BRDC Formula 4 Winter Series

11/11/2013

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Following a hugely successful debut season which saw Warwickshire's Jake Hughes carry off the championship title, the BRDC Formula 4 teams reunited for the inaugural Winter Series of eight races, the first four being fought out over the Snetterton circuit in Norfolk over the weekend of November 9th/10th.

All eyes were on Formula 4's 'new boys', not least Comma-sponsored Will Palmer, the 16 year old son of the championship's creator, ex Formula 1 pilot Jonathan Palmer, and younger brother to Jolyon, who carried Comma's colours to race winning success in the 2013 GP2 series.

While returning drivers from the main championship such as Matthew Graham, Falco Wauer, Sennan Fielding and Pietro Fittipaldi were expected to set the benchmarks, keen interest focused on just how quickly the new intake would measure up to their more experienced rivals.

Races 1 & 2 on the Saturday were held in the most testing Autumnal conditions, so it was no real surprise that the podium positions in both contests fell to the 'old hands'. In the opening encounter, Graham led Wauer to the line by just under 3 seconds, with Fielding a further two seconds behind. Tellingly, Palmer – who had qualified fastest of the 'rookies' - was less than a second back in fourth place, with another newcomer Jake Cook fifth ahead of Fittipaldi.

The old order prevailed once more over a strung-out field in Race 2, with Graham doing the Saturday double comfortably ahead of a trailing Fielding, with Fittipaldi even further adrift in third. Palmer again finished fourth, three seconds ahead of Wauer with Cook sixth.

Track conditions on Sunday were greatly improved, but there were still wet and damp patches to catch out the unwary in Race 3. Having qualified on pole position, Formula Renault BARC graduate Jake Cook made things difficult for himself by bogging his start, but he was then given a helping hand when Graham and Fielding tangled, and by the end of the first lap, he held a lead over Fielding with Fauer and the Italian newcomer Matteo Ferrer in the tow. Positions were swapped as the race progressed, with Fielding being the principal victim as he dropped to fourth place at the end. Meanwhile, once Cook found his rhythm, he went on to win comfortably, over seven seconds ahead of Wauer with Ferrer delighted to claim his maiden Formula 4 podium. Late in the race, Palmer lost sixth place to the recovering Graham.

The final race of the opening rounds of the Winter Series saw Jake Cook claim a second successive victory. This time however, it was a much closer affair, with Fauer keeping him honest throughout, the Norwegian claiming second place – his third runner-up podium of the weekend – less than a second behind. Will Palmer, having started third on the grid, was passed almost immediately by the fast-starting Matthew Graham, but heaped pressure on Saturday's double winner to force an opening, retake the position before the end of the race and pull safely away to record his first Formula 4 podium. The youngest star in the Palmer firmament is already shining brightly!

The BRDC Formula 4 Winter Series concludes with a quartet of races at Brands Hatch on the weekend of November 23rd/24th. With just two points separating the top three in the standings – Graham, Cook and Wauer – attention will once again focus on how well the newcomers - with Cook second and Palmer currently in fifth place and relishing his introduction to single seater competition - shape up against their more seasoned opponents.

Comma is Technical Partner to the BRDC F4 Championship. Comma supplies every team in the BRDC F4 Championship with the lubricants and chemicals they need to compete; Comma is appointed to do so by MotorSport Vision, one of the world's leading operators and promoters of motorsport.