Ella Lloyd returns to British F4 podium at Zandvoort, Chloe Chong unlucky after highly promising qualifying

Six female drivers returned to Zandvoort for a valuable British F4 weekend ahead of the next F1 Academy round, where Ella Lloyd claimed two Challenge Cup wins and an overall podium, Chloe Chong showed remarkable pace despite heartbreak in the races, and encouraging performances came from Alba Larsen, Nina Gademan, Emma Felbermayr, and Esmee Kosterman across three dramatic races.

Photo credits: JEP

Six female drivers returned to Zandvoort for a valuable British F4 weekend ahead of the next F1 Academy round, where Ella Lloyd claimed two Challenge Cup wins and an overall podium, Chloe Chong showed remarkable pace despite heartbreak in the races, and encouraging performances came from Alba Larsen, Nina Gademan, Emma Felbermayr, and Esmee Kosterman across three dramatic races.

The Wera Tools British F4 Championship returned to the Netherlands for the second consecutive year, marking the only European round on the 2025 calendar. It was an especially important weekend for several female drivers, offering valuable track time ahead of the upcoming F1 Academy round at the same venue.

As in 2024, Zandvoort once again featured an impressive number of female drivers, with six women on the grid. Among them were Ella Lloyd and Alba Larsen, both contesting full British F4 campaigns alongside their F1 Academy commitments. Esmee Kosterman, who has raced part-time in British F4 before, was back for another round.

Joining them were Emma Felbermayr, a Spanish F4 regular taking part in a one-off appearance, and Nina Gademan, the 2024 British F4 full-timer now racing in F1 Academy who returned for her home race. Also making a return was Chloe Chong, the Rodin Motorsport driver now full-time in F1 Academy with Charlotte Tilbury backing. Chong raced in British F4 in 2024 and also made a strong appearance earlier this year at Snetterton, where she claimed one of her best results in the series.

During the pre-event testing, Ella Lloyd immediately showed strong pace, finishing sixth in the opening session with a 1:39.443 – just over three-tenths off the fastest time. Alba Larsen was close to the top ten in 12th, while Chloe Chong began steadily in P15, showing clear progression. Felbermayr and Gademan followed closely behind.

In the second session, Lloyd led the Challenge Cup classification again, finishing seventh overall with a 1:37.955. Chong continued her upward trajectory, moving up to P11 and getting within one second of the top. Larsen was a couple of tenths behind, with Felbermayr, Kosterman, and Gademan rounding out the female contingent.

Saturday morning’s qualifying session confirmed the progress seen in testing. Ella Lloyd delivered another top performance, running consistently in the top ten and finishing P8 overall with a 1:37.737 – securing pole in the Challenge Cup classification.

The star of the session, however, was Chloe Chong. After showing strong pace throughout, she nailed a final lap with a purple sector three to finish sixth with a time of 1:37.959 – her best qualifying result in British F4 to date. The performance highlighted her positive momentum, coming off a breakthrough F1 Academy race in Montreal where she achieved her first top-five.

Nina Gademan was 20th, just 1.3 seconds off pole. Emma Felbermayr qualified 22nd, Alba Larsen 23rd, and Esmee Kosterman 25th.

Photo credits: JEP

The first race starting grid was set by the second-best qualifying times: Lloyd therefore lined up 8th, Chong 11th, Gademan 17th, Larsen 20th. Kosterman and Felbermayr started 26th and 27th due to grid penalties – a carried over five-place penalty for Kosterman and a two-place drop for Felbermayr for late test disclosure due to an F1 Academy collective test at the same venue earlier in the week.

At the start, chaos unfolded: Bearman stalled, and Al Azhari spun at Turn 1, triggering a Safety Car. Chong made up one spot to P10; Kosterman moved up to P23, Felbermayr gained three positions, and Gademan had a fantastic launch into P13. Larsen ran P18.

After one lap, the green flag waved; race leader Martin Molnar held position from McLaughlin and Joslyn. Lloyd moved up to P7, while Chong climbed to P9 and began a fierce battle with Bansal and Hartfield. Gademan lost a place to Hewetson for P14, then was later hit by Raber and dropped to P25.

Larsen recovered to P17, and Kosterman climbed to P20. Lloyd meanwhile continued to lead the Challenge Cup, running solidly in the 1:39.1 range and matching the leaders’ pace. Chong, too, was flying – consistently setting personal bests before clocking an impressive 1:38.629, putting her on par with the overall top five.

Felbermayr also impressed, dipping under the 1:39s and closing in on Kosterman. Gademan recovered to P23 with a 1:39.0, while Chong continued to push in P10.

With two minutes remaining, Lloyd came under pressure from Bansal for the Challenge Cup lead but defended brilliantly. She crossed the line in P7 overall, claiming the class win.

