Virtuosi Racing’s Martin Molnár produced a commanding performance in the opening race of the weekend at Zandvoort to clinch his second win of the year in the Wera Tools F4 British Championship certified by FIA.
Kicking off the second half of the 2025 season in the Netherlands, Molnár was wheel-perfect as he moved into the lead on the run down to the first corner and then never looked back, controlling the gap to Fionn McLaughlin (Hitech TGR) and Henry Joslyn (Fortec Motorsport) behind him.
The Hungarian driver had arrived at the home of the Formula 1 Dutch Grand Prix trailing McLaughlin by 5.5 points in the Drivers’ Championship; however, his triumph has now elevated him to the summit of the standings ahead of Sunday’s double-header.
Track action began on Saturday morning with the 27-car field – a record-equalling grid size for the UK’s premier single-seater series – delivering a captivating qualifying session around the challenging 2.626-mile circuit.
While several drivers staked their claim for top spot, Red Bull Junior McLaughlin ultimately grasped top honours, despite leaving it until the final three minutes of the session to set a brand-new qualifying lap record and with it, snare yet another C1RCUIT Watches Pole Position Award.
Molnár and Joslyn – two drivers who had each been sat on provisional pole at one stage – ultimately had to settle for second and third, while the Rodin Motorsport trio of Jimmy Piszcyk, Adam Al Azhari and Chloe Chong completed the top six.
Second fastest lap times determined the starting order for race one, which placed Joslyn at the head of the field, albeit temporarily. The 16-year-old endured a sluggish start and was swamped as the lights went out, with both Molnár and McLaughlin sweeping past him.
Molnár would head the field on the opening lap, but his opportunity to try and break clear was thwarted immediately as the safety car made an appearance following a spin for Al Azhari at the first corner.
On the restart, Molnár and McLaughlin held station while Piszcyk showed his nose down the inside of Joslyn – although the latter managed to cover him off. From that moment on, the race at the front became a game of cat-and-mouse as the gap between the top three barely fluctuated.
Molnár held firm all the way to the finish to secure victory ahead of McLaughlin and Joslyn whilst Piszcyk fended off the race-long advances of Ethan Jeff-Hall (Argenti Motorsport) and Chase Fernandez (Xcel Motorsport) to finish fourth.
Ella Lloyd (Rodin Motorsport) matched her best result of the season to finish seventh ahead of Ary Bansal (Fortec Motorsport), who had managed to avoid contact earlier in the race when Xcel Motorsport’s Theo Palmer locked up under braking going into turn one.
Rounding out the top ten behind Lloyd and Bansal should have been the tussling duo of Chong and Rowan Campbell-Pilling (JHR Developments), but contact between the pair on the banked final corner on the last lap left them both out of the race.
Their unfortunate demise enabled Chris Dittmann Racing’s Tommy Harfield and Xcel Motorsport’s Yuhao Fu to finish ninth and tenth, respectively. They were followed by impressive debutant Arjen Kräling (Argenti Motorsport) in 11th.
This excellent maiden outing from Kraling placed him second on the Rookie Cup podium, behind McLaughlin and ahead of Xcel Motorsport’s Cole Hewetson. Molnár also secured an extra championship point as a result of the fastest lap in Race 1.
Races two and three of the Wera Tools F4 British Championship certified by FIA, from Zandvoort are scheduled to take place at 10:10 and 14:35 respectively on Sunday, with both races being streamed live on the championship’s YouTube channel. All times are CEST, +1 hour ahead of the UK.
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