F4 Saudi: Ava Dobson and Esmee Kosterman share female trophy wins in fourth Jeddah round
- RACERS
- Nov 18, 2025
- 6 min read
Ava Dobson and Esmee Kosterman claimed Female Trophy victories in a competitive Saudi F4 Jeddah weekend that showcased continued progress from the female contenders, including big gains for Rachel Robertson and Farah Al Yousef.
Ava Dobson and Esmee Kosterman shared victories in the Female Trophy of the 2025 Saudi Arabian F4 Championship at Jeddah Corniche, in a round that saw significant progress from the female entries, with Dobson making the biggest gains and Rachel Robertson also taking major steps forward.
The fourth round of the Saudi season came with a short turnaround after the first set of races in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, home of the Saudi F1 Grand Prix on the Corniche street circuit—a first experience on a street track for many of the young drivers on the grid.
The 2025 Saudi F4 Championship made headlines for its high number of female entries, with women representing 42% of the grid—by far the highest percentage ever recorded in a mixed-gender F4 series. Earlier in the week, Esmee Kosterman emerged as the top woman on the grid with two class wins, as the Dutch racer carried momentum after becoming the best-performing F1 Academy wild card of 2025 to date.
Kosterman was joined by fellow F1 Academy hopefuls: American driver Ava Dobson, winner of the MSV Top Female Prize fund in GB4; Megan Bruce; single-seater rookie Chiara Bättig, who impressed in the opening Bahrain rounds and is part of the Red Bull Junior programme; and Rachel Robertson, who is coming off her rookie season in the Radical UK Championship and took part in the inaugural F1 Academy Rookie Test.
Robertson continues to make big gains with each weekend and was particularly impressive during this second Jeddah event, emerging as one of the most improved drivers.
Returning to F4 after almost a year was also Saudi racer Farah Al Yousef, competing on home soil and making major improvements as she found seconds on each outing.
In the single Friday practice session at Jeddah, Kosterman again topped the female entries, just one tenth ahead of Bättig, who remained consistently quick over one lap. Dobson also placed inside the top ten. Robertson, with a 2:09.536, led Bruce, while Al Yousef continued lowering her times with every run.
In the first qualifying session, Wherrell eventually secured his first pole position of the season ahead of fellow Brit Kit Belofsky. Bättig was again extremely strong in qualifying, taking sixth with a 2:07.970 to lead the female entries. Kosterman followed two tenths behind with a 2:08.207. Dobson was ninth in 2:08.509, just a tenth clear of Robertson, with Bruce another 0.032 seconds back in P11. Al Yousef made her most significant step yet, recording a 2:10.505—her quickest time by far at the circuit and only 3.5 seconds off pole, the closest she has ever been in a very positive session.
Heavy rain hit just before Race 1 but stopped around 40 minutes before the start, producing a damp but rapidly drying 6.174 km track. The grid lined up on wet tyres, with two formation laps to help drivers adapt to the changing conditions.
Most drivers struggled for traction at lights out, but everyone made it through Turn 1, despite Al Yousef spinning at the first chicane in what was her first-ever wet race. Bättig held position ahead of Kosterman, though the latter soon came under pressure from Dobson for seventh.
Belofsky led early on, as Al Azhari made a great launch into second followed by Lindblom. Dobson eventually completed a clean move on Kosterman on Lap 2 to take seventh. Bruce ran ninth, while Robertson settled into P12 after the opening laps.
Bättig tried to remain in touch with the top five while simultaneously defending from Dobson and Kosterman, who continued their battle and were soon joined by Bruce, who has a strong record in wet conditions from her GB4 experience. Bättig, however, struggled on Lap 3 and dropped behind Dobson and Kosterman. Bruce then slipped past a few corners later, demoting Bättig to ninth.
