Chiara Bättig achieves first British F4 podium at Silverstone

Chiara Bättig took the next step in her single seater career as the Swiss racer stood on the podium in the latest round of the British F4 Championship at Silverstone, while also claiming the overall fastest lap of the race.

Photo credits: JEP

Chiara Bättig took the next step in her single seater career as the Swiss racer stood on the podium in the latest round of the British F4 Championship at Silverstone, while also claiming the overall fastest lap of the race.

Bättig arrived at Silverstone looking to build upon an encouraging performance last time out at Snetterton. The Swiss racer was unfortunate to get her fastest qualifying time deleted for track limits infringements, however she bounced back superbly to score five championship points in race two. Bättig’s racecraft has been a particular highlight of her season to date as she now aimed to push towards the top-10 of the overall championship standings.

After a gap of more than 20 years, the drivers also competed for the prestigious BRDC International Trophy at Silverstone. With drivers from 16 different countries competing in an expanded grid of 32 cars, including three-full time F1 Academy drivers, the racing was set to be fierce as Bättig made her debut at the home of British motorsport.

On-track action began on Friday with the drivers participating in two free practice sessions. Bättig’s fastest time of a 2:02.696 came in the morning session where she set the 14th quickest lap and was the highest-placed of the quintet of female drivers. In session two, Bättig improved to 13th and set a lap time within one second of pace-setter Lewis Wherrell.

Qualifying took place early on Saturday morning with Bättig looking to secure her best result to date. It was a positive session for the Hitech driver who was extremely consistent as she set three lap times within two tenths of a second of her best. Her fastest time of a 2:02.516 placed her in 12th position and therefore secured her reverse grid pole position. This was an excellent reward for consistent improvements throughout the season to date, while Bättig qualified ten positions higher than either of the three full-time F1 Academy racers.

Race one at Silverstone took place on Saturday afternoon with Bättig lining up from 12th position on the grid courtesy of her second fastest lap time from qualifying. Bättig made an excellent start and she did a nice job to avoid a stalled car ahead with the Swiss racer completing lap one in tenth position. Sitting in a points paying spot, Bättig was just a tenth of a second behind Cameron Nelson as she applied significant pressure to the JHR Developments machine ahead.

The racing within the lower reaches of the top-10 remained extremely close in the early stages with just a quarter of a second separating the drivers around Bättig. Up ahead, Jaber Alsabah received a five-second time penalty for a false start and therefore it was important to stay within touch of the Xcel Motorsport driver.

On lap six, the safety car was deployed after contact between Ella Lloyd and Mate Kobakhidze at Copse corner. With Kobakhidze’s car requiring recovery, the race was neutralised with the green flag displayed with just one lap remaining.

Bättig continued to race hard and although she lost out to Cash Felber on the final tour, she remained within five seconds of Alsabah. Crossing the line in 11th position, Bättig was promoted to tenth position with the Hitech driver securing her second top-10 finish of the season. Her position was improved further after a post-race penalty was assessed to Dries Van Langendonck with Bättig classified in eighth.

Photo credits: JEP

Race two of the weekend took place on Sunday morning with Bättig lining up on reverse grid pole position. As the lights went out, Bättig lost the lead to a fast-starting Joseph Smith with the Virtuosi Racing driver making a phenomenal getaway from fourth on the grid. Bättig settled into second position at the end of the first lap before the safety car was deployed after the cars of Emma Felbermayr, Alfie Slater and Roman Felber required recovery.

Due to the lengthy cleanup required, the race was subsequently red flagged and this was a fortunate break for Bättig as the drivers lined up in their original grid positions. The restarted race was again held over a duration of twenty-minutes with Bättig making a difficult start. Losing out to both Smith and Ethan Carney off the line, Bättig completed lap one of the restarted race in third position.

JHR Developments driver Timo Jungling was directly behind and Bättig was forced to defend as the drivers completed lap two. As the race settled into a rhythm, Bättig began edging away from Jungling and on lap four, the Hitech driver was faster than race leader Smith. This enabled her to extend the margin to Jungling to one second on lap six, while Bättig started to catch the Fortec Motorsport machine of Carney.

As the positions inside the top-5 remained stable, Bättig was looking to capitalise on a mistake from either Smith or Carney ahead. Nonetheless, her pace remained excellent and on lap nine, she set the overall fastest lap of the race. Holding this position to the chequered flag, Bättig secured her first British F4 Championship podium by finishing in third position while claiming the fastest lap with a 2:03.200.

Photo credits: JEP

Race three of the weekend was held on Sunday afternoon with the drivers competing for the prestigious BRDC International Trophy. Bättig lined up from 12th position courtesy of her qualifying result and she was challenging for positions through Maggotts and Becketts. As the drivers turned through Club, contact was made just ahead and this resulted in multiple cars receiving damage. Bättig escaped unscathed with the race entering a red flag period while the stricken cars were recovered.

The race resumed for the full 25-minute duration and it was a challenging opening lap for Bättig as she was forced wide through The Loop and down Wellington Straight. As a result, Bättig fell to 27th position at the end of lap one. The Hitech driver was keen to fight back and by the end of lap two, she had passed Daniella Sutton while Jaber Alsabah entered the pits.

After running side-by-side with Sun Anzhe to start lap four, Bättig was into 24th position after the Chinese driver ran wide at Club. Alba Larsen then pitted her Chris Dittmann Racing machine with the Swiss racer up to 23rd position. Bättig’s pace was strong in the middle portion of the race, however progress was now challenging as the lap times between the drivers remained extremely close.

On lap eight, Bättig’s persistence paid off as she overtook Jackson Wolny and now the Hitech driver could stretch her legs in a small amount of clean air. As the race reached the closing stages, Bättig was eyeing a spot inside the top-20 and after Ethan Lennon pitted on lap 11, she was up to 21st position. On the final lap of the race, Bättig passed F1 Academy racer Emma Felbermayr for 20th position to complete a nice comeback drive as Chiara finished the race as the highest-placed female driver.

It was an extremely positive weekend at Silverstone for Bättig as the Swiss racer achieved a number of milestones. After starting from pole position for the first time in her single seater career, Bättig finished on the podium while displaying her speed by setting the overall fastest lap of the race.

Bättig will be looking to return to the rostrum when the British F4 Championship returns at Zandvoort on the weekend of 11th/12th July.