Daniella Sutton matches career best finish, secures largest points haul at Thruxton
- LIAM REDFORD
- 3 minutes ago
- 6 min read
Daniella Sutton enjoyed her best weekend of her British F4 Championship career to date as the Chris Dittmann Racing driver equalled her season’s best finish of 20th, while collecting nine championship points after a hard-charging drive through the field in race two.
Daniella Sutton enjoyed her best weekend of her British F4 Championship career to date as the Chris Dittmann Racing driver equalled her season’s best finish of 20th, while collecting nine championship points after a hard-charging drive through the field in race two.
Sutton closed out the first half of her maiden British F4 Championship campaign with an encouraging performance at Zandvoort. Competing internationally for the first time, the Chris Dittmann Racing driver scored five championship points to bring her total to 18. Sutton raced confidently in The Netherlands and she was unfortunate not to make further progress with all three races disrupted by lengthy safety car interventions.
Arriving at Thruxton, Sutton was ready to tackle a new circuit and one with unique characteristics which would test her adaptability. The high-speed track featured average speeds in excess of 115mph and provided good overtaking opportunities via the use of the powerful slipstream.
The drivers was given an opportunity to participate in an official in-season test at Thruxton in June to prepare them for the weekend action. Sutton excelled during the day, setting a fastest time of a 1:12.643. Clocking the 18th quickest lap in the first session, the Chris Dittmann Racing driver ended the day less than one second away from the fastest time set by Joseph Smith.
The race weekend began on Friday with two free practice sessions taking place for the drivers to work on car setup. Sutton improved upon her time from the earlier test session as she ended the day with a fastest lap of a 1:12.297. Completing 43 laps, Sutton set the 28th fastest time and she was again less than one second away from the overall pacesetter.
Qualifying took place on Saturday morning with a 25-minute session held to set the grid for all three races. Sutton made a consistent start to the session while she showed encouraging speed through the high-speed corners. At the halfway point in the session, the Chris Dittmann Racing driver sat in 29th position with a quickest lap of a 1:13.202.
All the drivers fitted a second set of tyres for the second half of qualifying with a brief red flag initially disrupting the final runs. When the green flags were shown, Sutton took significant steps forward and improved to a fastest time of a 1:12.795. This lap placed Sutton in 29th position and she was less than one second away from polesitter Jaber Alsabah.
Race one of the weekend took place on Saturday afternoon and the grid positions were based upon the second fastest times from qualifying. Sutton was due to line up from 29th position, however grid penalties assessed to both Jackson Wolny and Haarni Sadiq elevated Daniella to 27th.
As the lights went out, Sutton got a great start while Sun Anzhe collected a stalled Timo Jungling. As the drivers turned through Campbell and Cobb, debutant Qarrar Firhand made contact with Henry Mercier and this led to damage for both cars. With Anzhe and Jungling’s cars requiring recovery and debris scattered on the front straight, the race was subsequently red flagged.
Following good work from the marshals, the race resumed over the original 20-minute duration. Sutton made another good getaway as the drivers accelerated away with the Chris Dittmann Racing driver completing the first lap of the restarted race in 26th position.
On lap three, Sutton passed Jackson Wolny for 25th and Daniella was doing a nice job to comfortably remain within the midfield pack. Using her momentum to good effect, Sutton drew level with teammate Piotr Orzechowski as the drivers completed lap four. Pulling clear through the first turn, Sutton was now up to 24th position before gaining a further position after Dries van Langendonck was spun by Ethan Jeff Hall.
Despite being shuffled back to 25th position on lap six, Sutton’s confidence was clear as on the following lap, she set a new personal best time of a 1:13.510 which matched those inside the top-5.
As the battles inside the midfield continued, contact was made between Adam Al Azhari and Roman Felber which saw the Hitech machine stopped on the racing line. Al Azhari was collected by Sadiq, while Sutton did a superb job in avoiding the incident while gaining a significant number of positions. At the end of the lap, Sutton was into 18th position and was poised for a career best British F4 Championship finish.
However, due to the extensive cleanup required the race was red flagged for a second time and was unable to be restarted. This meant the results were counted back to before the incident with Sutton classified in 23rd position. Despite missing out on a landmark result, it was an excellent drive from Sutton who displayed both improved speed and racecraft at Thruxton.
Sunday’s action began with the second race of the weekend which was the partially reverse grid contest and offered good opportunities for Sutton to add to her points tally. Courtesy of her qualifying result, Daniella lined up from 29th on the grid and the Chris Dittmann Racing driver was targeting progress through the field.
As the lights went out, Sutton made a good start and quickly passed Sun Anzhe while she looked to gain further positions. Completing lap one in 27th position, it was a good start for Sutton who continued to show excellent pace at Thruxton.
On lap two, Dries van Langendonck slowed with damage to his rear wing before a multi-car incident unfolded at the final chicane. Sutton did a nice job to avoid the stopped cars of Mate Kobakhidze and Cole Hewetson, while she overtook teammate Piotr Orzechowski. This elevated Sutton into 23rd position as the safety car was deployed to retrieve the pair of stricken Xcel Motorsport machines.
The race resumed on lap seven and Sutton continued to move forward as she overtook American racer Cash Felber for 22nd position. As Sutton looked to gain further ground, Scott Kin Lindblom made contact with George Proudford Nalder at the final chicane which resulted in a second safety car period.
Sutton again drove smartly and moved inside the top-20 as the drivers circulated at a reduced pace.
Due to the position of the two damaged cars, the race ended behind the safety car with Sutton matching her career best result of 20th, while she claimed her largest haul of championship points to date with nine.
The third race of the weekend took place later on Sunday afternoon and with the grid positions based upon the results of qualifying, Sutton was due to line up from 29th position. However, following damage sustained in the race two incident, Cole Hewetson withdrew from the final contest with Daniella therefore promoted to 28th.
As the lights went out, Sutton made another excellent start and she gained four positions on the first lap to move up to 24th. Once again showing improved pace, Sutton was confidently racing in the midfield and on lap two, she was up to 23rd position after Scott Kin Lindblom pitted with damage.
The race was then neutralised after the cars of Ethan Lennon and Timo Jungling required recovery following two separate incidents. The green flags were displayed on lap five and Sutton was on the move as she overtook Cash Felber for 22nd position.
Now with Mate Kobakhidze behind, Sutton began a fantastic battle with the Georgian racer as she looked to protect her position. On lap seven, Kobakhidze briefly moved ahead, however Sutton fought back and maintained her position while Kobakhidze came under attack from Cash Felber.
The race then settled into a rhythm with Sutton setting fast and consistent lap times which ensured Kobakhidze and Cash Felber remained behind. On lap 11, Kit Belofsky was spun at Cobb and as the Fortec Motorsport driver rolled back across the track, Sutton collected Belofsky as she aimed to take avoiding action.
It was an unfortunate end to a highly promising weekend for Sutton who matched her career best result, while collecting her largest haul of championship points. Nonetheless, the Chris Dittmann Racing driver took a significant step forward at Thruxton and Sutton will be looking to continue this momentum when the British F4 Championship returns to Donington Park on the weekend of 22nd/23rd August.
