2024 British F4 Esports Championship Round 1: Carroll sets the early pace

The British F4 Esports Championship grid has a new look for 2024, with several Formula 1-affiliated teams set to battle it out for top honours across eight double-headers. Although the competition will be fierce, one thing is guaranteed: there will be a new champion.

Luke McKeown of Stormforce Racing ART claimed back-to-back drivers’ titles but has not returned to claim a hat-trick, opening up the championship fight for the likes of Graham Carroll, Gergo Baldi, Remy Gilbert and Matt Caruana.

F1 Esports teams from Ferrari, Williams, Alpine and Aston Martin add an extra touch of intrigue for 2024, but as Round 1 from Brands Hatch Indy proved, they wouldn’t have it all their own way.

Race 1

The first qualifying session of the season saw Guild Esport’s Remy Gilbert snatch pole position, with the top six separated by just one-tenth of a second.

Gilbert, who won the second race at Brands last season, was joined on the front row by Mensah Racing Driven By Us’ Matt  Caruana, who was looking for a redemption arc after controversially exiting last year’s series after Round 4.

Gilbert and Caruana made equally good starts and were line astern on the first lap, with Guild’s Leo Brown following in third and a gaggle of FIA F4 cars directly behind.

The top six broke away from the main pack as Caruana and Brown passed Gilbert and into first and second place respectively, with UK FF1600 Esports Cup graduate Henry Moore making it three Guild drivers in the top four with five minutes to go.

Ferrari’s Carroll crashed the Guild party, however, by launching a robust overtake on Moore for fourth, just as Brown made his move on Caruana for the lead. Gilbert swiftly followed his team-mate through into second position, with Carroll pressuring for third. The positions remained status quo until the chequered flag.

AzzTech Racing by Grid Finder’s Ryan Micallef would gain the reversed grid pole position for Race 2, as race winner Brown lined up ninth.

Race 2

Micallef held off the advances of William Chadwick on the first lap but would be tapped off at Clearways on lap 3 after slight contact, effectively ending his points-scoring chances. 

At the following corner, Ferrari’s Gergo Baldi drifted into Loake’s Aston Martin-backed car, sending the 2023 Aston Martin Autosport BRDC Young Driver of the Year across the gravel and down into seventh position.

The stramash elevated Chadwick into first with Moore and Carroll just behind, while Gilbert had worked his way up to fourth. As Moore failed in a move for the lead, Carroll pounced for second, followed by a quickfire move on Chadwick for first at Paddock Hill Bend.

The top four eased away from the pack and were nose-to-tail heading into the final laps, with the Guild pair of Gilbert and Moore battling hard. This gave Chadwick a pressure-free final lap but he couldn’t do enough to usurp Carroll, with the Scotsman holding on for victory. 

Gilbert would claim the final podium slot and, as a result, claim joint second place in the championship alongside team-mate Brown. Both trail Ferrari’s Carrol by two points heading into Round 2 at Zandvoort on the 2nd of October.

*William Chadwick would later be given a 5s penalty for hitting Ryan Micallef in Race 2. The championship standings have been updated below to reflect this.

2024 UK FF1600 Esports Cup, Round 1

Crofton Woodhatch who took the first pole position of the season in damp conditions, with early pacesetter Hans Jakob Sivertsen Mollatt languishing down in fifth, the top five separated by less than a tenth of a second.

With two spots on the British F4 Esports Championship grid up for grabs the series is once again set to be a tight affair.

Race 1

It was a damp start to the first race of the season, with Woodhouse ceding position to second-placed Mark Fletcher in what was a surprisingly uneventful first lap.

Although Woodhatch and Fletcher worked together to break away from the pack, they were soon hauled in by an inspired Mollatt. However, Woodhatch and Mollar locked wheels exiting Graham Hill Bend, gifting Fletcher a two-second lead at the halfway mark.

In a dramatic last few laps, Woodhatch lost second to Lewis Wherrell, with the charging Shoma Shintani making an impressive move for third at Clearways on the penultimate lap. This came to nought as the pair made contact on the final tour, however.

Meanwhile, Fletcher enjoyed a 3.4s gap at the front, with the reversed grid draw for Race 2 placing him tenth.

Race 2

Jonathan Smith started from pole for Race 2 and made a tidy getaway to build a slight gap to second. Further back, Shintani had moved up to third and looked the most racey of the Race 1 frontrunners.

Shintani made his way onto the tail of Smith, with a four-car battle for the lead also including Race 1 winner Fletcher and Harvey Jones. Shintani made a slight break out front, with Smith unable to fend off the advances of Fletcher, with the top three separated by just two-tenths at the flag.

Jones dropped back into the clutches of Wherrell, while Shintani claimed victory, with Fletcher taking a creditable second and a convincing championship lead ahead of Round 2.

2024 British F4 Esports Championship, Round 1 Brands Hatch Race 1 results  

1. Leo Brown, Guild Esports
2. Remy Gilbert, Guild Esports
3. Matt Caruana, Mensah Racing Driven By Us
4. Henry Moore, Guild Academy
5. Graham Carroll, Scuderia Ferrari HP Esports Team

2024 British F4 Esports Championship, Round 1 Brands Hatch Race 2 results  

1. Graham Carroll, Scuderia Ferrari HP Esports Team
2. William Chadwick, FreeM UK by Altitude eSports*
3. Remy Gilbert, Guild Esports 
4. Henry Moore, Guild Academy
5. Leo Brown, Guild Esports

Driver standings after Round 1

1. Remy Gilbert, Guild Esports, 78 points
2. Leo Brown, Guild Esports, 76 points
3. Graham Carroll, Scuderia Ferrari HP Esports Team, 75 points
4. Henry Moore, Guild Academy, 61 points
5. Matt Caruana, Mensah Racing Driven By Us, 61 points

Team standings after Round 1

1. Guild Esports, 154 points
2. Scuderia Ferrari HP Esports Team, 118 points
3. Mensah Racing Driven By Us, 73 points
4. Guild Academy, 61 points
5. FreeM UK by Altitude eSports, 43 points

2024 British F4 Esports Championship and UK FF 1600 Esports Cup schedule

• Round 1 – 25th September – Brands Hatch Indy
• Round 2 – 2nd October – Zandvoort
• Round 3 – 16th October Snetterton 300
• Round 4 – 23rd October Oulton Park Full
• Round 5 – 30th October Silverstone GP
• Round 6 – 13th November Knockhill
• Round 7 – 20th November Donington GP
• Round 8 – 27th November Brands Hatch GP

Images courtesy of Rhys Caryl / RC Sim Photography