On lap two, Larsen got a superb run out of Becketts and down the Hangar Straight and this enabled her to pass both Ethan Lennon and Cole Hewetson to move into 17th position. Although Lloyd fell behind Mate Kobakhidze while Felbermayr lost out to Roman Felber, both drivers firmly remained in the competitive midfield pack.

Lloyd was keen to fight back and by the end of lap three she had re-entered the top-20 after passing Hewetson. After stalling at the start from pole position, George Proudford Nalder was charging through the field and he overtook Felbermayr with the Virtuosi Racing driver now in 24th position. Larsen continued to battle for position and on lap five, Ethan Lennon squeezed ahead with the Danish racer settling into 18th spot.

As the drivers approached Copse for the sixth time, Lloyd shaped for a move on Kobakhidze with the duo making contact on the entry to the corner. Kobakhidze’s car received damage to the suspension and therefore the safety car was deployed to retrieve his Xcel Motorsport machine. While Larsen remained in 18th, this incident dropped Lloyd to 21st position with Felbermayr now in 23rd. Due to the damage sustained following the contact, Lloyd pitted under the safety car period to change her front wing with the Rodin Motorsport driver returning to the track in 30th position.

The race resumed for one final lap and Larsen was able to make further progress after Kit Belofsky received contact. The Chris Dittmann Racing driver took the chequered flag in 17th position, before being promoted to 16th following a false start penalty applied to Jaber Alsabah. Determined to gain back positions, Lloyd crossed the line in 26th position ahead of Felbermayr in 27th who was shuffled back in the closing stages as she readapted to the British F4 Championship. Both Lloyd and Felbermayr were promoted a further position in the final results after a penalty was assessed to Roman Felber with Lloyd classified in 25th position and Felbermayr in 26th.

Photo credits: JEP

Race two at Silverstone took place on Sunday morning with the grid positions based upon the results from qualifying, with the top-12 positions reversed. Therefore, Larsen started from 23rd with Lloyd in 25th and Felbermayr from 27th on the grid. Once again, Lloyd made a superb start as she charged inside the top-20 while Larsen and Felbermayr looked to gain positions in the competitive midfield.

As the drivers exited Club onto the Hamilton Straight, contact was made between multiple drivers and this resulted in Felbermayr spinning into the gravel trap. Further contact at Luffield saw Alfie Slater and Roman Felber retire from the race with Lloyd completing the first lap in 16th position, while Larsen was up to 20th. The safety car was then deployed to retrieve the stricken cars of Felbermayr, Slater and Felber with all three drivers out of the race.

Due to the complex recovery required of Felbermayr’s car in particular, the race was red flagged with the race restarting from the original grid positions. This was unfortunate for Lloyd in particular who had gained nine positions from her starting spot. As the race got underway for a second time, the Rodin Motorsport driver was keen to replicate her initial start and Lloyd ended lap one of the restarted race in 16th position, while Larsen was battling hard in 23rd spot.

On lap two, Larsen slipped behind American racer Jackson Wolny as both drivers were now looking to pass Leon Hedfors. Lloyd’s progress was continuing as she overtook Scott Kin Lindblom on lap three for a position inside the top-15, before the Welsh racer passed Cash Felber for 14th position. Larsen was also fighting back well as she re-passed Wolny while also overtaking Hedfors with the Chris Dittmann Racing driver now into 22nd position.

The positions in the midfield remained closely contested and after a mistake for Lloyd in the final sector, Cash Felber reclaimed 14th spot on lap six. Nonetheless, Lloyd was still set to claim maximum progression points with a hard-charging drive through the field to 15th position which was reminiscent of her F1 Academy performances in Montreal.

Beginning lap nine, Larsen ran side-by-side with the Klemetsen with the Norwegian driver just holding on through Copse. Larsen still moved up to 21st position by the end of the lap after passing Cole Hewetson and now she was on the fringes of the top-10. The Danish driver just ran out of time to make any final moves with Larsen netting two championship points after starting from 23rd on the grid.

Photo credits: JEP

Race three at Silverstone was held on Sunday afternoon with the grid positions based upon the results of qualifying. However, a number of grid penalties throughout the field shuffled the order with Larsen lining up from 22nd position, Felbermayr from 26th and Lloyd started from 28th on the grid after she received a penalty following the earlier contact with Kobakhidze.

As the lights went out, the trio of female drivers were immediately making progress with the drivers jostling for positions down the Hangar Straight. As the drivers turned through Club, Lloyd found herself in a three-wide situation and this led to contact being made to her Rodin Motorsport machine. Lloyd’s car received damage and she was forced to retire from the race after stopping in the gravel trap.

With three other cars also stricken at this same part of the circuit, the race was red flagged and the remaining cars lined up in their original grid positions. When the race resumed, Larsen made a superb start and completed lap one in 16th position while Felbermayr had climbed to 21st as she searched for her first top-20 finish of the weekend.

On lap two, Larsen slipped behind Henry Mercier and Leon Hedfors before then coming under attack from the group of cars behind. After receiving contact with a competitor, Larsen was forced to pit to repair damage on lap three with her Chris Dittmann Racing team doing a nice job to keep the Danish racer on the lead lap. Therefore, Larsen was hoping for a safety car in order to catch the queue of traffic with her main target now to set fast and consistent lap times.

As a result, Felbermayr was now into 20th position with the Austrian racer chasing down Mate Kobakhidze. The positions in the midfield remained static during the middle portion of the race as the drivers looked to force each other into mistakes.

Meanwhile, Larsen’s pace was excellent as she ran in clean air and with five minutes remaining, she held the third fastest lap of the race. Setting a personal best time on the final lap of the race, Larsen claimed the overall quickest middle sector as she took the chequered flag in 26th position. The Danish driver’s pace was clear to see as she ended the BRDC International Trophy with the sixth fastest lap.

Felbermayr ran as high as 19th after Ethan Lennon pitted in the closing stages, however the Virtuosi Racing driver lost out to Chiara Bättig on the final lap. Nonetheless, it was a strong drive from Felbermayr who ended her weekend with a 20th place result while banking good experience within the close midfield battles.

Competing in the BRDC International Trophy was a landmark occasion for the trio of drivers who fought competitively throughout the weekend. Lloyd, Larsen and Felbermayr all gained valuable knowledge ahead of their F1 Academy event at Silverstone which takes place on the weekend of 4th/5th July.