Daniella Sutton wraps up British F4 rookie season with points scoring finish at Brands Hatch
In a rookie season marked by significant progress, Chris Dittmann Racing driver Daniella Sutton added to her points tally in the British F4 Championship season finale at Brands Hatch achieving a best finish of 23rd.
In a rookie season marked by significant progress, Chris Dittmann Racing driver Daniella Sutton added to her points tally in the British F4 Championship season finale at Brands Hatch achieving a best finish of 23rd.
Following a season’s best weekend last time out at Silverstone, Sutton was looking to carry this momentum forward to the Brands Hatch season finale. At the home of British motorsport, Sutton took significant strides forward by securing a best finish of 16th while the Chris Dittmann Racing driver demonstrated excellent racecraft. Scoring three points via her progression in race two, Sutton arrived at the final round with 32 points on the board and with a realistic chance of securing a top-20 championship finish.
Sutton gained valuable experience of the Brands Hatch Grand Prix circuit during an official test session last month. Completing 55 laps across the day, the Chris Dittmann Racing driver set a fastest time of a 1:27.225 which placed Daniella in 28th position overall. She was now looking to use her momentum from Silverstone to take further strides forward, while once again pushing towards the competitive midfield.
The first action of the weekend took place on Wednesday as the drivers participated in a test session which was held on the Brands Hatch Indy circuit. Conditions were wet throughout the day and Sutton excelled, securing her highest result in any official session of the entire season. Following a superb lap time of a 51.657, Daniella ended Wednesday’s running in 12th position out of an expanded field of 32 drivers, while completing 117 laps across the day.
Friday’s free practice sessions were held on the Grand Prix layout with the drivers facing mixed conditions. The morning session was held in damp but drying conditions with Sutton setting the 24th fastest time with a quickest lap of a 1:33.858.
In dry conditions for free practice two, Sutton took a significant step forward from the in-season test last month. Lapping the Brands Hatch Grand Prix circuit in 1:26.705, Sutton ended the day in 28th position overall. Daniella’s speed through the first sector was especially impressive with the Chris Dittmann Racing driver setting the 18th fastest time through this part of the circuit.
Saturday’s action began with qualifying which was held in dry conditions as Sutton aimed to continue her excellent late-season form. The Chris Dittmann Racing driver built up her confidence during the first half of the session, before taking significant strides forward on her new set of tyres. Daniella’s speed through the first two sectors was once again impressive as she improved upon her quickest time from free practice by over half a second. Setting a fastest lap of a 1:26.129, Sutton qualified in 27th position with the 10th fastest time through sector two.
Race one of the weekend took place on Saturday afternoon with the grid positions based upon the second fastest times from qualifying. Sutton was set to line up from 25th on the grid, however a three-place grid penalty from the final race at Silverstone meant that the Chris Dittmann Racing driver started from 28th position.
As the lights went out, Sutton got a superb start and immediately began moving forward while racing confidently in the midfield. Sutton was challenging for positions inside the top-25 before she was spun by Charlie Smith at Sheene Curve. Fantastic car control from Sutton, coupled with superb avoidance from her rivals, meant that Daniella was able to continue in 29th position.
On lap two, Sutton was already beginning to gain back positions after Haarni Sadiq spun at Paddock Hill Bend while Michael Koh pitted with damage. Now behind Qarrar Firhand, Sutton was just half a second behind the Indonesian driver as she looked to force her rival into a mistake. Overtaking was proving challenging throughout the field, however Sutton was again showing good speed through the first two sectors.
On lap seven, Sutton set a new personal best time of a 1:26.459 which was only three tenths of a second away from her qualifying benchmark. After remaining close to Firhand during the middle portion of the race, Sutton’s front wing began to come loose and this led to a loss of downforce through the high-speed corners.
On lap 12, Sutton made the smart decision to pit for a new front wing and following good work from the Chris Dittmann Racing team, Daniella rejoined the race on the lead lap. After being passed by leader Theo Palmer on the final tour, Sutton took the chequered flag in 27th position. Although it was a challenging opening race of the season, Sutton was looking ahead to race two where she had the opportunity to add to her tally of championship points.
Race two of the weekend took place early on Sunday morning with Sutton aiming to move forward from 27th on the grid. As the lights went out, Sutton made a good start as she ran side-by-side into Paddock Hill Bend. The Chris Dittmann Racing driver continued to battle confidently during lap one before settling into 27th position.
