Esmee Kosterman impresses on British F4 debut
- LIAM REDFORD
- May 6
- 5 min read
Dutch driver Esmee Kosterman enjoyed an excellent debut in British F4, driving superbly in race one at Silverstone to finish in 11th before completing two further clean races to bank vital experience in a highly competitive field.
Securing a best result of 11th at Silverstone, Dutch driver Esmee Kosterman enjoyed an excellent debut in the Wera Tools British F4 Championship. Driving for JHR Developments, Kosterman drove superbly in race one to finish in 11th before completing two further clean races to bank vital experience in a highly competitive field of drivers.
Kosterman joined the Wera Tools British F4 Championship grid after completing a testing program with experienced squad JHR Developments. The Dutch driver made her single seater debut last season in the Indian F4 Championship where she secured two top-10 finishes at the Madras International Circuit.
Kosterman also has experience in closed-wheel machinery, both in the Lamera Cup and the BMW M2 Cup, therefore bringing a diverse skillset to her first race in Britain.
Kosterman’s current schedule will also see her participate in her home race in the Wera Tools British F4 Championship which is set to take place at Zandvoort in July. Although the majority of her rivals took place in the opening round just one week ago, Kosterman was aiming to challenge among the midfield runners from the outset.
On-track action at Silverstone began on Thursday with two short test sessions to enable the drivers to get up to speed. In the first session of the day, Kosterman set the 20th fastest time and was just a tenth of a second behind fellow debutant Piotr Orzechowski. Improving by almost a second in session two, Kosterman was 19th fastest and just over one second away from the overall top-10.
Qualifying for the three races took place on Friday afternoon with the first race of the weekend held later that day. Kosterman improved consistently throughout the session, with her middle sector in particular comparing well to those in the midfield. At the end of qualifying, Kosterman’s quickest time of a 2:03.330 placed her 19th overall and just ahead of newcomer Orzechowski.
For Kosterman’s debut race in the Wera Tools British F4 Championship, the Dutch driver lined up from 20th position with the grid positions set by the driver’s second fastest times from qualifying. Kosterman made an excellent start and gained three positions on lap one as the safety car was then quickly deployed.
It was only a short interruption with one lap completed at reduced speed, before the green flag was shown on lap three. Kosterman was passed by Joel Bergstrom on the restart, however she capitalised on separate issues for both Tommy Harfield and Hitech TGR driver Leo Robinson. On lap four, Kosterman moved into 14th position after completing a good move on Charlie Edge, while Chase Fernandez pitted and Adam Al-Azhari had an off-track moment.
Kosterman than ran side-by-side with Xavier Avramides to start lap five with the Australian driver moving ahead into Copse. Nonetheless, the JHR Developments driver was still making up ground as Rowan Campbell-Pilling pitted for a new front wing. Now running in 13th position, the race was neutralised for a second time to clear debris and move the stricken car of Robinson.
The race resumed for two final laps and Kosterman did a superb job to resist the challenge of the more experienced drivers behind. After Bergstrom and Avramides made contact at Luffield, Kosterman took advantage and started the final lap in 11th position. Setting a personal best time to finish the race, Kosterman pulled away from Avramides behind to secure a fantastic debut result as Esmee narrowly missed out on a top-10 finish.
Race two of the weekend took place on Saturday morning and the grid was formed by a partial reverse grid at the front of the field, while the remaining positions were based on the results from qualifying. Kosterman started from 19th position and made another good start as the Dutch driver gained a single position on the opening lap.
Now into 18th spot, Kosterman was getting up to speed while being challenged by South African racer Cole Hewetson. Hewetson moved ahead at Brooklands with Fionn McLaughlin now behind the JHR Developments driver after he was spun at Luffield. The Hitech TGR racer was keen to make up positions and he overtook Kosterman on lap three with debutant Theo Palmer also moving ahead.
Although race two saw less incidents than Friday’s first race and thus progress was more challenging for Kosterman, she was still gaining valuable experience as she pulled away from Piotr Orzechowski. On lap six, Joel Bergstrom’s car stopped out on circuit with a technical issue and as a result, the safety car was deployed.
Kosterman restarted the race from 19th position and she comfortably held off Orzechowski on the final lap, while searching for a way past the drivers ahead. The JHR Developments driver finished race two of the weekend in 19th position following a clean race at Silverstone.
For the final race of the event on Saturday afternoon, the grid positions were set based on the fastest times from Friday’s qualifying session. Kosterman again lined up from 19th on the grid with the Dutch racer inheriting 18th with Joel Bergstrom unable to take the start. Esmee made another excellent start as she enjoyed a clean opening lap while gaining three positions.
Kosterman was inside the top-15 and she did a nice job to remain with the competitive midfield runners ahead. On lap three, contact between Tommy Harfield and Cole Hewetson elevated Kosterman to 13th with Harfield now stopped at the side of the track, while Hewetson pitted for a new front wing.
As the race settled into a rhythm, Kosterman started to be caught by Henry Mercier and Yuhao Fu. Prior to the duo launching an attack, the safety car was deployed for the stricken car of Harfield which required recovery. When the race resumed, both Mercier and Fu found a way through, before Kosterman defended well from August Raber.
Raber then moved ahead on lap 10, while Hewetson and Charlie Edge was also able to pass Kosterman. Nonetheless, Esmee continued to drive a clean race and took the chequered flag in 18th position to complete an excellent debut weekend.
Kosterman drove smartly throughout the event at Silverstone to come away with three good finishes and no damage to her car. Her race starts were a particular highlight, especially when considering her lack of formula car experience, and this will serve her well as she targets further single seater outings. Kosterman’s next scheduled event comes in July where she will return to the Wera Tools British F4 Championship grid at Zandvoort on the weekend of 26th/27th July.