Unfortunately, Chong’s exceptional race ended in heartbreak: while chasing a top-ten finish, she went slightly wide at the final corner and was collected by Rowan Campbell-Pilling, resulting in a DNF – a cruel end to arguably her best British F4 race to date.

Larsen finished a clean race in P15, just behind Ingram-Hill. Kosterman held off Felbermayr to finish P18 and P19 respectively. Gademan recovered to P21. After a post-race penalty for Raber, who was deemed at fault for the incident with Gademan, Larsen was promoted to P14, Kosterman to P17, Felbermayr to P18, and Gademan to P20.

Photo credits: JEP

The top-12 qualifiers were reversed on Sunday morning for Race 2, placing Ary Bansal on pole. Ella Lloyd started P5, Chloe Chong P7. Further back were Gademan (P20), Felbermayr (P22), Larsen (P23), and Kosterman (P25).

In dry but cloudy conditions, Lloyd launched perfectly and immediately attacked for second. However, a huge crash behind – including a flip for Avramides – brought out the red flag. Kosterman was involved but unhurt. Chong and Fu Yuhao were also out of the race, in yet another extremely unlucky outing for Chloe. All drivers were luckily unhurt.

Once the race resumed with a reduced 18-minute duration, Lloyd had another stellar launch but was forced to slot into fourth. Bansal led from Bearman and Al Azhari. Felbermayr moved up to P18, ahead of Larsen and Gademan.

By lap three, Lloyd pulled a brave move at Turn 1 to pass Bearman for P3. Felbermayr, now on a charge, moved into P15 as Bearman pitted with damage. Gademan also gained to P19, and Larsen climbed to P21.

Lloyd, in clear air, lit up the timing screens with a fastest lap of 1:38.422 and began hunting down Al Azhari for second. Gademan joined the 1:39 club, chasing Campbell-Pilling. Felbermayr's pace was top-10 worthy at 1:39.5.

Ella Lloyd’s relentless pressure paid off and she passed Al Azhari on lap 9 to take second place. Though she cut Bansal’s lead by over a second, time ran out before she could mount a challenge. Lloyd finished second on the road, scoring her first podium of the season and fifth in British F4 (four of them runner-up finishes), before a post-race five-second penalty for a jump start relegated her to third – but she retained the podium result.

Nina Gademan continued her strong drive, finishing P14 from P20. Felbermayr completed an excellent charge from P22 to P15. Larsen brought it home in P18, clean and consistent, scoring points for the positions gained.

Photo credits: JEP

The final race of the weekend used each driver’s best qualifying lap. Chong lined up P6, Lloyd P8. Gademan, Felbermayr, Larsen, and Kosterman started P20, P22, P23, and P24, respectively. However, only Lloyd, Gademan, Felbermayr, and Larsen made the grid: Chong, Avramides, Kosterman, and Fu couldn't take the start from the grid due to crash damage. Kosterman, who had initially started the formation lap, had to pit just before the starting lights due to a turbo issue.

Incredibly, Rodin Motorsport managed to repair Chong’s car just in time for the green flag, and she started from pit lane, nearly 30 seconds behind. A Safety Car on lap 2 – triggered by a collision between Larsen and Edge at Turn 3 – allowed Chong to rejoin the pack.

At the front, Lloyd moved up to sixth after a strong opening lap, battling with Ethan Jeff Hall. Gademan made big gains from P20 to P16, while Felbermayr was 21st.

A red flag was flown for barrier repairs at Turn 3. On the restart, Lloyd moved up to fifth and then snatched fourth after a Turn 3 incident eliminated Al Azhari following contact with Molnar. Gademan continued her charge to P15, with Felbermayr P18 and Larsen P19. Chong climbed to P20 and was followed by Kosterman, who had rejoined a lap down.

Another Safety Car bunched the field. With just a few minutes remaining, McLaughlin led Piszcyk, Jeff Hall, and Lloyd. Felbermayr was hit by Larsen, resulting in the third red flag of the weekend. The race was eventually not resumed.

Ella Lloyd was classified fourth – her best non-reverse grid result in British F4 – and collected her second Challenge Cup win of the weekend. Gademan made up five places to finish P15. Felbermayr took P17, Larsen P18 despite the incident, Chong P20, and Kosterman P21 - in what is scheduled to be her last appearance in British F4 this year.

Ella Lloyd enjoyed a stellar weekend, collecting two Challenge Cup victories and a second place. She now sits second in the Challenge Cup standings with 193.5 points. Alba Larsen, who also scored consistently, is fourth in the Challenge Cup standings with 147 points.

Lloyd’s podium finish – her first of the 2025 season – lifts her to 13th in the overall championship standings, now on 48 points.

The British F4 Championship continues with its seventh round at Knockhill Circuit on 16–17 August.

Photo credits: JEP