On lap two, Sutton slipped behind both Charlie Smith and Alexander Vanchev as Daniella briefly dropped to 29th position. On lap three, multiple incidents unfolded throughout the field with Roman Felber hitting the barriers Hawthorn after contact from Scott Kin Lindblom. As the drivers checked up, Vanchev made contact with Charlie Smith and with the cars of both Felber and Smith requiring recovery, the race entered a safety car period.
Sutton was now up to 25th position after Lindblom and Mate Kobakhidze pitted with damage. Cash Felber then brought his Fortec Motorsport machine to the attention of his crew to fit a new front wing with Sutton elevated into 24th spot. After a lengthy recovery, the race resumed with six minutes remaining and Sutton was a just a tenth of a second behind teammate Vanchev at the restart.
After resisting Sutton’s challenge, Vanchev overtook Leon Hedfors on lap nine with the Argenti Motorsport driver now ahead. On the following lap, the battles intensified on the Grand Prix loop with Sutton shaping for a move on Hedfors into Westfield. After attempting a move around the outside, Sutton then came under attack from Michael Koh into Sheene. However, Sutton was then able to gain back momentum and overtake Hedfors with a brilliant move for 23rd position.
As she looked to break clear of the group behind, Sutton was faster than the next six drivers ahead on the penultimate lap. Successfully holding off Red Bull backed driver Lindblom on the final lap of the race, Sutton took the chequered flag in 23rd position to score four championship points to bring her season tally to 36.
For the season finale on Sunday afternoon, the grid positions were based upon the results of qualifying with Sutton initially slated to line up from 27th position. However, following the withdrawal of Roman Felber following damage sustained in race two, Sutton started race three from 26th on the grid.
As the lights went out, Sutton made another confident start as she gained one position to move inside the top-25. Running side-by-side with Justin Di Lucia to start lap two, Sutton shaped for a move around the outside of Druids. However, Di Lucia crowded Sutton onto the grass with the Chris Dittmann Racing driver slipping to 29th position.
Determined to fight back, Sutton ran just a tenth of a second behind Jackson Wolny on lap three while the Xcel Motorsport driver was applying pressure to Qarrar Firhand. The Indonesian driver lost out in this close battle with Sutton moving ahead of the Fortec Motorsport racer into 28th position.
A fantastic battle then emerged between Sutton, Di Lucia and Wolny as the trio fought for position. Often running side-by-side, the three drivers did a superb job to avoid contact as they disputed 26th position.
To begin lap eight, Sutton got a superb run down the main straight and after Wolny went wide at Paddock Hill Bend, the Chris Dittmann Racing driver moved to the inside at Druids. Sutton and Wolny ran side-by-side into Graham Hill Bend with Wolny pulling clear on the exit of the corner. With Wolny taking a tighter line into Surtees, Sutton got a superb run down the back straight and she looked to the outside with a brave move into Hawthorn.
After settling in behind the American racer, Sutton was back up to 27th position on lap nine after Alfie Slater pitting for a new front wing. On lap 12, Wolny overtook Di Lucia and this lost the Canadian driver momentum with Sutton now applying significant pressure to the Argenti Motorsport machine.
This in turn led to Sutton coming under pressure from Firhand with the Chris Dittmann Racing driver defending her position smartly. On lap 16, Sutton got another superb exit out of Surtees before once again looking to the outside at Hawthorn bend. After just being unable to clear Di Lucia, Firhand moved ahead at Westfield before Di Lucia suffered a technical failure on the exit of Sheene curve. This promoted Sutton back into 27th position while she looked to regain 26th from Firhand.
On lap 17, Sutton set a new personal best time of a 1:26.987 as she looked to finish the season on a high. This lap time was comparable to those inside the top-15 as Daniella once again demonstrated her progress. Taking the chequered flag just three tenths of a second behind Firhand, Sutton closed out her season with a 27th place result in the final race of the year at Brands Hatch.
It was a season of tremendous progress for Sutton who took significant strides forward during the second half of the season. Finishing the campaign with 36 championship points, Sutton ended the year 22nd in the overall standings.
Scoring points in seven of the ten rounds, including in five of the final six events, Sutton established herself as a confident midfield runner and she will now be targeting a return to single seater competition in 2027.
