F4 Saudi: Esmee Kosterman tops female entries in Jeddah in record-breaking Saudi F4 round
- RACERS
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At the Jeddah Corniche street circuit, which hosted the third round of the Saudi F4 Championship, Esmee Kosterman emerged as the top female driver in both races, as the Dutch racer has now scored points in every race she has entered.
Six female drivers competed at the Jeddah Corniche Circuit for the third round of the 2025 Saudi Arabian F4 Championship. Almost half of the grid — 42% precisely— was female, making for a historic milestone for mixed-gender Formula 4 racing, surpassing the 30% set at the 2024 British F4 round in Zandvoort.
Esmee Kosterman emerged as the top female driver in both races at Jeddah, delivering a superb performance on her first time at the Saudi track. The Dutch driver, who has also been the best-performing F1 Academy wildcard so far this year after finishing seventh on home soil, continued her strong form; Kosterman had joined the Saudi F4 field at the second round in Sakhir, while compatriot Nina Gademan, who had secured two podiums at the season opener, left the grid and is set to return later in the year.
Kosterman immediately impressed with a double top-ten finish on debut, while Chiara Bättig — one of the stars of the opening rounds in Bahrain — again showed great pace but was unlucky not to capitalize due to misfortunes and incidents. Megan Bruce also endured a challenging second round and aimed to return to the points in Jeddah, as did Scottish rookie Rachel Robertson, recently announced as Aiva Anagnostiadis’ replacement for the F1 Academy season finale in Las Vegas. Ava Dobson, who scored twice in Bahrain, continued her steady progress, while Farah Al Yousef, coming off a personal best of P11, hoped to build on her momentum at her home round.
For many of the young drivers, the Jeddah Corniche race was their first experience on a street circuitm, and an exciting opportunity to develop their racecraft and precision driving between the walls of the fast and technical 6.174 km track, home of the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix since 2021.
In the single practice session, Chiara Bättig was the fastest female driver, placing seventh overall with a 2:09.593, one second ahead of Ava Dobson in eighth and Rachel Robertson in ninth. Megan Bruce finished just ahead of Kosterman, the latter in P11, while Farah Al Yousef was 14th. Lewis Wherrell set the overall pace.
Qualifying took place in the late afternoon under fading light. Bättig, in her first visit to Jeddah, was again the top female in P7 with a 2:08.789, followed by Kosterman in P8 (2:09.196), Dobson in P9 (2:09.321), and Bruce in P10 (2:09.389) — with the top ten covered by just six tenths of a second. Robertson followed closely in P11, only two tenths further back. At her home race, Farah Al Yousef qualified P14 with a 2:15.298.
The opening night race began with drama as three cars stalled at the start, including Dobson. In contrast, Kosterman made a stellar getaway, gaining four positions to move into fourth place. Bättig held seventh but was soon overtaken by Bruce, who also launched well. Kit Belofsky led from Wherrell and Lindblom, while Kosterman passed Ramaekers, who attempted to fight back. Al Yousef made a strong start, overtaking Abdullah Kamel, Koda, and Dobson to run P11, as Robertson climbed to P8 after a solid first lap.
Bättig regained momentum, repassing Bruce and closing in on Ramaekers, while Bruce found herself under attack from Al Azhari, who then passed both Robertson and Bruce in quick succession. Further down, Dobson began recovering from her stalled start, overtaking Al Yousef and Woda for P12. Kamel, after a difficult launch, charged through to overtake Robertson and Bruce for P8 on lap 4.
Bättig, lapping in the 2:09s, held off Kamel, who was gaining ground. Al Yousef meanwhile continued improving, breaking the 2:15 barrier with a 2:14.609.
At the front, Wherrell took the lead from Belofsky, followed closely by Lindblom. Kosterman maintained fourth with consistent 2:09 laps, setting a personal best of 2:08.992 on lap 8, keeping a small cushion over Ramaekers and Al Azhari. Bättig, now in clear air, improved to 2:08.730 and pulled away from Kamel.
Behind them, Robertson and Organji fought for the final point; Organji briefly got ahead before spinning, allowing Robertson back into P10, though under pressure from Dobson.
On lap 10, Ramaekers passed Kosterman for fourth, but the Dutch driver stayed close while Al Azhari joined the battle. As tyre wear increased, Kosterman began to struggle slightly, with Bättig also closing in.
At the chequered flag, Kosterman finished sixth, narrowly ahead of Bättig to claim top female honours. Megan Bruce took P9, and Ava Dobson grabbed the final point in P10, overtaking Rachel Robertson on the last lap. Farah Al Yousef had a clean run, improving her weekend best to 2:13.156.
The second qualifying session took place on Tuesday evening under the lights, marking the halfway point of the six-round championship. In the 20-minute session, with only one set of new tyres available, Esmee Kosterman was early on the pace with laps in the 2:08s. Rachel Robertson briefly led the female contingent with a 2:07.962 and held eighth overall with six minutes remaining, just ahead of Bättig.
In the closing moments, Chiara Bättig found more speed and, with a 2:07.630 on her final lap, claimed seventh overall and would be top female starter. Robertson qualified eighth, one tenth clear of Kosterman in ninth. Megan Bruce joined them in the top ten with a 2:08.649, while Ava Dobson posted a 2:08.897 for P12. Farah Al Yousef continued her progress, improving by over a second from Monday with a 2:12.001, securing P14.
The final race of the weekend took place under the Jeddah lights: Adam Al Azhari started on pole alongside Lewis Wherrell, but a starting light technical issue immediately caused a red flag delay. The race eventually began behind the safety car, which pulled in after one lap for a rolling start.
The restart was hectic, with several cars going side-by-side into Turn 1; among the female drivers, Bättig held position ahead of Robertson and Kosterman, all navigating cleanly through the first chicane.
As Kamel and Ramaekers battled for fifth, Bättig closed in on the group, while Robertson defended from a charging Kosterman half a second behind. On lap 3, Kosterman overtook Robertson, who now came under pressure from Bruce. Dobson, meanwhile, recovered positions from her starting spot, passing Wojciech Woda for P11.
Kosterman’s 2:08.8 pace proved quicker than Bättig’s initial pace, as the two fought closely for the top female position. Behind them, Robertson and Bruce continued their duel, soon joined by Dobson — who moved into the top ten on lap 7.
Farah Al Yousef again showed strong improvements, recording a 2:11.6, with an especially competitive final sector quicker than several cars ahead. Ahead, Bättig responded with a 2:09.000, extending her gap to Kosterman slightly.
In the final laps, the front of the field saw late drama: both Al Azhari and Wherrell received 5-second penalties for safety car restart infractions, allowing Scott Lindblom to close the gap and claim victory by less than the penalty margin.
The fight for the female trophy was equally intense. Bättig appeared secure in seventh until a last-lap charge from Esmee Kosterman, who snatched seventh place — and her second female class win of the weekend — by just one tenth of a second across the finish line. Bättig finished eighth, fourth among the rookies.
Rachel Robertson had a strong and consistent run to ninth, holding off Ava Dobson in tenth, while Megan Bruce took P11 despite a late push to regain ground. Farah Al Yousef completed one of her best races of the season, finishing P14, having gained over a second on Organji in the final lap.
Kosterman’s back-to-back victories among female drivers represented a successful weekend for the Dutch racer in Jeddah; After three rounds, Nina Gademan remains the top female in the standings thanks to her two podiums in Bahrain, but Kosterman has clearly made a significant comeback and now sits tenth overall with 20 points, four ahead of Red Bull Junior Chiara Bättig.
The fourth round follows just a few days later, on 14–15 November, once again at the Jeddah Corniche Circuit.