Jordyn Martin and Eva Dorrestijn make Saudi F4 debut with progress-oriented weekend at Jeddah
Jordyn Martin and Eva Dorrestijn made their F4 Saudi Arabian Championship debuts at the Jeddah Corniche Circuit, opening their respective Saudi campaigns with a weekend of steady progress and significant improvements in race pace.
Jordyn Martin and Eva Dorrestijn made their F4 Saudi Arabian Championship debuts at the Jeddah Corniche Circuit, opening their respective Saudi campaigns with a weekend of steady progress and significant improvements in race pace.
Martin entered the championship immediately after finishing as the highest-placed female driver in the 2026 GB4 Championship, a result that also awarded her a career contribution toward a potential F1 Academy seat.
Dorrestijn meanwhile made her first-ever start in car racing after progressing from karting. Both drivers used the opening round to build experience with the Tatuus T421, with Race 2 in particular showing clear gains in pace and confidence as they continued to adapt to the demanding Jeddah street circuit.
For Martin, the Saudi Arabian campaign represents another important step in a busy 2026 season. The young American arrived in Jeddah only a week after completing her rookie GB4 Championship season, and will be making her first competitive appearance in the Tatuus T421. Her most recent experience with the car had come during the F1 Academy Rookie Test.
Dorrestijn, meanwhile, was embarking on an even bigger transition. The 17-year-old Dutch driver made her all-time F4 and car-racing debut in Jeddah after coming through karting, bringing with her experience from the F1 Academy Rookie Test in both 2025 and 2026 as well as being a finalist in the 2023 FIA Girls On Track Rising Stars programme. The Jeddah weekend therefore marked the beginning of a new stage in her career, with the demanding street circuit providing an especially challenging environment for a first-ever weekend in cars.
The opening collective testing sessions on Thursday offered the first indication of how quickly both drivers would need to adapt. Martin finished the first session 12th, with Dorrestijn 14th, before both made progress in the second session. Martin moved into the top 10 in the second outing as she began closing the gap to the front, while Dorrestijn finished 15th but also significantly reduced her deficit to the leaders.
That progression continued into Friday's first official practice session. Martin recorded a 2:09.868, bringing her to approximately 2.3 seconds from the fastest time, while Dorrestijn also continued to close the gap, ending the session around 3.6 seconds off the benchmark.
Martin continued to lead the pair in the first qualifying session, setting a 2:09.075 to secure 13th place on the grid. Dorrestijn posted a 2:12.369 and qualified 15th.
The opening race began after an additional formation lap, but the start was soon tricky for Martin. The American and Hamza Al Fayez both stalled on the grid, eventually getting their cars moving but dropping down the order, with Martin losing approximately ten seconds to the pack ahead before she could begin her recovery.
Dorrestijn, meanwhile, moved up to 13th at the end of the opening lap, keeping contact with the field as she began her first competitive race in a single-seater. Al Fayez eventually recovered quickly and passed Dorrestijn on the second lap, while Martin began closing the gap to the cars ahead. She recorded a 2:10.7 and then gained another three seconds on the following lap as she continued her recovery, with both drivers progressively improving their lap times as the race developed.
Martin eventually caught and passed Dorrestijn by the end of lap four to move into 14th. A further opportunity came when contact at Turn 2 sent Abdullah Kamel into a spin, allowing both Martin and Dorrestijn to move ahead and gain another position.
The pace Martin was showing suggested that she had the potential to fight considerably further forward. She recorded a 2:10.3 and began closing on Al Fayez, with her pace comfortably strong enough to run inside the top 10.
Dorrestijn, meanwhile, concentrated on building her own rhythm. Her lap times continued to improve throughout the contest, with a 2:13.0 by lap six followed by a move under the 2:13 barrier later in the race. She then recorded a 2:12.4 on lap eight before improving again to a 2:12.3, demonstrating the progress she was making with each additional lap.
Martin ultimately remained 13th, with the gap to Al Fayez still around five seconds at the finish, while Dorrestijn completed her first F4 race in 15th place, which provided valuable experience.
Qualifying for Race 2 followed on Saturday afternoon, and once again both drivers showed clear progression. Martin recorded a 2:09.8 to qualify 14th, while Dorrestijn made one of the most significant improvements of the weekend, setting a 2:10.719 to qualify 15th, with an improvement of more than a second from her first qualifying.
Race 2 began with a clean launch for both drivers, Martin starting 14th and Dorrestijn 15th. Martin immediately moved forward, passing Georges Nassar for 13th while settling into a strong 2:10-second pace. She then began closing on Zakaria Doleh and Veer Chopra ahead, keeping herself within striking distance as the opening laps unfolded.
Dorrestijn was also continuing her progression. Initially running in the 2:13.6 range, she soon found her way into the 2:12s as she built confidence. As Doleh passed Chopra, Martin remained close enough to the pair to potentially capitalise on any opportunity. She maintained a gap of approximately one second while continuing to improve her own pace, before a developing battle involving Organji opened another opportunity.
Martin then produced one of her strongest laps of the weekend, setting a 2:09.447, among the fastest laps on track. The improvement represented another step forward compared with her opening race and she subsequently passed Devin Walz to move into 11th.
Dorrestijn was making similar progress behind her. She lowered her best time to a 2:11.384 and took advantage of contact involving Walz and Organji, who both became involved in an incident and were forced to pit. Dorrestijn moved ahead of both drivers, climbing to 13th and continuing to circulate consistently in the 2:11s.
Martin's pace remained particularly encouraging. She again posted a 2:09.4 and closed to within seven tenths of Chopra, with her performance suggesting that sixth place was within her potential pace. As the gap fell to just three tenths, she began applying pressure to the Indian driver, looking for an opportunity to move further forward.
Ultimately, however, Martin was unable to find a way past before the chequered flag and completed Race 2 in 11th place, then promoted to tenth. Dorrestijn followed in 13th, completing a race in which both drivers had made significant progress compared with their opening contest.
With the next round taking place at Jeddah only a few days later, both drivers will have little time to reflect before returning to the Tatuus T421. Martin will aim to build on the race pace that allowed her to secure a top 10 in Race 2, while Dorrestijn will continue the rapid learning curve.
