Paige Raddatz impresses on F4 debut, Kennedy and Stiebleichinger secure top-10 finishes at Kari Motor Speedway
- RACERS
- Oct 8
- 7 min read
Australian rookie Paige Raddatz impressed on her single-seater debut with two top-10 finishes at Kari Motor Speedway, while Annabel Kennedy and Clara Stiebleichinger fought through challenges in competitive third round of the Indian F4 Championship, also securing a top ten each.
Indian F4 Championship returned to Kari Motor Speedway for third round of the season, where three female drivers were on the grid: Clara Stiebleichinger, Annabel Kennedy, and rookie Paige Raddatz, who was competing in her first F4 race, stepping up from karting.
The 2025 Indian F4 Championship began with a strong showing from three rookie F4 drivers — Austria’s Clara Stiebleichinger, Australia’s Annabel Kennedy, and Singapore’s Kareen Kaur — who all made their single-seater debuts in the series’ third season. Continuing the championship’s tradition of nurturing female talent, following in the footsteps of past competitors like Aiva Anagnostiadis and Alba Hurup Larsen, now racing in F1 Academy, the trio quickly made their mark.
At the season opener at Kari Motor Speedway in Coimbatore, all three impressed with promising pace and their first top-ten finishes, highlighted by Stiebleichinger’s sixth place in Race 2. The momentum carried into the second round at Madras International Circuit in Chennai, where Kennedy made history by scoring the first-ever female podium in the Indian F4 Championship with a third place in Race 1.
Stiebleichinger continued to shine with a top-five finish and consistent front-running speed, while Kaur battled through technical challenges to gain crucial mileage and experience in her formative single-seater campaign.
While Kaur could not return to the grid for the third round in Coimbatore, another promising rookie made her single-seater debut: Australia’s Paige Raddatz, 21, from Sydney. Raddatz has been competing in karting in Australia, winning in the Rotax Pro Tour, and is now aiming to make the step up to race cars. She had already tested both the first- and second-generation Mygale F4 cars in Australia in preparation for her international debut.
Clara Stiebleichinger qualified P10 for the opening race, ahead of Annabel Kennedy in P13 and Paige Raddatz in P14, after facing some steering issues. Japanese F4 champion Itsuki Sato took pole position.
At the start, Motlekar and Madesh were slow off the line; Stiebleichinger held P10, while both Kennedy and Raddatz gained positions at lights out, moving up into P11 and P12.
Stiebleichinger then settled into a 1:08.1 pace, staying within one second of Madesh — with Kennedy just half a second behind. Raddatz was running in the 1:09s, defending from Ethan Joy, who eventually got past. On lap 3, Kennedy found a way past Clara for tenth. Raddatz improved her times, setting a 1:08.4 and trying to stay with the group ahead.
Kennedy was on a charge, getting ahead of Madesh and moving up into eighth, with Stiebleichinger in P10 and Raddatz in P13. Madesh fought back, with big duels throughout the top ten.
However, contact between Kennedy and Stiebleichinger saw the latter hit the back of the Australian, who picked up rear-wing damage. Stiebleichinger dropped to P15 and eventually retired, while Kennedy held on to ninth. Raddatz maintained a steady gap ahead and behind, holding P12.
Despite the damage, Kennedy fell behind Boshoff but remarkably stayed in P10. She kept good pace in the 1:08s, not far off Boshoff as he battled with Mabunda, trying to catch up to the duo.
Annabel joined the fight and tried to capitalize as Mabunda dived inside Boshoff at the chicane. She had to slot back behind, but while hanging onto its rear wing, she held a two-second margin to Joy. Raddatz, meanwhile, continued to run a smart race, collecting valuable mileage in P12; she followed 3.5 seconds further down the road.
As Boshoff fell down the order, Kennedy moved up into P9 and Raddatz to P11 as the final lap began.
Itsuki Sato won on debut, 20 seconds ahead of Ghazi Motlekar and Saishiva Sankaran.
After penalties, Annabel Kennedy took a remarkable P8 with a damaged car, while Paige Raddatz narrowly missed the top ten on debut with P11.
Shane Chandaria lined up alongside Ishaan Madesh for the second race, held on Sunday morning, which saw Annabel Kennedy in eighth on the grid, Paige Raddatz in P11, and Clara Stiebleichinger starting from the back. At lights out, a big duel for the lead into the tight first chicane saw Madesh go around and Sachel Rotge move up into third.
All three female drivers had great getaways: Kennedy jumped up into sixth, Raddatz into eighth, and Stiebleichinger avoided the chaos of first-lap contacts involving Sankaran and Joy to climb from the back to P10 before the safety car was deployed.
The restart came one lap later. Kennedy battled Motlekar into Turn 1 for fifth but had to slot back behind. Over the next few laps, she came under pressure and dropped behind Sheth and Sankaran to eighth. Raddatz, showing good pace, moved forward and passed Kennedy with 15 minutes to go to take ninth. Stiebleichinger, after her strong start, lost a few places and was passed by Boshoff, settling into P12.