Bättig fought back, repassing Bruce for eighth in a seven-car train covered by half a second; Dobson continued to lead the female group, but the order shuffled again when Kosterman regained sixth at mid-distance. Behind, Bruce defended well from Abdullah Kamel but eventually lost out, though she remained close and continued to pressure the Saudi driver.
Ahead, Kosterman began to pull away but could not close the 15-second gap to Ramaekers. She maintained a safe cushion to Dobson in the final laps. Belofsky took victory ahead of Al Azhari and Lindblom, with Wherrell holding fourth despite a five-second track limits penalty.
Kosterman finished sixth and claimed the Female Trophy win, ahead of a very solid Ava Dobson. Megan Bruce finished just behind Kamel in ninth. Bättig, after a strong start, narrowly missed the points in P11. Al Yousef, facing her first wet race, still maintained her streak of consistent finishes and crossed the line P14.
On Saturday, both qualifying and the race took place under the lights in dry conditions. Robertson took a big step forward in FP2, placing inside the top five for the first time. Bättig, Kosterman, and Dobson also ran inside the top ten.
In qualifying, Bättig again delivered her trademark one-lap pace, posting a 2:07.4 for sixth. She led Robertson and Kosterman, while Dobson qualified P11 and Bruce P12. With two minutes remaining, Al Yousef improved to 2:12 and P14. A spin for Kosterman on her final attempt compromised her run. Bättig finished as the fastest female qualifier in sixth, with Robertson carrying her momentum into P7.
For the final race of the fourth round, Wherrell and Belofsky shared the front row ahead of Adam Al Azhari and Scott Lindblom. Bättig lined up P6, followed by Robertson in P7, Kosterman P9, Dobson P11, Bruce P12, and Al Yousef P14.
The top six got away cleanly, though Bättig had a slightly difficult launch. Al Yousef made an excellent start from the back, briefly gaining positions before settling into 14th.
After the first lap, Robertson led the female entries in seventh, ahead of Kosterman and Dobson. Bättig slipped down the order, while Bruce also encountered trouble, both losing positions despite strong qualifying pace.
Robertson looked in contention for her first Female Trophy win, passing Abdullah Kamel for sixth. Ahead, Lindblom attempted a late move on Al Azhari at the final corner on Lap 3 but soon picked up a puncture and dropped out of contention. Kamel then fought back against Robertson, though the Scottish driver held sixth, with Kosterman just half a second behind and Dobson in close pursuit.
Al Yousef continued picking up places, climbing to P10 while setting her best laps in the 2:13s. Bättig and Bruce, trading positions behind, worked to close a seven-second gap to the field. Bättig eventually caught and passed Al Yousef for the final top-ten position by Lap 5, with Bruce following after a fierce battle on Lap 6.
At half-distance, Robertson came under pressure from Kosterman as the Female Trophy fight intensified. However, drama struck when contact dropped Robertson behind Dobson, with Kosterman moving into sixth and reclaiming the class lead.
Bättig continued lapping one second quicker than the cars ahead but still had ten seconds to close; Bruce pitted for a new front wing after nose damage, while Al Yousef retook P11.
Kosterman, once ahead, showed excellent pace with laps in the 2:08.3s and began hunting down Kamel for the top five, pulling clear of Dobson. A dramatic final-lap duel saw Kamel and Kosterman separated by just 0.065 seconds at the line, with Kosterman taking sixth in another strong showing—but she later received a ten-second penalty, losing what would have been her fifth consecutive Female Trophy win. Ava Dobson thus inherited the top Female honors for the second time this year.
Dobson finished P6 with consistent pace and was the biggest mover in the race, ahead of Kosterman and Robertson, who—despite the earlier incident took P8, her best result of the season. Bättig again displayed speed but couldn’t fully capitalize, finishing P9 for two points. Al Yousef matched her season-best with P11 after defending well. Bruce finished P13 after her pit stop.
After four rounds, Kosterman has now moved one point ahead of Nina Gademan in both the overall standings and the Female Trophy classification. One more round remains, again in Jeddah, on 5–6 December.
