Jessica Edgar makes significant progress over British F4 debut

"We got better every time we went out, which meant we were able to come through in the races" - Jessica Edgar's debut weekend in the British F4 Championship at Zandvoort was marked by significant progress and three top-15 finishes in a strong 27-car field, as she collected valuable experience ahead of the upcoming F1 Academy round at the same track.

Photo credits: JEP

Jessica Edgar enjoyed a positive debut weekend in the ROKiT British F4 Championship at Zandvoort, Netherlands, making significant progress and achieving three top-15 finishes in one of the most competitive F4 fields in Europe.

The British teenager joined Chris Dittmann Racing for a one-off appearance in the British series, aiming to maximize her track time and prepare for the upcoming round of the F1 Academy championship, which will also be held at the Dutch circuit next month. This saw several F1 Academy racers competing in the sixth round of British F4, marking the series' first-ever race meeting outside the UK. This was a groundbreaking record with eight female racing drivers on the grid, an all-time high for British F4 and any FIA-sanctioned F4 championship globally.

In her second season of the all-female championship, Edgar has established herself as a consistent point scorer. However, a few unlucky weekends at the start of the 2024 season have placed the AMEX-sponsored driver in ninth position, with three top ten finishes and a top-five finish to her name thus far.

With a gap in the F1 Academy calendar, Jessica seized the opportunity to join the competitive British F4 grid to further her development behind the wheel of F4 machinery - and aimed to build on her experience at Zandvoort from her 2023 F1 Academy round, where she finished twice in fourth position.

Testing on Thursday showed she was competitive straight away in the strong 27-car field, the largest in British F4 to date. With a 1:38.916 in the first practice session, Edgar was immediately in the top-20, and she moved further up the order in FP2, finding almost a second to be 16th fastest.

"A couple of red flags meant I wasn’t able to get as many laps as we planned in, but nonetheless, some solid laps on the board," she commented after practice. "I’m ready to hit the track tomorrow in qualifying and have some fun."

She aimed to replicate this promising pace in qualifying on Friday, but different weather conditions brought rain and new challenges.

In a very wet session, Jessica set an early competitive lap that saw her among the front runners. However, two red flags disrupted the session, and she struggled to find a clean lap among the traffic when the session resumed, leaving her 22nd fastest for the grid of Race 2 and 3. However, a solid second-best lap meant she would start P17 in Race 1.

The first race of the weekend was held under extremely wet conditions. As the lights went out, all drivers made it through the first turn despite the awful visibility. Jessica Edgar started from P17 and, showcasing her skills in wet conditions, made her way up to 16th place on the first lap.

Fairclough took the lead from pole position, followed by Molnar, Ninovic, and Dodds. The tricky conditions caught out several drivers, while Jessica kept her head down and continued to make progress and led a train of cars with Lloyd, Gademan, Chong, and Bustamante following closely.

Displaying consistent pace, Jessica continued her charge and climbed to P14. However, the recovering Ella Lloyd gradually closed the gap and eventually passed Jessica on lap 9. Meanwhile, Deagan Fairclough extended his lead to an impressive 8 seconds, being the only driver lapping under the 1:50 mark. Ninovic couldn't keep up, while Molnar held onto third position. The top three remained unchanged until the chequered flag.

In the final laps, Jessica battled hard but lost out to Harrison, finishing in a respectable 15th position. Despite the tough conditions and a highly competitive field, it was a solid achievement for the young driver, leaving a positive mark on her first British F4 start.

Photo credits: JEP

Race 2, initially scheduled for Saturday afternoon, saw Edgar starting from P22. All drivers lined up on slick tyres, only for rain to begin as the cars left for the formation lap. The start was delayed when Matus Ryba's car came to a halt at the final corner, prompting some drivers to switch to wet tyres. After a second formation lap, confusion ensued as the lights briefly went out and then turned red again, causing a chaotic situation: many drivers started, then stopped abruptly, leading to collisions.

Jessica was among those caught in the melee, resulting in damage to her car. The race was red-flagged with seven cars out of contention due to the crashes. Fortunately, all drivers were unharmed, and the race was abandoned due to a technical issue with the starting lights. It was decided that the race would be resumed on Sunday morning - which brought Edgar back in contention.

Sunday morning brought different conditions with a dry and sunny track. Jessica had a great start, moving from P22 up to P17 over the first lap. Despite making contact on lap two, she maintained her momentum and continued to climb the order.

When Campbell-Pilling and Seewooruthun made contact, Jessica advanced to P14. She continued to close in on Nina Gademan, who was stuck behind Maxwell Dodds, forming a train of seven cars. Ernesto Rivera spun, dropping down the order and promoting Jessica to P13. Not far away from a potential top ten finish just ahead of her, relentlessly pursued the drivers ahead, but ultimately lost one position to the recovering Kai Daryanani towards the end.

Edgar took the chequered flag in P14, having gained eight positions from her starting spot. It was a superb result on her first weekend in the series, earning her eight valuable championship points.

In the third and final race of the weekend, held on Sunday afternoon under dry conditions, Jessica faced another challenge starting from P22. Unfortunately, she stalled at lights out, dropping all the way down the order. Determined to make up for the lost ground, she began her recovery drive.

A significant five-car crash on lap 4 involving Campbell-Pilling, Robinson, Scoular, and Gademan led to the race being red-flagged. Jessica managed to avoid the chaos, gaining several positions before the race was halted. Now ahead of Berg, Higgins, Fu, Raber and Kieffer, she restarted from P18 as the safety car led the pack with nine minutes to go.

Edgar held her position and targeted further progression in the remaining laps. She picked up one position on Dodds and gained two more places on lap 9 when Ninovic and Pulling hit trouble, moving up to 15th. Battling fiercely in the final hectic laps, Jessica brought home another strong 15th place finish, having recovered from a difficult start.

"Race three was a busy and chaotic one – unfortunately I stalled at the start and fell to the back", she recalled. "When it was red flagged, I made it ahead of a few people but didn’t have the pace to move forwards. F4 is exciting and lots happened in the races, so I enjoyed the weekend.”

“It’s been a good experience this weekend, joining a new team, getting to know everyone and working with new people", she explained. "I’ve tried to do a good job and we got better every time we went out, which meant we were able to come through in the races"

"It’s been hard as this is most of the drivers’ full-season championship so they might look at me and think I am getting in the way, but it’s a learning experience for me to help me get better for when F1 Academy comes here. I’m trying as hard as I can, learning as much as I can, and it’s been a good team to be part of."

With three top-15 finishes in her first-ever weekend in the highly competitive British F4, Jessica Edgar's performance at Zandvoort highlighted her speed and will surely represent a confidence boost as she prepares to return to Zandvoort for the fourth round of the F1 Academy championship, aiming to build on this experience and score her first podium of the season on August 24-25.

Photo credits: JEP