Paige Raddatz however continued an excellent race, closing in on Ethan Joy. Kennedy stayed close behind, with Boshoff joining this group.
A fierce battle for third meanwhile developed between Rotge and Sato, with the Japanese driver finally finding a way past on lap 12. Rotge tried to fight back, but Sato made the move stick, allowing Shankaran and Sambudla to open a gap ahead.
Raddatz overtook Ethan Joy for eighth, while Kennedy lost out to Boshoff in a four-car train. Stiebleichinger was not far behind, and when Mabunda passed Kennedy, Clara was just two seconds adrift. Kennedy soon later regained a position on Joy, closing back in on the top ten, with the latter now defending from Stiebleichinger.
Raddatz showed impressive consistency, shaking off the cars behind and closing to within three seconds of Motlekar with five minutes to go. Kennedy ran her personal best lap in 1:07.8, stayed within a second of Mabunda but ran out of time, taking the chequered flag in P11.
The best female finisher in Race 2 was rookie Paige Raddatz, with a great performance in eighth place.
Stiebleichinger fell behind Motlhabani in the final minutes and finished 14th. Shane Chandaria won unchallenged, ten seconds ahead of Sambudla and Sato.
The third race of the weekend, held later on Sunday morning, saw Stiebleichinger lining up in P10, Kennedy P11, and Raddatz P14 on the grid, all aiming to improve on their best results of the weekend.
At lights out, Stiebleichinger had a tricky start and lost positions, but a collision at Turn 1 took out Chandaria. Kennedy made a good launch and moved up into P10, ahead of Raddatz, who gained two places. Clara dropped to P13.
Kennedy’s progress continued — despite some nosecone damage, she climbed to P8 ahead of Sankaran and Boshoff. Stiebleichinger recovered to P11, while Raddatz fell to the back but continued and later passed Rujigiro.
Stiebleichinger then mounted a strong recovery, back into P11 and closing in on Kennedy, who was following Sheth and Boshoff closely. This created a four-car battle: Kennedy attacked Sheth while Stiebleichinger looked to seize any opportunity. Kennedy defended on the main straight, then found a gap as Boshoff made a move on Sheth — but contact between them caused Kennedy’s car to almost get airborne. She continued but lost a position to Steibleichinger.
Annabel Kennedy eventually fell to the back with damage from the incident, elevating Raddatz to P14. In the final five minutes, Stiebleichinger had a two-second gap to Motlekar and began pressuring Sheth for ninth. When Sheth hit trouble, Clara moved up to P9, with Raddatz and Kennedy gaining to P13 and P14.
After post-race penalties, Clara Stiebleichinger was classified eighth — her best result of the weekend — as the top female finisher. Paige Raddatz delivered another convincing run in P12, later promoted to P11, while Annabel Kennedy finished P12 despite her contact.
The fourth race closed out the Kari Motor Speedway weekend, giving drivers another chance to turn their weekends around. Tyre management proved crucial, with only a limited set of new tyres available per weekend. Chaos unfolded at the back of the field at the start as one car stalled; Stiebleichinger had a better start this time, battling in the top ten and following her teammate Sachel Rotge.
Ahead, Sankaran retained the lead after the first lap, preceding Chandaria and Madesh. Raddatz slotted into P11, Stiebleichinger in P13, and Kennedy in P14.
The Austrian overtook Veer Sheth on the second lap to climb to P12, though they swapped positions again. A big battle followed into the first chicane as Clara defended from Kennedy.
Raddatz maintained strong pace, just half a second behind Rotge while watching her mirrors for Sheth, who passed her a lap later amid fierce mid-pack duels.
Ten minutes into the race, the three female drivers were running P12, P13, and P14 respectively, with Raddatz leading the trio and staying within a second of the cars ahead. Soon, Raddatz again found a way past Sheth for P11, though he repassed a lap later.
Ahead, Madesh tried everything to overtake Sankaran: the two made light contact but continued, and Madesh finally dived at the chicane on lap 10, locking wheels but making the move stick for the lead.
Just behind, the pack was tightly bunched, running nose-to-tail. Raddatz saw a gap on lap 16 and completed a brilliant pass on Sheth to retake P12. One lap later, she made an identical move on Wian Boshoff, going through to snatch P10, showing great racecraft.
Stiebleichinger was right behind, seizing an opportunity when Mabunda locked up to grab P12.
In clear air, Raddatz had strong pace and soon closed in on Sambudla and Rotge as they traded positions.
In the final laps, as more drivers struggled with tyre wear, Raddatz held firm and finished her debut weekend with another impressive drive to P10, her second top-ten of the event.
Clara Stiebleichinger crossed the line in P12 but was later demoted to P15 after a penalty, while Annabel Kennedy was promoted to P12.
While the third round didn’t bring breakthrough results like the previous event, it still marked a strong developmental step for the three drivers. Paige Raddatz was particularly impressive in her first-ever F4 weekend, while Clara Stiebleichinger fought through tyre wear and technical issues to score points in Race 3. Annabel Kennedy’s eighth place in Race 1 remained her personal best result of the weekend.
The series will now head to the Goa Street Circuit on 1–2 November.
